An interesting discussion in re AB charting pros and cons. I agree with both colion and GeorgeClueney. Sure GFX functions permit total control over the charting space, as GC says. However, as colion says, in many instances this is not a trivial task, requiring more than average progamming ability and the time to devote to such a project. Some in the AB community enjoy this challenge and have the time but many do not.
I suspect that Thomasz (developer) has created the tools that he will need for future development of improved "out of the box" charting capabilities and at the same time satisfy the need for advanced charting for those who have the ability and inclination to develop their own customized charting. In the meantime, I agree with colion that AB's current "out of the box" charting is mediocre for a number of reasons, including some that have been mentined. As a result, those who need more advanced charting (and I'm one) have the option of spending the required time and effort to develop the charts and tools or just use another program(s) for this purpose (even free ones, including broker platforms, that are quite good). I'm sure that Thomasz wants AB to be everything to everybody. This is a fine goal but at this point that is reached for what I perceive (from the Yahoo forum) to be a small percentage of the AB users.
In my case, I use AB where it is inherently strong (e.g., indicator building, scanning, optimization, etc.) and other programs particularly for more advanced charting than offered by AB's "out of the box" options and/or a more user-friendly charting environment.
Not interested in a food fight - just my 2pesos.