An overview into new Forex trading systems:
Foreign Exchange trading systems are configured to provide for end users to deal currencies on-line in a real time, secure, private and effective manner. The greatest topics that a foreign exchange system must handle are:
|
|
|
|
| ||
السبت، 14 أبريل 2012
Forex Trading Systems
MT4 navigational tips and techniques
MT4 navigational tips and techniques
(NEW MATERIAL IN RED TYPEFACE)
Hi all
The following post used to be a sticky in the MetaTrader forum, but it appears to have been lost. Hence I'm re-posting it here.
Use of the mouse and mousewheel, and their keyboard equivalents
Scrolling the chart
Hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse in the main chart area, to scroll left/right.
Or you can also simply roll the mousewheel down/up, or use the left/right arrow keys, to likewise scroll the chart view left/right.
To scroll a whole screen at a time, use Page Up (scroll left) and Page Down (scroll right).
To reposition to the leftmost bar on the chart, press Home.To reposition to the most recent (rightmost) bar, press End.
To step forward one bar at a time, press F12.
To step backward one bar at a time, press Shift-F12.
Scrolling a chart beyond the leftmost bar will add historical bars to the beginning of the chart, until no more are available from MT4's historical database.
Moving directly to a certain date/time
To re-position immediately to a certain date, press Enter, then type in the date in the form DD.MM.YY and press Enter again. Leading zeros can be omitted (e.g. to move to 4 July 2005, type 4.7.5). To re-position to a certain date/time, use the format HH:MM or DD.MM.YY HH:MM (e.g. to position to 8:07am TODAY on a 1-min chart, simply type 8:7).
You can also use the "Fast Navigation Box" to change either the currency symbol, or the period, thus:
Vertical zoom and re-scale
You can re-scale the chart vertically by moving the mouse into the vertical axis area at the right of the screen, and then dragging downwards (with the left button held down) to compress the chart bars, or dragging upwards to expand them.
Double click to reset the chart to its original scale.
Horizontal zoom and re-scale
Similarly, you can adjust the width of the price bars by moving the mouse into the horizontal axis area at the bottom of the screen, and then dragging right (zoom in) or left (zoom out). Or simply use the "+" and "–" keys to achieve this.
Indicators
Double-click on or near indicators with the left mouse button, to call their parameter setup windows.
Right-click to call the indicator's context menu.
If the screen is cluttered with overlapping indicators and/or objects, making it too difficult to select the desired indicator, press Ctrl-I to call up the Indicators dialog window. Double click (or click the Edit button, or Alt-E) on the indicator to edit its properties (parameters, colors, etc), or click the Delete button (or Alt-D) to remove it from the chart.
You can use the Home, End and Page/arrow Up/Down keys to navigate up/down the list.
Objects
Double-click on or near an object (line studies, texts, arrows, geometric shapes) to select the object. Once selected, you can move an object by left clicking on it (or in the case of or trendline or shape, it's center handle) and dragging it to the desired destination. Shapes, trendlines, channels etc may be extended by dragging the handles on the relevant edges. The number "X/Y" appears, where "X" = the width of the shape in candles, and "Y" = the height of the shape in pips.
Right-click on a selected object to open its context menu.
If the screen is cluttered with overlapping indicators and/or objects, making it too difficult to select the desired object(s), press Ctrl-B to call up the Objects dialog window. Left click the check boxes on/off to select/deselect relevant object(s). Double click (or click the Edit button, or Alt-E) on an object to edit its properties (parameters, colors, etc), or click the Delete button (or Alt-D) to remove it from the chart. To quickly delete a whole block of objects, repeatedly press Alt-D or hold it down (careful, they disappear rather quickly!)
You can use the Home, End and Page/arrow Up/Down keys to navigate up/down the list.
Click on the 'Name' or 'Description' heading area to sort by name, or description, respectively.
Left-click to select an item. You can use Ctrl-click to add individual items to a selection, Shift-click to add a group of consecutive items, or press Ctrl-A to select all items. Then click the Edit button (or press Alt-E) to edit all items in the group consecutively, or the Delete button (or press Alt-D) to delete all selected items simultaneously (careful!).
Alternatively, from the chart window, press Backspace repeatedly to delete the most recently added object(s) on a last-added-first-removed basis (useful if you want to quickly check out a Fibo or regression channel, then remove it). Then press Ctrl-Z to undo any accidental deletes, in reverse order.
Or press the Delete key to remove ALL SELECTED objects.
Parallel Trendlines
Ctrl + left click on a selected trend line to draw a parallel trend line (create a channel). Can also be used with vertical and horizontal lines.
Duplicating objects
The 'Parallel Trendlines' concept extends to ALL objects (vertical, horizontal and trend lines; shapes - triangle, square, ellipse; text and labels; arrows and symbols; and studies like channels, Fibo, Gann, Pitchfork, etc). Here's how to duplicate any object:
-- Select the object by clicking on it**
-- While holding down the Ctrl key: move the mouse over any one of the object's handles, and, holding down the left button drag the mouse to where you want the duplicated object to be located
This shortcut also duplicates all of the proprties of the parent object, e.g. if you have red, green and blue objects, and you want to create a green one, simply duplicate it. This is quicker than creating a new object, and then changing its color to green.
