--- title: "Chart timeframes: what they are and how to change them" slug: "chart-timeframes" kind: "HELP_ARTICLE" category: "charts" locale: "en" canonical: "https://app.forecastcity.com/help/charts/chart-timeframes" published: "2026-10-10T00:29:48.271Z" updated: "2026-10-10T00:29:48.271Z" description: "Change the timeframe of a 4CM-AI chart from 1m to M, add timeframe buttons to the toolbar, change every chart at once and see each timeframe's forecast." --- # Chart timeframes: what they are and how to change them A chart's timeframe decides how much time each candle covers, from one minute to one month. Changing it takes one click. You can step back to see the trend on the daily chart, then return to the detail on 15m. The forecast panel beside the chart has one line per timeframe, with its direction and its pivot. You read every timeframe there without switching the chart. This guide explains what each timeframe shows and how to change it. It also shows how to add your favourite timeframes to the toolbar and how to change every chart of a layout at once. ## What a timeframe shows Each candle on the chart covers one period of the chart's timeframe. On the 1h chart, one candle covers one hour, for example from 10:00 to 11:00. The candle opens at the first price of that hour and closes at the last price. 4CM-AI Charts offers nine timeframes:
TimeframeOne candle covers
1mone minute
5mfive minutes
15m15 minutes
30m30 minutes
1hone hour
4hfour hours
Done day
Wone week
Mone month
A small m means minutes and a capital M means a month. So 1m is one minute, and M is one month. A higher timeframe shows the main direction and the big levels. A lower timeframe shows the detail of the last hours. Many traders look at a higher timeframe first, then at lower timeframes for the detail. ## Change the timeframe of a chart 1. If the page shows several charts, click the chart you want to change. The active chart has a blue frame. 2. In the top toolbar, click a timeframe button, for example **1h**. The **1h** button turns white, and the chart now shows one candle per hour. 3. For a timeframe that has no button, rest the mouse on the small arrow to the right of the buttons. The list of every timeframe opens. Click the timeframe you want. ![The chart of BTCUSD on the 1h timeframe, with its forecast and the list of every timeframe open. Marker 1 points at the timeframe buttons in the top toolbar and marker 2 at the small arrow beside them. Marker 3 points at the empty star of 5m in the list and marker 4 at the chart's label, BTCUSD 1h.](https://m.forecastcity.com/t/tnt_forecastcity/media/74/740a2184446a256b667ae9cddb94de267e34cfdc4200a30be42916751ef4390a.png) BTCUSD on the 1h timeframe, with the list of every timeframe open. 1. The timeframe buttons, on the left of the top toolbar. The button of the chart's timeframe, here **1h**, is white. 2. The small arrow: rest the mouse on it to open the list of every timeframe, from 1m to M. 3. The star beside each timeframe: click it to add the timeframe to the toolbar buttons. Then you can pick it with one click. 4. The chart's label: the symbol and the chart's timeframe, here **BTCUSD** and **1h**. The chart's label stays on the chart while you work. Read it to see the timeframe of each chart, also when several charts share the page. ## Add your favourite timeframes to the toolbar At first, the toolbar has buttons for D, 4h, 1h, 30m and 15m. You choose which timeframes get a button. 1. Rest the mouse on the small arrow to the right of the timeframe buttons. The list of every timeframe opens. 2. Click the empty star beside a timeframe, for example **W**. The star turns yellow, and a **W** button appears on the toolbar. 3. To remove a button, click the yellow star beside its timeframe. The buttons always run from the highest timeframe to the lowest. Your choice is saved with your account, so the same buttons show on every computer you sign in from. ## Each timeframe has its own forecast 4CastMachine AI has a separate forecast for each timeframe from 5m to M. When you change the timeframe of a chart, the chart shows the forecast of its new timeframe: the arrows and the zones. The lowest timeframe that 4CastMachine AI forecasts is 5m for forex, and 15m for cryptocurrencies, commodities and indices. In the near future, every market will have forecasts down to the 1m timeframe. The forecast panel, titled **4CastMachine AI**, has one row for each of these eight timeframes. Each row gives the direction and the pivot of its forecast, for example **Bearish below 83287.11** on 1h. At first, the chart draws only the forecast of its own timeframe. The row of that timeframe has a ring around its timeframe. Click the row of another timeframe to add that timeframe's technical lines to the chart. Its timeframe gets a ring too. Click the row again to hide them. The arrows and zones of a timeframe show only on a chart of that timeframe. When you change the chart's timeframe, the rows you clicked are cleared. Then only the row of the new timeframe has a ring. ![The 4CastMachine AI panel beside the BTCUSD 1h chart, with one row per timeframe from 5m to M. Marker 1 points at the 1h row, whose timeframe has a ring. Marker 2 points at the 4h row and marker 3 at the M row, which reads No forecast.](https://m.forecastcity.com/t/tnt_forecastcity/media/d9/d9ada45ace8f6bc8226af4b1520105bd2406acdcc9e576e4d29706bb7a3f3bc4.png) The forecast panel beside the BTCUSD 1h chart. 1. **1h**: the row of the chart's own timeframe. Its ring shows that the chart draws its forecast. 2. **4h**: click this row to add the 4h technical lines to the 1h chart. Click it again to hide them. 3. **No forecast**: this timeframe of BTCUSD has no forecast at the moment. ## Change every chart of a layout at once A layout can hold several charts, and each chart keeps its own timeframe. A click on a timeframe button changes only the active chart, the one with the blue frame. To give every chart the same timeframe with one click, switch on **Interval** in the **Chart Layout** menu. In that menu, **Interval** means the timeframe. 1. In the top toolbar, click the **Chart Layout** icon. Its picture shows your current layout. Rest the mouse on it to see its name. 2. At the bottom of the menu, under **SYNC IN LAYOUT**, switch on **Interval**. 3. Click a timeframe button. Every chart of the layout changes to that timeframe. ![The Chart Layout menu with the layouts for one to nine charts and, at the bottom, the switches under SYNC IN LAYOUT. Marker 1 points at the Interval switch, which is off.](https://m.forecastcity.com/t/tnt_forecastcity/media/2e/2e77a553935a335b41c52a32ec36f91fc406ec33238a8f4301826044f92bb4b8.png) The Chart Layout menu, with every switch under SYNC IN LAYOUT off. 1. **Interval**: switch it on to give every chart of the layout the timeframe you click. Switch **Interval** off again when you want to change one chart at a time. ## Good to know - You can undo a timeframe change. Press `Ctrl+Z`, or click the undo arrow to the right of the timeframe buttons. - When you choose a layout with more charts, the new charts open on the symbol of the active chart, on the next lower timeframes. From a 1h chart, three new charts open on 30m, 15m and 5m. With **Interval** switched on, they open on the timeframe of the active chart. - On a phone, the top toolbar has no timeframe buttons. Tap the timeframe beside the symbol name at the top left of the chart, then pick a timeframe from the list that opens. - On forex pairs, a daily candle runs from 17:00 to 17:00 New York time, like the forex trading day. The same holds for gold, silver, oil and natural gas. On cryptocurrencies, a daily candle runs from 00:00 to 00:00 UTC.