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TableofContents
CUSTOMISATION:..............................................................................................................................................................3
WindowsLayout...........................................................................................................................................................3
CustomisingCharts.......................................................................................................................................................4
SettingaDefaultChart.................................................................................................................................................4
CustomisingToolbars...................................................................................................................................................5
WORKFLOW:.....................................................................................................................................................................7
UsingShortcuts.............................................................................................................................................................7
PortfolioManagement.................................................................................................................................................8
Quicklyfindasymbolwithinthemarketwatch..........................................................................................................8
HavecompleteControlofAllofYourMarkets............................................................................................................8
UsingHotkeys...............................................................................................................................................................9
AccessyournewMT4setupfromANYInternetComputer.........................................................................................9
SimpleModificationofIndicators..............................................................................................................................10
ModifyingtheIndicator..............................................................................................................................................10
FavouriteIndicatorsList.............................................................................................................................................11
TradingChecklistwithinMT4....................................................................................................................................11
CHARTINGTIPS:...............................................................................................................................................................12
LayeringIndicators.....................................................................................................................................................12
IndicatorofanIndicator.............................................................................................................................................12
MultiTimeFrameObjects..........................................................................................................................................13
AnalyseFasterandMoreEfficiently...........................................................................................................................13
TRADING:........................................................................................................................................................................14
ScalingIn.....................................................................................................................................................................14
ScalingOut..................................................................................................................................................................14
TrailingStops..............................................................................................................................................................15
Alerts..........................................................................................................................................................................15
1ClickTradingwithDragNDropStops....................................................................................................................16
TRADEANALYSIS:............................................................................................................................................................17
ViewhistoricalTradesonyourCharts........................................................................................................................17
ExportingTradingHistory...........................................................................................................................................17
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Tips&Tricks
RISKWARNING
TradingintheForeignExchangeandCFDsmarketinvolvesasignificantandsubstantialriskoflossandmaynotbesuitable
foreveryone.Youshouldcarefullyconsiderwhethertradingissuitableforyouinlightofyourage,income,personal
circumstances,tradingknowledge,andfinancialresources.Onlytruediscretionaryincomeshouldbeusedfortradinginthe
ForeignExchangeandCFDsmarket.Anyopinion,marketanalysisorotherinformationofanykindcontainedissubjectto
changeatanytime.NothinginthispresentationshouldbeconstruedasasolicitationtotradeintheForeignExchangeor
CFDsmarket.IfyouareconsideringtradingintheForeignExchangeorCFDsmarket,beforeyoutrade,makesureyou
understandhowthespotmarketoperates,howThinkForexiscompensated,understandtheThinkForextradingcontract,
rulesandbethoroughlyfamiliarwiththeoperationofandthelimitationsoftheplatformonwhichyouaregoingto
trade.AFinancialServicesGuide(FSG)andProductDisclosureStatements(PDS)fortheseproductsisavailablefromTF
GLOBALMARKETS(AUST)PTYLTDbyemailingcompliance@thinkforex.com.au.TheFSGandPDSshouldbeconsidered
beforedecidingtoenterintoanyDerivativetransactionswithTFGLOBALMARKETS(AUST)PTYLTD.Theinformationonthe
presentationisnotdirectedatresidentsinanycountryorjurisdictionwheresuchdistributionorusewouldbecontraryto
locallaworregulation.2012TFGLOBALMARKETS(AUST)PTYLTD.Allrightsreserved.AFSL424700.ABN69158361561.
Pleasenote:WedonotserviceUSentitiesorresidents.
MT4Tips&Tricks
ByMattSimpson
Copyright@2013TFGLOBALMARKETS(AUST)PTYLTD
AllRightsReserved
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Tips&Tricks
CUSTOMISATION:
BelowisyourtypicalMT4platformwhenyouloaditforthe1sttime.Thisismypersonalopinion,butIfindit
overwhelming,poorlylaidoutandtoodistractingandobstructivetotradewith.