** Object selection options
Press Ctrl-O and then select the 'Objects' tab.
-- "Select object by single mouse click" - if checked OFF, you must double click to select an object, and right click to modify its properties. If checked ON, single click to select an object, and double click to modify its properties.
-- "Select object after creation" - if checked ON, any object is automatically selected immediately after you create it.
-- "Show properties after creation" - if checked ON, the property modification window for the object is displayed, immediately after you create the object.
OR
Press Ctrl-B to display the objects list. Click on the checkbox (at left) for each object you want selected.
Information Bubble
Hover the mouse cursor on or over an element, object or indicator to see the prompt (help information bubble).
Crosshair mode, and ruler tool
Click the mousewheel to switch cursor to the "crosshair" mode.
This can also be achieved by pressing Ctrl-F, or selecting the crosshair icon from the toolbar. The crosshairs also display vertical (price) and horizontal (date/time) co-ordinates at the right and bottom of the chart.
Simply left-click to exit crosshair mode.
Now, here is something extremely useful that I haven’t found in the on-line help:
While in crosshair mode, hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to obtain a ruler-type tool that measures vertical (number of pips) and horizontal (number of bars) from the center of the crosshairs. The tool displays counters in the form "A/B/C" where A is the number of bars right or left of the crosshair, B is the number of pips from crosshair to cursor, and C is the price at the cursor.
I find "B" extremely useful for measuring the number of pips between any two points, thus:
1) move the mouse to the point you want to measure from (the "anchor" point);
2) click the mousewheel to enter crosshair mode;
3) then hold down the left button and move the mouse to any number of destination points, to see the number of pips between the anchor point and the current mouse destination.
This saves having to calculate this distance manually, as the difference between two prices. Pretty cool!
You can also use this facility to count price bars (reading "A") between any two dates/times.
Reference and anchor points
At the lower left of the chart there is a dark colored arrow. Dragging it with the mouse sets the reference (anchor) point for the chart. Now when you zoom in or out, or even change the timeframe, this point remains anchored at its existing location.
At the upper right of the chart there is likewise a dark colored arrow. Drag it left or right with the mouse to set the location for the last (most current) bar on the chart (i.e. set the amount of empty "whitespace" at the right of the chart).
Removing all indicators and objects from your chart
Load a blank chart (the pair/timeframe doesn't matter), then change the settings (press F8) to set colors, grid, etc to suit your preference. Then save this as a template named (for example) Z. (menu option: Charts > Template > Save Template……)
Then, whenever you want to instantly remove all indicators and objects from your chart, simply load template Z, by quickly using the hotkey combination: Alt-C T Z
List of hotkeys
There are many other useful hotkeys. Here is a comprehensive list:
Left arrow — scroll chart to the left;
Right arrow — scroll chart to the right;
Up arrow — quickly scroll chart to the left or (if the scale is defined), scroll chart upwards;
Down arrow — quickly scroll chart to the right or (if the scale is defined), scroll chart downwards;
Numpad 5 — restores chart vertical scale to its original default. If the scale was defined, this returns the chart back to its visible range;
Page Up — scroll a whole screen to the left;
Page Down — scroll a whole screen to the left;
Home — move the chart to the start point (first bar);
End — move the chart to the end point (last, i.e. most current) bar;
"–" — zoom out (there are 6 levels of zoom available);
"+" — zoom in;
Delete — delete all selected objects;
Backspace — delete most recently added objects, on a last-added-first-removed basis;
Enter — open/close the fast navigation window;
Esc — close any dialog window;
F1 — open the on line help "Userguide";
F2 — open the "History Center" window;
F3 — open the "Global Variables" window;
F4 — open MetaEditor;
F5 — switch to the next profile;
F6 — call the "Tester" dialog window for testing the expert attached to the chart window;
F7 — call the properties dialog window of the expert attached to their chart window, in order to change its settings;
F8 — call the chart setup dialog window, allowing basic chart parameters, colors, etc to be changed;
F9 — call the "New Order" window, allowing the entry of market, limit, stop orders;
F10 — open the "Popup prices" window;
F11 — enable/disable full screen mode;
F12 — scroll the chart one bar to the left;
Shift+F12 — scroll the chart one bar to the right;
Shift+F5 — switch to the previous profile;
Alt+1 — display the chart as OHLC bars;
Alt+2 — display the chart as OHLC candlesticks;
Alt+3 — display the chart as a line (closing prices only);
Alt+A — copy all test/optimization results onto the clipboard;
Alt+W — call the chart management window;
Alt+F4 — exit the program;
Ctrl+A — arrange all indicator window heights by default;
Ctrl+B — call the "Objects List" dialog window;
Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Insert — copy to the clipboard;
Ctrl+D — open/close the "Data Window";
Ctrl+E — enable/disable the attached expert advisor;
Ctrl+F — switch to "Crosshair" mode;
Ctrl+G — show/hide the vertical/horizontal grid;
Ctrl+H — show/hide the OHLC line;
Ctrl+I — call the "Indicators List" dialog window;
Ctrl+L — show/hide volume data on the main chart;
Ctrl+M — open/close the "Market Watch" window;
Ctrl+N — open/close the "Navigator" window;
Ctrl+O — open the "Setup" window;
Ctrl+P — print the chart;
Ctrl+R — open/close the "Tester" window;
Ctrl+S — save the chart prices (OHLCV) in a file having extensions: "CSV", "PRN" or "HTM";
Ctrl+T — open/close the "Terminal" window;
Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 — close the chart window that's currently in focus;
Ctrl+Y— show/hide date (period) separators;
Ctrl+Z or Alt+Backspace — undo object deletions in the reverse order they occurred;
Ctrl+F6 — switch to the next chart window;
Ctrl+F9 — open the "Terminal — Trade" window and switch the focus into it, allowing trading operations to be entered via the keyboard.
