# Lines & Channels

> Rays, extended lines, paths, curves, channels, pitchforks and the measuring lines that read slope, angle and distance.

When a plain trend line isn't enough, this group has the variations: lines that run forever, channels that hold a trend between two rails, pitchforks that project a median, and lines that read out the angle or the move for you. Every tool, grouped: [Drawing tools overview](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/atlas/drawing-tools/overview).

## Ray
A line from a start point through a second point, running on to the edge of the chart.

![A ray from the 9:55 low through the 12:25 low, running on past both on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/ray.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** two clicks. Click the start, then a point that sets the direction.

**Good for:** a trend line you want projected forward without dragging it out by hand.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 9:55 low, then the 12:25 low. The ray carries that slope on past both points, and you can see the 13:40 push tag it before price drops back under it. Everything after that trades below the line, so the afternoon climb ran at a gentler pace than the morning one.

**Settings:** just the shared style bar.

## Extended line
A line through two points that runs to both edges of the chart.

![An extended line through the 11:15 and 13:40 highs, running across the whole chart on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/extline.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** two clicks, one on each point the line passes through.

**Good for:** a slope that matters both before and after the two points, like a long-term trend line you want to see across the whole chart.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 11:15 high, then the 13:40 high. The line runs across the whole chart, back into the morning and forward into the evening. You can see the 15:45 push poke above it and price slip back under it after the top, which is the kind of thing you'd want a line through those highs to show you.

**Settings:** just the shared style bar.

## Path
A line through as many points as you want.

![A path zigzagging through the swing lows and highs from 9:55 to 15:45 on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/path.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** click the start, then click each next point. To finish, press Enter, double-click or tap the last point again.

**Good for:** sketching the swing path you expect, or tracing the zigzag of a move you want to study later.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 9:55 low, then the 11:15 high, the 12:25 low, the 13:40 high, the 14:20 low and the 15:45 high, and press Enter. The zigzag shows the day's swing structure at a glance: three higher highs and two higher lows off the day low. Turn on **Smooth** if you'd rather it read as a curve.

**Settings**

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Smooth | On or off, default **off** | Curves the line through every point instead of joining them with straight segments. |

## Curve
A curved line between two points that bends through a third.

![A curve from the 9:55 low to the 15:45 high, bent through the 12:25 low on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/curve.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** three clicks. Click the start, then the end, then the point the curve should bend through. The third handle sits on the curve itself, so dragging it reshapes the bend directly.

**Good for:** rounded tops and bottoms, or a move that's accelerating or slowing rather than going in a straight line.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 9:55 low, then the 15:45 high, then the 12:25 low to set the bend. The curve bows under a straight line between the two ends, so it reads as a climb that got steeper into the afternoon. Drag the bend handle if you want it to hug a different swing.

**Settings:** just the shared style bar.

## Parallel channel
Two parallel rails around a trend, with an optional midline.

![A parallel channel built on the 12:25 and 14:20 lows with its width set at the 13:40 high on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/channel.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** three clicks. Click the start of the base line, then its end, then a point that sets the channel width. The width handle sits in the middle of the opposite rail.

**Good for:** a trend that's moving in a steady lane, so you can see where the top and bottom of the lane are right now.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 12:25 low, then the 14:20 low for the base line, then the 13:40 high to set the width. The top rail lands on that high, the dashed midline sits halfway, and the shading shows the lane the early afternoon traded in. The classic read is the bottom rail as support and the midline as a first target, and turning on **Extend right** carries the lane on into the late afternoon.

**Settings**

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fill | On or off, default **on** | Shades between the rails. |
| Fill opacity | 0 to 50%, default **7%** | How strong the shading is. |
| Midline | On or off, default **on** | Draws the line halfway between the rails. |
| Midline style | Line role: show or hide, solid/dashed/dotted, width, opacity (default **dashed**, 1 px, 60%) | How the midline looks. The rails use the style bar. |
| Extend left / Extend right | On or off, default **off** for both | Runs the channel to the chart edge. |

## Pitchfork
A median line from a pivot through the middle of two reactions, with a tine on each side.

![A pitchfork anchored on the 9:55 low, the 11:15 high and the 12:25 low on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/pitchfork.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** three clicks. Click the pivot where the handle starts, then the first reaction, then the second reaction.

**Good for:** trends that swing around a center line, where price tends to come back to the median.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 9:55 low as the pivot, then the 11:15 high and the 12:25 low as the reactions. The median runs from the low through the middle of that pullback, with the tines through each reaction and the fork shaded between them. Price slips out under the lower tine soon after 12:25, which tells you the afternoon wasn't keeping the morning's steep pace.

**Settings**

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type | Andrews, Schiff, Modified Schiff (default **Andrews**) | Where the median starts. Andrews runs it from the pivot; the Schiff types start it from a shifted origin. |
| Extra lines | 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.5, 2 (all **off**) | More lines at multiples of the tine spacing. |
| Fill between tines | On or off, default **on**; opacity 0 to 30%, default **5%** | Shades inside the fork. |
| Extend left | On or off, default **off** | Runs the lines back past the pivot. |
| Median line | On or off, default **on** | The center line. Median and tines use the style bar. |
| Handle | On or off, default **on** | The segment joining the two reactions. |
| Handle style | Line role (default **dotted**, 1 px, 60%) | How the handle looks. |
| Schiff shift | Line role (default **dotted**, 1 px, 45%) | The line from the pivot to the shifted origin, on the Schiff types. |
| Extra lines style | Line role (default **dotted**, 1 px, 60%) | How the extra lines look. |

## Pitchfan
A fan of rays from a pivot, spread around the median of two reactions.

![A pitchfan fanning out from the 9:55 low through the 11:15 high and 12:25 low on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/pitchfan.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** three clicks. Click the pivot, then the first reaction, then the second reaction.

**Good for:** seeing several possible support and resistance slopes from one pivot at once.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 9:55 low as the pivot, then the 11:15 high and the 12:25 low as the reactions. The fan spreads the 0.382, 0.618 and 1 rays on both sides of the median, each labelled with its ratio, and the outer ray on the low side runs through the 12:25 low. If price slips under one ray, the next one out is the slope you'd watch for it to catch.

**Settings**

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Levels | **0.382, 0.618, 1** on; 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.5, 1.75, 2 off | Each level draws a ray on both sides of the median. 1 passes through the reaction points. |
| Level rays | On or off, default **on** | Shows the rays. The median and rays use the style bar. |
| Ray opacity | 5% to 100%, default **85%** | How strong the rays are. |
| Colours | One colour, Spectrum (default **One colour**) | One colour for everything, or a colour per level. |
| Extend rays | On or off, default **on** | Off stops the rays at the reaction line. |
| Fill | On or off, default **on**; opacity 0 to 30%, default **5%** | Shades between the rays. |
| Reaction line | Line role (default **dashed**, 1 px, 50%) | The line joining the two reaction points. |
| Level labels | On or off, default **on**; size 8 to 20 px (default **11**), opacity | The ratio on each ray. |

## Flat top/bottom
A channel with one sloped side and one flat side.

![A flat top/bottom: a rising line on the 12:25 and 14:20 lows with a flat side at the 13:40 high, on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/flattop.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** three clicks. Click the start of the trend line, then its end, then the price of the flat side. The third handle stays between the trend line's ends in time, and only its price matters.

**Good for:** ascending and descending triangles drawn by hand: a flat ceiling with rising lows, or a flat floor with falling highs.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 12:25 low and the 14:20 low for the rising side, then the 13:40 high for the flat side. The flat side is labelled 30,102.25, and the shading between it and the rising lows is the classic ascending triangle shape. Price coming back to that flat ceiling after 14:20 is the test the drawing sets up for you.

**Settings**

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fill | On or off, default **on**; opacity 0 to 50%, default **7%** | Shades between the two sides. |
| Midline | Line role: show or hide, solid/dashed/dotted, width, opacity (default **hidden**, dashed, 1 px, 60%) | A line halfway between the trend line and the flat side. Both sides use the style bar. |
| Extend left / Extend right | On or off, default **off** for both | Runs the shape to the chart edge. |
| Flat price | On or off, default **on** | Labels the flat side's price. |
| Label size and opacity | 8 to 20 px (default **11**); 10% to 100% (default **100%**) | How the label text looks. |

## Disjoint channel
Two separate lines that don't have to be parallel, with the space between them shaded.

![A disjoint channel with one line on the 11:15 and 13:40 highs and one on the 11:25 and 14:20 lows on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/disjoint.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** four clicks. Click the first line's start and end, then the second line's start and end.

**Good for:** broadening or narrowing ranges, where the top and bottom are sloping at different rates.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 11:15 and 13:40 highs for the top line, then the 11:25 and 14:20 lows for the bottom one. Both lines rise, with the top one a little steeper, so the shaded range widens slightly through the midday. Lines like these don't meet ahead of the drawing, so there's no apex readout; on a narrowing range, **Apex** shows the bars to go and the price where they'd cross.

**Settings**

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fill | On or off, default **on**; opacity 0 to 50%, default **7%** | Shades between the two lines. |
| Midline | Line role (default **hidden**, dashed, 1 px, 60%) | A line halfway between the two. Both lines use the style bar. |
| Extend left / Extend right | On or off, default **off** for both | Runs both lines to the chart edge. |
| Apex | On or off, default **on** | Where converging lines meet ahead of the drawing: bars to go and the price. |
| Label size and opacity | 8 to 20 px (default **11**); 10% to 100% (default **100%**) | How the label text looks. |

## Trend angle
A trend line that reads out its angle and slope.

![A trend angle from the 9:55 low to the 11:15 high reading 77.5 degrees and points per bar on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/trendangle.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** two clicks. Click the start, then the end.

**Good for:** comparing how steep two moves are. The slope (price and percent per bar) stays the same at any zoom; the angle in degrees is what you see on screen, so it changes when you zoom.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 9:55 low, then the 11:15 high. The readout shows 77.5° on screen and a slope of +27.45 points (+0.093%) per bar. Draw a second one on the 14:20 to 15:45 push and compare the per-bar slopes, since those stay the same at any zoom while the degrees don't.

**Settings**

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Extend right | On or off, default **off** | Runs the line past its end. |
| Horizontal | Line role (default **dotted**, 1 px, 60%) | The flat line the angle is measured from. The trend line uses the style bar. |
| Arc | Line role (default **solid**, 1 px, 80%) | The arc that shows the angle. |
| Angle | On or off, default **on** | Degrees on screen. Changes with zoom. |
| Slope | On or off, default **on** | Price and percent per bar. The same at any zoom. |
| Label size and opacity | 8 to 20 px (default **11**); 10% to 100% (default **100%**) | How the readout looks. |

## Cross line
A horizontal and a vertical line crossing at one point.

![A cross line marking the time and price of the 13:40 high on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/crossline.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** one click on the bar and price you want.

**Good for:** pinning a single moment and price at once, like the exact bar and price of the high of day.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), one click on the 13:40 high drops a cross on that bar, labelled 30,102.25 on the price scale. The horizontal shows the 15:45 push clearing that price, and the vertical marks exactly when the high printed.

**Settings**

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Horizontal | On or off, default **on** | Shows the price line. Both lines use the style bar. |
| Vertical | On or off, default **on** | Shows the time line. |
| Price label | On or off, default **on** | Labels the price. |
| Time label | On or off, default **on** | Labels the time. |
| Label size and opacity | 8 to 20 px (default **11**); 10% to 100% (default **100%**) | How the labels look. |

## Info line
A line between two points with a card that measures the move.

![An info line from the 9:55 low to the 13:40 high showing +479.75 points, 45 bars and 60.2 degrees on NQ 5m](https://www.skylit.ai/docs/images/atlas/drawing-tools/infoline.light.webp)

*NQ 5m, Oct 15, 2026 · Atlas*

**How to place:** two clicks. Click the start, then the end.

**Good for:** measuring a swing in points, percent, ticks, bars and time, all at once.

**Example:** On NQ 5m (Oct 15, 2026), click the 9:55 low, then the 13:40 high. The card reads +479.75 points (+1.62%), 45 bars, 3h 45m and 60.2°. There's no tick count because **Tick size** is still 0; set it to 0.25 for NQ and the card adds the move in ticks.

**Settings**

| Setting | Options | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price change | On or off, default **on** | The move in price. |
| Percent change | On or off, default **on** | The move in percent. |
| Ticks | On or off, default **on** | The move in ticks. Shown only when a tick size is set. |
| Tick size | 0 to 1000, default **0** (off) | Your instrument's tick, e.g. ES and NQ 0.25, CL 0.01. |
| Bars | On or off, default **on** | How many bars the line spans. |
| Time | On or off, default **on** | How long the move took. |
| Angle | On or off, default **on** | Degrees on screen. Changes with zoom. |
| Position | At the end, Middle, At the start (default **At the end**) | Where the card sits. |
| Background | On or off, default **on** | Off shows plain text with a halo. |
| Card size and opacity | 8 to 20 px (default **11**); 10% to 100% (default **100%**) | How the card text looks. |