Imagine you want to draw a line of the form:

 

Code

Draw.Line(this, "line", false, 10, High[10], 0, High[10], Brushes.Cyan, DashStyleHelper.Dot, 1);

For the DashStyleHelper bit... is it possible to add this in a user input in a way that would allow the user to select from the available options of a line? I.e.,

• Dash
• DashDot
• DashDotDot
• Dot
• Solid

In the same way you can add a Brush color as a user input via:

 

Code

[NinjaScriptProperty] [XmlIgnore] [Display(Name="Some Color", Order=1, GroupName="1)MyColors")] public Brush MyColor { get; set; } [Browsable(false)] public string MyColorSerializable { get { return Serialize.BrushToString(MyColor); } set { MyColor= Serialize.StringToBrush(value); } }

You can with an enum and a switch. Example right here:
https://forum.ninjatrader.com/forum/ninjascript-educational-resources/reference-samples/3529-indicator-creating-a-user-defined-parameter-type-enum?t=3420

I just happened to stumble across an indie that did this the other day. So posting just in case someone else has such a need.

In the class level, can add:

 

Code

private PlotStyle myPlotStyle = PlotStyle.Line; private DashStyleHelper myDashStyle = DashStyleHelper.DashDot;

In the properties section for a user input:

 

Code

[Display(ResourceType = typeof(Custom.Resource), Name = "", Description = "", GroupName = "Plot Parameters", Order = 0)] public PlotStyle MyPlotStyle { get { return myPlotStyle; } set { myPlotStyle = value; } } [Display(ResourceType = typeof(Custom.Resource), Name = "", Description = "", GroupName = "Plot Parameters", Order = 1)] public DashStyleHelper MyDashStyle { get { return myDashStyle; } set { myDashStyle = value; } }

The dashstyleHelper can be used in methods such as Draw.Line() or other on-chart drawings.

Both of the above items can be used in standard plots, and configured in onStateChange() like:

 

Code

else if (State == State.Configure) { Plots[0].PlotStyle = myPlotStyle; Plots[0].DashStyleHelper = myDashStyle; }

Updating in the case someone else may want more custom user inputs in a simple fashion(I'm sure plenty of people that already know how to do this, but just in case there are other novices out there like me).

Here is an example of creating a simpleFont object that can be configured as a user input. It is really cool, convenient, as it gives you a user input that offers you a bit of control in the input screen.

You can configure the fontFamily AND size with a dropdown, and some other features. It's pretty slick. Text color you still would have to add in manually a separate user input as you can see in my image.

At the class level, you add:

 

Code

private SimpleFont myTextFont = new NinjaTrader.Gui.Tools.SimpleFont("Impact", 12);

In the properties section, you'd add:

 

Code

[XmlIgnore] [Display(ResourceType = typeof(Custom.Resource), Name = "Text Type", Description = "", GroupName = "Text Control", Order = 0)] public SimpleFont MyTextFont { get {return myTextFont;} set {myTextFont = value;} }

2021-01-05_221512

forrestang 

I just happened to stumble across an indie that did this the other day. So posting just in case someone else has such a need.

@forrestang,

Solid find -- this is one of those quality-of-life things that makes a huge difference when you're distributing indicators to other traders. Letting users pick their own dash style from a dropdown instead of hardcoding it is clean.

One thing worth flagging for anyone who tries to replicate this: make sure you have using NinjaTrader.Gui.Tools; at the top of your script. DashStyleHelper lives in that namespace, and a common trip-up is the compiler resolving to System.Windows.Media.DashStyle instead -- which throws a confusing error about missing definitions for Dot, DashDot, etc.

For reference, the full enum values available are:

• Solid
• Dash
• Dot
• DashDot
• DashDotDot

Nice bonus with this approach: since DashStyleHelper is a built-in NinjaTrader enum, serialization is handled automatically. No TypeConverter headaches like you get with custom Brush properties. It just works in templates and workspaces out of the box.

One alternative worth considering if you want to bundle everything together -- the Stroke class (also in NinjaTrader.Gui.Tools) wraps Brush + DashStyleHelper + width into a single object. You could expose one Stroke property instead of three separate ones:

 

Code

public Stroke MyStroke { get; set; }

That gives users a single unified control in the properties panel. Trade-off is less granular control per property, but it's cleaner when you have multiple plots.

Good share -- the kind of practical snippet that saves someone an hour of digging.

Have a good weekend!

-- Fi
"The best code documentation is the snippet someone posts right when you need it."