Drawing Export
Export every drawing on a chart to a structured CSV file — perfect for journaling, backtesting review, or importing into spreadsheets and databases.
On this page
01 — How to Export
Right-click on the chart
Position your cursor over the date you want to export. The export uses the date at the click position.
Click "Export Drawings for Date"
Select the option from the right-click context menu.
Done — CSV saved automatically
The file is written to Documents\NinjaTrader 8\DrawingExport\ and a confirmation prints to the Output Window.
02 — Date & Visibility Filtering
Not every drawing on the chart is exported — two filters are applied:
| Filter | Rule |
|---|---|
| Date overlap | A drawing is included if its time range overlaps the date you right-clicked. Auto-extending zones whose start time is on or before the target date are always included. |
| Visible on chart | Only drawings that are currently visible in the chart viewport are exported. Scroll off-screen and they won't appear in the CSV. |
03 — CSV Columns
Every exported row (one per drawing) can include these columns. Columns are dynamic — only columns with data appear in the output.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| ToolType | Drawing tool name — FVGTool, OrderBlockTool, ZoneTool, LineTool, etc. |
| Direction | Bullish / Bearish / Long / Short (where applicable). |
| Interval | Chart interval the drawing was created on (e.g. 1 Min, 5 Min, Daily). |
| StartTime | Left-edge timestamp of the drawing. |
| EndTime | Right-edge timestamp of the drawing. |
| TopPrice | Upper price boundary (zone-type drawings). |
| BottomPrice | Lower price boundary (zone-type drawings). |
| Price | Single-price value (lines, markers, position entry). |
| Midpoint | Midpoint price (if midpoint is enabled on the drawing). |
| Q1_25pct | Lower-quadrant price (25%). |
| Q3_75pct | Upper-quadrant price (75%). |
| MidpointEnabled | Whether the midpoint line is toggled on. |
| QuadrantsEnabled | Whether quadrant lines are toggled on. |
| Label | Text label or annotation displayed on the drawing. |
| Tag | Drawing tag identifier (indicator-generated tags are auto-cleaned). |
| CandleOpen | OHLC bar data — only populated for Price & Time Marker drawings when OHLC display is enabled. |
| CandleHigh | |
| CandleLow | |
| CandleClose |
04 — Position Tool Columns
When a Position Tool drawing is exported, additional columns appear dynamically. These columns are omitted entirely from exports that contain only zone/line tools.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| EntryPrice | Position entry price. |
| StopPrice | Stop-loss price. |
| Risk Calculation | How position size is calculated (Fixed_size, Dollar_risk, etc.). |
| RiskValue | The risk input value. |
| Target Calculation | How target levels are calculated (RR_Ratio, Fixed_ticks, etc.). |
| T1Price – T6Price | Target price for each active target. |
| T1Ratio – T6Ratio | R:R ratio for each target. |
| T1ScaleOut – T6ScaleOut | Scale-out percentage per target. |
| BestRR | Best risk-reward ratio achieved. |
| Account | NinjaTrader account name (if orders were placed). |
| EntryOrderType | Limit or Market. |
| StopOrderType | StopMarket or StopLimit. |
05 — Third-Party & Native Drawings
The export isn't limited to VCNZN tools. Native NinjaTrader drawings and third-party addon drawings (rectangles, lines, regions, etc.) are captured using a generic fallback that reads all anchors and whitelisted trading-relevant properties automatically.
06 — File Output
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Output folder | Documents\NinjaTrader 8\DrawingExport\ |
| Filename format | Export_<Instrument>_<Date>_<Time>.csv |
| Example | Export_ES_2026-02-22_143052.csv |
| Encoding | UTF-8 |
| Delimiter | Comma (,) |
07 — Notes
- Requires an active subscription license.
- Columns are dynamic — only columns with data appear in the output.
- Position-specific fields won't clutter exports that contain only zone tools.
- Auto-extending zones are always included if their start time is on or before the target date.
- Indicator-generated drawing tags are cleaned automatically (trailing event/bar suffixes are stripped).