How to install the MT4 terminal, trading strategies and indicators. How to add an indicator to MT5 - quick installation

An indicator in trading is a derivative of price and quotes that helps traders make decisions. In this article we will look at how to install a custom indicator in the MetaTrader 4 terminal.

Step 1. Download the archive or indicator file

The standard format for indicator files is ex4. There are also variations of files in mq4, or in two formats at the same time. As an example, let’s take a custom indicator called “Price Action Dashboard”, downloaded from the archive.

Extract the files and move on to the next step.

Note: The terminal program must already be installed on your computer.

Step 2. Go to the data directory

To quickly find and open the desired folder, launch the terminal. In the window that appears, select the “File” menu located in top panel. Then click on the “Open data directory” item.

A folder will open where we are interested in the MQL4/Indicators path. We copy our indicator file with the ex4 extension to this folder, as shown below.

If the kit included an additional mq4 file, then it must also be copied to this folder along with ex4.

Step 3. Restart the terminal and allow DLL import

Most indicators require the "DLL Import" option to be enabled. To do this, you need to launch the terminal and go to the “Settings” section through the “Tools” menu in the top panel.

Step 4. Check the operation of the indicator

To launch the indicator on the desired chart, do the following:

1. turn on the terminal;

2. select the required chart with a currency pair;

3. go to the insert menu on the top panel;

4. select “Indicators”;

5. go to the “Custom” section;

6. launch the desired indicator.

Another option (faster) is through the “Navigator”, which is launched through the folder icon in the top panel.

After the above steps, you need to enter the necessary indicator settings in the “Input Parameters” tab, or leave them as standard.

You can also customize the colors, different levels and displaying the indicator on a specific timeframe. Ready. After this, you can click on the “Ok” button and use the installed indicator.

Conclusion

Installing the indicator in the MetaTrader 4 terminal is done in the same way as an advisor through the data catalog. It is enough to copy the downloaded indicator files to the appropriate folder, and then attach it to the chart through the navigation panel or the “Insert” menu.

Indicators can consist of one or more files. Some of them require import to be enabled DLLs in the terminal settings.

As well as other types of trading directly or indirectly using the Meta Trader 4 trading platform, include indicators that are not included in the standard package of the specified terminal. Usually they are attached to the copyright in the form of a separate archive, which, after downloading, must be correctly installed in the trading platform, which is installed on personal computer. And now we will take a detailed look at how to install indicators in MT4.

Installing indicators in MT4

So, in order to use indicators for MT 4, the specified trading terminal must be installed on your personal computer.

In order to install indicators in your MT4, you need to do the following:
1. .
2. Unpack the downloaded archive into a separate folder. At the same time, indicator files can have the extension: ex4 and mql.
3. Next, these files must be copied to the appropriate directory of the Meta Trader 4 program installed on your PC. This is done like this:

In order to go to the MT4 data directory, you need to inside the interface the specified program open the “File” menu item, in which find the “Open data directory” item

After opening the directory, you need to find the “MQL4” folder, and inside it the “Indicators” directory. This is where we copy all the indicator files with the extension ex4 and mql.

After that, go to the internal interface of Meta Trader 4, on the top panel of the platform, click on the “Tools” menu item, select the “Settings” section there, and selecting the “Advisers” tab, check the boxes, as shown in the screenshot. Next, click “OK”.

4. Now, in order to installed indicators were available for selection and application in Meta Trader 4, the specified terminal must be restarted.
5. After restarting MT4, open the quote chart of any currency pair where you plan to use the custom indicator you installed. After that, at the top of the platform, click on the “Insert” menu item, select the “Indicators” section there, the “Custom” subsection and select the installed indicator.

6. Immediately after this, a window will appear in which you can manually change the parameters of the selected indicator, its display color, levels, as well as its display on timeframes. After entering the data or after you decide to leave it as default, click the “OK” button.

7. After clicking OK, the selected indicator will appear on the quote chart and will be ready for use.

In order to remove indicators for MT 4 from the asset chart, or make changes to their settings, press the Ctrl+I key combination on your keyboard. After this, you will see a window and a list of indicators installed on the quote chart.

After this, you need to click on the name of the indicator, and using the keys on the panel of the window that opens, delete the selected indicator or implement it additional settings(done through the “Properties” button).