Attaching indicators to indicators outside of the main price chart
You can attach moving averages and other indicators to indicators on other than the main chart. For example, if you want to use a moving average to smooth RSI, do the following:
1) Create a lower window with RSI in the normal manner.
2) Open the navigator window (press Ctrl-N).
3) Click on the "Indicators" heading in the Navigator window, if necessary, to expand it.
4) Move the mouse to the "Moving Average" item, then (holding down the left button), drag it (a rectangle appears under the arrow cursor) into the RSI window.
5) In the ensuing dialog box, got to the "Apply to" drop down, and set this to "First indicator's data". This will cause the MA to be attached to the first indicator in this window, i.e. the RSI.
6) Adjust other parameters as desired, and press Enter.
NOTE:
-- To create an indicator in a separate window, right-click on its name in the Navigator, and select "Attach to a chart".
-- To create an indicator in the same window as another, drag it's name into the relevant window.
Adding custom-defined indicators to MT4
One of the most powerful MT4 features is that it has a comprehensive but friendly programming language that allows custom-defined indicators, scripts and expert advisors to be written. Here's how to import an already written indicator into MT4's charting facility:
1) Go to a web resource that has the source code for the indicator. A good one is http://www.xeatrade.com/trading/11.html
Note the "# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z" index.
So if you want to add (for example) the PPCI indicator to your charts, click on "P" to see all the custom-developed indicators starting with a "P".
Left-click on the PPCI hyperlink. The source code for PPCI appears in the middle of the screen. Left-click inside this window, then press Ctrl-A to select all of the text, then Ctrl-C to copy it.
2) Return to MT4, and press F4 to load the MetaEditor, a tool which allows to create and compile your own indicators, scripts and experts.
3) In MetaEditor, press Ctrl-N to create a new indicator using the Expert Advisor Wizard.
Select the "Custom Indicator" radio button, and click Next.
Type in the name (e.g. PCCI) that you want to use to reference your indicator in MT4, ignore the other fields, and click Next.
On the final dialog window, ignore all fields, and click Finish.
4) Now left-click in the body of the screen, press Ctrl-A to select all the text, and then press Ctrl-V to paste the text you copied back in step 1, completely overwriting the previous text.
5) Then press F5 to save and compile your indicator.
Hopefully, the message "0 error(s), 0 warning(s)" will appear, indicating a "clean compile", i.e. that the programmer wrote the source code correctly, without syntax errors. Press Esc to close the dialog box.
Presto! If you now return to MT4, the new custom indicator should automatically appear both in the Navigator, and also under the menu option "Insert > Indicators > Custom" if you prefer to add it to your chart in this manner.
You can also add scripts and experts in the same way.
In step (1), select the "MQ4 Scripts" or "MQ4 Experts" hyperlink in the left menu.
In step (3), select the appropriate radio button.
Note that these objects are stored in the following folders:
Experts: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts
Scripts: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts/scripts
Custom indicators: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts/indicators
Include (program code, e.g. .MQH) files: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts/include
Templates: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/templates
Data files: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts/files
NOTE: As an alternative to the above, if you simply copy the .MQ4 file into the relevant folder, and then (exit and) re-start MT4, the expert, script or indicator will automatically be recompiled, and appear in the Navigator.
Some other good sources for MT4 indicators (apart from FF's search facility):
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=62722 (see ZIP file attached to post #1)
http://www.forex-tsd.com (perform a forum search)
http://codebase.mql4.com/ (peform a site search)
http://www.forexmt4.com/_MT4_Indicators/
http://www.greattradingsystems.com/f...-4-indicators/
If you want to delete an expert, script or indicator (CAREFUL!), use Windows Explorer to go to the appropriate folder, and delete the relevant file with the EX4 extension. For example, if you decide that you no longer want to use PCCI, delete file PCCI.EX4
That will effectively remove PCCI from the custom indicators list in MT4
The file PCCI.MQ4 contains the source code for PCCI (which you copied from the web resource), the PCCI.EX4 file is the executable code that was created when you did your compile back in step (5). If you want to re-instate the indicator, all you need to do is reload the source into MetaEditor (press Ctrl-O and open the relevant file), and then press F5 to compile it, which re-creates the executable file used by MT4.
A more simple way of deleting an expert, script or indicator is by using the Navigator (press Ctrl-N). Click on the item you wish to delete, press the DELETE key, and click Yes to confirm the deletion. Note that this deletes both the source (.MQ4) and executable (.EX4) files.
Happy charting!
David
Footnote: the above is repeated in the attached Word doc. If you prefer, you can download the doc, add your own notes to it, and/or print it out for handy reference.
