Comprehensive Guide to Trading on Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5
1. Introduction to Metatrader Platforms
The employment of the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 isn't just limited only to the activity of forex trading. The trading platforms offer other functions. The online trading platforms can be employed in conducting technical analysis and in the optimization programming of trading strategies, and besides that, users of the platforms can use certain ready trading strategies. The services of MetaQuotes have released mobile versions of the online trading applications and PC versions for Windows and macOS operating systems. These applications allow the synchronization of the desktop and application versions. That's not all, the MetaQuotes company has designed and developed its own data feed for both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Thanks to this feed, both trading platforms can be employed in forwarding trading signals to clients who use other trading accounts.
Comprehensive Guide to Trading on Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5
The MetaQuotes company has been working in the forex trading market for a dozen years now. The developers of the company have launched two top-level online trading platforms, which are considered superior to other platforms such as ActTrader and Tradable. These two platforms are called MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Both trading platforms are still popular among forex traders. Different brokers offer their clients these two trading platforms. The MetaQuotes company has identified that MetaTrader 4 is mainly designed to serve brokers that predominantly specialize in trading on forex, while MetaTrader 5 is designed to help brokers that mainly specialize in the exchange and futures markets.
Best Free Forex Signals for Trading in 2024
1.1. Overview of Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5
MT4 (MetaTrader 4) and MT5 (MetaTrader 5) are actually popular forex trading platforms which are implemented by different brokers. Both the platforms are developed by the same company, MetaQuotes. Even though they were released by the same company, there are huge differences while they were being released. When MT5 was released, it was promoted as an advancement from MT4, a better platform with better improvements. But there are many traders who still like MT4 in comparison to MT5 due to reasons like hedging and EAs. The popularity of MT4 is such that only a few brokers launched MT5 straight away. Classifier said, MT4 remains the dominant version in the market for now. Because both versions are very popular and many brokers offer them, there is a high chance you are going to trade with one of them. You are going to have to download the compatible platform to trade.
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 (sometimes referred to as MT4 and MT5) are the leading third-party trading platforms for forex, CFD, and equity trading. They are widely known as two of the most important trading platforms for people who want to deal directly in the financial markets. They allow almost anyone to trade financial markets from a computer or mobile phone anywhere in the world using trading tools that analyze the markets and execute orders "live" or, in other words, trade - the global trading industry in essentially a software shell. It acts as an interface between traders and brokers that "bridge" the two together in a seamless and efficient manner. MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are both ideal choices for those with either a great deal of experience and expertise in trading or no trading experience at all - as they can also facilitate automatic trading.
1.2. Key Features and Advantages
The MetaTrader 4 platform was initially designed for beginner traders. However, it has enough functionality and options to attract experienced traders. As for the new updates to MT4, it is worth noting the revised client terminal, the integrated MQL 4 programming language, and the one-click trading function. With markers, you can make confident decisions. A very useful tool for a broker is the trading history section, which stores all reports on demo and real trading expenses. MetaTrader will also email you from your broker.
Why MetaTrader 4 is the Most Popular Forex Trading Platform
So, why MetaTrader 4? This trading platform is easy to use and effective. Trade operations are implemented by the client's trade servers. MT4 has been designed to be used by both professional and beginner traders. There are built-in tools, charts, news, and platforms that are very useful. Finance news will be displayed directly in the market robots. With the use of these programs, it is possible to get the maximum benefit and minimize trading problems.
Key Features and Advantages
The platform that is offered by many financial companies today in the market allows an explained guide and use of MetaTrader 4 for beginner traders. In this guide, we would provide a guide for trading and how you can get the maximum benefit from it. MQL 4 and MQL 5 provide trading advice and useful trading information. You can also get free news from the marketplace featuring a wide range of tools to start trading with a guide version of MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 on Mac OS.
2. Getting Started with Metatrader
This version of MetaTrader does not require installation. It is available through major web browsers. Today, as a beginner, you can sign up to a forex broker that offers the web version and start trading within minutes of completing their registration process. However, if you already have a registered account with an online broker, the first step as a beginner is to download and install the software from the broker's website to get access to live trading. Step-by-step installation guides are available on the internet, and the steps are pretty simple to follow. MetaTrader is a very accessible software available for download on most online brokers' websites. Both free demo accounts and live trading accounts are available on the platform.
If you have made the decision to use MetaTrader, you must have heard about it from someone. As far as the trading industry is concerned, it is unarguably the most popular software for forex trading today, and for good reason. Its history dates back to 2002 when MetaTrader 3 was released, and since then it has only improved. It has its own native programming language for automated trading and technical indicator expansion. Here is a comprehensive guide for new traders on how to begin with the MetaTrader 4 or 5 platform.
2.1. Creating a Demo Account
A demo account exists on the platform for practice purposes and contains the identical trading environment compared to a real account. However, there are some bonus credits offered in Forex demo accounts and also filled with fictive cash, which means that it is virtual money.