Itisyourdutyasatradertomakeyour
tradingprocessaseasyaspossible.This
willallowyoutofocusuponyourtrading
more,asopposedtolookingforfeatures
amongstmanythatyoujustdonotuse.
Thereforitisimportantthatyou
customiseMT4tosuityourspecific
needs.Therequirementsofamanual
traderlikemyselfwillbeverydifferent
toonewhotradeswithexpertadvisors
(EAs)andIhonestlybelievemany
tradersdonotusearound80%ofthe
toolstheyhavevisibleontheirtrading
platform.Sowhyhavethosepresentat
all?
Windows Layout
ViewVideo
Thechartshouldremainthecentrepiecebutitmakesmoresensetosurroundthechartwiththeremaining
windows,insteadofkeepingthemallcrammedtogetheronthesamesideaseachother.Alsobykeepingthemarket
watchonthesamesideastheindicatorslist,onewillalwaysbestealingspacefromtheother.
Youcanfreelydragthewindowsaroundand
evenremovethemfromtheMT4terminalif
youwish.
MarketWatch:Ikeepthisontheoriginal
positionasmosttradingsoftwareputssymbols
inthislocation.
Navigator:Idonotwanttosharethescreen
spacewithMarketWatchasIneedaccessto
thelistofindicatorswithoutthehassleof
scrollingwithinthewindowsomuch.ThereforI
dragittotherighthandsideofthechart.
DataWindow:IrarelyusethisbutIdragthis
overthechartifIeverdorequireit.
Terminal:Thisstaysatthebottomofthechart
asyouwillneedthefullwidthavailabletoview
alloftheinformationfortradehistory,open
positionsetc.
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Customising Charts
ViewVideo
ManyProfessionalTraderswillarguethatthemostimportantpieceonachartisprice(andIwouldhavetoagree).
Thereforeitshouldbethemostprominentcomponentofyourchartandindicators,periodseparatorsandgridsetc.
shouldonlybeaddedwhenandifrequired,insteadofclutteringupprice.Additionallythegridfeatureisoflittleuse
inmyopinionasthehorizontallevelsdonotrepresentlevelsofanysignificance(suchasroundnumbers)and
remainsfixedifyouadjustthesizeofyourcharts.ForthatreasonaloneIstronglysuggestyouremovethegridasit
addsnothingusefultothechart.
Remove:
Grid:
Control+G
Periodseparators:
Control+Y
CloseCharts:
Ctrl+F4
F8>ColoursTab>Grid>None
Setting a Default Chart
Onceyouhaveachartyouwishtouseonallfuture
charts,savethetemplateasdefault
Savepreferredcharttemplateasdefault
OnChart>Rightclick>Template>SaveAs>Default
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Customising Toolbars
ViewVideo
Thetoolbarscanseemoverwhelmingwhenyoufirstloadthemandabitdistracting.Thechancesareyoudonot
requireallofthesebuttonswhilsttheysimultaneouslyhideotherfeaturesyoumayneed,butnotawareare
availabletoyou.
Thereare4separatetoolbarsavailabletoyouwhichyoucanidentifybyrightclickingonthetoolbarsand
selecting/deselectingeachone.
ClearFunctionsthatareNotRequired
Customiseanytoolbarbyclickingyourrightmousebuttonoverthetoolbarandselecting
'customise'.
Removetoolbarswhichare
notrequiredbydeselecting
thetick
Movetoolbarsaroundin
differentorders,andtothe
sideofthechartsvertically
Dragthemoutoftheirdefault
positiontohoveroverthe
charts
Tailoringeachtoolbarforyourneeds(ManualTraders)
ByusingtheCustomizefeatureoneachtoolbaryoucanaccess
hiddentoolsandremovesoneswhichyoudonotrequire.Ifyouuse
theshortcuts(coveredlater)youwillbeabletoremovequiteafew
oftheseiconstoendupwithamuchcleanerandcompactuser
interface.
