What you will learn in this lesson
- Add a text note directly onto a TradingView chart
- Understand the difference between a simple text label and a callout with a pointer
- See how text notes can function as a visual trading diary alongside a chart
- Understand how this closes out the module's core drawing toolkit
- Preview how these drawings carry forward once layouts are covered in Module 7
Every drawing tool covered so far in this module - trend lines, horizontal lines, Fibonacci retracement, channels, rectangles - marks something about price. This final lesson in the module covers a tool that marks something about your own thinking: the text note.
Adding a Text Note
The text tool sits in the same left-hand drawing tools panel used throughout this module, typically grouped under a “Text” category. Using it is simple: select the tool, click anywhere on the chart, and type whatever note you want to leave - a reminder, an observation, a piece of reasoning worth remembering later.
Plain Labels vs Callouts
TradingView offers a couple of variations on this same idea:
- A plain text label simply floats wherever it’s placed on the chart - useful for a general note not tied to one exact point.
- A callout adds a visual pointer or line connecting the text to a specific candle or price point - useful when you want to clearly indicate exactly what the note refers to.
Plain Label: Callout:
"Watched this zone "Broke resistance here" ────┐
all week" │
(floats freely) ●───┘
(points to an exact candle)Text Notes as a Visual Trading Diary
Writing a note directly on the chart keeps your reasoning attached to the exact price context it refers to - far more useful, for later review, than jotting the same thought in a separate, disconnected document with no visual reference back to what the chart actually looked like at the time. This isn’t a replacement for a more structured trading journal (covered fully in Module 13) - it’s a lightweight, visual complement to it.
Real-Life Example: Annotating a Learning Chart
Suppose a learner following this course opens a Nifty 50 chart and, as they work through each lesson, adds a short text note next to relevant points - “Lesson 14: marked as support here,” “Lesson 15: 61.8% Fib level,” “Lesson 9: this candle’s a clear bullish signal.” Weeks later, revisiting that same chart, these notes act as a personal, visual record of exactly what was being practiced and where - reinforcing the concepts far more concretely than re-reading the lessons alone would.
Analogy: Sticky Notes on a Map
Think of text notes like sticky notes placed directly on a paper map, right at the spot they refer to - “great viewpoint here,” “road closed last time” - rather than keeping that same information in a separate notebook with no visual connection to the map itself. The map (the chart) stays the primary reference, but the sticky notes (text annotations) add exactly the context needed, exactly where it’s needed.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Over-annotating every single drawing, cluttering the chart until it becomes harder to read rather than more useful.
- Writing notes too small or in a color that blends into the chart, making them easy to miss later.
- Treating chart annotations as a full substitute for a proper trading journal. They’re a helpful complement, covered alongside the journal habit in Module 13.
- Forgetting notes are tied to a specific chart/symbol unless saved as part of a layout (Module 7).
Practical Tips
- Use text notes sparingly, reserved for genuinely useful reminders or reasoning, rather than annotating every single drawing on the chart.
- Consider referencing specific lessons or concepts in your notes while working through this course, as a way of reinforcing what you’re learning against a real chart.
- Keep this module’s full toolkit - trend lines, horizontal lines, Fibonacci retracement, channels, rectangles, text notes - in mind going forward; the next module builds an entirely new layer on top of it: indicators.
Practical Exercise
- Revisit a trend line, horizontal line, or Fibonacci retracement drawn earlier in this module, and add a short text note nearby explaining, in your own words, why you drew it there.
- Pick one moment on a chart where price did something you found surprising or instructive, and add a text annotation describing what happened and what you'd watch for if it happened again.
Mini Quiz
1. What does the text tool on TradingView allow you to do?
The text tool lets you type any custom, freeform note and place it anywhere on the chart - there's no fixed template; the content is entirely up to the trader.
2. What is the main difference between a plain text label and a callout?
A callout adds a visual pointer or line connecting the written text to a specific candle or price point, useful when you want to clearly indicate exactly what the note refers to, unlike a plain floating text label.
3. Why might a trader use text notes as part of a trading diary directly on the chart?
Writing a note directly on the chart keeps the reasoning attached to the exact price context it refers to - useful for later review, though it doesn't replace a more structured trading journal, covered later in this course.
4. Can text notes be edited or removed after being added?
Text notes behave like other drawing tools on TradingView - clicking on one typically allows it to be edited, repositioned, or deleted whenever needed.
5. What does this lesson say happens to text notes and other drawings once layouts are covered in Module 7?
Module 7 covers saving chart layouts, which preserves drawings (including text notes) as part of that saved setup - meaning the annotations made in this module don't need to be redrawn from scratch every time the chart is reopened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find the text tool on TradingView?
It's in the same left-hand drawing tools panel used throughout this module, typically grouped under a "Text" category alongside a few related annotation options like callouts and notes.
Can I change the font size or color of a text note?
Yes - clicking on an existing text note typically opens style settings allowing adjustments to size, color, and sometimes background, similar to customizing other drawing tools covered earlier in this module.
Is there a limit to how much text can go in one note?
Practically, very long text can become hard to read directly on a chart, so most traders keep individual notes short and add multiple separate notes rather than one very long block of text.
Can text notes be attached to a specific candle, so they move if the chart scrolls?
Yes, particularly with the callout-style annotation, which anchors to a specific point - this keeps the note connected to the exact price context it refers to, even as you scroll or zoom the chart.
Do text notes serve any purpose beyond personal reference?
For an individual trader, they're primarily a personal reference and self-review tool - useful for the kind of ongoing self-review Module 13 covers with trading journals, applied directly on the chart itself.
Should every single drawing tool used earlier in this module also get a text note?
Not necessarily - text notes are most useful for the moments or decisions genuinely worth remembering or reviewing later, rather than annotating every single trend line or horizontal line drawn.
Is this the last drawing tool covered in this course?
It's the last one covered in this dedicated Drawing Tools module. Module 5 shifts focus to indicators, a different category of chart tool built from calculations rather than manual drawing.
Can text notes be a helpful learning tool while still working through the rest of this course?
Yes - many learners find it useful to annotate a chart with notes referencing specific lessons (like "Lesson 14 - marked as resistance here") as a way of reinforcing what a concept looks like in a real, current chart.
Do text notes carry forward if I switch to a different chart or symbol?
No - drawings including text notes are tied to the specific chart/symbol they were added to, unless saved and reloaded as part of a layout or template, covered in Module 7.
What comes next after this module?
Module 5 - Indicators - the largest module in this course, covering what an indicator is and then working through eight commonly used ones, from moving averages through to volume.
Key Takeaways
- The text tool lets you type a custom, freeform note anywhere on a chart - useful for capturing reasoning or observations directly alongside the price context they relate to.
- A callout adds a visual pointer connecting text to a specific point on the chart, while a plain label simply floats wherever placed.
- Text notes can function as a lightweight, visual trading diary, though they don't replace the more structured trading journal habit covered later in this course.
- Like other drawing tools, text notes can be edited, repositioned, or deleted at any time.
- Drawings including text notes can be preserved as part of a saved chart layout, covered next in Module 7.
Conclusion
Text notes and callouts close out this module's core drawing toolkit - trend lines, horizontal lines, Fibonacci retracement, channels, rectangles, and now written annotations, all working together to turn a plain price chart into a genuinely useful visual workspace. The next module shifts to an entirely different category of chart tool: indicators, calculations plotted directly on the chart rather than drawn by hand.