When you click on the File dialog at the top of MetaTrader, one of the top options is “Open Offline.” Most people have no idea what that option does or why it is useful.
Offline charts offer the ability to display custom time frames, although doing so requires programming a custom script. Scripts sort through data on regular charts, then the code rearranges that data into a new time frame. The new time frame appears in offline charts.
Experiment on your own with one of MT4’s default scripts:
Open the navigator. Identify the script called “period_converter.” Drag and drop the script onto a chart. Change the period to something other than the chart than you have open. The example in the screenshot below turns an H1 chart into an H2 chart. Set the ExtPeriodMultiplier = 2. |
Go to File \ Offline Charts. Select the new H2 period which appears in the list.
Behold, a two hour offline chart. One feature you’ll notice is that this “offline” chart actually appears to update with the price. The script is written in such a way that it feeds data through to the offline chart at regular intervals.
Some traders like to run Expert Advisors on offline charts. It works most of them time, but it adds extra potential problems. Execution will slow down due to the way the script regulates incoming ticks. The same problem, which is caused by running an infinite loop, causes the chart to stop working on rare occasions. This is where the big problems occur. An EA that no longer receives updating prices is a nightmare scenario. Trades are left naked when these events occur. There’s not much that you can do about it from a coding perspective.
sunday says
i have an offline chart m2 but do not know how to set it
Shaun Overton says
Hi Dennis,
Do you mean that you don’t know how to set it up?
raden says
How to change chart to TF2 or M2?
Would you give me step by step?
Thank you very much
raden says
Is this true?
Open M1
run that script (Periode Converter)
Change value to 2.
Is not it is?
Shaun Overton says
Hi Raden,
That’s exactly correct. You must use the period converter script.
hugh.mcgahern says
You can also use offline charts to track instruments that your broker doesn’t offer.
So how do you activate this feature?
Shaun Overton says
You’d need a script to create and maintain them. Email info@onestepremoved.com and we’ll be sure to send them to you.
Tom says
I’ve got a very simple strategy running across 25 pairs. Though there are several trades each day, it’s a quite “lazy” thing – no scalping whatsoever, relatively large stops (from intraday POV)… and though it’s not the classic basket approach “buy that, sell that” and each pair is optimized to go its own way, the positions hedge each other most of time so the drawdown doesn’t go crazy even in rampant flow shifts. It’s been profitable untouched for months of live trading and years of tick data backtests, but – like every other strategy – it has its down periods.
After trying to switch the thing off/on during bad days I’ve got the idea to trade its equity chart.
So I made a major shift: let’s keep the strategy running on a demo account (it’s really lazy = not sensitive to fills/slippage) on a server! The demo creates an OFFLINE CHART (all timeframes + M3) displaying equity. With SMB sharing and symlinks pointed to MT4 history folder, and a simple tick-generating indicator, I can use these charts anywhere.
I’m analyzing the demo equity of the untouched strategy via offline charts. I’m using some common indicators and levels (yes, might seem crazy but the equity graph HAS levels to lean on, and they are NOT the kind of levels drawn by naysayers on random charts)… on real account, I just have a kind of a single-instance “trade copier” listening to commands from control panel. I’m “driving” the strategy manually – since the equity curve really has a long bias (being choppy at times), I’m “buying the dips” of the offline chart by closing everything at tops and opening the current demo basket at bottoms, taking every additional trade together with demo to a significant top again 🙂
It’s been highly reliable for me – trading the equity chart in a sophisticated manner (more complex than kinda above/below MA) has booosted my R/R by a factor of 2.6 over 1500 trades. Without a custom chart, I couldn’t do such a thing.
I kinda like MT5 in some regards.. but its inability to deal with custom charts/data kills everything that might be good in it.
Shaun Overton says
Wow, very impressive. It must’ve taken quite a long time just to get that working. Sounds like a good idea – I’ve seen strategies in the past where the signals of the equity curve are better than the market signals. Michael Halls-Moore mentioned studying the signal of signals in my interview with him.
Uniyul says
Perhaps my question is so dumb, but what is the advantage of using an offline chart vs. not-offline chart? What strategy needs an offline chart or better run on an offline chart? Why it is so complicated so we need a script or EA to use the chart?
You don’t need to answer it if my question is not intelligent enough or call it so stupid.
Thank you.
Shaun Overton says
Online charts are those that already exist in MT4. If you want to create a chart that’s not available in MT4, like a Renko chart, for example, then you’d need to use an offline chart.
Sambat says
After opening the offline chart for M2 chart, open the properties of the offline chart and uncheck the ‘Offline Chart’ box. Now your M2 offline chart is compatible to run any EA that works in normal chart.
Shaun Overton says
Exactly!
Andre says
Hi Shaun,
I run an Expert Advisor that is hosted on MT4 VPS, on 4H Charts based on London Time.
As I am exploring using different brokers with different MT4 Server Times (NY Time, EST, etc), I am working with a programmer to change the 4H Charts to be-rebased back to London Time, because the results are the best based on London Time 4H Charts.
My programmer has mentioned that there are 2 ways that we could do this: 1 is using an Offline Chart (as above), while the other method is to render the bars Live (Similar to having a Heiken Ashi indicator on top of the charts). So he mentions that there are 2 available options, Offline method or Live method.
Reading your article above (Problems of slower execution due to not having tick-by-tick data and potential naked trades), would having the Programmer Render the new 4H Charts Live and then having the EA run on it (I host it in MT4 VPS) be a better option?
Thanks buddy.
Andre
Shaun Overton says
Good question. I would run my EA on H1 charts, build the H4 bars internally within the EA, then place trades accordingly.
OneStepRemoved also offers its own EA programming service if you run into any difficulties.
Tom says
I’m really frustrated. I’ve followed everything you and other people have said but when i select my new custom offline chart, it stays offline, even if i go to the chart properties and un-check the ‘offline chart’ box it still doesn’t display anything, just a window with the name of the currency pair at the top and the custom time (Hour 2) and the words ‘offline’ next to it, what am i doing wrong?? Thanks in advance!
Shaun Overton says
You’re not doing anything wrong… that’s just the way it looks. If you see new ticks coming in on the offline chart, then it’s working.
Tom says
Thanks for the speedy reply, I discovered that like you said i wasn’t doing anything wrong, it was the indicator i was using that was stopping it from working correctly. Thanks for the help, much appreciated.
Steve Lapp says
Is it possible to build a tick chart with the same script (with a certain amount of ticks instead of time frame)?
Shaun Overton says
Yep!