Tradovate Drawing Tool Settings & Customization Guide
Tradovate’s drawing tools work fine out of the box, but their default settings are mid. If your lines are too thick, your colors too loud, or your fibs unreadable, you’re making your charts harder than they need to be. This guide shows how to clean up every drawing tool so your charts stay sharp and fast.
Accessing the Drawing Tool Settings
Right-click any drawing → Settings. Or open the drawing toolbar → click the gear icon for global defaults.
These two menus control different things:
| Menu | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Object Settings | Changes one drawing |
| Global Settings | Changes defaults for all future drawings |
Trendline Customization
Trendlines are the backbone of structure. Make them clean:
- Color: White or bright yellow
- Thickness: 1 px
- Extend left/right: Off (unless needed)
- Show price labels: Optional
If your trendlines look like ropes, you’re doing it wrong.
Zone / Rectangle Customization
Zones should be obvious but not obnoxious:
- Fill Color: Light blue or gray
- Opacity: 20–35%
- Border: Off or minimal
- Extend Right: On for supply/demand
Too-bright zones ruin chart readability.
Fibonacci Retracement Custom Settings
Tradovate’s default fib palette is ugly and confusing. Fix it:
- Enable only key levels (38.2, 50, 61.8)
- Use simple colors: one color for levels, one for labels
- Set line thickness to 1
- Disable “reverse direction” unless needed
This keeps fibs useful instead of clutter.
Anchor Behavior & Snapping
Under global drawing settings:
- Snap to OHLC: ON (prevents sloppy anchor placement)
- Snap to Grid: OFF
- Show anchor points: Small
Snapping to candle highs/lows makes drawings precise without effort.
Saving Custom Defaults
After customizing a tool, click Set as Default. This saves the style for every future drawing of that type.
Once you set defaults, drawing becomes muscle memory instead of busywork.
Final Thoughts
Clean drawings make clean decisions. Tradovate gives you full control—use it. Take five minutes to customize your drawing tools and your charts instantly become easier to read and trade.