NOTE: More tips here.
March 27, 2012: Added attached document "How to create a ruler to measure multiple R-multiple profit targets".This is handy if you want a measuring tool where you want to vary a SL setting, and have multiple TP settings (that are R-multiples of the SL) adjust themselves automatically. It uses MT4's in-built Fibonacci Channels facility, so there's no third-party indy required.
(NEW MATERIAL IN RED TYPEFACE)
Hi all
The following post used to be a sticky in the MetaTrader forum, but it appears to have been lost. Hence I'm re-posting it here.
Use of the mouse and mousewheel, and their keyboard equivalents
Scrolling the chart
Hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse in the main chart area, to scroll left/right.
Or you can also simply roll the mousewheel down/up, or use the left/right arrow keys, to likewise scroll the chart view left/right.
To scroll a whole screen at a time, use Page Up (scroll left) and Page Down (scroll right).
To reposition to the leftmost bar on the chart, press Home.To reposition to the most recent (rightmost) bar, press End.
To step forward one bar at a time, press F12.
To step backward one bar at a time, press Shift-F12.
Scrolling a chart beyond the leftmost bar will add historical bars to the beginning of the chart, until no more are available from MT4's historical database.
Moving directly to a certain date/time
To re-position immediately to a certain date, press Enter, then type in the date in the form DD.MM.YY and press Enter again. Leading zeros can be omitted (e.g. to move to 4 July 2005, type 4.7.5). To re-position to a certain date/time, use the format HH:MM or DD.MM.YY HH:MM (e.g. to position to 8:07am TODAY on a 1-min chart, simply type 8:7).
You can also use the "Fast Navigation Box" to change either the currency symbol, or the period, thus:
Code:
1. time (hours:minutes) example: 08:30; 8:30; 2. date example: 2004.10.16; 16.10.2004; 16.10.04; 3. date and time example: 2004.10.16 8:30; 16.10.2004 8:30; 16.10.04 8:30; 4. symbol example: GBPUSD; EURUSD; 5. chart period example: M1; M5; M15; M30; H1; H4; D1; W1; MN; 6. symbol, chart period example: GBPUSD, M30; EURUSD, D1;
You can re-scale the chart vertically by moving the mouse into the vertical axis area at the right of the screen, and then dragging downwards (with the left button held down) to compress the chart bars, or dragging upwards to expand them.
Double click to reset the chart to its original scale.
Horizontal zoom and re-scale
Similarly, you can adjust the width of the price bars by moving the mouse into the horizontal axis area at the bottom of the screen, and then dragging right (zoom in) or left (zoom out). Or simply use the "+" and "–" keys to achieve this.
Indicators
Double-click on or near indicators with the left mouse button, to call their parameter setup windows.
Right-click to call the indicator's context menu.
If the screen is cluttered with overlapping indicators and/or objects, making it too difficult to select the desired indicator, press Ctrl-I to call up the Indicators dialog window. Double click (or click the Edit button, or Alt-E) on the indicator to edit its properties (parameters, colors, etc), or click the Delete button (or Alt-D) to remove it from the chart.
You can use the Home, End and Page/arrow Up/Down keys to navigate up/down the list.
Objects
Double-click on or near an object (line studies, texts, arrows, geometric shapes) to select the object. Once selected, you can move an object by left clicking on it (or in the case of or trendline or shape, it's center handle) and dragging it to the desired destination. Shapes, trendlines, channels etc may be extended by dragging the handles on the relevant edges. The number "X/Y" appears, where "X" = the width of the shape in candles, and "Y" = the height of the shape in pips.
Right-click on a selected object to open its context menu.
If the screen is cluttered with overlapping indicators and/or objects, making it too difficult to select the desired object(s), press Ctrl-B to call up the Objects dialog window. Left click the check boxes on/off to select/deselect relevant object(s). Double click (or click the Edit button, or Alt-E) on an object to edit its properties (parameters, colors, etc), or click the Delete button (or Alt-D) to remove it from the chart. To quickly delete a whole block of objects, repeatedly press Alt-D or hold it down (careful, they disappear rather quickly!)
You can use the Home, End and Page/arrow Up/Down keys to navigate up/down the list.
Click on the 'Name' or 'Description' heading area to sort by name, or description, respectively.
Left-click to select an item. You can use Ctrl-click to add individual items to a selection, Shift-click to add a group of consecutive items, or press Ctrl-A to select all items. Then click the Edit button (or press Alt-E) to edit all items in the group consecutively, or the Delete button (or press Alt-D) to delete all selected items simultaneously (careful!).
Alternatively, from the chart window, press Backspace repeatedly to delete the most recently added object(s) on a last-added-first-removed basis (useful if you want to quickly check out a Fibo or regression channel, then remove it). Then press Ctrl-Z to undo any accidental deletes, in reverse order.
Or press the Delete key to remove ALL SELECTED objects.
Parallel Trendlines
Ctrl + left click on a selected trend line to draw a parallel trend line (create a channel). Can also be used with vertical and horizontal lines.
