Settings

Axiom BB Pro has roughly 200 input fields. That sounds overwhelming, and it would be — if you needed to care about all of them at once. You do not.

Written By Axiom Admin

Last updated About 1 month ago

Settings

Axiom BB Pro has roughly 200 input fields. That sounds overwhelming, and it would be — if you needed to care about all of them at once. You do not.

The settings are organized into 10 identical slot groups (BB 01 through BB 10), each controlling one independent Bollinger Band setup, followed by a blended band section. Every slot shares the same structure. Once you understand one slot, you understand all ten.

This page walks through the settings in three tiers based on when they actually matter:

Tier 1 — Core slot settings. These are the decisions that shape what the indicator does. You will touch these first and revisit them most often.
Tier 2 — Specialized settings. These refine the character of each slot. You will reach for them once you are actively configuring a slot for a specific purpose.
Tier 3 — Power User parameters. These are completely inert unless you change the MA type away from SMA. If you have not changed the MA type, you can ignore this entire tier.

After the per-slot tiers, there is a section on the blended band settings, which are short and separate.

How the slot groups work

There are 10 slots: BB 01 through BB 10. Each slot is a self-contained Bollinger Band that can have its own timeframe, symbol, MA type, length, deviation multiplier, line width, and weight in the blended band. Plot colors are fixed per slot rather than user-configurable.

Slots 1–3 are enabled by default, set to the 5-minute, 15-minute, and 60-minute timeframes. Slots 4–10 are disabled by default. You do not need to use all 10. Most setups work well with 2 to 4 active slots.

Every slot has the same settings in the same order. The tables below describe the settings once — they apply identically to all 10 slots, with only the defaults for timeframe, blended weight, and fixed plot colors differing across slots.

Tier 1 — Core slot settings

These are the settings that determine what each slot does, where it looks, and how it contributes to the overall picture. Start here.

Enable


Label	Enable BB XX
Default	Slots 1–3: on / Slots 4–10: off
What it does	Turns the entire slot on or off. When off, the slot does not compute, does not draw, and does not contribute to the blend.
When to change	When you want to add or remove a timeframe layer.
Tradeoff	More enabled slots means more visual information but also more chart noise and a more diluted blend. Enable a slot when you have a reason for it, not just because the slot exists.

Timeframe


Label	TimeFrame
Default	Slot 1: `5` / Slot 2: `15` / Slot 3: `60` / Slots 4–10: `""` (chart timeframe)
What it does	Sets the timeframe context for the BB calculation. The BB is computed on candles of this timeframe, not the chart timeframe.
Constraint	Must be greater than or equal to the chart timeframe. If you set a slot to a timeframe lower than your chart, the indicator throws a runtime error and stops loading. This is enforced, not optional.
When to change	When you want to add BB context from a different timeframe — for example, a 4-hour BB on a 15-minute chart.
Tradeoff	Setting a timeframe only slightly above the chart (like a 2-minute slot on a 1-minute chart) gives almost no new information. The BB will look nearly identical to a chart-timeframe BB. Choose timeframes with enough separation to produce visibly different structure.

On Bar Close


Label	On Bar Close?
Default	On (true)
What it does	Controls whether the BB values reflect the last completed HTF candle (on) or the building HTF candle (off).
When to change	When you specifically want to see how the bands shift as the HTF candle develops — and you accept that this view is provisional and not safe for backtesting.
Tradeoff	This is the most consequential setting in the indicator. With On Bar Close on, the bands use the last completed bar from the slot's timeframe. Historical bars match what was visible live. If the slot timeframe equals the chart timeframe, that still means a one-bar-lag confirmed view rather than the live bar. With On Bar Close off, the bands update every chart bar during the HTF candle. They feel more responsive, but what you see during the candle may differ from what settles. Historical bars show only the settled value, not the provisional one. Any backtest done with this setting off is showing you results that overstate what was knowable at the time.
Recommendation	Leave it on unless you have a specific, understood reason to turn it off. See MTF & Repainting for the full explanation.

