Auto Trend Detector: Uptrend, Downtrend or Range

What it shows

Two lines, one through the last two swing highs and one through the last two swing lows, both extended to the right edge, with a light fill between them and a label in the middle: Uptrend, Range or Downtrend. The colour follows the label (Uptrend, Range and Downtrend each have their own).

How Pravex works it out

1. Pravex finds swings on the last 600 candles. A candle is a swing high when its high is above the chosen number of candles before it and not below the same number after it (a swing low mirrors that), so a swing is known only that many candles after it happened. If two swing highs (or two swing lows) arrive with nothing between them, only the more extreme survives, so the list always zigzags.
2. It needs at least four swings, with two highs and two lows among them. It takes the last two highs and the last two lows.
3. Trend: if the latest high is above the one before and the latest low is above the one before, Uptrend. If both are lower, Downtrend. Otherwise (mixed, or equal), Range.
4. The upper line runs through the two highs, the lower line through the two lows, both extended to the last candle and beyond. The shape starts at the older of the two earlier swings. The label sits at the middle of the span.

Settings

Setting	Default	What changing it does
Swing size (candles)	10	How many candles on each side confirm a swing. A shorter length finds smaller, nearer swings and the label flips often; a longer one finds only bigger swings and reacts later. It can be set from 2 to 100.

How traders read it

Treat it as a plain-language read of where the recent swings are heading. Uptrend means the market is still making higher highs and higher lows; Range means the last two swing pairs disagree, which is also what a turn looks like at the start.

With round invented figures, the last two highs are 110 then 115 and the last two lows are 100 then 104. Both are higher, so the label reads Uptrend and the lines slope up through those swings.

When it misleads

Each line rests on just two points, so it is a quick outline and not a fitted trend line, and the two lines need not be parallel. The label only changes when a new swing is confirmed, that many candles after the swing, so it is late by design. A single pair that disagrees gives Range even in a market that looks clearly trending. And when a new swing is confirmed the lines jump to the new pair, so the whole shape redraws; a later, more extreme swing of the same kind also replaces the earlier one. There is no breakout, target or status here.

Questions and answers

How does the Auto Trend Detector decide between uptrend and range?

Uptrend needs the latest swing high and swing low both above the previous ones, and Downtrend needs both below. Any mix, or a tie, is Range.

How late is the trend label?

It changes only when a new swing is confirmed, which takes the chosen number of candles after the swing. The lines then jump to the newest pair of swings, and between swings they just extend with the chart.

What is a good swing size?

At the default of 10, a swing on the hourly chart needs ten hours on each side. Shorter lengths give a quicker but twitchier label; longer ones show only the bigger structure.

Is the Auto Trend Detector a trend line indicator?

It draws two lines, but each rests on only two swings and they are not fitted. Use it as a read of swing direction, then draw your own lines if you want a channel.

Related: Auto Trendlines, Auto Pitchfork, Elliott Wave Chart Pattern, All Chart Patterns, every indicator.