Duplicating objects
The 'Parallel Trendlines' concept extends to ALL objects (vertical, horizontal and trend lines; shapes - triangle, square, ellipse; text and labels; arrows and symbols; and studies like channels, Fibo, Gann, Pitchfork, etc). Here's how to duplicate any object:
-- Select the object by clicking on it**
-- While holding down the Ctrl key: move the mouse over any one of the object's handles, and, holding down the left button drag the mouse to where you want the duplicated object to be located
This shortcut also duplicates all of the proprties of the parent object, e.g. if you have red, green and blue objects, and you want to create a green one, simply duplicate it. This is quicker than creating a new object, and then changing its color to green.
** Object selection options
Press Ctrl-O and then select the 'Objects' tab.
-- "Select object by single mouse click" - if checked OFF, you must double click to select an object, and right click to modify its properties. If checked ON, single click to select an object, and double click to modify its properties.
-- "Select object after creation" - if checked ON, any object is automatically selected immediately after you create it.
-- "Show properties after creation" - if checked ON, the property modification window for the object is displayed, immediately after you create the object.
OR
Press Ctrl-B to display the objects list. Click on the checkbox (at left) for each object you want selected.
Information Bubble
Hover the mouse cursor on or over an element, object or indicator to see the prompt (help information bubble).
Crosshair mode, and ruler tool
Click the mousewheel to switch cursor to the "crosshair" mode.
This can also be achieved by pressing Ctrl-F, or selecting the crosshair icon from the toolbar. The crosshairs also display vertical (price) and horizontal (date/time) co-ordinates at the right and bottom of the chart.
Simply left-click to exit crosshair mode.
Now, here is something extremely useful that I haven’t found in the on-line help:
While in crosshair mode, hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to obtain a ruler-type tool that measures vertical (number of pips) and horizontal (number of bars) from the center of the crosshairs. The tool displays counters in the form "A/B/C" where A is the number of bars right or left of the crosshair, B is the number of pips from crosshair to cursor, and C is the price at the cursor.
I find "B" extremely useful for measuring the number of pips between any two points, thus:
1) move the mouse to the point you want to measure from (the "anchor" point);
2) click the mousewheel to enter crosshair mode;
3) then hold down the left button and move the mouse to any number of destination points, to see the number of pips between the anchor point and the current mouse destination.
This saves having to calculate this distance manually, as the difference between two prices. Pretty cool!
You can also use this facility to count price bars (reading "A") between any two dates/times.
Reference and anchor points
At the lower left of the chart there is a dark colored arrow. Dragging it with the mouse sets the reference (anchor) point for the chart. Now when you zoom in or out, or even change the timeframe, this point remains anchored at its existing location.
At the upper right of the chart there is likewise a dark colored arrow. Drag it left or right with the mouse to set the location for the last (most current) bar on the chart (i.e. set the amount of empty "whitespace" at the right of the chart).
Removing all indicators and objects from your chart
Load a blank chart (the pair/timeframe doesn't matter), then change the settings (press F8) to set colors, grid, etc to suit your preference. Then save this as a template named (for example) Z. (menu option: Charts > Template > Save Template……)
Then, whenever you want to instantly remove all indicators and objects from your chart, simply load template Z, by quickly using the hotkey combination: Alt-C T Z
List of hotkeys
There are many other useful hotkeys. Here is a comprehensive list:
Left arrow — scroll chart to the left;
Right arrow — scroll chart to the right;
Up arrow — quickly scroll chart to the left or (if the scale is defined), scroll chart upwards;
Down arrow — quickly scroll chart to the right or (if the scale is defined), scroll chart downwards;
Numpad 5 — restores chart vertical scale to its original default. If the scale was defined, this returns the chart back to its visible range;
Page Up — scroll a whole screen to the left;
Page Down — scroll a whole screen to the left;
Home — move the chart to the start point (first bar);
End — move the chart to the end point (last, i.e. most current) bar;
"–" — zoom out (there are 6 levels of zoom available);
"+" — zoom in;
Delete — delete all selected objects;
Backspace — delete most recently added objects, on a last-added-first-removed basis;
Enter — open/close the fast navigation window;
Esc — close any dialog window;
F1 — open the on line help "Userguide";
F2 — open the "History Center" window;
F3 — open the "Global Variables" window;
F4 — open MetaEditor;
F5 — switch to the next profile;
F6 — call the "Tester" dialog window for testing the expert attached to the chart window;
F7 — call the properties dialog window of the expert attached to their chart window, in order to change its settings;
F8 — call the chart setup dialog window, allowing basic chart parameters, colors, etc to be changed;
F9 — call the "New Order" window, allowing the entry of market, limit, stop orders;
F10 — open the "Popup prices" window;
F11 — enable/disable full screen mode;
F12 — scroll the chart one bar to the left;
Shift+F12 — scroll the chart one bar to the right;
Shift+F5 — switch to the previous profile;
Alt+1 — display the chart as OHLC bars;
Alt+2 — display the chart as OHLC candlesticks;
Alt+3 — display the chart as a line (closing prices only);
Alt+A — copy all test/optimization results onto the clipboard;
Alt+W — call the chart management window;
Alt+F4 — exit the program;
Ctrl+A — arrange all indicator window heights by default;
Ctrl+B — call the "Objects List" dialog window;
Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Insert — copy to the clipboard;
Ctrl+D — open/close the "Data Window";
Ctrl+E — enable/disable the attached expert advisor;
Ctrl+F — switch to "Crosshair" mode;
Ctrl+G — show/hide the vertical/horizontal grid;
Ctrl+H — show/hide the OHLC line;
Ctrl+I — call the "Indicators List" dialog window;
Ctrl+L — show/hide volume data on the main chart;
Ctrl+M — open/close the "Market Watch" window;
Ctrl+N — open/close the "Navigator" window;
Ctrl+O — open the "Setup" window;
Ctrl+P — print the chart;
Ctrl+R — open/close the "Tester" window;
Ctrl+S — save the chart prices (OHLCV) in a file having extensions: "CSV", "PRN" or "HTM";
Ctrl+T — open/close the "Terminal" window;
Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 — close the chart window that's currently in focus;
Ctrl+Y— show/hide date (period) separators;
Ctrl+Z or Alt+Backspace — undo object deletions in the reverse order they occurred;
Ctrl+F6 — switch to the next chart window;
Ctrl+F9 — open the "Terminal — Trade" window and switch the focus into it, allowing trading operations to be entered via the keyboard.