AsTradersweareencouragedtoalwaysstartouranalysisonthe
highesttimeframeandworkourwaydownsoIhavenever
understoodwhyeverysingleTradingPlatformIhaveseenhastheir
timeframesfromthesmallesttolargest(lefttoright).
TotherightyoucanseehowIhaveswappedtheorderofmy
timeframestosuitmystyleofanalysis.
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AmanualTrader(likemyself)wouldrequiredifferentfeaturestoanEA
(ExpertAdvisor)Trader,soitmakesnosensetohaveaccesstoallofthe
samefeatures.
InthisexampleIhaveremovedallofthefeaturesfromtheChartToolbar
becauseIregularlyuseshortcutstoaccessthesefeatures,soIdonot
needtoseetherelevantbuttonsaswell.
Ithenrearrangetheiconsinorderofuseonmylinestudiespageandas
aresultendupwiththefollowingtoolbartosuitmyneeds,savespaceon
myscreenandbecomemoreefficientasaresult.
Tailoringeachtoolbarforyourneeds(ManualTraders)
InthisexampleIonlywant
tohavetheMT4terminal
installedonaVPStorunan
EAontheEURUSD.
AsIdonotintendto
performanyanalysisIhave
removedthelinestudies
butalsoincludedtheExpert
Advisorsoptions,toallow
mequickaccesstooverride
theEAorturnthemonwith
asingleclick.
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WORKFLOW:
Using Shortcuts
ViewVideo
Icannoturgeyouenoughtolearnthekeyboardshortcuts.Assumingyouhavetwofullyfunctionalhandsthenthere
isnogoodreasontolimityourselftousingthemouseexclusivelyinanysoftwareprogram.Bylearningthekeyboard
shortcutsyougainthreekeybenefits.
Fasteraccesstothe
requiredtools,savinglots
oftimeinthelongrun
Clearerandlesscluttered
MT4terminal(aswewill
removetheredundant
information)
Increasedchartingspace
Terminal(Control+T):Veryimportantwindow!Manageopenorders,viewaccounthistory,setalerts
Navigator(Control+N):Addindicators,ExpertAdvisors,Login
MarketWatch(Contro+M):Viewavailableinstruments
DataWindow(Control+D):
Yourelikelytousetheseshortcutswhenyouareanalysingandtrading.Ifyoulearntheseshortcutsyouwill
greatlyimprovetheprocessspeedofyourtrading,whichwillhaveapositiveknockoneffecttoyourtrading
performance.
Thesearetheshortcutsforthemorevisualaspectsofyourcharts,sonotquiteasurgentastheprevious2
boxesbutashortcutwillundoubtedly
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Portfolio Management
ViewVideo
Sometimeswewanttofindaparticularcurrencypairquicklyandgetfrustrated
becausewehavetoscrollthroughaseeminglyendlesslistofinstrument,
flashingatus,tofindtheonewewant.TomakeitworseMT4doesnttendto
groupmarketinstrumentalphabetically,orbyinstrumenttype.Infactmore
oftenthannotthereisnologicalorderatall.
Quickly find a symbol within the marketwatch
Oneapproachistorepeatedlytypethe1stletterofyourdesiredinstrumentuntil
youscrollthroughtotheinstrumentyouwant.ForexampleifyouwantEURUSD
thentypeEuntilEURUSDappears.HoweverthereisamethodIwillnowshow
yousoyouareonlyever2clicksawayfromthemarketyouwant
Have complete Control of All of Your Markets
Byinstalling thefollowingprofilesyouwillbeabletoquicklynavigateyourwayaroundFX,IndexandCommodity
Marketswithouthavingtousethemarketwatchscreen.
Theideaistonevercloseanyofthechartswithintheseprofiles.InsteadyounavigateyourwayaroundtheProfiles
tolocateyourmarket(Forex,Commodities,Indicesetc.)thenselecttheinstrumentwithinthatmarket.
