Keep the symbol, timeframe, price axis and recent swings in the image. Export the chart directly when possible. Before using the report, compare its quoted prices and timeframe with the original.
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What needs to stay in the screenshot
A tight crop makes a chart look clean. It can also remove the only clues that tell a reader what the candles mean. A move from 100 to 105 on a daily chart asks a different question from the same move on a one-minute chart.
Before uploading, check these six details. They give the reader enough context to work with and make the result easier to verify.
| Keep visible | Why it changes the read |
|---|---|
| Symbol and venue | A stock, a spot pair and a perpetual contract are different instruments, even when their names look similar. |
| Timeframe | The candle interval gives each swing a timescale. Keep the chart’s 1H, 4H or 1D label. |
| Price axis and scale | Without readable prices, a drawn level is a location on an image, not a verified order price. Note logarithmic or percentage scales. |
| Time axis | Dates help distinguish a current setup from a historical example. A screenshot is not a live feed. |
| Recent swings | Show the move into the current area and the nearby high and low. A handful of candles may hide the range. |
| Indicator labels | If you want an RSI or moving average discussed, keep its panel, name and settings readable. |
For futures, keep the contract month or continuous-contract label too. The oil contract-roll example shows how two months can trade at different prices at the same time. Joining them can leave a step that a tightly cropped image cannot explain.
Export the chart before reaching for your camera
Use the platform’s own image export where available. It avoids reflections, a tilted screen and text softened by photographing a monitor.
TradingView’s snapshot instructions describe the camera button in the upper toolbar. Save the image, then open it once to check the axes survived. Our TradingView chart analysis page explains the screenshot workflow in TradeGPT; no account integration is needed.
On MetaTrader 5 desktop, use File → Save As Picture or the chart’s context menu. Clear “Post image online” to save locally. Choose the active chart rather than the whole workspace when extra panels make labels too small. This is a built-in feature documented in MetaTrader’s chart guide. Menu placement can differ on mobile or other versions.
If you take a device screenshot instead, crop away the order ticket, account balance and unrelated windows. Leave the chart labels intact. Removing private details is useful even when they have no role in the analysis.
Make the labels readable at ordinary size
Open the saved image without zooming. Can you read the last price and the timeframe? If the answer is no, use a larger chart pane or hide an indicator you are not asking about. Stacking six charts into one image saves space while making each one harder to interpret.
A few relevant drawings can help. A screen full of overlapping labels can hide candle bodies and wicks. Keep the lines needed for your question and remove duplicates. Color alone is a weak label: a green curve might be an average, an indicator or your own drawing.
There is no universal ideal candle count. Show enough history to see the setup’s surrounding swings, then keep the text large enough to read. If context and detail cannot fit in one view, prepare a separate higher-timeframe chart using the multi-timeframe workflow.
Do one check before reading the whole report
Find the first price quoted in the result and locate it on the original chart. Then check the timeframe. A wrong starting price can make an otherwise polished explanation unusable.
For a hypothetical chart with a last price of 105.20, a report that starts at 150.20 has failed this check. Do not try to rescue its targets by moving a decimal. Export a clearer image and review the next result from the beginning.
Image models can misread small text, chart styles and spatial relationships. OpenAI’s image-input documentation lists these as limitations of visual interpretation. That documentation describes ChatGPT; it is a useful reason to verify image-based analysis, not a benchmark of TradeGPT’s accuracy.
Once the basic observations match, review the levels and competing scenarios. The TradeGPT sample report shows the format before you upload anything. Analysis of your own chart requires a subscription; current plans are on pricing.
Your chart. A more structured read.
See how TradeGPT turns a chart screenshot into levels, competing scenarios and an execution plan. Start with the full sample, then bring your own chart.
The sample is open to everyone. Analyzing your own chart requires a subscription.
Sources & further reading
References checked September 8, 2026. Price examples and diagrams in this guide are hypothetical.