Guide To MT4: Learn How To Use The MT4 Trading Platform

FOREX TRADING
Guide to MT4
Learn how to use the MT4 trading platform
2
Contents
Simply click the topic you’d like to read, to go directly to it.
Introduction to MT4 4
1.1 What is MT4? 5
1.2 Benefits of using MT4 5
A Beginner’s Guide to MT4 6

2.1 Setting up an account 7
2.2 Understanding the MT4 interface 9
2.3 Understanding different trades and how to place them 16
2.4 What is a Stop Loss, Take Profit and Trailing Stop? 18
2.5 How do I place a trade? 21
2.6 How do I partially close a position? 23
2.7 Drawing with MT4 tools 23
Additional MT4 Tools 25

3.1 Indicators 26
3.2 Expert Advisors (EAs) 26
3.3 Scripts 27
Tips and Tricks 28

4.1 Saving templates 29
4.2 Saving profiles 29
4.3 Saving favourite indicators 30
4.4 Reducing the noise on charts 30
4.5 Using shortcuts and hotkeys 31
4.6 Saving and printing your trade history 32
4.7 Resolving objects on multiple timeframes 33
4.8 Setting alerts 33
4.9 Enabling one-click trading 34
3
About the author
Desmond Leong runs the award winning research

firm Everest Fortune Group, a finalist in 2019 and
2020 for Best FX Research and Best Equity Research
in The Technical Analyst Awards.
Boasting a team of CFA, CMT and CFTe

accredited traders who specialize in technical
analysis (particularly Fibonacci, Elliott Waves
and Correlation) and fundamental analysis, they
regularly advise banks, brokers and hedge funds on
where the markets are heading and how better to
navigate them. Desmond also regularly shares his
trading insights and theories on his personal site:
The Forex Army.
Desmond is also known as the “mad coder”. He has

developed several high grade MT4 indicators that
are used to better interpret the markets. Throughout
DESMOND LEONG
this eBook series, you’ll come across indicators
Desmond has agreed to let Axi clients use as part of
a joint collaboration.
DESMOND LEONG
MARKET ANALYST, AXI
CONTENTS | READ BLOG | JOIN WEBINAR www.axi.com

1
Introduction
to MT4
5 INTRODUCTION TO MT4
1.1 What is MT4?

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is the world’s most popular software platform for trading forex, analyzing
financial markets and using Expert Advisors for automated trading. As well as forex, MT4 can also
be used to trade a range of markets including indices, cryptocurrencies and commodities, via
CFDs.
1.2 Benefits of using MT4

MT4 has been designed to make trading
easy. As well as providing access to the
world’s most popular trading products, it’s
highly customisable to individual trading
preferences. Within the dashboard, you can
move charts and other display windows
to whatever position you want to suit your
trading preferences.
The platform can also be used to automate

your trading, using algorithms that open
and close your trades on your behalf (i.e.
algorithmic trading). This means that if you
don’t have enough time on your hands to sit
in front of your computer and read charts
all day, you can use MT4 to trade easily and
conveniently.

INTRODUCTION TO MT4
2
A Beginner’s
Guide to MT4
7 BEGINNERS GUIDE TO MT4
Learning the platform’s specific features will help you use the platform
to its fullest potential and enhance your trading experience.
2.1 Setting up an account

The first step to accessing the MT4 platform is to set up an account. This is simple to do.
OPTION 1: CREATE A DEMO ACCOUNT
F
or beginners, you can choose to create a
demo trading account before proceeding to
trade with a live account.
hen you open a new account, you’ll receive

W
an email with your account details. It’s useful
to keep a record of these account details –
especially if you decide to operate multiple
accounts.
ollow the instruction to download MT4 to your

F
device (Windows, Mac OS, phone, tablet).

Launch
MT4 on your device and login to
your account. In the example image, MT4
is launched via Windows.
ogin to your account, select the correct

L
server, and you’ll be able to start placing
trades.
ollow the instruction to download MT4 to

F
your device (Windows, Mac OS, phone,
tablet).
OPTION 2: CREATE A LIVE ACCOUNT
ou can create a Live trading account here, then download MT4 or launch MT4 WebTerminal from
Y
within the Axi Client Portal.

