Sierra Chart volume by price study setup: choose the profile period, row size and display style

How to set up the Volume by Price study in Sierra Chart

To set up Volume by Price in Sierra Chart, open Analysis >> Studies, add the Volume by Price study to an intraday chart, then choose the period it covers, the number of ticks per row, and the volume type and placement it draws. The period setting decides which bars feed the profile. The row size and display settings decide whether you can read it at a glance. The rest of this guide walks through each of these settings in order, with starting values for ES, NQ and CL.

This article covers configuration only. If you want the concept behind the most important level the study draws, read what point of control means in volume profile.

Before you add the study: check the chart data

Volume by Price can only be as accurate as the data underneath it. Two checks are worth doing first.

1. Intraday data storage. Go to Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings and confirm that Intraday Data Storage Time Unit is set to 1 Tick. If you store coarser data, bid and ask splits and price-level detail can be approximated rather than exact.
2. Enough history loaded. In Chart >> Chart Settings, check Days to Load. A weekly profile on a chart that only loads three days will be incomplete without any warning.

Use a futures contract with real exchange volume, such as ES, NQ or CL from CME Group. Spot forex pairs like EURUSD only report tick counts from your feed, not centralized volume, so a profile built on them shows activity on that feed rather than market-wide volume. If you study the euro, the 6E futures contract is the closer equivalent.

Step 1: add Volume by Price to the chart

1. Open the chart and press F6, or go to Analysis >> Studies.
2. In Studies Available, find Volume by Price and click Add.
3. Select it in Studies to Graph and click Settings to open the inputs.

Sierra Chart documents every input of the study in its studies reference. Input names can shift slightly between versions, so if a label below differs on your install, match it by function rather than by exact wording.

Step 2: choose the profile period

The profile period is the setting that changes the meaning of the study the most. Look for the input called Volume Graph Period Type. The common choices behave like this:

• Fixed time period (for example 1 day). One profile per period, each drawn over its own bars. This is the standard choice for daily session profiles on ES or NQ.
• Visible bars. One profile built from whatever is on screen. It recalculates as you scroll or zoom, which is handy for ad hoc analysis but means the levels move.
• Entire chart. A single profile across all loaded data. Its content depends on Days to Load, so treat it as composite context, not a precise reference.
• Number of bars. A rolling profile over the last N bars, useful when you want recent activity only.

Pair the period type with Volume Graph Period Length. A fixed period of 1 day gives daily profiles; 1 week gives weekly profiles.

Match the period to the session

For index futures, decide whether a "day" means the full Globex session or the regular trading hours. Sierra Chart uses the session times set in Chart >> Chart Settings >> Session Times. If you want RTH-only profiles for ES, set the session to 09:30 to 16:00 Eastern (or use the evening session options) rather than trying to fix it inside the study. Overnight volume in ES is often thinner, so including or excluding it can move the point of control and value area noticeably.

Step 3: set ticks per volume bar

Ticks Per Volume Bar controls how many price ticks are grouped into one row of the profile. Too small and a weekly profile becomes a smear of hairline rows. Too large and you hide the shape you are trying to read.

Practical starting points, which you should adjust to your screen and zoom:

NQ moves through far more ticks per day than ES, which is why it usually needs a larger row size for the same visual density. Grouping rows changes where the POC is reported, because volume is summed across the grouped ticks, so keep the row size consistent when you compare one day to another.

Step 4: pick the volume type to display

The study can draw total volume or split it. Typical options include:

• Total volume. One bar per row. Cleanest for reading value area and high and low volume nodes.
• Bid volume and ask volume. Each row split by aggressor side. Useful if you want a sense of who traded at each price, but busier to read.
• Delta or up and down volume. Shows the imbalance per row rather than the size.

For most traders, total volume on the main profile is the readable default. If you want aggressor detail at every price inside each bar, that is the job of a footprint, not a profile. The Sierra Chart footprint chart setup guide covers that side.

Step 5: choose the display style and placement

Display settings decide whether the profile helps or covers your price bars.

• Draw location. Profiles can be drawn on the left or right side of the period. Right-side placement next to the last bar keeps the current session readable while price prints.
• Graph width percentage. Sets how wide the longest row is relative to the period. Start around 25 to 35 percent for daily profiles so candles stay visible underneath.
• Transparency. Increase it in the Subgraphs tab or via the chart's transparency setting so the profile sits behind price.
• Colors. Use one neutral color for normal rows, a distinct color for value area rows, and a highlight for the POC row.

On a 5-minute ES chart, a right-side daily profile at about 30 percent width with mild transparency tends to stay legible without crowding the bars. Test it on your own monitor before locking it in.

Step 6: configure value area and reference lines

In the same inputs you will find the value area percentage, normally 70 percent, and options to draw the POC and the value area high and low as lines.

• Turn on Display Point of Control and Display Value Area Lines if you want levels you can see without the bars.
• Look for an option to extend these lines to the right, or to extend until future intersection, so prior session levels remain visible on the next day.
• If you display several daily profiles, limit how many previous lines extend, otherwise the chart fills with overlapping levels.

The 70 percent figure is a convention inherited from market profile practice, not a rule. Changing it changes the levels, so use the same value across instruments if you compare them.

Step 7: save the configuration

Once the study reads the way you want, save it so you do not rebuild it on every chart. Right-click the chart and use Studies >> Save Study Collection, or save the whole chartbook with File >> Save. A study collection stores only the studies; a chartbook stores the full workspace. The difference is explained in Sierra Chart study collection vs chartbook.

If you would rather start from a configured workspace that already combines TPO, value area, POC and a volume profile, a Sierra Chart market profile chartbook gives you that layout to inspect and adjust.

Quick troubleshooting checklist

• Profile looks flat or blocky: row size too large for the instrument, or data stored above 1 tick.
• Weekly profile missing early days: Days to Load is too low.
• POC differs from another platform: check session times, row size and whether overnight volume is included. Platforms like TradingView's volume profile use their own defaults, so identical numbers are not guaranteed.
• Levels move as you scroll: the period type is set to visible bars.

Conclusion

A readable Volume by Price setup comes down to four decisions: which bars feed the profile, how many ticks make a row, which volume type is drawn, and where and how wide it sits on the chart. Get the data and session times right first, then tune row size per instrument and keep it consistent so profiles stay comparable. For ready-made Sierra Chart workspaces you can open and study, see the chartbooks at SierraOnShop.

FAQ

Can I show a daily and a weekly profile on the same chart?

Yes. Add the Volume by Price study twice, set one to a 1 day period and the other to 1 week, and give them different widths, colors and transparency so they do not hide each other.

Does Volume by Price work on range or volume bar charts?

It does, because the study aggregates the volume at each price from the underlying data. The bar type changes how candles look, not the volume traded at each price within the period.

Why is my profile different after reloading the chart?

A reload can pull in more or less history, or rebuild from tick data that differs from what was previously stored. Check Days to Load and your data storage setting after any reload.

Is the Volume by Price study the same as a TPO profile?

No. Volume by Price measures traded volume at each price, while a TPO profile counts the time periods in which price traded there. They often agree on broad structure but can place the POC at different prices.