Sierra Chart Order Flow Indicators — Delta, CVD, and Zero Prints Explained

March 18, 2026·12 min read

Sierra Chart is one of the most powerful platforms for order flow analysis. But the built-in studies have limitations — limited customization, clunky reset options, no single print detection on candlestick charts. This guide covers the key order flow concepts and how custom ACSIL studies can fill the gaps.

What is order flow analysis?

Order flow is the study of actual transactions — who is buying, who is selling, and at what prices. Unlike traditional technical analysis that only looks at OHLC bars, order flow reveals the intent behind price movement.

The three pillars of order flow on Sierra Chart:

Delta — the difference between buying and selling volume on each bar
Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) — running total of delta over time
Market microstructure — zero prints, single prints, liquidity gaps

Delta: the building block

Delta measures the aggression of buyers vs sellers on each bar:

Bar Delta = Ask Volume - Bid Volume

Positive delta = more aggressive buying (market orders hitting the ask)
Negative delta = more aggressive selling (market orders hitting the bid)

Why delta matters

Price can go up on negative delta (sellers absorbing buying pressure). Price can go down on positive delta (buyers absorbing selling pressure). These divergences between delta and price are some of the most powerful signals in order flow trading.

Delta Candle Color — visualizing delta momentum

The built-in Sierra Chart delta studies show delta as separate bars below the chart. But what if you want to see delta information directly on the price candles?

The Delta Candle Color study colors each candle based on how its delta compares to a rolling average:

Momentum candles (red/blue) — strong delta in the direction of price. This is initiative activity — buyers or sellers pushing price with conviction.
Absorption candles (green) — price moves in one direction, but delta is in the opposite direction. Someone is absorbing the aggression. This often precedes reversals.

The sensitivity auto-adjusts using a rolling moving average of absolute delta, so it works across different instruments and volatility regimes without manual tuning.

Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD)

CVD is the running total of delta over a session. It shows whether buyers or sellers have been dominant over time.

CVD = Σ (Ask Volume - Bid Volume)

How to read CVD

CVD rising with price = healthy trend, buyers in control
CVD falling while price rises = divergence, momentum weakening
CVD making new highs while price doesn't = buying pressure building, potential breakout

The reset problem

The biggest issue with Sierra Chart's built-in CVD study is the reset timing. If you set "Reset at Start of Trading Day = Yes," it resets at both the regular and evening session times. If you only want it to reset at 09:30 (RTH open), you need to create a separate chart with custom session times and overlay it — a clunky workaround.

The CVD Filled Area study solves this with 4 reset modes:

None — continuous CVD with no reset
Session Start — resets at RTH open only
Session + Evening — resets at both
Custom Time — set any time you want

It also draws CVD as a filled area instead of bars, with separate colors for positive and negative values. Two outline modes available: stair-step or candlestick style.

The study computes delta internally from bid/ask volume — no external study dependency required.

Market microstructure: zero prints and single prints

Beyond delta and CVD, market microstructure analysis looks at where trades did NOT happen — the gaps and voids in the price ladder.

Zero print zones

A zero print occurs when a price level sees volume on only one side — either bid or ask, but not both. Clusters of consecutive zero prints represent one-sided liquidity gaps where the market moved too fast for both sides to participate.

These zones often act as magnets — price tends to revisit them to "fill" the liquidity gap. Unfilled zero print zones are potential support/resistance levels.

The Zero Print Zones study automatically detects these clusters and draws them as rectangle zones on the chart. Zones auto-disappear when price trades through them, keeping the chart clean.

Single prints

Single prints are price levels that were only visited once during a TPO session — they represent areas of poor auction structure where the market moved quickly without building value.

Sierra Chart shows single prints on TPO charts, but there's no native way to display them on candlestick charts. SC Engineering confirmed: "There is not a way to do this."

The Single Print and Gap study solves this:

Detects single print zones from the TPO profile
Draws them as rectangles directly on candlestick charts
Classifies zones as Top (potential resistance), Middle (gaps to fill), or Bottom (potential support)
Auto-removes zones when price trades through (partial fill supported)
Also detects session gaps between RTH close and next RTH open

No TPO chart needed — the study computes everything internally.

Putting it all together

A typical order flow setup on Sierra Chart using these studies:

Delta Candle Color on the main chart — see momentum and absorption at a glance
CVD Filled Area in a sub-region — track cumulative buying/selling pressure
Single Print and Gap overlaid on the main chart — identify untested price levels
Zero Print Zones overlaid on the main chart — spot one-sided liquidity gaps

This gives you a complete picture of order flow without cluttering the chart with multiple external studies or footprint overlays.

Why ACSIL matters for performance

All of these studies are written in native ACSIL C++ — Sierra Chart's compiled study language. Unlike spreadsheet-based studies that recalculate formulas on every tick, ACSIL studies run at compiled speed with direct memory access.

For order flow analysis where you're processing thousands of ticks per second, this performance difference is significant. No lag, no slowdowns, no impact on your chart updates.

Getting started

All order flow studies mentioned in this article are available at scstudies.com:

One-time purchase, instant Sierra Chart activation. No subscription, no recurring fees.