2.2 Understanding the MT4 interface

The MT4 interface may appear to be daunting at first – so many different windows, each with different
functions – but don’t worry as we’ll go through each part of the interface and its functions so that you
can easily understand the MT4 platform and have a smooth trading experience.
Window Heading
From left to right, the Window Heading shows the current account number, application name, type of
account, the active chart name being monitored and its period.
Main Menu
The main menu, which is located under the Window Heading, shows a set of sub-menus from which the
specific commands and functions that can be used in the client terminal can be found. If ever you’re lost
when operating on the MT4 platform, use the main menu to search for what you need.
Toolbars
Right under the main menu, you should see a set of four toolbars: Standard, Charts, Line Studies and
Timeframe.
The Standard toolbar shows you general commands you can use to manage your terminal. From here,
you can place a new order, see your profiles and enable or disable windows such as Market Watch and
Navigator.
The Charts toolbar shows you commands for managing charts and technical indicators. Whatever you
want to do for the charts you are viewing, you can access it from this toolbar. From here, you can click to
view your charts in bar, candlestick, or line chart format. You can also zoom in and out of the chart, or
scroll through the different time periods.

The Line Studies toolbar shows you graphical objects that can be imposed and overlaid onto charts to
aid in analysis. You’ll need this toolbar most often when you want to draw different objects onto your
charts. Whenever you need to add your own personal touch to a chart you’re viewing, this toolbar is very
convenient. Drawing within the MT4 platform will be explored in greater detail further on.
The Timeframe toolbar allows you to switch chart periods on the active chart window being displayed;
M stands for minutes, H for hours, D for days, W for weeks, MN for months.
Importantly, toolbars can be customised to your own preferences. MT4 provides a wide range of
additional tools over and above those that are shown above. To add more tools, simply right-click on the
toolbar and click on “Customize”. This will bring you to a window where you can choose all available tools
that you can continue to add on to your personal toolbar. Once you’ve selected your additional tools,
simply click “Insert” and it will appear on your toolbar.
Market Watch
The Market Watch window allows you to have a comprehensive overview of multiple currency pairs and
how their respective markets are doing. This window can be enabled or disabled quickly by pressing “Ctrl
+ M”.
The “Symbols” tab shows data for specific currency pairs, such as the bid and ask price, so that you can
decide what position you would like to take. By selecting your desired currency pair and clicking on the
“Tick Chart” tab, you will be able to see its tick chart in real time. Alternatively, you can right-click on the
symbol and click “View Chart”, or click and drag the symbol onto a chart to replace it with the one you
have dragged over.

Right-clicking on a specific currency pair will allow you to view its Depth of Market and Specification.
Opening the Specification tab will show you specific details of the currency pair selected, which you may
need to know before entering into a position.
In the lower section, the column labelled “sl” and “tp” represents Stop Loss and Take Profit levels
respectively. These are levels that should be defined and set at the beginning of a trade to protect you
from excessive losses and to lock in profits. The number in the middle represents the created volume of
all orders, shown in lots. Stop Loss and Take Profit levels will be explained in greater detail in further on.
Using the Depth of Market window allows you to place your trades much more quickly once you have
allowed for One-Click Trading. One-Click Trading is a function that allows you to speed up the trading
process and open your positions much faster – this will be explained in a later section on Tips and Tricks.
Before you move onto One-Click Trading, please continue reading through the following section covering
the basics of how to open a trade.
The upper portion of the window represents Ask prices, while the lower portion represents Buy prices.

Clicking on the red downward arrows will activate a pending Sell order, while clicking on the blue upward
arrows will activate a pending Buy order at the specific price.
Clicking on Buy, Sell or Close activates a Market Order. These are specific orders that can be placed
when opening a position and will be explored in greater detail in later parts.
Data Window
The Data Window allows you to view information for the specific
currency pair, date and time of the bar, as well as the indicators that
are being used in conjunction with the price chart. This window can
be enabled or disabled quickly by pressing “Ctrl + D”.
From here, you can see the specific, open, high, low, and close
(OHLC) prices at the given bar. You can also view the indicators that
are overlaid onto the price chart, or separately viewed in another
window.
Since the Data Window is simply an information window, it does not

allow you to perform any functions.