Attaching indicators to indicators outside of the main price chart
You can attach moving averages and other indicators to indicators on other than the main chart. For example, if you want to use a moving average to smooth RSI, do the following:
1) Create a lower window with RSI in the normal manner.
2) Open the navigator window (press Ctrl-N).
3) Click on the "Indicators" heading in the Navigator window, if necessary, to expand it.
4) Move the mouse to the "Moving Average" item, then (holding down the left button), drag it (a rectangle appears under the arrow cursor) into the RSI window.
5) In the ensuing dialog box, got to the "Apply to" drop down, and set this to "First indicator's data". This will cause the MA to be attached to the first indicator in this window, i.e. the RSI.
6) Adjust other parameters as desired, and press Enter.
NOTE:
-- To create an indicator in a separate window, right-click on its name in the Navigator, and select "Attach to a chart".
-- To create an indicator in the same window as another, drag it's name into the relevant window.
Adding custom-defined indicators to MT4
One of the most powerful MT4 features is that it has a comprehensive but friendly programming language that allows custom-defined indicators, scripts and expert advisors to be written. Here's how to import an already written indicator into MT4's charting facility:
1) Go to a web resource that has the source code for the indicator. A good one is http://www.xeatrade.com/trading/11.html
Note the "# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z" index.
So if you want to add (for example) the PPCI indicator to your charts, click on "P" to see all the custom-developed indicators starting with a "P".
Left-click on the PPCI hyperlink. The source code for PPCI appears in the middle of the screen. Left-click inside this window, then press Ctrl-A to select all of the text, then Ctrl-C to copy it.
2) Return to MT4, and press F4 to load the MetaEditor, a tool which allows to create and compile your own indicators, scripts and experts.
3) In MetaEditor, press Ctrl-N to create a new indicator using the Expert Advisor Wizard.
Select the "Custom Indicator" radio button, and click Next.
Type in the name (e.g. PCCI) that you want to use to reference your indicator in MT4, ignore the other fields, and click Next.
On the final dialog window, ignore all fields, and click Finish.
4) Now left-click in the body of the screen, press Ctrl-A to select all the text, and then press Ctrl-V to paste the text you copied back in step 1, completely overwriting the previous text.
5) Then press F5 to save and compile your indicator.
Hopefully, the message "0 error(s), 0 warning(s)" will appear, indicating a "clean compile", i.e. that the programmer wrote the source code correctly, without syntax errors. Press Esc to close the dialog box.
Presto! If you now return to MT4, the new custom indicator should automatically appear both in the Navigator, and also under the menu option "Insert > Indicators > Custom" if you prefer to add it to your chart in this manner.
You can also add scripts and experts in the same way.
In step (1), select the "MQ4 Scripts" or "MQ4 Experts" hyperlink in the left menu.
In step (3), select the appropriate radio button.
Note that these objects are stored in the following folders:
Experts: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts
Scripts: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts/scripts
Custom indicators: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts/indicators
Include (program code, e.g. .MQH) files: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts/include
Templates: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/templates
Data files: c:/program files/<mt4 broker name>/experts/files
NOTE: As an alternative to the above, if you simply copy the .MQ4 file into the relevant folder, and then (exit and) re-start MT4, the expert, script or indicator will automatically be recompiled, and appear in the Navigator.
Some other good sources for MT4 indicators (apart from FF's search facility):
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=62722 (see ZIP file attached to post #1)
http://www.forex-tsd.com (perform a forum search)
http://codebase.mql4.com/ (peform a site search)
http://www.forexmt4.com/_MT4_Indicators/
http://www.greattradingsystems.com/f...-4-indicators/
If you want to delete an expert, script or indicator (CAREFUL!), use Windows Explorer to go to the appropriate folder, and delete the relevant file with the EX4 extension. For example, if you decide that you no longer want to use PCCI, delete file PCCI.EX4
That will effectively remove PCCI from the custom indicators list in MT4
The file PCCI.MQ4 contains the source code for PCCI (which you copied from the web resource), the PCCI.EX4 file is the executable code that was created when you did your compile back in step (5). If you want to re-instate the indicator, all you need to do is reload the source into MetaEditor (press Ctrl-O and open the relevant file), and then press F5 to compile it, which re-creates the executable file used by MT4.
