How to Use MetaTrader 4 (MT4): Complete Guide for Beginners

MetaTrader 4 is among the most popular platforms for online Forex trading. It’s used by over 200 Forex brokers worldwide. With MT4, you can trade on over 50 markets and see up to 100 real-time prices of assets at once. You can research your investments with MT4 on MTrading.com and do technical charting, consisting of drawing trend lines and momentum indicators.

Also, MT4 allows you to place automated trading orders and set alerts when the market hits a certain price. Overall, it’s a great online trading app for any type of Forex trader. The following steps will help you get familiar with the MT4 trading platform. 

Install Your MT4 Terminal

To begin trading on MetaTrader 4, you must first install the software on your computer. The installation process is very simple and only takes a few minutes to complete. Once your MT4 terminal is installed on your computer, you can begin trading immediately.

Using Your MT4 Terminal

The main window of the MetaTrader 4 terminal is called the trading platform or workspace. The workspace displays all information about your current positions, including open trades and pending orders. You can also use the workspace for entering new orders and managing existing orders. The trade screen shows the prices of assets you want to buy or sell, currency pairs, and time frames available for trading in the market currently open for trading in your account. 

To make any changes to this information, simply click on it and make adjustments using tools provided by the platform itself or other tools provided by third-party vendors who offer custom software solutions designed specifically for use with MetaTrader 4 platforms (such as automated Forex robots).

How to Set Up Charts on the MetaTrader 4 Platform

To open a chart in MetaTrader, click on Chart and choose the instrument you want to trade with. You will then see a list of all available charts for that particular instrument. Clicking on any of these charts will bring it up on your screen. You can also choose multiple charts at once by holding down Ctrl or Shift while clicking on them.

How to Add Indicators to Your Charts

Indicators are one of the most powerful tools available in MT4, and they allow traders to analyze historical data and make informed decisions about future movements of an asset’s price. There are many different types of indicators available in MT4, ranging from simple oscillators such as MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) and RSI (Relative Strength Index) to complex algorithms such as Elliot Wave Theory or Bollinger Bands Technique (BB). To add an indicator to your chart, click on Chart > Indicators.

Use the Drawing Tools to Draw on Your Charts

Select the appropriate drawing tool from the toolbar to draw on your charts. If you don’t see it, just go to View > Toolbars and select Drawings. The following tools are available:

• Pencil: allows you to draw straight lines. Click on the chart where you want the line to begin, then click again where you want it to end. You can also drag on the chart with the mouse cursor to draw a curved line.
• Eraser: removes any lines previously drawn using Pencil or another drawing tool. It works in combination with other tools as well — for example, if you draw a line with Pencil and then decide that it’s not necessary anymore, just click Eraser, and poof, it’s gone.
• Arc: Draw circular arcs (circles) on your chart based on two points — one point at which the arc begins and one where it ends. You can change how large or small this arc is by adjusting its radius (which appears next to Arc when activated).
• Ellipse: draws elliptical shapes (ellipses) on your chart based on two points.

How to Place Orders on the MetaTrader 4 Platform

The primary tool for placing orders is the Order Ticket. You can access the Order Ticket by clicking on “Order” or “Trade” in the top menu bar and selecting “New Order.” You can also click on the button with three vertical dots located next to each price chart.

You will then be presented with a list of different types of orders: Market, Stop-Loss and Take Profit (SL TP), Stop-Loss & Take Profit Limit (SL TP Limit), Trailing Stop-Loss (SL TP Trailing), One Cancels Other (OCO), Buy & Sell Stop Limit Buy & Sell Stop Close Only Buy & Sell One Cancels Other (OCO) Buy & Sell Trailing Stop Loss Close Only Buy & Sell Trailing Stop Loss Close Only is only available when placing an order in a currency pair that uses USD as its base currency (USD/AUD, USD/CAD).

How to Close Trades and Manage Your Positions

There are two ways you can close your positions:

Close All Positions: Clicking on the button will close all open trades and show you a list of how much profit or loss you’ve made from all open trades. You can also click on the green “X” icon in the top right-hand corner of each trade to close that specific one.

Exit Open Positions: This allows you to close only some of your trades simultaneously, rather than all. Clicking on this button will give you options such as “closing all positions except those with unrealized profits” or “closing all positions at the market price if they are not currently open.”

How to Set Buying & Selling Price Limits with Stop Losses

To set a stop loss for a buy order, click on the Bid button (Selling Price) and enter the price at which you want your trade to be executed. For example, if EUR/USD is trading at 1.1700, you can enter 1.1725 as your stop loss to be sold when the price falls below that level (1.1725). This will limit your losses if it turns out that you’ve entered a wrong trade or there was an unexpected change in market conditions before you could get out of it.

You should always set a stop loss because it helps protect you against any bad trades or unforeseen changes in market conditions. No trade will be executed if your account balance drops below the amount required for executing this trade. All pending orders will be canceled without obligation to place another order with any broker or a third-party provider.

Conclusion

You should know how to use MetaTrader 4 (MT4), the most commonly used platform for trading forex worldwide, including in the United States. The platform is relatively straightforward, and if you follow the steps outlined above, you should have no problem finding your bearings.