Navigator
The Navigator window allows you to access various features of the

client terminal. Here, you can view Accounts, Indicators, Expert
Advisors and Scripts. This window can be enabled or disabled quickly
by pressing “Ctrl + N”.
The Accounts tab shows the list of open accounts that you have.
From here, you can open a new Demo account or delete an old
Demo account. Please note that accounts meant for Live trading can
only be opened with your broker directly.
Indicators, Expert Advisors and Scripts will be explained further on.
Chart Switching Bar
The Chart Switching Bar shows you all the charts that are currently open, and allows you to toggle
among them simply by clicking on each of the tabs. Right-clicking on any of the tabs, then clicking on
“Windows” will allow you to access the Chart Window, which shows all open charts in a list. Alternatively,
you can press “Alt + W”.
Clicking on “Tile Windows”, or pressing “Alt + R” shows all open charts in a tile format. This lets you view
multiple charts at the same time.

Terminal
Terminal allows you to control and view information such as account history, news, signals and system
journal. This window can be enabled or disabled easily by simply pressing “Ctrl +T”.
Two important tabs are the Trade and Account History tabs. The Trade tab allows you to view all your
current open trades to make it easier to monitor them. The Account History tab allows you to review all
your past trades that have been closed. You can also save your reports of past trades by right-clicking
on a trade and clicking on “Save as Detailed Report”. Your saved reports will be saved in .HTML format
and opened instantly on your web browser for easy viewing.
Tester
The Tester window is catered towards testing Expert Advisors’ (EA) strategies and optimising their
parameters in order to estimate profitability and effectiveness. EAs are trading programmes that help
to automate trading processes. In this way, traders can set the parameters at which they are able to
maximise profitability in their trades before they run their specific EAs. The Tester window is enabled or
disabled easily by simply pressing “Ctrl + R”.

Search
The Search engine allows you to search on

two websites: MQL4.community and MQL5.
community. These websites are home to a
vast community of traders and MQL4/MQL5
developers, giving you access to a variety of
useful information on programming and utilising
the MTL4 platform. For example, you can
search for and read blogs, forums and articles
written by other traders and developers who
can provide their experience and insights on
operating on the MTL4 platform. Whenever you
need help with operating MTL4, look it up using
the “Search” engine by pressing “Ctrl +F1” or
simply clicking on the “Search” logo in the top
right hand corner.
Fast Navigation Box
The fast navigation box allows you to quickly

navigate through charts and chart periods – this
is especially useful if you want to move quickly to
different parts of the chart, or to different charts
altogether. Please note that the fast navigation
box only recognises specific commands that are
entered.
To navigate to a specific time, enter either the exact time in hours:minutes (e.g. 07:30, 7:30) or exact
date in yyyy.mm.dd, dd.mm.yyyy, or dd.mm.yy. (e.g. 2019.06.19/19.06.2019/19.06.19). To navigate to a
specific chart, enter the symbol of the currency pair (e.g. EURUSD). To navigate to a certain chart period,
enter the exact period (e.g. M1, H1, etc). You may also navigate to the specific chart period in a chart by
entering both and space it out with a comma (e.g. EURUSD, H1).
The fast navigation box can be enabled or disabled quickly by simply pressing “Enter”. Alternatively, you
can also hover near the bottom left of the chart and wait for a small symbol to appear, as shown below,
then double-click.

