MetaTrader 4 Overview

Metatrader4 is by far the world’s most common and popular trading platform for Forex traders. It is well known, and an estimated 85% of all brokers use it. It is essential that you understand how to use it even if your current broker doesn’t offer it. This is because if and when you switch brokers, the odds favor that you will be using the platform at the new broker.

The layout is intuitive and very easy to navigate. This is one of the reasons it is so popular with traders. The upper left side has the market watch window, and directly below that you have the navigator window. To the right, you will have the chart window, capable of showing three different types of charts. Under that is the terminal window that shows positions in the market, balances, news, and email from the broker.

The market watch window shows several things. The first thing that you will notice is the listing of all currency pairs able to be traded. The prices are color-coded, as the prices in red are the ones that have just ticked down, while prices in blue are the ones that have just ticked up. You can also look at a tick chart by clicking the appropriate tab. By right-clicking on a currency pair, you can also look at several metrics such as the high and low for the day.

The navigator window allows the trader to log into any different Forex accounts that you may have. The indicators section allows you to open and add all of you indicators by simply clicking or dragging the indicator onto the chart. You can then set parameters when the options box pops up. You can also add any expert advisors in a similar manner, allowing the automated system to trade for you. The expert advisor button at the top of the platform controls whether or not you are allowing the expert advisor to run at the moment in time. It can be clicked on and off at any given moment.

The chart window offers three types of charts: line, bar, and candlestick. The platform has three buttons on top that the trader can adjust to suit their individual preferences.