# Elders Force Index

The developer of this indicator is Alexander Elder, a well-known trader and author of popular books on trading.

The following parameters are evaluated in the Force Index indicator calculation algorithm:

* Direction of price movement
* The amount of price change for a certain period
* Trade volume

The Elder Force Index provides an indication of which direction the market is moving. If the indicator line is in the area above 0 and shows the next maximum, this indicates an upward trend and the dominance of “bulls.” If the Elder’s Force Index falls below 0 and forms local minimums, the market is in a downward trend and “bears” set the tone.<br>

The Force Index indicator is built in a separate window directly below the price chart and consists of one main line and the central level 0.

![](https://s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/euc-cdn.freshdesk.com/data/helpdesk/attachments/production/80118132089/original/_5DaB9zKxlCXfhCkIkzpW5Vm1jsMnQzX_g.png?1656592737)

To improve results, Elder recommended averaging the Force Index values using the Exponential Moving Average (EMA). Therefore, the formula for calculating the indicator values appears as follows:

**FORCE INDEX = EMA ((Pn – P(n-1)) \* VOLUME)**

* **ЕМА** is Exponential Moving Average.
* **Pn** is closing price of the current candle.
* **P(n-1)** is closing price of the previous candle.
* **VOLUME** is volume of the current candle.

## Indicator settings

![](https://s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/euc-cdn.freshdesk.com/data/helpdesk/attachments/production/80118140279/original/SP1ixnvb7KwPPcFvH0uGEQQIlT3JcT_weA.png?1656593604)

#### Parameters

| **Name**   | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                          |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Period     | <p>The time period to be used in the calculation is 13 by default. </p><p>The author recommends using two periods: 2-day for short-term trading, and 13-day for medium-term trading.</p> |
| Type of MA | Defines the type of moving average for calculating the indicator; Elder recommends using Exponential (EMA).                                                                              |
| Source     | <p>The required price type is indicated here. By default, the closing price of candles is used (Close).<br></p>                                                                          |

#### Charts

| **Name**    | **Description**                                  |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Chart       | Enable or disable display of the chart.          |
| Marker      | Enable or disable display of the marker.         |
| Chart type  | Selection of the type of chart.                  |
| Split color | Possibility of splitting the color in the chart. |
| Color       | Selection of the chart color.                    |
| Line width  | Selecting the chart line width.                  |
| Line style  | Selecting the chart line style.                  |

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#### Levels

| **Name** | **Description**                         |
| -------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Levels   | Possibility of creating several levels. |

#### Indicator

| **Name**    | **Description**                                                            |
| ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Indicator   | Enabling or disabling the indicator display on the chart.                  |
| Name        | Enabling or disabling the indicator name display in the information line.  |
| Values      | Enabling or disabling the indicator value display in the information line. |
| Markers     | Enabling or disabling the indicator markers display on the scale.          |
| Calculation | Select when the calculation will be performed.                             |
| Area        | Selection of an area to display the indicator.                             |