2.3 Understanding different trades and how to

place them
Before you begin trading on the MT4 platform for the first time, it’s important for you to understand the
different trades that are available and how exactly you can make these orders. Having this fundamental
knowledge on how to trade on the Forex markets will be essential for you to stay safe and profitable
while trading.
WHAT ARE MARKET ORDERS? WHAT ARE PENDING ORDERS? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Market orders are orders that are instantly executed against a price that your broker has offered to you.
This is commonly referred to as “buying” and “selling”.
For example, if you believe that the euro (EUR) will appreciate against the US dollar (USD), you
can decide to go long and initiate a “Buy” order in the EURUSD market. However, as you enter into
your position at prevailing market conditions, you may not be entering at the exact given price at
the moment you decide to open your position. On the MT4 platform, this is referred to as “Market
Execution”.
In contrast, buy limit, sell limit (or, limit orders), buy stop, and sell stop (or, stop orders) are pending
orders. These are orders that are to be executed at a later time once the market reaches the price
specified by you. On the MT4 platform, these are referred to as “Pending Order”.
A limit order is an order to either buy below the market or sell above the market at a certain price,
sometimes referred to as the “limit price”. In this way, the limit order is only executed when the price
becomes more favourable to your position. You can choose to “Buy Limit” or “Sell Limit”. If the price
does not reach the limit price, the order will not be executed, resulting in what is known as “missing
the market”. For example, referring to the figure below, you may decide that you want to place a
long position for EURUSD but you only want to enter at your limit price. In this case, you may choose
to “Buy Limit”. Once the price reaches your limit price, the order will be triggered and the position will
automatically be opened at market conditions.

A stop order is a specific order to either buy above the market or sell below the market at a certain
price, sometimes referred to as the “stop price”. In this way, the stop order is only executed in the event
that the price becomes less favourable to your position. You can choose to “Buy Stop” or “Sell Stop”. If
the price does not reach the stop price and instead moves in your favour, the order will not be executed.
For example, once again referring to the figure below, if you are trading in the EURUSD market and
expect the price to continue falling, you may choose to “Sell Stop”. Once the price reaches your stop
price, the order will be triggered and the position will automatically open at market conditions.
At first glance, limit and stop orders may not appear to be different, as price is simply being placed
above or below the current price – the key difference lies in the reason you’re using them. Limit orders
are particularly useful if you’re looking to play a “bounce” or a “reversal. Stop orders are particularly
useful if you’re looking to play a “breakout”.

2.4 What is a Stop Loss, Take Profit and

Trailing Stop?
In this section we’ll explain this concept in depth, with examples to help you understand what these levels
are and how exactly to set them.
A stop loss is a specific level that you can choose to exit the market and close out the position in order
to minimise any losses. For example, you may decide to enter into a long position in the EURUSD market
at a price of 1.1633. However, as a precaution, you may want to limit your losses and set a stop loss order
at 1.1600. In this way, even if you were completely wrong about the market and the price falls drastically,
the stop loss will be triggered at 1.1633 and you will close out your position at a minimised loss.
A take profit level is a specific level at which the trader wishes to exit the market and close out the
position in order to take a desired level of profit. For example, you may, again, decide to enter into a
long position in the EURUSD market at a price of 1.1633. At this point, you decide that a 30-pip profit will
be sufficient for you. Hence, you can set a take profit level at 1.1663. In this way, if you are right and the
price rises, once the price hits 1.1663, the take profit level is triggered and you will close out your position
having locked in your desired level of profits.

Both stop loss and take profit levels are essential levels that need to be defined when opening a
position in order to safeguard the trader from excessive losses and lock in a suitable amount of profits.
It’s a good way for traders to restrict themselves from trading based solely on emotional stimuli. It’s
also a useful tool for traders who cannot afford the time to continuously track charts and rely on
market orders.
Both the stop loss and take profit levels can be set when a position is opened on the MT4 platform.
By clicking either the up or down buttons for the stop loss and take profit fields, the price chart on
the left side of the window will immediately show the corresponding levels in comparison to current
market prices.

Alternatively, you can also choose to use a trailing stop. This is a stop loss that is attached to an open
position and moves automatically as the price fluctuates in your favour. In this way, there’s a constant
difference between the current price and your stop loss level. For example, if you’re in a long position for
EURUSD, you can set a trailing stop of 25 pips. As you can see, as price moves in your favour, the trailing
stop also moves such as the difference between the price now and the stop loss remains at 25 pips.
A trailing stop can be set by right-clicking on your order on the chart, which is shown as a dotted line,
and hovering over “Trailing Stop”. You will then need to choose the number of pips between your trailing
stop loss level and the current price.

