What Is MetaTrader 4? MT4 or MetaTrader 4 is a familiar trading platform for traders. Using MT4 allows you to trade robots automatically or easily install additional technical indicators at will. This article will tell you more about what MetaTrader 4 is, how to use MT4, and all the information you need to know.
Table of Contents:
What Is MetaTrader 4?
MetaTrader 4 (aka MT4) is a trading software developed in 2005 by the software company MetaQuotes.
MT4 software is commonly used for forex trading. However, now this software is also used in other financial markets: stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities … in the form of CFDs.
The MetaTrader 4 software has become popular because you can easily customize it according to the trader’s wishes in terms of color, chart type (bars, lines, candles …), or optionally adding technical indicators … In addition, when using MT4, you can also use the robot to trade automatically according to predefined parameters.
Open an MT4 account to trade.
To trade on MetaTrader 4, you need to open an MT4 account through a broker. You can open an MT4 account on Capital.com at the link below:
- How to open an MT4 account Capital.com
After successfully opening an MT4 account, log in and download the MT4 software on your computer or phone.
- How to download and access your MetaTrader4 account
What are the basic trading features of MetaTrader 4?
1. Open a trading order on MT4
After successfully logging in, click [Tool], select [New Order], or press F9 on your keyboard to open a new transaction.
The order window appears. Choose the parameters for your transaction:
- Symbol: Click to select a transaction code.
- Volume: Trading volume.
- Stop Loss: the price you want to stop the loss, close the order to avoid more victims.
- Take Profit: The price at which you want to profit for trading.
- Comment: Comment, comment, or note for this transaction.
- Type: You can select [Immediate Execution] if you want the transaction to run immediately. Or [Pending Order] if you plan to place a pending order at a specific price.
If you select [Run Now], the following window appears:
- [Enable maximum deviation from quoted price] option: If you check this box, it means that you allow the maximum deviation from the quoted price (in pips). Then you need to enter the number of pips that you can accept to open the order.
- Choose [Buy] if you expect the market to go up or [Sell] if you want to go down.
If you select [Pending Order] Order Type under Type, the following window appears:
- Type: The pending order you want to use (Buy Limit, Sell Limit, Buy Stop, and Sell Stop.
- At the price: the price at which you want to open a trade.
- Expiration: If you check this box, you will set the date on which the broker will cancel the pending order if the price of the pending order has not been reached.
- Location: Press this button to open a pending order.
2. View open and pending orders on MetaTrader 4
To view open and pending orders on MT4, click [View], select [Terminal] (or press Ctrl + T). Then, select the [Trade] tab.
To close an open order or cancel a pending order, click the [x] in the lower-right corner of the order.
3. Change the stop loss, take the profit levels for trading on MT4
In the [Terminal] window, [Trade] tab, right-click the order you want to change, and then select [Edit or Delete Order].
The trading window appears. You change the stop loss, take profit for your trade. Press [Edit] in red to confirm.
Custom Charts on MetaTrader 4
What is MetaTrader 4 Chart Customization?
The chart on MetaTrader 4 is an area that shows the historical price chart of the asset you are trading. Customizing charts on MT4 means that you can add chart objects such as:
- Draw more lines, diagonals, arrows…),
- More technical indicators…
- Change the display time interval.
1. Draw multiple objects on the MT4 chart
MT4 allows you to draw additional objects, including:
- Pointer: This is a tool that allows you to hover over the chart to perform operations.
- Viewfinder: When selecting this item, you hover over the chart to see the diagonal line align with the corresponding price and time area, helping you determine the cost of each time more accurately.
- Draw vertical lines: You’ll draw straight lines on the chart when you click on this object. To place the bar where you select the thing, move your mouse to the chart area to draw the line and click the left mouse button to remove it.
- Draw horizontal lines: Similarly, select this object to draw horizontal lines on the chart.
- Draw a trend line – this is an object that helps you draw a trend line on the chart.
- Draw equidistant channels on both sides.
- Draw a Fibonacci retracement line
- Add text
- Add text label
- arrow
Select the object on the toolbar and click the position to remove the object on the chart to draw more things.
To edit or delete an object, right-click the chart, and then select [Object List] from the menu. An on-screen window displays a list of all the objects used in the chart. To edit or change an object, click it from the list and select [Edit]. To delete, select [Delete].
2. Add technical indicators on the chart
To add a technical indicator to the chart (Example MA, RSI, Bollinger Bands…), in the [Navigator] window, select [Indicators], and then choose an indicator that you want to add and drag it. Drop it on the graph.
You can also add an indicator by selecting [Insert] on the menu bar, [Indicators] and selecting the indicator you want to use.
The display will show a window to change the collection of the indicator. You can set the parameters and colors to your liking.
3. Change the time range of the chart
To change the time range of the chart to MT4, right-click the chart, select [Time Range], and then select the time interval you want to display. The following time intervals are available:
- M1 (1 minute)
- M5 (5 minutes)
- M15 (15 minutes)
- M30 (30 minutes)
- H1 (1 hour)
- H4 (4 hours)
- D1 (1 day)
- W1 (1 week)
- MN (1 month)
Conclusion
In the article above, we learned about MetaTrader 4 and how to use it basically to open a trade, view open assets and pending orders. In addition, he is also aware of the basic customization operations on the charts. I hope this article helps you access and use MT4 software more efficiently initially.