Blended Weight


Label	Blended Weight
Default	Slots 1–3: `33.3` / Slots 4–10: `0`
What it does	Sets this slot's proportional influence on the blended band.
How it works	Weights are normalized — they do not need to sum to 100. If two slots have weights of 60 and 40, they contribute 60% and 40% to the blend. If three slots each have weight 33.3, they contribute equally. Setting a weight to 0 removes the slot from the blend calculation while keeping it visible on-chart.
When to change	When you want the blend to emphasize certain timeframes more than others — for instance, weighting the higher-timeframe slot more heavily so the blend reflects longer-term structure.
Tradeoff	Changing one weight changes the relative influence of every other weight. If you set Slot 3 to 80 and leave Slots 1 and 2 at 33.3 each, the blend is now dominated by Slot 3. This is fine if that is what you want, but it means the blend stops being a balanced middle ground and starts being "mostly the 60m BB plus a little noise from the lower timeframes." Be intentional about what the blend represents after you adjust weights.

Hide Plot


Label	Hide BB XX Plot
Default	Off (false)
What it does	Removes the slot's lines from the chart without removing it from the blend calculation. The slot still computes, still contributes to the blended band (if enabled and weight > 0), but its individual lines are invisible.
When to change	When you want a slot to influence the blend but you do not want it cluttering the chart.
Critical detail	This is the most commonly misunderstood interaction in the indicator. Hiding a slot is not the same as disabling it. If a slot is enabled, has weight > 0, and is hidden, it still shapes the blended band. If the blend looks different from what you expect based on the visible slots, check whether a hidden slot is contributing. See also: FAQ — If I hide a slot, does it still affect the blend?

Optional Ticker


Label	Optional Ticker
Default	Empty (uses chart symbol)
What it does	When set to a valid symbol (like `SPY`, `ES1!`, `BTCUSD`), the BB is calculated from that symbol's data instead of the chart symbol's data. The resulting band values are then scaled into the chart symbol's price space using a close ratio.
When to change	When you want to overlay a reference instrument's volatility structure onto your chart. For example, seeing where SPY's 60-minute BB sits relative to a single stock's price.
Tradeoff	The cross-ticker scaling is an approximation. It projects the reference symbol's BB values into chart price space by multiplying them by the ratio of the two symbols' closes. This works well when the two instruments move in loose proportion. It becomes less stable when the close ratio between them shifts quickly or diverges significantly. Do not treat cross-ticker band levels as precise support/resistance — they are structural context, not exact levels.
Dependency	The scaling ratio respects the On Bar Close setting. If On Bar Close is on, the ratio uses confirmed closes. If off, it uses live values and inherits the same provisional/repaint risk.
Error case	If the ticker string is invalid or the symbol has no data, the slot's bands will show as `na` (no plot). There is no error message — the bands just disappear.

Tier 2 — Specialized settings

These settings refine how a slot's BB behaves. You will reach for them when you are deliberately shaping a slot for a particular purpose — not during first setup.

Length


Label	Length
Default	`20`
What it does	Sets the lookback period for both the basis moving average and the standard deviation calculation.
When to change	When you want a tighter or looser BB response. Shorter lengths make the bands more reactive to recent price action. Longer lengths make them smoother and slower to respond to regime changes.
Tradeoff	Very short lengths (under 10) make the bands erratic — they whip with every few bars, and the standard deviation fluctuates so much that the bands lose their structural meaning. Very long lengths (over 50) make the bands so smooth that they barely respond to real volatility shifts, which can make regime changes invisible until they are well underway. The standard 20 is a reasonable starting point for most timeframes.

StdDev Multiplier


Label	StdDev Mult
Default	`2.0`
What it does	Controls how wide the bands are relative to the basis. A multiplier of 2.0 means the upper band sits 2 standard deviations above the basis and the lower band sits 2 standard deviations below.
When to change	When you want to capture more or less of the price distribution within the bands. A lower multiplier (like 1.5) pulls the bands closer to the basis — price will touch or exceed them more often. A higher multiplier (like 2.5 or 3.0) pushes them further out — only larger moves will reach the bands.
Tradeoff	Very low multipliers (under 1.0) make the bands hug the basis so tightly that they become a second moving average rather than a volatility envelope. Very high multipliers make the bands so wide that price almost never reaches them, which makes them irrelevant as a structural reference. Neither extreme is "wrong," but both are far from the standard BB behavior most traders have intuition about.