2.5 How do I place a trade?

OPENING A POSITION
Click on “New Order”
In the new “Order”, set your desired parameters:

Symbol: Select the market you want to trade (e.g. EURUSD)
Volume: Number of contracts to be traded
Stop Loss: Set a stop to close the trade in the event it moves against you
Take Profit: Set a limit to close the trade and lock in profits
Comment: Comments regarding the trade, or to manage multiple trades
Type: Either Market Execution or Pending Order
• Market Execution: instantly executes order at the market’s buy/sell level
* As you are entering at market conditions, there may be a significant difference between the requested
price and the actual price at which you enter the market.

• ending Order: choose the point at which you want to enter with your position, the
P
type of order (buy limit, buy stop, sell limit, sell stop), as well as the expiry date of the
trade, should the market not reach the desired level by then.
PLACE ORDER DIRECTLY FROM CHART
A
nother way to place orders quickly is to right-click directly on the price charts and hover over
“Trading”. This will show pending orders that can be placed. If you right click above the current
price, you’ll be able to place either a sell limit or buy stop order. If you right-click below the current
price, you’ll be able to place either a buy limit or sell stop order.
MANAGING YOUR POSITION
O
nce your position is open, you can continue to modify your position by right-clicking on the
specific order, which can be seen as a dotted line on your chart, and clicking on “Modify”. This will
bring you to the order window of your specific order, where you can then modify your stop loss
and take profit levels. Once you have done so, simply click on “Modify…” to modify your position.
CLOSING YOUR POSITION
Once you decide to close out your position, right-click on the specific order again and click on “Close”.
You should see a new entry in Account History in the Terminal tab which summarises your recent trade.

2.6 How do I partially close a position?

Partial close (also known as “scaling out”) is a technique used to close a fraction of your position in
order to take profits, but also leave the remaining portion running to take advantage of further price
movement. In this way, you can scale back on risk in your strategy by taking in small amounts of profits
at regular time intervals as you deem fit.
To partially close a position, right-click on the specific order and click on “Modify or Delete Order”. You
can also double-click the specific order. This opens the Order window. From the Volume section, choose
the size of the original lot that you wish to partially close. Then, from the Type section, select “Market
Execution” and close.
Alternatively, instead of manually performing a partial close, you can also choose to use tools such as
Expert Advisors (EAs) to automate the process. EAs will be explored in detail further on.
2.7 Drawing with MT4 tools

The MT4 platform allows you to use “objects” to draw on the charts you are viewing. When you need to
add a personal touch to your charts, you can use the drawing tools to enhance your analysis.
This can be done by accessing the Line Studies toolbar as shown above. From left to right, the images
shown represent the:
Cursor
Crosshair
Vertical line
Horizontal line
Trendline
Equidistant Channel
Fibonacci retracement level
Draw Text
Draw Text Label
Arrows
As mentioned previously, MT4 offers many more tools that can be added onto the toolbar. To add more
tools, simply right-click on the toolbar and click on “Customize”. This will bring you to a window where you
can choose all available tools that you can continue to add on to your personal toolbar. Once you have
selected your additional tools, simply click “Insert” and it will appear on your toolbar.

In
order to draw on the charts using these tools, simply click on the object that you want to use on the
toolbar, then click on the chart. You can then control the size and position of the drawn objects by
moving your mouse as you click on the chart.
To edit or delete an object, simply right-click on the chart and click on “Objects List”. This displays a
full list of all the objects that are on the chart. From there, you can edit the object’s common display,
parameters, and visualization on different timeframes. You can also delete selected objects easily by
either right-clicking on the object and clicking “Delete” one by one, or entering the Objects List window,
selecting the checkboxes of the objects you want to get rid of, and then clicking on “Delete”.