Within Forex, each profile contains a combination of AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, JPY, NZD, USD against your chosen
currency.SointheexamplebelowweselectedtheprofileUSDtoviewAUD,CAD,CHF,EUR,JPY,NZDpairedwith
theUSD
Download:TemplatesandProfiles
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Using Hotkeys
ViewVideo
YoumayhavenoticedthatwhenyouswitchcharttemplateswithinMT4
youloseallofyouranalysisonyourcharts.Thiscanbefrustratingifyou
didthisbyaccidentonlytodiscoveryourintricateanalysiswhichyou
havebeenusingformanymonthsdisappears.ForthisreasonIdecided
toalwayskeepmyanalysischartsopenandonlychangetheindicatorsif
orwhenIneededthem.
Ionlyuseabasicpricechartformyanalysiswhichwecoveredearlier
underdefaultcharts.InthisexampleIhaveassignedAlt+Rtoopenan
RSI(RelativeStrengthIndex)insteadofhavingtoopenthenavigator
windoweachtimeIneededit.
OpenNavigator(Control+N)>OpenrelevantTab(Indicators,Scriptsetc.)
Hovermouseoverdesiredfavourite>Rightclick>Sethotkey>
SelectAlt+R
MostpeopleneedtoaccesstheirMT4terminalfrommultiplecomputers.Howeverallofyourindicators,EAs,chart
profilesandanalysisarestoredontheMT4terminal,sononeofthesearesavedwhenyoulogintoanotherPC.
OncesolutionistoinstallyourMT4terminalonaVPS(virtualprivateserver),howeveryouwilleitherneedtopaya
monthlyfeeormeetaminimummonthlytradingrequirement.AllyouhavetodoiscopyyourMT4Terminalfolder
ontoacloudhostingsuchasDropBoxandruntheprogramfromthere.
PleasenotethissolutionisnotadvisableforEA(expertadvisortraders)asthiswillhaveanimpactonyourexecution
speed.Howeverthissolutionisfineformanualtraderswhosimplywanttosavetheirchartanalysisandindicators
Onceashortcuthasbeencreatedyoumaywantto
updatethesymbolicontotheoriginalMT4icon.
RightclickterminalApplicationondesktop>
Properties>ChangeIcon>Browse
LocateterminalIcon>Apply
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Thechancesareyouuseahandfulofindicators(ormaybeevenfewer)buteachtimeyouuseaparticularindicator
youuseoneor2settingregularly.Agoodexampleifthisisamovingaverage.Ireguarlyuse8,21,50and200eMAs,
butIrequirethedifferentsettingsatdifferenttimes.ThereforeIhaveseveralvariationsofthesameindicatorbuton
differentsettingssoIcansimplydraganddropthesettingIrequire,andtheyarealreadypredifinedwiththecorrect
colourIwant.
Selectindicator>LaunchMetaEditor(Enter)
Atthebeginningofthecodeyouwillfindthepredefinedsettings.InthiscaseIwantaMaroonred50eMA.Simply
changethesettingsyourequirethensaveaseMA50(orwhateverfilenameyouchoose).
Oncetheindicatorhasbeensavedyouthenneedtocompiletheindicatorbypressingthecompilebutton.
YourmodifiedindicatorwillnowappearintheCustomIndicatorlistasanewindicator.
Ithenrepeattheprocessforthe8,21and200eMAsoIcanquicklydragtheeMAthatIwanttousewithouthaving
toadjusttheperiodsettingsorcoloureachtimeIusethem.
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Thefavouriteslistmeansyoucangreatlyreducetheamountofindicators
inyourlistdoyoureallyneedtoscrollthoughtensorhundredsof
indicatorswhenyouonlyreallyuse2or3ofthem?
YoucanseethatIhaveadded50and200eMAtomylistsoIcanquickly
accessthesecommonsettingswithonedragofamouseontothechart.
>OpenNavigator(Control+N)
>OpenrelevantTab(Indicators,Scriptsetc.)
>Hovermouseoverdesiredfavourite
>Rightmouseclick
>Addtofavourites
Trading Checklist within MT4
ViewVideo
Ifthereisarulesbasedstrategyyoufollowyoucanusethechartstocreatelistswhichyoucanrefertoeachtime
youplaceatrade.
HereyoucanseethesetofbeliefsMarkDouglas(aprofessionalTraderCoach)includesfromhisbookTradingIn
TheZone.IhaveincludedatemplateofwithintheTemplatesandProfilesIhaveincludedwiththisguidewhichyou
arewelcometodownload.
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CHARTING TIPS:
Layering Indicators
ViewVideo
Mypersonalviewisthatthefewercoloursyouhaveonthechartthebetter.Howeverthereisnothingwrongwith
havingseveralshadesofthesamecolour,withmoreemphasis(orbrightness)beingonthemoreimportant
informationwiththelessimportant(orregularlyused)informationbeingadullercolour.Thereisnopointinseveral
piecesofinformationofdifferentimportanceallfightingforthesameamountofattention.
Tolayerindicatorssimplydraganindicatorintothesameareaofaninitialindicator.
Indicator of an Indicator
ViewVideo***
BelowyoucanseeanRSIindicator(white)whichI
haveapplieda10periodMA(movingaverage)of
theRSI,alongwithaBollingerBandoftheRSIto
generatedynamicoverboughtandoversold
levels.
TakenoteofthePreviousIndicatorsDataoption:
ByusingthisontheBollingerBanditwouldhave
usedthemovingaverageoftheRSItogenerate
theBollingerBands,asopposedtotheRSIitselfto
generatetheBollingerBands.
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Bydefaultwheneveryoudrawanobjectitwill
appearoneverysingletimeframethiscan
becomeproblematicifyouhavelotsofobjectson
yourchartsandyouusemultipletimeframes.For
exampleyoumayhavelotsofanalysison15M
whichyoudonotwanttoappearonD1.
Tofixthisdoubleclickontheobjectandgoto
VisualizationtabanddeselectShowonall
timeframes.Thenselectthetimeframesyouwant
theobjecttoappearon.
Analyse Faster and More Efficiently
ViewVideo
Timeisanimportantelementtoyourtradingandsoistheneedforefficientanalysis.Nothingcanbemore
disruptivetoatradingsessionthanbeingfrustratedatyoursoftwareorfeelingthoughitisholdingyouback,so
theseshortcutsshouldhelpsmoothyouranalysisprocesswhichinturnwillhaveamorepositiveeffectonyour
trading.
Selectingobjects:OpenOptions(Control+O)>Objects>Selectobjectbysinglemouseclick
CopyingObjects:SelectObject>HoldCtrl>Dragtocopy
Extendtrendlineswithoutchangingtheangle:Selecttrendline>HoldShift>Dragtoextend/reduce
RemovefuturetrendlineDoubleclickontrendlinetoopenoptionbox>SelectParameterstab>UntickRay
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TRADING:
Scaling In
ViewVideo
What is Scaling In? (Also called pyramiding)
Scalinginiswhenatraderpartiallyentersordersasthemarketmovesintheirfavour.Unfortunatelythereisno
featuretoperformthisfunctionwithinMT4butyoucaneasilyachievethesameresultbyplacingmultipleorders.
How to Scale In
Yousimplytakeyouroriginalposition
sizeandsplititintosmallerorders.For
exampleIfIwantedtorisk2%ofmy
tradingaccountIwouldallocate1%for
eachorder.IntheexampletotheleftI
havesetupaBuyStoptoenterabove
currentprice,andalsosetupaBuy
Limittoenterlongifpriceretraces
towardsmyentry.
Thiswouldincreasemyreward/risk
ratioovermyoriginal2%order,
howeverIalsoruntheriskoftriggering
only1ofmyorderswhilsttheriskof
gettingstoppedoutremains.
