EFI (Elder's Force Index)¶
What it shows: the force behind price moves: price change times volume, smoothed. Above zero, buyers are pushing.
How people use it: crossing above zero is a buy sign; below zero a sell sign. Often used to time entries in the direction of a bigger trend.
Pairs well with: a long moving average for the main trend.
Settings¶
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 13 | Smoothing. Shorter flips around zero more often. |
You set the defaults on the Indicators page. A condition can use its own settings, which override the defaults for that condition only.
Ready-made conditions¶
| For | Condition | Fires when |
|---|---|---|
| Buy | EFI crosses above zero | the one candle EFI moves from below 0 to above it |
| Buy | EFI above zero | every candle EFI is above 0 |
| Sell | EFI crosses below zero | the one candle EFI moves from above 0 to below it |
| Sell | EFI below zero | every candle EFI is below 0 |
"Above", "below", "is" and "rising" / "falling" stay true on every candle the state lasts, so they can fire many candles in a row. "Crosses" and "flips" fire once, on the candle it happens, so you get one signal per move.
Warnings you may see¶
- "It can never be true: a cross happens on one candle, so it cannot happen on N candles in a row. Use 'within the last N candles' instead.": a "crosses" condition with a "… in a row" lookback of 2 or more. Switch the lookback to Within the last.
- "Length must be between 1 and 1000" / "Length must be a whole number": shown in the condition editor when a condition's own value is out of range. Fix the number; the condition can't be saved until then.
Where they show: on the Strategies page, open Create entry conditions / Edit entry conditions (or the exit ones). Each condition's messages appear right under it. The setting messages ("must be between", "whole number", "must be one of", "must be smaller than") start with the indicator's short name, for example "MACD: Fast must be between 1 and 1000", and keep the conditions from being saved until fixed. The other warnings never block saving and are repeated in the strategy's Entry or Exit section, starting with the condition's name.
Good to know¶
- It is worked out from closing prices and volume. Because it uses volume, on On candle touch it reads the last closed candle (the forming candle's volume is not known yet).
- Values depend on volume and price; use the zero line.
- It needs some history before its value settles: 3 × the length + 1 candles (40 at length 13). Apathia loads that history for you.