BEGINNERS GUIDE TO MT4
3
Additional
MT4 Tools
26 ADDITIONAL MT4 TOOLS
3.1 Indicators
Indicators are mathematical tools that analyse past market
statistics – such as open, high, low and close prices – in order
to forecast future market movement. Traders use a variety of
technical indicators to help analyse the market and make better,
more well-informed trading decisions. Indicators are commonly
seen as overlays on price charts, or viewed in conjunction with
price charts.
There are many different types of indicators (trend-following,

volatility, momentum, etc) that are available to analyse different
features of the market. Traders often use a combination of
different indicators in their analysis, instead of sticking to a single
indicator as a “Holy Grail” that they adhere to.
A wide range of indicators can be found in the Navigator section

of the MT4 platform. To use an indicator, simply drag it onto the
price chart you wish to analyse and set your desired parameters.
To remove an indicator, right click and select “Delete indicator”.
3.2 Expert Advisors (EAs)

Expert Advisors (EAs) are trading software, written in the MQL4
programming language, specifically developed to automate
trading activities on the MT4 trading platform. EAs are created to
virtually manage all aspects of the trading platform. Since they
are fully automated based on the criteria set by the programmer, it
allows you to adhere to a strict trading system that’s not influenced
by emotional trading decisions. Think of an EA as a robot that only
operates a specific trading strategy at all times.
An EA functions by calculating the various indicators that it was

programmed to consider, and only takes action when the market
reaches the desired criteria, as determined by its source code.
In other words, the actions of an EA are based on a specific
algorithm, hence the term “algorithmic trading” that’s regularly
associated with MT4.
Generally, MT4 EAs are divided into three main parts: a startup (‘init’)
function, a major function, and a cleanup (‘deinit’) function. Once
activated, the EA runs through its startup function at the start, and
consequently, its cleanup function at the end of the trade.

27 ADDITIONAL MT4 TOOLS
There are various kinds of EAs that can be used that are based on different indicators. The following are
the more common and popular types that are seen. You can choose from individual EAs, or even use
different EAs together, in a way that suits your trading strategies and preferences.
H
edge EA: Programmed to place two separate and opposing positions, then reduce the loss on
one position while simultaneously maximising profits on the other
N
ews MT4 EA: A hedging EA that monitors news events and significant price movement that could
possibly take place during financial news releases
T
he Breakout EA: Programmed to open a position as soon as the price “breaks out” of the
predetermined support and resistance levels
Scalper EA: Programmed to secure small profits as soon as they appear
These can be found in the Navigator section of the MT4 platform. Here, you can choose to upload an EA
– or, if you have the knowledge, even write your own EA that’s programmed to your desired parameters.
3.3 Scripts
MT4 scripts are codes written in MQL4 programming language,
and edited with MetaEditor, to perform a single action within a set
period of time, exclusively on MT4 trading platforms. Essentially, it’s
a shortcut that traders use to perform a task more efficiently when
trading.
Scripts are available online and can be easily downloaded to be

used on an MT4 platform. Alternatively, you can also choose to
write your own script and make it available for others to use.
They can be found in the Navigator section of an MT4 platform.

Here, you can choose to upload a script that you may have
downloaded or written. Once your script is uploaded, simply right
click on the particular script, and click “Execute on Chart”.

ADDITIONAL MT4 TOOLS
4
Tips and Tricks
29 TIPS & TRICKS
4.1 Saving templates

With so many indicators, EAs, scripts and so on to help
with analysing the charts, it may become cumbersome
to set up your charts in the same way every time you
want to open a position in a new market. On the MT4
platform, this can be avoided by saving a template that
you can apply to other charts quickly and efficiently.
To do this, once you have a chart that you’re satisfied

with, simply right-click on it and select “Template”,
then “Save Template”. When you want to use it again,
simply right-click again and click “Load Template”. You
can save as many templates as you need for all your
trading strategies. You can also save a template as your
“Default” so that it automatically appears when a new
price chart is opened.
4.2 Saving profiles

Saving a profile is different from saving a template.
Once a profile is saved, it saves the complete layout
of the MT4 platform. This means that each chart with
its predetermined settings will be situated in exactly
the same place in each given profile. This would be
convenient in the event you want to change brokers.
Simply save the profile somewhere on your personal
computer, then import it into the new account on the
new broker’s platform.
To do this, simply click on “File” at the top left hand

corner , choose “Profiles”, then click on “Save as”. You
will be able to give your new profile a name.