4. Fill in the registration form. Select the type of account, trading platform, account currency, private info, and agreement for receiving news. It is necessary to fill it out accurately enabling the opportunity to trade and select an account from different assets. They are trading in the currency cared, namely the particular country's currency.
The platform reveals a complete list of servers offered by brokers in alphabetical order, showing brokers hosting the platform on actual or demo accounts. You may use the server search bar and type in the company name or trade server address of your broker to connect to a required server. Moreover, the necessary server can be found in the list of servers and pressed by "Enter". It is necessary to choose "Hercules.Finance-Demo" to register for the demo trading account on MetaTrader 4, and it can be identified from the "Choose server" pane.
1. Open the "File" menu located on top of the platform, and the "Open an Account" window will open. 2. Choose the "Open a demo account" option. 3. Connect to a server.
2.2. Navigating the Platform Interface
The most crucial role of the trader in the platform is to place and manage the trades associated with the charts. The user should fix the account trade volume through the terminal section (button labeled New Order). This changes the trade volume on deals with Forex pairs. Other buttons to open orders include the buy and sell, the buy stop and sell stop orders, fix the stop cut, fix the limit cut, fix the trailing stop. All provide different ways of protection and interacting with trades. The templates are available to change the background template of the charting. Ticks also help trade open offers. The indicators allow a user to attach some impeding in chart technical indicators in charting. Show Hours can be double-clicked to display the local or server time. As the functions are separated by transaction windows in terminal display, where traders may find a complete trade history and wallet or account tools.
Each trading platforms interface may look slightly different, but generally, they are structured quite similarly. The core area is taken up by the chart of the security being analyzed. This can be a currency pair or a stock, commodity, index, etc. Charting options are located in the top taskbar. These are needed to help traders perform technical analysis. There are also tabbed browsers attached for the users convenience. These tabs represent different Forex major and minor pairs and allow for changing the chart. Generally, these will display a combination of chart and market watch. In the bottom part of the chart, or to the right-hand side, there is the terminal window, providing a variety of trading operations and the account history. There is usually also a brief account summary available, although traders should be aware of their trading account balance. Almost all the platforms have news windows, available from a news tab in the terminal section.
3. Market Analysis Tools
4. Market Watch The Market Watch tab displays all available trading instruments and the required data, including Ask and Bid prices, spread, and a simple chart. Click on a specific instrument and drag it to the Chart tab when you need to create an additional chart.
3. Navigator The Navigator tab is a directory of programs. It easily allows you to quick-access internal analytics, indicators, expert advisors, and hiding the connection to the trading server. Categories are located on the left. The description of the selected program and its developer is displayed on the right. In addition to that, the graphical tools panel is hidden when you start a chart, while other functions and indicators dropped by expanding the necessary squares.
2. Data Window The Data Window tab provides an insight into the price and volume data of the selected financial instrument at the selected point on the chart. To do this, position the cursor on this point and press the right mouse button. A drop-down list will appear. Select "Open" and all data will be shown in a separate window.
1. Chart The Chart tab contains price and volume charts. They are displayed in a certain way according to the models set up. It is also possible to apply various analysis tools, add indicators, and set different timeframes on the charts.
After having set up everything for the trading terminal, you will have new market analysis tools at your disposal. They are accessible via several tabs at the bottom of the screen. In total, there are about a dozen tabs. All of them are marked by the first letter apart from the first four tabs (Chart, Data Window, Navigator, and Market Watch). Just hover the cursor above the button in the lower left part of the terminal and remember its first letter.
3.1. Technical Analysis Indicators
Each of these indicators possesses a unique function when it comes to predicting future price movement results as a trading decision-making tool. The interesting thing to note is that these technical indicators are not exclusive on both MT4 and MT5. There are also other various forms of indicators, expert advisors known as EAs, and also scripts to be used by each trader based on their personal preference and other relevant attachments.
1. Bollinger Bands 2. Envelopes 3. Moving Average 4. Parabolic SAR 5. Alligator 6. Stochastic Oscillator 7. Relative Strength Index 8. Accumulation/Distribution 9. Standard Deviation 10. Momentum 11. Money Flow Index 12. Average Directional Movement 13. Awesome Oscillator
The following shows a list of these thirteen technical analysis indicators that can be found both on an MT4 and MT5 platform. All these indicators can be found in a navigator of an MT4 or MT5 trading platform window (Ctrl+N) once the mentioned programs have been used and properly set up with an installed indicator on the currency chart.
3.2. Fundamental Analysis Tools
If you are an experienced trader, you probably have your preferred fundamental analysis resources by now. News feeds, news websites, market analysis publications, and other tools maintain your understanding of the global economy. Still, both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 offer an integrated economic calendar to help traders keep track of upcoming releases that may significantly affect the market. You may use the built-in indicator as a news monitor and set the default calendar time zone. The indicator can also overlay news release schedule on the price chart for any currency pair, allowing traders to visualize how fundamental developments in a particular currency affect its price.