Pleasenote:Scalinginshouldbeused
withcautionandonlyifyoufully
understandtherisksassociatedwithit.
Scaling Out
ViewVideo
What is Scaling Out? (or Partially
Closing)
Scalingoutisamethodwhereyoupartially
closepositions,asopposedtoclosingthe
entirepositioninonego.
Reasonyoumaywanttodothis:
Youareatrendtraderandwanttotake
asmallerinitialprofitandleavetherest
onthetabletotrailyourstop
Youarerunninglowontradingmargin
butdonotwanttocloseanentire
position/s
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Tips&Tricks
SelectModifyOrder
UnderVolumetypeintheamountofLotsyouwithtoclose
Hittheclosebutton
Trailing Stops
ViewVideo
TrailingStopsareausefulfeaturewhichwill
automaticallytrailbehindpricewhenpricemoves
furtherintoprofit.Thisallowsyoutolockinprofits
andsemiautomaticallymanageyourtrade.However
yourMT4terminalneedstobeonforthisfeatureto
work,soyoumaywanttoconsiderinstallingMT4
ontooneofthefollowing.
VPS(VirtualPrivateServer)
Cloudservice
Alerts
Alertsallowyoutokeeptracksofimportantpricelevels
beingbreachedtofurtherenhanceyouranalysisandchart
organisation.Ifyoutrackmultiplemarketsitcanbecome
tooeasytolosetracksofthemarkets,especiallyafteran
importanteventandallofthemarketsmovetheir
separateways.
Movemousetoareaonchartyouwantalert:
Rightclick>Trading>Alert
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OnceatradehasbeenenteredyoucanthenapplyasSLandTPbydraggingyourmousefromtheentryprice.Notice
howtotheleftyouwillseetheticketnumber,estimatedloss/profitinyouraccountcurrencyandpoints.
Takenote:Althoughitsayspipsitisinfactpoints(so1642points=164.2pips).
ApplyStoploss(SL):
Hoveroverline>DraglinetodesiredS/Lposition
ApplyTakeProfit(TP):
Hoveroverline>DraglinetodesiredT/Pposition
Takenote:YouneedtogetthedirectionofyourSL/TPdragcorrect,otherwiseyouwillplaceanS/LinsteadofaT/P
andvisaversa.Getusedtohowthisworksonademobeforeattemptingthisonlivetrading.
Toavoidthis:
>Options(Control)
>ChartsTab
>UseAltkeytodraglevels
YouwillnowneedtoholdAlttoadjustyour
S/LorT/P
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Tips&Tricks
TRADE ANALYSIS:
Toviewpasttradessimply:
>OpenTradeTerminal(Control+T)
>OpenAccountHistoryTab(2ndfromleft)
>Dragtheclosedtradeontoyourchart
Toexportdatasimply:
>OpenTradeTerminal(Control+T)
>OpenAccountHistoryTab(2ndfromleft)
>RightClickoveranyclosedtrade
>AllHistory(orselectcustomperiodfortaxyear)
>Saveasdetailreport
Thedetailedreportalsoincludesstatisticalmetrics
suchaswin/lossratio,expectancyratioetc.whichis
idealforyourtradeanalysis.Ifyousimplywantto
supplythedatathenselectSaveasReportinsteadof
thedetailreport.
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Tips&Tricks
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
IwouldhighlyencourageyoutosubscribetotheThinkForexYouTubechannelandattendourweeklywebinarsas
theyincludedthemethodsusedthroughouttheseries.
TradersCorner
FaceBook
Twitter
RSS
OpenaFreepracticeaccount,selectyourtrading
platform,andstarttradinginanoriskenvironment
today.
Lowspreads,nodealingdesk,freeForexVPS,full
hedging,andnocommissionaccountoptions.Live
accountsgainadditionalbenefitssuchasDailyInsight
andLiveForexTV
MetaTrader4,cTrader,BullionTrader,MobileTrading
andMultiManager
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