plotchar() - Pine Script Function

plotchar()

Overview

plotchar() draws a single Unicode character when a condition is true. The function is ideal for lightweight markers such as “↑”, “↓”, or letters that annotate trade setups. Characters can appear above/below bars, on the high/low, or at an exact price level with location.absolute.

Use overlay=true in your indicator() call if you want characters to appear on the price pane. Otherwise they render in the script’s separate panel.

Syntax

plotchar(series, title, char, location, color, offset, text, textcolor, editable, size, show_last, display, format, precision, force_overlay) → void

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
series	series int/float/bool	Condition or value that controls visibility. Non-zero values draw the character.
char	const string (optional)	Single-character string to plot (defaults to "•"). Supports Unicode.
location	input location (optional)	Where to place the character (location.abovebar, location.belowbar, location.absolute, etc.).
color	series color (optional)	Character color. Defaults to the chart theme.
offset	simple int (optional)	Shift markers forward/backward by N bars.
text	const string (optional)	Tooltip shown on hover.
size	const size (optional)	Marker size (size.tiny → size.huge).

Other arguments (title, textcolor, editable, show_last, display, format, precision, force_overlay) align with plot() defaults.

Remarks

• When location.absolute, the numeric value of series sets the price where the character is drawn.
• If series evaluates to na, the marker is skipped on that bar.
• Use UTF-8 dingbats (e.g., "✚", "⚠") to create rich visual cues without importing images.

Example

//@version=5
indicator("plotchar() markers", overlay=true, max_labels_count=0)

bullish = ta.crossover(ta.ema(close, 20), ta.ema(close, 50))
bearish = ta.crossunder(ta.ema(close, 20), ta.ema(close, 50))

plotchar(bullish,
    title="Bullish flag",
    char="▲",
    location=location.belowbar,
    color=color.new(color.green, 0),
    size=size.small,
    text="EMA crossover")

plotchar(bearish,
    title="Bearish flag",
    char="▼",
    location=location.abovebar,
    color=color.new(color.red, 0),
    size=size.small,
    text="EMA crossunder")

See Also

• plot()
• plotshape()
• plotarrow()
• barcolor()
• bgcolor()