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Bollinger Bands Formula (Chart Controls)

  • Article

The Bollinger Bands formula calculates the standard deviation above and below a simple moving average of the data. Since standard deviation is a measure of volatility, a large standard deviation indicates a volatile market, and a smaller standard deviation indicates a calmer market.

Sample plot of the Bollinger Bands

Formula Details

Syntax

Chart.DataManipulator.FinancialFormula(
    FinancialFormula.BollingerBands,
    "Period,StdDev",
    "Price",
    "UpperBand,LowerBand")

Parameters

This formula takes two required parameters.

  • Period
    Period for calculating the moving average for the Bollinger Bands.
  • StdDev
    The number of standard deviations for calculating the upper and lower bands.

Input Values

This formula takes one input Y value.

  • Price
    The price for which the Bollinger Bands are calculated.

Output Value

This formula outputs two Y values.

  • UpperBand
    Upper Bollinger Band.
  • LowerBand
    Lower Bollinger Band.

Remarks

The Range chart type is a convenient chart type to display the formula output. You can also use the Line chart type to display the upper envelope and lower envelope as two data series.

Example

The following example takes input from Series1's second Y value (Series1:Y2) and outputs the Bollinger Bands on Series2 (Series2:Y, Series2:Y2). It specifies a period of 20 days and takes two standard deviations.

Chart1.DataManipulator.FinancialFormula (FinancialFormula.BollingerBands, "20,2", "Series1:Y2", "Series2:Y,Series2:Y2")

Chart1.DataManipulator.FinancialFormula (FinancialFormula.BollingerBands, "20,2", "Series1:Y2", "Series2:Y,Series2:Y2");

See Also

Reference

System.Windows.Forms.DataVisualization.Charting
System.Web.UI.DataVisualization.Charting

Concepts

Financial Formulas
Applying Formulas