The MetaTrader5 terminal is slowly but surely replacing MetaTrader4. To some extent, this trend is supported by the MetaQuotes company itself, which increases the cost of the licensed “four”, but one cannot ignore the fact that any software product is gradually developing. Against this background, traders are increasingly asking the question: how to add an indicator to MT5?

First of all, I want to remind you one important nuance- the programming language in which all MetaTrader5 applications are created differs from the MetaTrader4 language, although to a non-professional it may seem that their operators and variables are identical.

This means that only those indicators that have the mq5 or ex5 extension are suitable for installation in MT5, and all algorithms with mq4/ex4 formats will have to be rewritten anew.

But let's get back to the topic. Let's assume the user has already installed MetaTrader5 and opened . How to add an indicator to MT5?

What you need to do to add an indicator to MT5

In order for everything to work out the first time and without errors, the first thing you need to do is find the folder on your hard drive where the algorithms are loaded. To do this, go to the “File” program menu and select the “Open data directory” command there.

This action will open the main folder, which contains the main working modules. As a rule, during the terminal installation process it is automatically created on system disk, so finding it manually is almost impossible.

Next, you need to open the “MQL5” directory. From its name you can already guess that all files related to the programming language of the same name are collected here, and the “Indicators” folder already gives an unambiguous hint on what to do next.

And here I want to immediately warn beginners against rash actions. The fact is that the answer to the question “how to add an indicator to MT5?” depends on the set of source documents that were received from the application developer or downloaded from the Internet.

In particular, the following formats can be added to mq5/ex5 files:

• txt, csv, xls, etc. - these are various text notes and tables from which some experts read information;
• mqh are so-called "include files", they are often used to protect the source code and make it more representative;
• dll - libraries, content information various functions, both custom and standard.

Thus, if a trader only has a basic mq5/ex5 file, it should already be clear how to add an indicator to MT5 - just copy it to the “Indicators” folder.

Additional files for added MT5 indicators

If the archive contains additional files, they need to be distributed into appropriate subcategories.

After copying, the MetaTrader5 terminal should be restarted. This operation is necessary for the built-in compiler to generate the necessary objects and display the new expert in the “navigator”.

By the way, since the word “compiler” was mentioned, I would like to remind you of one feature of Expert Advisors written in the MQL5 language. As everyone remembers, they come in two types - mq5 and ex5.

The first ones are source code, i.e. they can be modified, improved, supplemented auxiliary functions etc. They are of particular value to the user, as they literally “free their hands.”

But the second format is nothing more than a compiled mq5 file, i.e. This is a ready-made program that cannot be changed. Thus, if a trader only has ex5 at his disposal, he may encounter the following problems:

• The indicator will sooner or later stop working correctly, since MetaTrader developers periodically make changes to their platform;
• The user simply will not be able to evaluate the formula on the basis of which the algorithm bases its calculations;
• Very often problems arise with automation, i.e. It is better to create an auxiliary advisor that reads algorithm signals based on the source code.

The indicator did not appear in the MT5 navigator?

Beginners also often ask, how to add an indicator to MT5, if after installation it does not appear in the navigator? Unfortunately, this situation indicates that a critical error occurred during the compilation process, due to which the program was unable to convert mq5 to ex5.

To eliminate any doubts, you can even manually see where exactly the problem appears. To do this, you first need to double-click on the indicator name with the left mouse button. As a result, the MetaEditor should automatically launch.

Please note that in the top panel of this window there is a large “Compile” button. To search for a failure, simply click on it and wait for a reaction.

In my example, the editor found one critical error located in line 165 of the code. It is this that prevents the compiler from converting the “source” into required format, so then there are two options - to solve the problem yourself, or to ask programmers to help with the misfortune.

And since we are talking about failures in the operation of installed algorithms, I would like to remind you of one detail - if the kit includes a library, you need to allow DLL import in the MetaTrader5 settings.

In principle, users quickly figure out how to add an indicator to MT5, i.e. possible problems, which I talked about today, bypass many traders, but, as they say, forewarned is forearmed.

Not all traders know that indicators can be applied not only to the price chart, but also to others. For example, you can average not only the price value, but also the indicators based on price history. This helps reduce the number of false signals.

Most often, a moving average is used with other indicators. This is done to smooth out the indicator readings to obtain a more reliable signal. The application of MA to other indicators is quite common, but not everyone knows how to do it correctly.