Forex traders often refer to fundamental analysis as macroeconomic analysis. It tries to predict price action and trends by examining the economic indicators governments and private organizations release around the clock. The premise is straightforward: countries with strong, improving economies are more likely to increase interest rates to fight inflation. This attracts both domestic and international investment, increasing currency value. Similarly, countries with weakening economies are more likely to decrease interest rates, and that drives currency down due to lower demand for assets denominated in weakening currencies.
4. Placing and Managing Trades
After a stop is pegged to a certain point, to put a trailing stop, you right-click on the trade and a pop-up window appears. From the window, one selects trailing stop where the menu drop-down on the stop loss would prompt one to either peg it at a specific pips or at a pips variance.
In cases where you would like to close your trade, you would right-click it and the below pop-up window appears. The words "trailing stop" could be confusing to a beginner, but a trailing stop is a stop loss pegged at a certain pip value either in relationship with PIP. However, the trade will close not only when the stop is hit, but also when the market retraces back by the trailing stop in pip value set by the user. This tool is only available on the MetaTrader 5 version.
Alternatively, the stop loss can be adjusted from the various tabs found on the pop-up window. Once one is satisfied with their preferences on the pop-up window, they should press on the "buy" or "sell" button. Again, similar to stop loss and take profit, the above steps can also be replicated when one wants to close a trade. One should not forget that the next step after placing a trade is setting stop-loss and take-profit thresholds. Automatic take profit and stop loss, sometimes, can save the day if one is too busy to attend to the trade.
Placing a trade order on the MetaTrader platform is not only easy but also straightforward. From the market watch or the navigation pane, one needs to select a currency pair. Once the pair is selected, you should drag it and drop it into the chart time frame of your preference. Upon doing that, a pop-up window appears. In the window, one can adjust the stop loss and take profit. The stop loss can be drawn by holding the pressure on the mouse while at the same time snapping it to a candlestick, at the high of the stop loss.
4.1. Market Orders vs. Pending Orders
Although it is possible to limit your risk by setting a preset price before placing the order, you would be risking not getting your order filled if the price never reaches the preset price. To sum it up, a market order is an order placed at the current market price.
With market orders, when you click Buy or Sell, you are actually doing a market order, which is to buy or sell the stock/forex at whatever price is being quoted. Another view: if you right-click on a currency pair, a menu will appear, and you can select either Buy or Sell. By choosing Buy, you are actually doing a market order to go long. By choosing Sell, you are actually doing a market order to go short. Although market orders are simple to understand and involve only setting the volume (lot size) and then clicking the Buy or Sell button, market orders have a major disadvantage. If you have a slow system or slow internet connection, and during the time it takes for your order to reach the system, or the time needed for the system to match your order with someone who takes the other side of the trade, especially during volatile times, and the price spikes, you would be filled at a price you never had in mind. In a highly volatile currency pair, this could mean a difference of hundreds of pips. The risk for extremely fast price movement happens in stocks as well. You could lose out by settling for a lower price or buying at a much higher price than you wanted to. Meanwhile, in MetaTrader 5, it is all done at the click of a button at the price on the chart without any worries of slippage since the broker is the market maker.
If you dont already know what market orders and pending orders are, you might be better off starting with the basics of forex trading. However, if you do, lets get started. In this article, I will step you through the concepts of market orders and pending orders in MetaTrader 4. Both of these orders work on both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, but are heavily underrated because most traders tend to prefer to use only market orders because of their highly visual nature.
4.2. Stop Loss and Take Profit Strategies
If a trader uses a tight Stop Loss and a wide Take Profit order, it would mean that he is trying to constantly scalp small profits out of every trade while avoiding big losses. In order to do this, a trader would need to be right in all of his positions and this might be hard depending on the type of trader that he actually is. For example, if a trader is looking to build up a trading position over the course of a couple of days, this might be harder to achieve using tight Take Profit and Stop Loss orders. However, if a trader uses a strategy where his Take Profit order is much closer to the positions opening price and his Stop Loss order is far away, this means that the trader is willing to take some losses when it comes to his positions, but one big win would be enough for the strategy to be a profitable one.
When traders want to open a position, they would have a belief in the future of that instrument. They would also have a profit goal and a maximum amount of loss that they are willing to take on that trade. This being said, Stop Loss and Take Profit orders are crucial in order to be able to implement this strategy. There are different strategies that are being used with the Stop Loss and Take Profit orders.
5. Automated Trading
A MetaTrader expert advisor (EA) a code written in MetaQuotes Language (MQL) made to streamline the trading process is a trading monster. Everything that is done in MetaTrader, EA may do. For instance, a trader can use the EA to organize the placement of technical indicators, manage orders, and enforce plans all by himself, such as the launch of the trade, currency price monitoring, and the close price. Since the EA is used, the trader doesn't have to keep staring at the system. It is sometimes impossible to search through and choose a good trading chance due to a time zone difference. In this case, your EA should be able to keep to itself. Making demands constantly can be very useful for the frazzled trader.