30 TIPS & TRICKS
4.3 Saving favourite indicators

The MT4 platform offers a large selection of technical
indicators to choose from, helping you analyse price
charts and make well-informed trading decisions.
You may have selected a few indicators that best fit

your trading strategies from the laundry list of indicators
available. So, instead of searching through the long list
of indicators whenever you need your favourites, you
can add your most commonly used indicators to your
Favourites for easy access.
To add an indicator to your Favourites, simply right click

the desired indicator in the Navigator window and click
on “Add to Favourites”. Now, whenever you want to
add these indicators to a new chart, simply click on the
“Favourites” tab in the Navigator window to find them
quickly and easily.
4.4 Reducing the noise on charts

To remove as much “noise” as possible from the chart
that you’re viewing, you might consider removing the
visible grid lines and period separators. This can help
to reduce the clutter and help with fast-paced decision
making.
To remove grid lines, simply press “Ctrl +G” . Alternatively,

you can right-click on the chart and click on “Grid” to
remove the grid lines. To remove the period separators,
simply press “Ctrl +Y”.

31 TIPS & TRICKS
4.5 Using shortcuts and hotkeys

MT4 trading platforms provide a range of shortcuts and hotkeys that can be used to easily and quickly
access different parts of the platform.To further streamline the way you operate on the MT4 platform,
here are some useful shortcuts:
HOT KEYS FUNCTION

Left Arrow Chart scrolling to the left
Right Arrow Chart scrolling to the right
Page Down Shift entire chart to the left to show previous time period
Page Up Shift entire chart to the right to show more current time period
F1 Opens “User Guide”
F2 Opens “History Centre” window
F8 Opens the chart setup window
F9 Opens the “New Order” window
F11 Enable or Disable the full-screen mode
F12 Move the chart by one bar to the left
Shift+F12 Move the chart by one bar to the right
Home Move the chart to the start point
End Move the chart to the end point
Ctrl + Drag Move objects
Ctrl + F Crosshair (to measure)
Ctrl + G Enable or Disable the Grid Lines
Ctrl + M Market Watch
Ctrl + N Navigator
Ctrl + T Terminal
Ctrl + Y Enable or Disable the Period Separators
Ctrl + O Options window, then check “Select objects with one click”
Alt +T One-click trading
Additionally, you can also choose to tag your own hotkeys to indicators. By doing so, you won’t need to
switch chart templates whenever you want to change the indicators you are using. To create a hotkey,
simply right-click on the indicator, and then click on “Set hotkey”, and choose the respective hotkey you
want to tag to the indicator.

32 TIPS & TRICKS
4.6 Saving and printing your trade history

Keeping a consistent record of your past trades is important for successful trading – especially when
you want to reflect on what went right and what went wrong in the past so that you can learn from past
mistakes and try to replicate past successes in the future. The MT4 platform allows you to easily view your
trade history, download trade reports and print them out for future reference.
To view your trade history, open the Terminal window by clicking Ctrl +T and navigate to the “Account
History” tab. Here, you can simply right-click anywhere within the window and choose to view the time
period that you wish to view your trade history: the last 3 months, last month, in full, or for a custom period.
To download your trade reports, simply right-click within the window again and select either “Save as report”
or “Save as detailed report”. Both will allow you to save a report that gives you an account summary and
the specific details of the individual trades you have made, such as closed transactions, open positions and
working orders. The detailed report will include additional information such as profit factor.
These reports will be saved in HTML format and when opened will appear in your web browser. To print a
copy, open the file in your web browser and choose Select All in your browser’s “Edit” tab; alternatively,
you can use the shortcut “Ctrl + A”. Next, right-click and copy. Open a Microsoft Word or Google
Document, then paste the report. From here, you can print as normal using the application’s print
function.

