Volatility Stop

This is a new version of the classic Volatility Stop originally published in 2014 by admin and written in Pine v1. While the code has evolved, its logic is identical. It is an ATR-based trend detector that can also be used as a stop. It belongs to the same family of indicators as:
• Charles Le Beau's Chandelier Exit,
• Olivier Seban's Super Trend, and
• Sylvain Vervoort's Average True Range Trailing Stop.
Unlike the Chandelier Exit, Volatility Stop will not move against the trend.

This new version is written in Pine v4. The indicator can be used as a chart overlay, like the original. The calculations have been functionalized for easier reuse, so it is now easier to lift the logic out of the script and use it in others.

Features
• Choice of 2 color themes.
• Choice of display as a line, circles, diamonds or arrows. The line can be used with the other shapes. If no line is required, set its thickness to zero.
• Same default of length=20 and ATR factor=2 used in the original Volatility Stop.
• 3 alerts: on any trend change, or on changes into up or downtrends only. Alerts should be configured to trigger Once Per Bar Close.

Original version:

Look first. Then leap.

Release Notes:

Improved behavior in the "Length" first bars of the dataset, until ATR can be calculated. Whereas the original version shows no stops on these first bars, this one will.

Release Notes:

v3

Updated Code
The code has been updated to use Pine Script™ v5. It follows the most recent recommendations from the Pine Script™ User Manual's Style Guide.


New Features
You can now configure the script's alerts to trigger in three different ways:
 1. Immediately, when the condition is detected. This will produce repainting alerts.
 2. On the bar's close, to avoid repainting.
 3. When the condition occurs for a delay that you specify. This allows you to protect yourself from repainting in a more granular fashion.

Using the new delay feature, you can create your alert from a 1H chart, but specify that it only trigger when its condition is continually true for 15 minutes, let's say. The delay is specified in the script's inputs, and will be included in the alert's message.

For Pine coders, this feature is implemented using the `secondsSince()` function from the recent Time library by PineCoders.