Buying and selling in MetaTrader is about as simple as it gets. There are, however, a number of features in the platform that most traders don’t know about. Here are the top 10 tips that save me the most time working every day with MetaTrader.
- Use templates. Templates are arrangements of indicators and chart settings that maintain a personalized look and feel. They help you avoid doing the same task over and over again. The video below explains how to set them up.
- Measure the number of bars back. Select the crosshair tool from the toolbar. Left click on any bar, then drag the mouse around. You’ll see a box with numbers like 8 / 109 / 117.809, which is an example that I just did with the GBP/JPY. In this case, the box tells me that my measurement is 8 bars long, 109 micropips (10.9 pips) tall and the final price is 117.809.
- Change the symbol of a chart that you already have open. Put the mouse in the very bottom left corner of an open chart. You’ll see the icon change. When this happens, double click. You can now change the symbol name. Push enter to change the chart.
- Use scripts to do the little things like attach stops and limits, opening new orders and deleting all of the pending orders in your account. This is a task that often requires a bit of MQL programming.
- Take screenshots inside of MetaTrader. Right click on the chart. You’ll see an option that says “Save screenshot.”
- Push F5 to change the properties of an Expert Advisor on the chart. I find this easier than moving my mouse around all the time.
- Push F8 to change a chart’s properties. This allows you to change the colors, the grid display and all of the visual elements that drive you crazy.
- Use the profiles to keep your desktop space clean. A profile in MetaTrader allows you to use templates on different charts, but to categorize broad groups. Say, for example, that I like to either trade GBP pairs or AUD pairs. I could create two diferent profiles with different chart settings and indicators. Whenever I want to flip between them, I just go to File \ Profiles \ Next. Alternatively, I can just push Control and F5 on the keyboard at the same time. As you can tell, I’m a big fan of keyboard shortcuts.
- Reduce the number of bars on your charts if your custom indicators run too slowly. Go to Tools \ Options \ Charts. Change the number of bars to something reasonable like 3,000. You don’t really need to scroll through 50,000 bars while you’re day trading.
- Edit the symbols in Market Watch if your broker isn’t showing all of the currencies. Right click on the Market Watch window (the one that shows all of the updating prices). Select “Symbols” from the menu. Use the show and hide buttons to select which currencies you want to turn on and off.