In both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, a system may make trading decisions in the same way a trader would, according to certain pre-selected guidelines. As a result, sequences can run much faster than the human brain. Perhaps the better aspect of trading is that strange habits, such as shifting a stop-loss as fast as you see the price, selling stops late at night or using too much leverage and micro-management, can be completely removed. The ideal way of trading for a periodic income or to secure large assets is what your Forex expert advisor works.
5.1. Introduction to Expert Advisors
Would you like to make more from your trades? The expert advisors can help you do just that. They seem to particularly benefit those who are new to forex trading and those who are busy and do not have the luxury of time on their side to sit behind a computer or laptop. For the novices and learners in trading, the expert advisors reinforce the fact that forex trading is not something that you do alongside another job. Instead, forex trading is a full-time job that requires constant monitoring and vigilance if you are to achieve your desired results. The expert advisors come in different shapes and sizes. These include those that copy signals and help you manage your trades to your benefit. The profession of experts and the developers of expert advisors seem to have made the work simpler and easier for everyone who would be interested in trading. But it is up to each and everyone to make the crucial decision to use them to their advantage.
One big thing in forex trading or trading on MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5 is the use of expert advisors. For those who are new to trading, you might be curious and at the same time discomforted by this. Well, you have no reason to worry because in this lesson, we have you covered. We are going to give you a comprehensive guide to expert advisors and everything you need to know about them. What really are expert advisors? To give this question a simple and straightforward answer, I would say that expert advisors are nothing less than a tool to automate your trading strategies. If you have a trading strategy that you would want to implement and you do not want to spend the whole day in front of a computer or a laptop waiting for the specific conditions to be met, you would simply use an expert advisor to set the conditions that would trigger a trade on your behalf.
5.2. Creating and Installing Custom Indicators
Custom indicators are highly customizable. If standard indicators don't display the required data or do it poorly, custom indicators can show everything precisely. Parameters of standard indicators can only be accessed by default. So an indicator displays charts, lines, or both lines and charts by default. The user can view the parameters with the specific input parameter.
After compiling it, the custom indicator will appear in the Navigator and will be ready for use on the chart. If you have a custom indicator file, which usually has the MQ5 extension, load it to MQL4/Indicators. This section is in the terminal data directory. Then compile it and select it in the editor.
For creating custom indicators, select "Custom Indicator" in the MQL5 Wizard. Then specify the name, indicator type, applied price, and the code implementation. The ready code will be opened so that you can add your own algorithms.
Custom indicators are the preferred tools for analyzing the trading environment. Every trader tries to create an indicator tailored to a specific strategy. Custom indicators can be designed in MetaEditor and installed on a necessary chart in a couple of clicks. You can also test them in the strategy tester. It's super convenient.
6. Risk Management Strategies
Setting stop loss orders is a useful way to manage risk. It is a predetermined level at which a trader will exit the market if a position turns sour. Setting the stop loss below meaningful levels is a way to learn the hard way. Stop loss prices should not be placed directly on support or resistance levels. It is too easy for traders to trigger stops. How to cope with a loss? Accept it. Use your stop loss. A trade is lost. Only a small loss is experienced; the market is not always going to go the way you want. This is the cost to do business. To protect trading capital, the funds are still there to become involved in the next trade. In your trading position, do not invest more than you are ready to lose. This is very true, and for risk reasons, it is always the best advice. If you are trading, do not use money that you cannot afford to lose.
Risk management is one of the most critical elements to successful trading. It also tends to be one of the most overlooked. Set aside a portion of capital that you are prepared to trade with. The amount each person is willing to put at risk may be different, for example, a conservative trader may want to have 1 percent of their capital at risk. Calculate your position size based on each trade. When you buy, your assets have two ways to go: up or down. Before you enter the market, plot the support and resistance levels on your chart. Review them and decide whether you can accept the level of risk.
6.1. Position Sizing and Leverage
Leverage is typically represented and offered on platforms like MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 in ratios. For example, a 100:1 ratio means that a trader can control a position up to 100 times their trading capital. Leverage is offered with the promise of allowing traders to control a position with a small amount of money. However, if a position is taken on US100/USD and is lost, the idea that the main trading capital remains intact is lost as well. Leverage is a risk because the additional buying power to control a position can increase the amount of loss in a trade. The amount of leverage applied at any given time on a margin account leaves the trader vulnerable to a margin call. Whether or not a trader chooses to use leverage should depend on their trading style. There are seven reasons why traders need to learn how to size their positions at the right percentage of their trading capital in a single trade without relying on leverage.
Stop losses should never be the first trading decision you make before entering a trade. The need for a stop loss can be eliminated once a trader determines the percentage of their trading capital they are willing to risk in a single trade. If the trade goes against the trader, a series of losing trades could result in a loss of 5%, 10%, 20% to 30% of their trading capital, depending on the percentage at risk in each trade. The purpose of a stop loss is to prevent traders from overextending themselves in a single trade. If position sizing is determined based on trade risk, a stop loss would be unnecessary. However, using a fixed percentage of account stop loss carries the risk of ruin. Eventually, the trader may hit a series of stop losses that will deplete their trading capital.
