Level Segment

Traditional charting tools offer two extremes for horizontal levels: a Horizontal Line that spans the entire history and future of the chart infinitely, and a Horizontal Ray that projects forward indefinitely from an anchor bar. However, in market microstructure, the vast majority of price levels aretemporally bounded.

A high or low established during the Asian trading session matters during that session and into the London open, but by the New York afternoon or next week, its relevance is typically exhausted. Similarly, anInitial Balance (the first hour's range in auction market theory) or a pre-market consolidation level applies specifically to that day's session. Drawing an infinite horizontal line for every intraday level rapidly clutters the chart with obsolete lines from weeks ago.

Previously, traders resorted to flattening a rectangle drawing to zero height as a workaround. However, a flattened box is not a true price level: it lacks an axis price readout, hit-tests clumsily as a 2D polygon, and provides the wrong styling controls. The Level Segment provides a native, first-class solution: a genuine price level that begins on one bar and terminates cleanly on another.

The Level Segment tool requires 2 clicks. The first click establishes the Level start, fixing both the price level and the starting time coordinate. The second click establishes theLevel end, defining where the level ceases to apply.

Only the first anchor carries an independent price coordinate. The second anchor exists solely for itstime. To enforce this geometric constraint, the far end is equipped with an intelligentcompound handle:

• Dragging the end handle horizontally changes where the segment stops (adjusting its duration without altering the price level).
• Dragging the end handle vertically moves the entire price level up or down (keeping both ends locked at the exact same horizontal price).
• Dragging the line body translates both the time window and price level simultaneously.

Either end can also be opened out to the chart edge via the style popup. This lets you convert a segment into a ray or a full horizontal line without having to delete the drawing and switch tools.

The Level Segment style popup provides controls tailored specifically to bounded horizontal levels:

Session High/Low Mapping: In 24-hour markets (such as FX, Crypto, and Index Futures), each trading session has its own character. Professional traders mark the Asian Session High/Low (00:00\u201308:00 UTC) using Level Segments. During the London session, these segments serve as primary targets for liquidity sweeps (Judas Swings) before the true directional trend begins.

Initial Balance (IB) Tracking: In Auction Market Theory (Market Profile), the Initial Balance is the high and low established during the regular session's first 60 minutes. Drawing Level Segments across this window highlights whether the market develops into a normal day (trading inside IB) or a trend day (breaking and expanding beyond IB).

Order Block & FVG Lifespans: In Smart Money Concepts (SMC), institutional order blocks and Fair Value Gaps have an active lifespan. Once price enters the zone and mitigates it, the level is spent. A Level Segment allows you to record where the level held and terminate it at the candle where mitigation occurred.

1. 1
   Select Level Segment

   Click Level Segment in the Lines toolbar menu or use shortcut Alt+L.
2. 2
   Click the start pivot

   Click at the price and bar where the level begins (e.g. session open or swing extreme).
3. 3
   Click the termination point

   Click on the bar where the level ends (e.g. session close or breakout bar). The line remains perfectly horizontal.
4. 4
   Adjust boundaries

   Drag the end handle left or right to lengthen or shorten the time window, or drag vertically to fine-tune the price.
5. 5
   Configure styling

   Set color, line weight, and label readouts via the floating popup.

• Price respecting a level segment multiple times confirms strong responsive buying or selling during that specific market regime.
• A clean breakout through a level segment with consecutive closes beyond it signals initiative activity and regime transition.
• Because the line terminates cleanly, your historical charts remain uncluttered by obsolete levels when scrolling back to analyze higher-timeframe structure.

Prior-Day Value Area Brackets: Draw three Level Segments across the current day's trading hours: one for Value Area High (VAH), one for Point of Control (POC), and one for Value Area Low (VAL). This gives you clear session reference levels without cluttering tomorrow's chart.

Mitigation Termination: When price returns to test an old supply/demand zone, drag the end handle of your Level Segment to the exact bar of the test. This creates a historical record of the level and signifies that the liquidity has been absorbed.

• 1.Mind Over Markets: Power Trading with Market Generated Information — James F. Dalton
• 2.Steidlmayer on Markets: A New Approach to Trading — J. Peter Steidlmayer
• 3.Level Segment Drawing Tool — TradingView Help
• 4.Session Trading Strategies in Forex and Futures — Investopedia