A more simple way of deleting an expert, script or indicator is by using the Navigator (press Ctrl-N). Click on the item you wish to delete, press the DELETE key, and click Yes to confirm the deletion. Note that this deletes both the source (.MQ4) and executable (.EX4) files.
Happy charting!
David
Footnote: the above is repeated in the attached Word doc. If you prefer, you can download the doc, add your own notes to it, and/or print it out for handy reference.
NOTE: More tips here.
March 27, 2012: Added attached document "How to create a ruler to measure multiple R-multiple profit targets".This is handy if you want a measuring tool where you want to vary a SL setting, and have multiple TP settings (that are R-multiples of the SL) adjust themselves automatically. It uses MT4's in-built Fibonacci Channels facility, so there's no third-party indy required.
No SL No Leverage Strategy - working so far
Hi all,
I want to share my strategy and get your opinions comments and views.
The strategy I'm using is very simple and has been very succesfull so far.
My rules:
1. NO leverage
I have a 1000 eur account and I'm trading only 0.01 lots right now. I will start to trade 0.02 lots as soon as I reach 2000 eur margin and so on (or you can decide to go even slower by trading 0.02 lots only when your account has 3000 eur margin etc.)
2. SMALL TP
I have a set TP of 15-20 pips on every trade, trading only pairs with low broker spread.
3. NO Stop Loss
I do not set SL, so basically trades close only when TP is reached. (I'll explain later why)
4. No more than 5 trades open at the same time.
Entry Condition:
LONG when H4 PA closes above 5EMA
SHORT when H4 PA closes below 5EMA
That's it!
I have been testing this method for 3 weeks now,
Opened 29 trades in total
Closed with TP 27 trades
Still pending open trades: 2 (TP not yet reached)
Making money trading 0.01 lots makes it really slow, but I'm slowly building account margin so I can start trading bigger lots.
I dont use SL for this method, and that has been the key of success:
Even when the trade reverses on me and goes -200/-300 pips against me, the fact that I'm not using the leverage, makes it affordable (you can whitstand such a reversal with no leverage and still open other trades!)
The only bad thing is that a trade can stay open for days or weeks before reaching TP. But as I could see by testing, more than 90% of trades reach TP within 48 hrs.
I try to compensate for the negative rollovers by entering in trades with positive rollovers (for example long on AUDUSD)
What do you think of this strategy?
I want to share my strategy and get your opinions comments and views.
The strategy I'm using is very simple and has been very succesfull so far.
My rules:
1. NO leverage
I have a 1000 eur account and I'm trading only 0.01 lots right now. I will start to trade 0.02 lots as soon as I reach 2000 eur margin and so on (or you can decide to go even slower by trading 0.02 lots only when your account has 3000 eur margin etc.)
2. SMALL TP
I have a set TP of 15-20 pips on every trade, trading only pairs with low broker spread.
3. NO Stop Loss
I do not set SL, so basically trades close only when TP is reached. (I'll explain later why)
4. No more than 5 trades open at the same time.
Entry Condition:
LONG when H4 PA closes above 5EMA
SHORT when H4 PA closes below 5EMA
That's it!
I have been testing this method for 3 weeks now,
Opened 29 trades in total
Closed with TP 27 trades
Still pending open trades: 2 (TP not yet reached)
Making money trading 0.01 lots makes it really slow, but I'm slowly building account margin so I can start trading bigger lots.
I dont use SL for this method, and that has been the key of success:
Even when the trade reverses on me and goes -200/-300 pips against me, the fact that I'm not using the leverage, makes it affordable (you can whitstand such a reversal with no leverage and still open other trades!)
The only bad thing is that a trade can stay open for days or weeks before reaching TP. But as I could see by testing, more than 90% of trades reach TP within 48 hrs.
I try to compensate for the negative rollovers by entering in trades with positive rollovers (for example long on AUDUSD)
What do you think of this strategy?
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
#1: In order to fully understand this system it is essential that you spend one full week experimenting with the trading details found in the first 8 posts. You must become proficient at picking out these types of Consolidation Zones (CZ's) regardless of the pair or the Time Frame by simple visual confirmation alone -- aka, Naked Trading. Posts 1-8 teach you how to do exactly that. Skipping over this phase of your self-training is only going to cause you a lot of grief later on down the line. So please, no shortcuts. Stay with the program and get this part down solid before continuing past the first couple of pages. This is your primary confidence building step. It starts right now. If you pass it over, then you can't expect to have the required confidence for what comes after.
#2: This thread was started as a naked trading system. See paragraph #1. We do have a custom indicator now, but we didn't start out with one. After nearly 9 months we still have traders working off of naked charts with hand-drawn CZ's, so using the custom indi is certainly not a requirement. If you like it, use it. If you don't, then don't. It's use is completely optional; pips have been made either way. But if you decide to include the indicator as part of your Stairsteps trading, then you are expected to learn how to use it with absolute minimal outside assistance. Demanding that other members or myself provide you with our own custom settings or templates for the indi is a sure way to get yourself banned from the thread.