6.2. Diversification Techniques
The first is to use negatively correlated pairs. Placing a buy trade on pairs that are positively correlated, and do the reverse for sell trades. But unfortunately, most currency pairs are closely related. So it's better to use uncorrelated currency pairs. Pair your trading assets that belong to 2 or 3 different categories (e.g. commodity with safe holds or Queen 4 with Gold pairs). Selected currency pairs are crucial for the statistical distribution of the trading results. Selecting three EUR/USD trading assets would be a waste of resources, not to mention risky business, especially in times of changing trends. According to the Modern Portfolio Theory, traders and investors should use information about the recent change of currency or relative strength. Tradable data can be objective. We have to select the amount of data that offer enough statistical representation.
In forex trading, diversification means that we introduce different currency pairs into the portfolio. The aim is to produce a portfolio where gains made on some trading assets can offset the losses on other trading assets. Placing all your eggs in one basket exposes you to bigger risks. But when capital is spread across many baskets, the more likely it is that you will experience some gains. But how much should we diversify? Diversification is most efficient when the trading assets are not correlated. Most currencies are hedged against each other. When one currency rallies, we can expect to see a rally on another currency. Given this situation, a two-way diversification strategy is the best.
7. Advanced Trading Techniques
Markets are difficult and sometimes illiquid, and executing a single large order at a specific price is pure market risk that the trader takes. Therefore, in line with managing every risk that can be managed, just like scaling, the algorithmic decision of implementing a block trade is a more indirect but efficient method used. Favorable prices are still good, but sometimes an exhaustive block trade could also hurt future trade logic. With a block trade, a trader could liquidate most or all of the assets in a portfolio using a hidden order that becomes public at actual execution time. Wait and see when an order is put on hold without immediate execution by your financial broker. If a large market order is lost forever, your cash collateral is lost. If a large market order impacts the market, blocks, and large orders are generally handled by a single subsidiary or large liquidity providers in a complementary manner. Reading into guaranteed multi-leg price feeding is possible.
Scaling is the second advanced technique. It is used to minimize or manage loss levels on poorly executed positions. If you place an initial order in the market and the initial order price is soon worse than the market, then you might want to scale a certain amount out of the position to achieve a better average entry price or to stop further loss. You could also decide to scale the wrong positioning up. A variation of scaling that also has a strategic side is adding to winners. This is used to stay in a position that is going strongly in the money but no longer has logic behind the initial order. Since trading deals with markets, a simple reversal trade can be made with a counter-position. More importantly, the celebrated stop-loss order is what traders can use to partially or fully get out of the market with pre-made instructions.
7.1. Scalping and Day Trading Strategies
The problem with these types of strategies is that you have to follow every price movement in real time. When the trade has made some money, you then have to execute another trade immediately after this one closes, if you want to continue trading. Day trading is a little less taxing than scalping. The trader does not need to open and close a trade so fast. You might open a trade, let it run for a few minutes, or you might be able to let it run for the whole day. Day traders are largely in tune with the daily trends of the forex market and may be more interested in the long-term trends. Traders should avoid slow-moving markets that have no volume, unless of course, the slow movement is creating an opportunity. It is better to consider ranging markets. This is a market where the support and resistance levels are very tight, and the trader could easily buy the tops and sell the lows with confidence. In a ranging market, the time might be inconsequential because even if you are buying from a minuscule upward trend, the long-term prospects could be good if the trader is patient. In the long run, the trading will not take long amounts of your time and you will probably spend fewer hours to get good results. There is no steadfast realization that the swing or position would have a higher payback, and it is not worth the time savings of forex trading houses. In the end, slower trades have beneficial emotions because the risk you take is mostly measured, which may be important to some traders.
Scalping involves grabbing very small price movements, minutes or even seconds after you open a trade. Forex traders can use scalping strategies on a vast range of currencies. Constant monitoring of the market is a good idea. More importantly, you only need to spot market movement and you can execute your trade. In the forex market, the very liquid market makes it easier to execute a trade almost immediately after opening a position.
7.2. Swing Trading and Position Trading Approaches
A short position is typically considered when the price is in a downtrend and the 50-day simple moving average is below the 100-day simple moving average. Enter at an optimal time with a retracement to the 50-day simple moving average. Hold the position or partially exit when the price approaches the 200-day simple moving average, and adjust the stop loss to protect potential drawdown as the trade achieves a profitable level.
A long position is typically considered when the price is in an uptrend and the 50-day simple moving average is above the 100-day simple moving average. Enter at an optimal time with a retracement to the 50-day simple moving average. Hold the position or partially exit when the price approaches the 200-day simple moving average, and adjust the stop loss to protect potential drawdown as the trade achieves a profitable level.
8. Monitoring and Evaluating Performance
At a minimum, you may also want to watch the following performance metrics: average trade duration, average percentage of winning and losing trades, performance of individual strategies, the success of individual instruments, the distribution of profits and losses broken down by different times of the trading day, account balance, account equity and free margin, and customized metrics (like trade count, average daily returns, expected payoff, expectant payoff, and net profit). If you are a professional trader and a quantitative market analyst, you may want to adopt more advanced statistical metrics and monetization-based metrics.