How to set Moving Average to another indicator in ?

So, to install the MA indicator, we must call the navigator with indicators: menu View > Navigator or pressing the key combination CTRL+N.

First, use the mouse to transfer the indicator on which we will apply the Moving Average to the price chart. Let's take MACD as an example, although it could be any indicator RSI, CCI, Volumes, etc.

Then we find the Moving Average indicator in the navigator list and drag it with the mouse to the window with . In the properties window that opens, select the value from the “Apply to” list: Previous Indicator's Data(apply to the data of the previous indicator) or value First Indicator's Data(apply to the data of the first indicator) – in in this case there is no difference, since the previous indicator is the first one. That's the whole secret. In the example given, the green line is precisely the MA indicator.

Let's average the average

— At the top of the picture there is an MA indicator applied to the price ( white line).
— Smoothed average from the white MA, the Previous Indicator’s Data value is applied ( blue line). Double smoothing on price.
— Blue line– double smoothed value from the white MA, single smoothed from the blue one. The value of Previous Indicator’s Data is applied, that is, to the blue MA. Triple price smoothing.

Market participants achieve results in different ways: performing complex mathematical calculations, using for analysis trading systems, entrusting the work to automated advisors. However, none of the methods can do without the use of indicators. Therefore, novice traders often face the question of how to add indicators tomt4 .

Why add an indicator to mt4

Indicator - useful tool in trading, and for many market participants is almost irreplaceable. He represents himself the simplest program, created special language MQL4 programming. The indicator is designed to solve the main task of trading - to predict the further direction of movement of quotes. The principle of its operation is subordinated mathematical methods, with the help of which he analyzes market data: money volume, direction of transactions, number of market participants, and, having processed all the received data, gives trading signals.

Of course, not all of them need to be followed strictly - many are often erroneous, and therefore need confirmation in other ways.

But the popularity of indicators lies in their ease of use, clear and precise interpretation of their signals, as well as the ability to combine their work with other tools, for example, advisors or scripts. By fulfilling their role, indicators free the trader from many routine tasks, helping to focus on the main tasks.

How can you add an indicator to mt4

The MetaTrader 4 trading platform is equipped with rich functionality, including a wide selection of main indicators. All of them are well known, time-tested and quite effective. But sometimes some traders want more.

They create their own so-called custom indicators, many of which are very useful.

In order for them to start working, they need to be placed on the chart. To do this, first of all, you need to know how to add an indicatormt4 to the trading platform. By the way, it is not without reason that the popularity of MetaTrader 4 is based not only on the user-friendliness of the interface and the many advisors and scripts created for this platform, but also on the ability to make changes to the program, including adding indicators.

The installation of any indicator begins with downloading the indicator from the Internet. Usually it ends up archived, which requires preliminary unzipping.

After extraction desired folder from the archive, the required file is found inside; it usually comes in two types of extension: mql or ex4. It needs to be placed in the trading terminal.

The further process of installation into the trading platform does not require special knowledge, and to understand how to add an indicator tomt4, Even a person very far from programming is capable. To do this, you need to launch the terminal, click on the “File” menu button and select “Open data directory” from the drop-down list. Thus, we will end up in the root folder with an incomprehensible and long name. In it you need to find the MQL4 section, from which you need to go to the Indicators catalog. This folder is the place where all custom indicators should be placed. You should copy the .mql or .ex4 file into it.

To complete the installation, the folder must be closed and then turned off again. mt4. How to add an indicator on the schedule? You need to activate the “View” menu and select the “Navigator” panel there. From there we will go to the “Indicators” tab. Inside the tab, a list will open with all custom indicators placed in the trading terminal. You need to find the one you need and click on it with the mouse. The properties window will open. It must allow the import of DLLs and external experts. Then you should expand the currency chart and drag the indicator onto it. You can also use another method - click on the name of the indicator with the mouse. A settings window will appear where, if desired, you can change the parameters of the indicator.

To remove an indicator from the chart, just click on the chart with the mouse, select “List of indicators” in the window that appears and delete the one that is not needed.

Adding an indicator to the terminal is, at first glance, not an easy task, but after the first time the algorithm of actions will seem simple and logical. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment and carefully follow the instructions.