MA Type


Label	Type
Default	`SMA` (Simple Moving Average)
What it does	Sets the moving average algorithm used for the basis line. The basis is the center of the BB — everything else (upper band, lower band, standard deviation) is computed relative to it.
Available options	The dropdown lists all MA types supported by the Axiom Moving Average Library. Common choices include SMA, EMA, WMA, VWMA, ALMA, KAMA, FRAMA, and others.
When to change	When you want the basis to respond differently to price. An EMA weights recent bars more heavily, so the basis tracks price more closely. An ALMA can produce a smoother basis with reduced lag. A KAMA adapts its smoothing based on market noise.
Tradeoff	Changing the MA type changes the character of the entire BB. The standard deviation is still computed against the same source series, but the basis shifts, which shifts the bands. If you switch to a fast-tracking MA type like EMA, the bands will be tighter and more reactive — basis crosses happen more often, and the bands hug price more closely. If you switch to a heavily smoothed type, they will be wider and slower — basis crosses are less frequent but carry more weight when they happen. Switching without understanding what the new MA type does to the basis means the bands will respond in ways you did not anticipate, and debugging unexpected behavior on a changed MA type is harder than it sounds because the change affects everything at once.
Dependency	Changing the MA type away from SMA activates Tier 3 (Power User) parameters specific to that MA type. See below.

Source


Label	Source
Default	`close`
What it does	Sets which price series feeds the BB calculation. The standard BB uses the close price.
When to change	Rarely. Advanced users might use `hl2` (midpoint of high and low), `hlc3` (average of high, low, close), or `ohlc4` for a smoother basis that incorporates intrabar range.
Tradeoff	Non-standard sources change band width in ways that are hard to compare across slots. If Slot 1 uses `close` and Slot 2 uses `hlc3`, the bands are not measuring the same thing even if all other settings match. This is not inherently wrong, but it adds a dimension of difference that is easy to forget about when reading the chart.

Line Width


Label	Line Width
Default	`2`
What it does	Sets the visual thickness of the slot's plot lines.
When to change	Personal preference. Thicker lines for slots you want to stand out; thinner lines for slots you want to recede.
Tradeoff	None meaningful.

Tier 3 — Power User parameters

These settings are completely inert unless you change the MA Type away from SMA.

If you are using the default SMA basis, you can skip this entire section. The parameters exist, but they do nothing until their associated MA type is selected. This is not a bug — it is by design. The settings only activate when they are relevant.

When you change a slot's MA type to one of the specialized algorithms, the corresponding parameters become live:

ALMA parameters (active when Type = ALMA)

Setting	Default	What it controls
ALMA Offset	`0.85`	Position of the Gaussian center. Higher values shift weight toward more recent bars. Lower values shift toward older bars.
ALMA Sigma	`6.0`	Width of the Gaussian curve. Higher values produce a wider, smoother average. Lower values produce a narrower, sharper average.
ALMA Floor Offset?	Off	When on, floors the offset to the nearest integer. A precision control most users do not need.

When to adjust: Only after you understand ALMA's smoothing behavior and have a reason to deviate from the defaults. The defaults produce a smooth, low-lag basis that works well for most purposes. Pushing the offset below 0.5 makes the average backward-looking in a way that defeats ALMA's purpose.

KAMA / FRAMA parameters (active when Type = KAMA or FRAMA)

Setting	Default	What it controls
Fast Period	`2`	The smoothing constant used when the market is trending (moving directionally with low noise). Lower values make the MA more responsive during trends.
Slow Period	`30`	The smoothing constant used when the market is choppy (high noise relative to movement). Higher values make the MA less reactive during chop.

When to adjust: KAMA and FRAMA adapt their smoothing automatically based on market conditions. The fast/slow parameters set the boundaries of that adaptation. Widening the gap (e.g., fast=2, slow=50) makes the adaptation more dramatic. Narrowing it makes it more conservative. Most users should try the defaults first.

Jurik parameters (active when Type = Jurik)

Setting	Default	What it controls
Phase	`0`	Adjusts the phase response of the Jurik filter. Positive values make the filter more responsive to recent data; negative values introduce more smoothing.
Power	`2.0`	Controls the sharpness of the filter's response. Higher values sharpen the tracking.

When to adjust: Jurik smoothing is designed to track price closely while minimizing overshoot. The defaults are a reasonable middle ground. Adjust when you want the basis to hug price more tightly (higher power, positive phase) or smooth out noise more aggressively (lower power, negative phase).