After doing all the hard work, backtesting and optimization of the strategy, you have deployed your Expert Advisor or a custom indicator on a real-time account that uses your strategy. It is essential to keep a close watch on how well your trading is performing. It is important to do the following activities on a frequent basis: checking of open positions/active orders, monitoring of balance/equity and free margin, checking of pending orders, monitoring of closed trades, analyzing graphical display of key positions and account details, reviewing of the trading log files or custom log file entries.
Monitoring and evaluation of trading performance is an essential part of the trading strategy. You will be interested in knowing how well your strategy is performing. This section provides general tips and guidelines on trading performance metrics and how to evaluate a trading strategy.
8.1. Keeping a Trading Journal
Unless you are trading with the banks, then you are nothing more than a minnow in a sea full of sharks, and your puny disadvantages will work against you (costly spreads, lack of inside information, etc.). The majority of those of us not trading millions of dollars have one single advantage that the shark doesn't have - which is to easily observe the commitment of traders (or COT). The COT report gives us the ability to check what the big players are doing. Are they buying or selling? Is their position larger than usual?
The commitment of traders
Having a record of your past trades means you can identify your trade strengths and weaknesses. You can then focus on improving those weaknesses and taking only the best trade setups that meet specific criteria. You will best believe that you can improve your trading skills if you become persistent, consistent, and dedicated to it.
A trading journal is similar to a regular journal, except in this case, you are writing about your trades and trading experiences. With a trading journal, you may record detailed information about your trades, such as the price you entered a trade, where you placed your stop loss, what your original profit target level was, market conditions at the time of your trades, profit or loss, etc.
Why you should keep a trading journal
8.2. Analyzing Trade History and Performance Metrics
As you do with your trading summary, it is advised to keep the trading closed files in a more optimized way to always have these available to go over your trades or to optimize and to be audited for trade-related irregularities down the road. For me, there have been many times where I did not know or realize that a broker's spreads might not behave favorably or that something seemingly irrational happened that led to an irregular loss. This data will provide you with everything you might need. What did we learn in that last article? Great, we were not only able to display all the same fields and information as our MetaTrader account was showing us, but we were also able to gain a lot more insights into our trades for future reference and trade improvements.
It is certainly a good idea to reflect on your trading journey through the displaying of your profit figures in a clear format. This simple analytics page will provide a simplified table of all the values we may need to reference later in a more comprehensive trading report. It is best practice to describe your columns with what each column name is as it is sometimes easy to forget the exact measurement. We can interpret our stop loss (SL) and take profit (TP) values by specifically setting them to the price level we entered a trade at. All three Excel formulas, named RoundPrice, TP, and SL, can be seen in our analytics file.
9. Choosing a Broker
Retail forex trading has an infamous reputation due to the inclusion of many rogue deal shops that have no business in reliable financial services practice such as conducting on behalf of their suppliers. Forex trading is in a real market involving real financial products. During your engagement in trading, you would need a firm and serious broker arrangement. To meet the demands accompanying the real foreign exchange trading needs, it is very essential, therefore, to find reputational exercising due diligence when picking your forex broker. You also need to be more aware of the forex aspect in finding a broker who is good and trained instead of stock marketing.
A broker is a key partner when youve decided to trade through MT4 or MT5. The trading platform is just the interface that connects you to the broker through which you enter the forex market. A broker offers you: the quote, kind of trading, range of trading products, news, financial analysis, market news, and trading platforms. All of the features, mode of operation, and quality of the products offered by the broker will be of importance to your trading.
9.1. Regulation and Security Considerations
Instead, regulated brokers are the only ones considered to be the capable traders to protect their clients' funds. This is primarily done in two ways. Firstly, all of the regulated brokers must keep the clients' funds in a different bank account from the one they use for their own operation. This measure is crucial considering that there is no company without a risk of bankruptcy. The other theoretically essential way is to participate in the negative balance protection. This means that the client can never lose more money than he has in his trading account.
And the main problem when it comes to trading is that it's full of scams. Brokers who are stealing from their clients and who can, with their deceptive marketing and terms, easily deceive unsuspecting new clients. This is especially common when trading concerning financial markets which the traders do not know very much about. This means that depending on serious security measures that the broker needs to apply, sometimes no measures will be good enough if the broker itself is a fraud. That is why it is necessary that the processes of finding a good and regulated broker are not limited to only checking the brokers' platform features, fees and commissions, and the user reviews.
We must emphasize the importance of the regulation and security of the trading platform or broker before anything else concerning trading. Choosing a well-regulated broker using a secure trading platform is the very first step for every potential trader.
9.2. Broker Fees and Account Types
Some brokers also charge service fees like dormant account fees or withdrawal fees, and these need to be factored into the brokerage costs. Often, a good deal on one of these can turn out to be very expensive after considering real market spreads and tight trading conditions. Also, be cautious about the fee structure, as a low deposit fee may mask a high trading fee, and a low trading fee may mask a high withdrawal fee.
