When creating a strategy, it is important to know your operators and what will trigger them.  While the Is Above / Is Below and Crosses Above / Crosses Below seem very similar, they work differently.  Here is some information to help understand the differences so you can create the strategies you want.  

Is Above / Is Below

These conditions describe a state where the value of one term is higher/lower than the value of another term.  This condition is indifferent to how far or how long one value is higher/lower than the other value.

For example: If the price of AAPL is above the Moving Average...

In the example above, the condition will be valid as long as the price of AAPL is above AAPL’s moving average, regardless of how far or how long the value of AAPL is above the moving average.  

You can also refer to the delta (difference) between two terms, and create a condition using Is Above or Is Below combined with the operator By. 

For example: If the price of AAPL is above the Moving Average of AAPL by 2%...

If you only want your strategy to trigger at the moment when one value becomes higher or lower than the other value, that is where Crosses Above or Crosses Below comes in.  

Crosses Above / Crosses Below

These conditions describe the exact moment where the value of one term crosses, either above or below, the value of the other term.  As it refers to the exact moment of change, this condition works well with strategies based on technical analysis. 

For example: If the price of EUR/USD crosses above the Moving Average...

The condition will become valid only in the moment of change (marked with blue arrows)

A Crosses Above / Crosses Below condition becomes valid when its terms are met and only remains valid until the value changes based on what time period the condition refers to - if it’s daily, the value updates once a day and if hourly, once an hour, etc.

For example, in the following condition: If AAPL 15-minute high crosses above AAPL last day close...

The value will update every 15 minutes when a new 15-minute candle closes.

You can also use the keyword by to specify the delta (difference) between two terms, and create a condition using Crosses Above or Crosses Below combined with the operator By. 

For example, if your condition is: If the price of AAPL crosses above the previous day high by 2%...

The action that follows will only trigger when the price of AAPL stock increases above the previous day high by more than 2%. If the price of AAPL crosses above the previous day high by less than 2%, the strategy will not trigger.

Synonyms for Is Above / Is Below:

> / <  |  higher than / lower than  | over / under  |  greater than / less than

Synonyms for Crosses Above / Crosses Below: is crossing above / is crossing below | jumps above / falls below | breaks above / breaks below | goes above / goes below | moves above / moves below | cuts above / cuts below 

*This content is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or investment recommendations. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Read our Disclaimer for more details.