Laguerre parameter (active when Type = Laguerre)

Setting	Default	What it controls
Alpha	`0.5`	Smoothing factor for the Laguerre filter. Lower values produce heavier smoothing. Higher values produce faster tracking.

When to adjust: The alpha value has a large effect on the Laguerre filter's character. Values near 0 make the basis almost static. Values near 1 make it nearly identical to the source. The default 0.5 balances tracking with smoothing.

VAMA parameter (active when Type = VAMA)

Setting	Default	What it controls
VAMA Vol Length	`20`	The lookback length for the VAMA approximation's recent-deviation window. Despite the name shown in the indicator, the imported library does not read volume here.

When to adjust: The imported VAMA implementation is a volatility-adjusted approximation, not a volume-driven filter. A longer lookback makes the adaptation steadier. A shorter lookback makes it react faster to recent deviation changes. You do not need volume data for this parameter to work.

Blended band settings

The blended band section sits below all 10 slot groups in the settings panel. It controls the weighted-average envelope that synthesizes the enabled slots.

Enable Blended BB


Default	On
What it does	Turns the blended band computation and display on or off. When off, no blended band is calculated and nothing is drawn. Individual slot bands are unaffected.
When to turn off	When you want to read the individual slot bands without the visual overlay of the blend. Some traders prefer to see each timeframe's bands independently without a synthesis layer.

Hide Blended BB Plot


Default	Off
What it does	Hides the blended band's lines and fill from the chart. The blend is still computed — it just is not drawn.
When to use	When you want alerts that reference the blended band (like blended cross alerts) but do not want the visual clutter of the blended envelope on the chart.

Blended Line Width


Default	`3`
What it does	Sets the line thickness for the blended upper, lower, and basis lines.
Note	The default of 3 is intentionally heavier than the per-slot default of 2. This makes the blend visually prominent — it sits on top of the stack as the synthesis layer. Reduce it if you want the blend to be less dominant visually.

Default values by slot

For quick reference, here are the settings that differ across slots at their defaults:

Slot	Enabled	Timeframe	Fixed Plot Color	Blended Weight
BB 01	On	5 min	Teal	33.3
BB 02	On	15 min	Blue	33.3
BB 03	On	60 min	Purple	33.3
BB 04	Off	Chart TF	Orange	0
BB 05	Off	Chart TF	Yellow	0
BB 06	Off	Chart TF	Fuchsia	0
BB 07	Off	Chart TF	Lime	0
BB 08	Off	Chart TF	Aqua	0
BB 09	Off	Chart TF	Silver	0
BB 10	Off	Chart TF	Maroon	0

All other per-slot settings (Length, StdDev Mult, MA Type, Source, On Bar Close, Line Width, Optional Ticker, and all Power User params) share the same defaults across all 10 slots.

Settings interactions to watch for

These are the non-obvious ways that settings affect each other. They are easy to miss and account for most of the confusion users report.

Hidden slots still contribute to the blend. If a slot is enabled and has weight > 0, it influences the blended band even if its plot is hidden. This is intentional — it lets you run "background" slots that shape the blend without cluttering the chart. But it means the blend may not match what the visible slots suggest.

Changing one weight changes all relative weights. Weights are normalized. If you raise Slot 3's weight from 33.3 to 80 without changing the others, Slot 3 now contributes ~55% of the blend (80 / (33.3 + 33.3 + 80)) instead of 33%. The other slots' absolute weights did not change, but their share of the blend shrank.

MA type change activates Power User params. Switching from SMA to ALMA on Slot 2 makes the ALMA Offset and ALMA Sigma settings live for that slot. Switching back to SMA deactivates them again. The Power User params only matter when their corresponding MA type is selected.

Cross-ticker + On Bar Close interact. The cross-ticker scaling ratio uses the same On Bar Close logic as the BB calculation. If On Bar Close is on, the ratio uses confirmed closes. If off, it uses live values. Turning On Bar Close off on a cross-ticker slot introduces two layers of provisional data — the BB values and the scaling ratio are both updating mid-candle.

Timeframe must be >= chart timeframe. This is enforced at runtime. If you switch your chart to a higher timeframe without updating slot timeframes, any slot whose timeframe is now below the chart timeframe will cause a runtime error. The indicator stops loading entirely. The fix is to change the offending slot's timeframe or set it to empty (which defaults to chart timeframe).