Some brokers charge via the spread, others charge via a commission on each trade, and some use a mixture of both (usually charging lower spreads and higher commissions). The dealing desk broker model that used to be the norm charged a spread, and often a wider one meant they could match clients' orders internally. But now, all brokers are agency brokers and pass all client orders on to the real market at the market price.
Although MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are offered by different brokers, they are all subject to the same types of fees, limitations, and practical considerations. Many people believe that broker fees are basically the same, but the terms and costs can vary. Different account types available may also affect trading costs. After this chapter, the reader should have a more practical understanding of how brokers charge for their services and the practical implications, like liquidity restraints and back office issues, that can directly affect trading costs.
10. MetaEditor and Custom Scripting
Let's turn to the main part. What is a normal code for a MetaTrader expert?
1. As a script for the current chart: This is an inclusive approach where you can select the required script from the Navigator window on the left side (see help) and then drag and drop it onto the chart in the active terminal window. 2. As an expert advisor for the current chart: Similar to the first method, here one should also select the required script from the Navigator window and then drag and drop it onto the chart in the active terminal window. This is somewhat simpler and will be the preferred choice if the use of scripts is absent. 3. Any method of running a program or script: You can select the "Run the MyProgram" script command to launch it in the MetaEditor. You can use the set of PriceChannel functions, etc.
At the stage of creating a new expert advisor or script, choose recommended templates. There are 3 methods for adding custom includes, programs, and scripts:
1. Copy the Velocity expert, script, or custom indicator .dll to the \Expert\Products\ directory of your broker's MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 terminal. 2. Then, in MetaTrader 4, click on [MetaQuotes Language Editor] at the top left of the platform, then select one of the [EXPERT ADVISOR], [CUSTOM INDICATOR], or [SCRIPT] choices.
There's also the function of custom scripting using the MQL4 and MQL5 languages. While creating and running your own script, you can call some Velocity functions like PriceChannel, EquidistantChannel, etc. to create your own script in MetaEditor and then use it in the MetaTrader terminal. To do so:
Custom Scripting
In MetaEditor, you can set up the format of the source texts, as well as compile them up until generating the exe-files. The process of creating the source code in MetaEditor doesn't differ from the process in regular editors. Thus, you can benefit from plenty of features that are provided in editors of the well-known IDE systems, such as search and navigation through documents. In particular, MetaEditor has its own script language and command line. The program also offers various visual tools to help you design your MQL program and create custom indicators, expert advisors, or scripts.
10.1. Introduction to MetaEditor
Next, we will create a new MetaTrader 4 platform configuration. In this step, we will explain what you should do to open a new account in demo or real money and create trade accounts. Another important topic is the procedure for recovering servers and verifying them. Finally, at the end of this class, you will learn what it's like to have an EA or an expert advisor open automatic negotiations for you in the market.
Welcome to our advanced Forex strategies course. In this class, you will learn how to trade on the most powerful trading platform for Forex, Part 10: MetaTrader. Let's start by explaining why MetaTrader platforms are the most powerful in the world, and then describe how they can be downloaded, installed, and used in the Forex markets. You will also learn how to back up your trading stations and close the sessions properly. After that, you will learn how to remove empty spaces and organize them into charts. We will then explain how to adjust the colors and fonts of MetaTrader and create your own profiles.
10.2. Writing and Editing Scripts
When you want the computer to trade for you, similarly, when writing an MQL4 program, you use especially designed blocks to satisfy the tasks. This may be done by using experts. Assume that to open a buying position, a buy-stop or buy-limit order should be placed at the distance from the current price by the predefined number of points. If using MetaTrader 4, you would do the following: click the "New Order" button and set "Buy Limit" in the context menu, set the number of lots to be bought, specify a take profit level and a stop loss level in a buy order form, and then send the trade request. If using the script, you will not need to do this manually because the script will perform this for you. Instead, you only need to double click it in the "Navigator" window. When a trading robot trades for you or when you want to predict the future price direction, an MQL4 program is required. Executable programs and custom indicators are natively developed in MQL4. However, in this book, we deal only with experts because the principles of creating custom indicators are the same.
11. Mobile Trading with Metatrader
The application is also interactive and very easy to navigate. In fact, most of the features are exactly the same as those available on the desktop trading platform. Whenever you connect it to the internet, the mobile app will sync with the desktop version. The app will inform you of any updates at the moment. This feature allows you to stay informed no matter where you are. Also, it does not present security issues and provides a lot of traders with exceptional results.
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 provide you with the flexibility to trade from any location and with any device. They have mobile trading platforms that can be installed on smartphones with both Android and iPhone. The platform is very effective and contains all the features and functions of the main platform. You can trade on the go, receive trading signals, and also view news while on the move.
11.1. Using the Mobile App Features
Each mobile app is a minimum version of the desktop tools. They are obviously more complex due to the nature of the desktops being more robust in terms of size and computing power. Nonetheless, while not as robust, the mobile apps are extremely efficient trading tools. Simulation reports state that the apps can execute over 1000 transactions per second which, while slower than the desktop versions, is light years away from other trading apps.