#3: This thread is unlike most every other system thread offered here at the Forex Factory in one very important regard: I am not teaching theory here. This is a proven system that has been traded by the OP with a very high degree of success for the last 5 years. It does not require refining. It does not require extra indicators or filters. It is being presented as a time-tested and fully mature system of trading the Forex market. The proof is that after 8.5 months and over 500,000 hits, no major details about the system have been altered, save for the addition the our custom indicator and the necessary adjustments this has brought into the thread. Other than that, the core system of Stairsteps remains completely unchanged. Not because I am adverse to change, but because so far none has been needed.
#4: I expect anyone who participates in the thread to do so only after reading it all the way through. Save your questions and comments until the end. It may take a week to read all of it (in addition to the week of testing from para.#1), but it's worth the effort. Consider it an investment in your future. Jumping to the end and expecting special treatment is another sure way of getting banned. When you're finally ready to participate and add to the general discussion, you will be expected to post pics of your charts and your trades.
#5: There is no single post or page that says it all. You will need to read the entire thread to get the maximum effect. The regular members (and I) can pick out fakers a mile away. Please don't insult our intelligence. Scammers and trolls and time wasters are not welcome here. On the other hand, serious students that aren't afraid of putting in the time and effort are always welcome. Do yourself a favor and treat it like a marathon to get the full effect. Not only will it improve your trading, but you will earn the respect of your fellow Stairstep traders too. We've all passed throught the fire already and have come out tempered on the other end, and we welcome your company!
#6: As you read over the thread you will notice that I do not provide trading signals, nor do I provide indicator templates. I do not post pics of on-going live trades, but I do post pics of recently closed trades. In other words, I do not make it possible for members to follow my trades while they are still live. There are two main reasons for withholding this type of information: First, being spoon-fed keeps you weak, and it places the mentor above you and keeps him there forever. A real mentor wishes that his students will become as strong as he is, or even stronger. A real mentor never wishes to be the center of attention forever, just long enough to get the student on their feet and going strong. So you should expect to see a lot of "tough love" in this thread, and not a whole lot of spoon feeding. Noobs with questions already covered in the thread will be ignored; persistent noobs looking for a handout will be instructed to go back to Page One and try again. Noobs that don't get the first 2 hints usually don't get to stick around. Second, is that by providing such detailed information in a public forum, some poor soul could get the impression that I was suggesting that everyone reading my posts should follow suit. But what happens if that trade fails? Am I now responsible for everyone else's losses too? There have indeed been other Forex Factory mentors sued over losses in just this way. I don't intend to become a member of their club. So yes, out of an over-abundance of caution there are questions I simply will not answer until I am prepared to, if at all. Intelligent folks will understand this concept and respect my wishes. Those less intelligent will ignore my wishes and continually ask for my private trading details. Of the 2, guess which ones get banned and which ones don't.
#7: As of April 8, 2012, we've had 515,250 hits... the PDF in post #1 has been downloaded 10,901 times... and the custom Squlaou indicator in post #1 has been downloaded 4369 times. Also, the core system remains unchanged and is still as solid as ever.
******************************
******************************
The original first post:
Some traders swear by man-made indicators. Some swear by technicals and analysis. Today I will be presenting one of the ways I trade using breakouts based only on pure price action and simple hand drawn breakout boxes.
This method is so simple it's hard. Most traders overlook this style of trading not because it is ineffective, but because it just isn't as "sexy" as a method that employs lots of colorful lines and graphs and special lingo and complicated algorithms. This system may not be sexy (it isn't), but it is highly effective -- for me. YMMV.
Let's get right to it.
Pic #1 is highlighting the type of consolidation zones we are looking for. There is no hard and fast rule here. Simply "eyeball" the chart and pick out these types of zones, and then cover them with a rectangle from your MT4 tool bar. Later, this rectangle will be a uniform height, but for now just draw the boxes free-hand and pick out as many of these zones as you can.
This system will work for any pair on any TF. But for those who wish to follow me I am showing a G/U M15 chart from this week (ending July 1).
Paris Van Java Thread
Let share our trading analysis (a technical chart is a must ) for any
pair here. Posting without technical chart is welcome also, but for
fundamental analysis, issue and rumor only.
Thank you
Thank you
USDX
A lot of traders are referencing the USDX, so thought it should deserve its own thread.
I'm looking for a breakout below the 73,50 level for a continuation of the overall downward trend with resistance around 74,35.
USDX H1
I'm looking for a breakout below the 73,50 level for a continuation of the overall downward trend with resistance around 74,35.
USDX H1
Planetary Cycles Trading (EUR/USD)
2008.08.01 Total Solar Eclipse, change the trend.
2008.09.08 Pluto Change the direction, change the trend again.
and now,
2008.09.24 Mercury change the direction and mars opposite saturn(euro chart),
maybe this means not a trend change but i think it's time to sell.
http://www.forexfactory.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=150549&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1222151153
2008.09.08 Pluto Change the direction, change the trend again.
and now,
2008.09.24 Mercury change the direction and mars opposite saturn(euro chart),
maybe this means not a trend change but i think it's time to sell.
http://www.forexfactory.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=150549&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1222151153
الاشتراك في:
التعليقات (Atom)