33 TIPS & TRICKS
4.7 Resolving objects on multiple timeframes

The MT4 platform is designed so that a drawn
object appears on all the time frames that the
chart can be displayed in. This can become
a pesky problem for traders that use a lot
of objects and view their charts on multiple
timeframes. Sometimes you may only want
an object to appear on certain time frames
instead of on all of them.
To resolve this issue, double click on the object

you have drawn. Once you’re in the object’s
window, click on “Visualization”. Deselect the
checkbox for “Show on all the timeframes”.
You can now select the checkboxes just for the
timeframes you want to view your object on.
4.8 Setting alerts

With so many features on the MT4 platform
to monitor, it can be hard to keep track of the
important price levels being crossed which will
affect your trading strategies. Therefore, MT4
lets you set alerts at certain price levels so that
you’re notified via an audio signal when price
crosses these levels in the market.
To set an alert, move your mouse to the exact

price level you want, hover over “Trading”,
and click on “Alert”. If you are having trouble
navigating your mouse to the exact price
level, use the Crosshair function to hover over
the chart and find your specific price level,
then click to release the Crosshair before
right-clicking.

34 TIPS & TRICKS
4.9 Enabling one-click trading

The One-Click Trading function on
the MT4 platform provides high
convenience to traders who want to
act fast and keep up with the markets.
One-Click Trading can be enabled or
disabled by simply pressing “Alt + T”,
after which there should be a window
that appears on the top-left hand
corner of the chart. You can then
trade using the window quickly and
efficiently.
Once your position has been opened,

you can set your take profit and stop
loss levels by dragging your mouse
from the entry price to the desired
levels. Do take note of the direction of
the two levels as it corresponds to your
position – and be sure to avoid mixing
up the two!
There is a possibility that you may

move your take profit or stop loss
levels unintentionally when you meant
to adjust other objects on your chart.
In order to avoid this blunder, simply
press “Ctrl + O” to access the Options
window, and click on the “Charts” tab.
Once there, select the checkbox for
“Use ‘Alt’ key to drag trade levels”. Now,
your take profit and stop loss levels can
only be moved when the “Alt” key is
held down as you click.

35 TIPS & TRICKS
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Guide To MT4: Learn How To Use The MT4 Trading Platform

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FOREX TRADING

A Beginner’s Guide to MT4 6

Additional MT4 Tools 25

Tips and Tricks 28

About the author

Desmond Leong runs the award winning research

Boasting a team of CFA, CMT and CFTe

Desmond is also known as the “mad coder”. He has

CONTENTS | READ BLOG | JOIN WEBINAR www.axi.com

1.1 What is MT4?

1.2 Benefits of using MT4

The platform can also be used to automate

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2.1 Setting up an account

OPTION 1: CREATE A DEMO ACCOUNT

  hen you open a new account, you’ll receive

  ollow the instruction to download MT4 to your

CONTENTS | READ BLOG | JOIN WEBINAR www.axi.com

  ogin to your account, select the correct

  ollow the instruction to download MT4 to

OPTION 2: CREATE A LIVE ACCOUNT

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2.2 Understanding the MT4 interface

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Since the Data Window is simply an information window, it does not

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The Navigator window allows you to access various features of the

Indicators, Expert Advisors and Scripts will be explained further on.

Chart Switching Bar

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The Search engine allows you to search on

Fast Navigation Box

The fast navigation box allows you to quickly

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2.3 Understanding different trades and how to

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2.4 What is a Stop Loss, Take Profit and

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2.5 How do I place a trade?

 Click on “New Order”

 In the new “Order”, set your desired parameters:

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PLACE ORDER DIRECTLY FROM CHART

MANAGING YOUR POSITION

CLOSING YOUR POSITION

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2.6 How do I partially close a position?

2.7 Drawing with MT4 tools

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There are many different types of indicators (trend-following,

A wide range of indicators can be found in the Navigator section

3.2 Expert Advisors (EAs)

An EA functions by calculating the various indicators that it was

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Scripts are available online and can be easily downloaded to be

A Beginner’s Guide to MT4 6

Additional MT4 Tools 25

Tips and Tricks 28

hen you open a new account, you’ll receive

ollow the instruction to download MT4 to your

ogin to your account, select the correct

ollow the instruction to download MT4 to

Click on “New Order”

In the new “Order”, set your desired parameters: