Chart screenshot checklist: what to include before uploading

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A useful trading chart screenshot lets a reviewer identify the instrument, read the timeframe and prices, and trace the price movement behind your question. Before uploading, open the saved image and check those details at normal viewing size. A chart that looks clear inside your platform can become unreadable after cropping or compression.

Use the checklist below to prepare one complete image, then review current signup options for a structured second opinion. The goal of this check is readable evidence; a well-prepared image cannot guarantee a correct assessment.

The pass-or-recapture checklist

Work through these checks on the exported file, not just the charting window. If an essential item fails, fix the chart and capture it again before using your daily analysis.

1. Instrument identity: can you read the full symbol and its data source? Keep the quote currency visible where it helps distinguish instruments. A price alone does not establish which market is shown.
2. Timeframe: can you see whether each candle represents minutes, hours or days? Keep the interval label rather than relying on how wide the candles look.
3. Price scale: are the axis labels sharp enough to distinguish neighboring prices? Include the axis next to the candles and avoid cropping off decimal places.
4. Visible history: does the image show the swing, range or approach that explains the area you want reviewed? A close-up of the latest candle may conceal the structure it belongs to.
5. Current edge: is the most recent candle visible, with enough space to distinguish it from price labels? Record the capture time in your own notes.
6. Clean evidence: can you follow candle bodies and wicks without menus, crosshairs, thick drawings or indicator panels hiding them?
7. Privacy: have you removed account numbers, balances, order tickets and unrelated notifications? Reopen the final image to confirm what it actually contains.

Choose the view around the question

Start by writing a one-sentence question in your own notes: for example, “Is the latest move still inside the recent range?” That question tells you what must fit in the picture. Include both range boundaries and the latest candles. A screenshot showing only the upper boundary cannot establish where the lower boundary sits.

For a pullback review, preserve the preceding advance or decline, the turn, and the current return toward the area of interest. For a proposed breakout, retain the earlier reactions that explain your boundary. These are framing choices, not rules about a fixed number of candles. If zooming out makes labels unreadable, enlarge the chart area before exporting.

Keep one primary chart prominent for a focused review. A grid of tiny charts may contain more information but leave each panel too small to inspect. You can examine other timeframes separately on your platform without trying to squeeze the whole workspace into one image.

Export an image you can inspect

TradingView documents a camera control for chart snapshots and an option to save the chart image to your computer. See its snapshot instructions for the available actions. Saving a file also gives you a chance to inspect it before upload.

ChartPilot’s current upload guidance accepts JPG, PNG and WebP. Use a supported image file rather than a webpage address or a photograph of the monitor. Avoid repeatedly sending the image through messaging apps and downloading it again: inspect whichever file you ultimately choose, because that is the evidence the analyzer receives.

Read two prices on the saved scale and identify two separate candle wicks. If you cannot do that comfortably, enlarge the original chart or reduce clutter and export again. Increasing the size of an already blurry image does not restore the missing detail.

Remove private details without removing the chart

Hide trading and account panels before capture where possible. TradingView has a separate setting controlling whether orders, executions and positions appear in chart snapshots; its documentation notes that this setting does not control ordinary screenshots or browser printing. Check the capture method you actually use.

If you redact a saved image, cover private information completely and inspect the exported result. Keep the instrument, interval and price scale unobstructed. A large rectangle over the most recent candles may protect privacy while making the intended review impossible; recapturing a clean chart is usually clearer.

A hypothetical before-and-after check

Imagine an EURUSD screenshot where the symbol is cropped, the price axis is partly outside the image, and a menu covers the latest candles. The uploader wants to know whether price has returned to the top of a range. Even if the remaining candles look sharp, the image does not contain enough visible evidence to check that question.

The revised capture keeps the symbol and interval, shows both sides of the range, and moves the menu away. The uploader opens the saved file and reads the axis before proceeding. This is an illustrative preparation example, not an actual customer result or a claim that the next assessment will be accurate.

Use the prepared image for your first review

After signing in, open the analyzer, select the image and start the analysis. Compare the returned explanation with the instrument, timeframe and structure you can see. If the response identifies a level that you cannot verify, return to the source chart rather than treating the number as established.

The existing free plan currently includes one completed chart analysis per UTC calendar day, resetting at 00:00 UTC. A completed analysis counts; a technical failure does not. Readable supported charts receive BUY or SELL outlooks with reference levels and visible-evidence confidence. Unreadable essential details need a clearer upload. Prepare the image first, then use the allowance for a question the screenshot can actually support.

For the next steps after uploading, read the complete screenshot-analysis walkthrough. When your file passes the checklist, review current signup options and review its reasoning against your own chart. The screenshot is a captured view, not a live feed or an instruction to place a trade.