Candle Timer indicator
Blahtech Candle Timer displays the time remaining before the current bar closes and a new bar forms. The countdown can sit beside the active candle or in any chart corner, and its colour reflects the direction of the forming candle and the final seconds before the close. It is a simple, low-overhead aid for timing entries and keeping bar-close discipline.
Free on NinjaTrader 8.
Bar-close countdown on chart
Please read the installation guide for your platform before downloading.
Blahtech CT is a free subscription - sign up below, then download the add-on from the members area.
Indicators are tools, not trade signals. Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss.
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By default the timer counts down to the close of the current chart bar. Set Custom Period Seconds to count down to a fixed period instead - useful for non-standard candles, for example a 30-second bar.
The text colour reflects the forming candle. With Text Colour Scheme set to Manual the timer uses the Bull colour while the candle is up and the Bear colour while it is down; set to Candle it follows the chart's own candle up / down colours. During the final Countdown Seconds before the close the text switches to the Countdown colour.
A suffix after the timer shows the data-feed state. While ticks are arriving the Active suffix is shown. If no tick arrives for the inactive-detection period the timer switches to the Inactive suffix and runs on the local clock; when the platform reports the feed as down the Disconnected suffix is shown. At weekends, when the markets are closed and the local clock and the feed frame can differ, Local Timer Offset Seconds keeps the local countdown aligned.
Blahtech Candle Timer is fully customisable. The online user guide is in the members area.
| Text Location | Where the countdown text is drawn - beside the active candle, or any chart corner |
|---|---|
| Text Font / Style / Size | Font, style (Normal, Bold, Italic, Bold Italic) and size for the timer text |
| Text Shift Bars / Price | Move the text right by bars, or up by a price amount (candle location only) |
| Text Shift X / Y | Pixel offset from the chart edge (chart corner locations only) |
| Text Prefix | Display custom text before the timer |
| Text Suffix - Active / Inactive / Disconnected | Text shown after the timer for each data-feed state |
| Text Suffix - Backtest | Text shown while the chart is in backtest, independent of the health suffixes |
| Text Colour Scheme | Manual uses the Bull / Bear colours below; Candle matches the chart's own candle up / down colours |
|---|---|
| Text Colour Bull / Bear | Manual colours for an up / down forming candle |
| Text Colour Countdown | Colour for the final countdown seconds. Set to 00000000 (fully transparent) to disable |
| Text Colour Backtest | Colour while the chart is in backtest. The Countdown colour still takes precedence in the final seconds |
| Sound / Email / Notification | Alert delivery channels |
|---|---|
| Early Seconds | Fire the alert this many seconds before the candle closes (0 = on the new bar) |
| Startup Delay Seconds | Wait a number of seconds before testing for alerts on startup |
| Sound Wav File | Change alert sound |
| Message / Email Subject / Body | User customisable alert message templates |
| Instance Id | Unique instance Id - only modify for multiple instances per chart |
|---|---|
| Display Title | Text shown as the indicator title, overriding the default tab label |
| Colour Mode | Auto follows the global Settings colour mode, then the chart background; or force Light / Dark |
| Backtest Countdown | Frozen + Live, Frozen, or Live - what the timer does while the chart is in backtest |
| Backtest Position | Where the timer is drawn in backtest - pinned candle, pinned candle at live price, or live candle |
| Countdown Seconds | Number of final seconds that use the Countdown colour |
| Inactive Detection Seconds | Seconds without a tick before the feed is treated as inactive |
| Custom Period Seconds | Count down to a custom period for non-standard candles (0 = chart timeframe boundary) |
| Candle Time Offset Seconds | Shift the countdown clock by this many seconds |
| Local Timer Offset Seconds | Seconds added to the local clock while the feed is inactive or disconnected (weekend alignment) |
| Backtest Mode Expire Time (mins) | Minutes to wait before cancelling backtest mode (0 = no limit) |
| ` | Iconise / restore the panel |
|---|---|
| c | Clear Display (Shift = active tab only) |
| r | Reset (Shift = active tab only) |
| b | Backtest |
| h | Next tab (Shift = previous) |
| 4 | Hide Candles |
| 5 | Pop Lines |
Chart-wide hot keys shared across all Blahtech indicators, reassignable via the Settings (cog) Global Hot Key Map. Blahtech CT has no indicator-specific hot keys.
Blahtech CT is a free subscription. Sign up, then download the add-on zip from the members area and import it via Tools > Import > NinjaScript Add-On.
Need help? Contact support.
Candle Timer for bar-close discipline, Better Volume for participation context - a lightweight pairing on NinjaTrader 8.
View Blahtech BVTrading futures, forex, and other leveraged products involves substantial risk and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Blahtech products are analytical software tools only; nothing on this site constitutes investment advice or a recommendation to trade. Full Risk Disclosure
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