Both apps have the same features and their usage will be similarly structured. Upon opening the mobile application, you will be directed to the Home screen. This screen contains three icons. The 'Quotes' icon brings you to a screen that logs all your instrument trading. At the center, you can access a list of currencies, while the tab on the top right guides you to commonly paired trading instruments. The second icon is to open a New Order. Lastly, the third icon is to access the screen which provides you with the following navigational abilities: 1. Account history. Review your trading account history. 2. News. Access to live global news. 3. Messages. A tool from your broker to message you on your trading account. 4. Mail. You can access messages and alerts that you have set on your trading account.
There are two mobile apps available for trading through the MetaTrader platforms - MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. The mobile apps use the same operating systems as those for installing on the desktop versions. As previously described, these are iOS, Android, and Windows. The mobile apps are convenient tools to trade, either when on the move, when you cannot have access to a desktop or laptop computer, or to receive alerts for your set trading preferences.
11.2. Syncing Trades Across Devices
The integer code used in the unique comment section of a trade is defined in a Lua script. Place this code as an external script to the folder \MQL4\Script\Place Lua Script to Use. Then click "Provide". L un Comment() end function ZHZkDSHRBa() global variable "" = "" import "C:\Users\a"
The following method has been simplified by an MQL4 or MQL5 programmer through the addition of a unique integer code in the comment section of a trade. We then wrote some Python 2 code to listen for trades initiated by a particular MQL4 Expert Advisor.
11.1. How to Sync Indicator and Expert Advisor Settings Across Devices 11.2. Syncing Trades Across Devices An obstacle preventing traders from accessing their full trading potential is keeping track of trades when multiple MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 accounts are being used on multiple devices. This is the challenge we have encountered, and we have created an efficient way to simplify linking a MetaTrader account on two or more devices.
Introduction Both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 were primarily designed to allow users to trade from any location. Another key feature of both software is that users can seamlessly access their MetaTrader account from multiple devices, provided the devices have MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 installed on them.
12. Troubleshooting and FAQs
12.2 Problem: This Order Is Being Processed This message indicates that the trade with the specified order ticket is currently being processed. If the order was recently placed, there may be a short delay while the system attempts to process it. After receiving confirmation that an order has been successfully placed, wait for any previous trades to be completed before processing a new trade. This should resolve the problem.
12.1 Problem: Error Invalid S/L or T/P This error occurs when the specified stop-loss and take-profit levels are too close to the market. It can happen if you have set small stops or if you are trying to place them too close to the current market price. To resolve this issue, simply adjust your stop-loss or take-profit levels to a more acceptable distance from the current price.
Making mistakes is very common when trading using the MetaTrader 4 platform. There are lots of problems that can occur, such as an invalid account, placing a new order too close to the market, or encountering an error with an invalid stop-loss or take-profit level. Other problems include an incorrect order ticket, a requested order that is already being processed, and restrictions on order modification. In this write-up, we will do our best to provide solutions to these commonly faced challenges.
12.1. Common Issues and Solutions
Close all MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 terminals and launch any one of them again. Upon launching the terminal, press Delete on the keyboard and hold it down until the terminal settings window appears. Reset the terminal's settings by clicking "clear". If you see the "Account is disabled" message, then your account hasn't been verified yet. Verify your account located in the terminal or make trading operations to pass verification. If "Server account has been banned" appears in the journal, top up your account and contact our company's Client Support via Chat or email at. If automated robots are used, then check the systems. Close the terminal and launch it again. "Account is not authorized" appears in the journal. Enter your password once again. If you have forgotten it, create and enter a new password in myAlpari. Excessive "Failures to open" appear in the journal. Restart the terminal and if failures reappear, contact our company's Client Support via Chat or email at.
If the terminal fails during the launch, try the following solutions:
12.2. Frequently Asked Questions
There isn't a large difference between Metatrader 4 and 5 (to the point that one could compare it with say the difference between Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 2). That said, Metatrader 5 has more times frames, more technical indicators, an economic calendar and other features that are either not included within or have been upgraded from Metatrader 4.
What is the difference between Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5?
Yes, you can run both platforms on the same computer.
Can Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5 run on the same computer?
Yes. Metatrader 5 is no different than Metatrader 4 in this respect, in that it is free once you have an account with a broker that offers trading through both platforms. If you cannot get Metatrader 5 for free (or Metatrader 4 for that matter) or it is not offered with your broker, I would strongly advise reconsidering choice of broker if this is a platform you want to use.
Is Metatrader 5 free?
This is subjective and depends on use. In my view, Metatrader 5 performs better overall. However, Metatrader 4 is a good starting point for new traders and is a bit easier to use. Metatrader 5 also has "more" features as it is the more modern platform. That said, the difference between Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5 is not so pronounced so that this is not a considerable factor in choosing between brokers. It should also be mentioned that Metatrader 4 has the most custom indicators and EAs available.
Is Metatrader 4 better than Metatrader 5?