Mastering MetaTrader 4: A Comprehensive Guide to Navigating and Trading with MT4

Trading platforms are an important tool, as investors rely on them for access to the markets they want to trade. Often the type of orders and trading strategies that can be executed depends on the features and capabilities of the trading platform.  

In addition, as markets can move very quickly, trading platforms should provide reliable, high-speed connectivity and real-time data to assist traders in making quick decisions and avoid missing out on opportunities.  

These are just some reasons why it is crucial to choose the right trading platform for your needs. Among forex traders, perhaps the most well-known is MetaTrader 4 (MT4).  

Curiously, MT4 isn’t the most advanced trading platform – that honour belongs to MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which was released by developers of MT4 several years later. Since traders are always seeking an edge in the markets, wouldn’t they prefer to use MT5 instead which offers a more expanded suite of features? 

But that isn’t the case, and in fact, there’s evidence that MT4 is still very much the platform of choice among forex investors. Read on as we explore how the platform works and what it has to offer. We’ll also go through how to navigate and trade on MT4. 

What is MetaTrader 4 (MT4)? ^[1]  

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is a market trading platform developed by MetaQuotes Ltd. Since its release in 2005, the platform has increased in popularity among market traders, especially those who primarily trade in forex. in  

Today, almost 20 years later, MT4 remains the top choice for currency market investors, with many praising its ease of use, range of tools and useful features.  

It’s notable that despite the release of MT5 some years later – a more advanced trading platform catering to a more diverse range of assets and investors – MT4 has remained the most popular choice among forex traders. In the third quarter of 2019, over 90% of forex volume was generated by MT4, although this dominance waned to 74.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Still, it is conceivable that MT4 remains the top choice for many forex traders today ^[2]. 

Advantages of using MetaTrader 4 

MT4 has seemingly struck the right balance between form and function, which evidently many forex traders appreciate. Simply put, MT4 offers everything a forex trader needs to trade the currency markets, without extraneous functions or features.  

Simple interface suited for beginners and professionals 

If you’re new to MT4, you may be surprised at how it looks. It’s not the sleekest, nor the most modern. In fact, the user interface looks like it came straight out of the 90s!  

But despite its dated appearance, MT4 is well-liked among beginners and experienced investors for its ease of use, allowing traders to easily stream live data, view charts and place and manage trades.  

Furthermore, MT4 is also designed with a highly customisable interface, no doubt adding to its appeal and utility.   

Multiple order types covering different forex strategies ^[3] 

MT4 offers several order types that facilitate a range of forex trading strategies, closely fulfilling the needs of most forex traders.  

In total, the platform supports three execution modes, two market orders, four pending orders, two stop orders and a trailing stop. Orders can be set in several ways: via Market Watch, One-Click Trading, or using hotkeys. 

While MT4 offers a narrower selection of orders compared to the newer MT5, it is nevertheless sufficient for the needs of forex traders, judging by the significant number who choose to stick with the older trading platform.  

Wide range of technical indicators and charting tools ^[4] 

The trading platform provides powerful technical analysis capabilities thanks to its suite of technical indicators and charting tools.  

Besides 30 built-in, most widely used technical indicators, the platform also offers access to over 2,000 free custom indicators, as well as 700 paid ones. This allows traders to utilise technical indicators that have been honed and tested by other professionals for potentially enhanced outcomes.  

Additionally, investors can access 24 analytical objects: lines, channels, the Gann and Fibonacci tools, shapes and arrows to forecast future market price dynamics. Objects can be manually applied both to charts and indicator windows for greater flexibility.  

And finally, to facilitate a span of trading strategies and time horizons, MT4 includes timeframes, ranging from 1 minute to 1 month.  

Reliable automated trading with Expert Advisor and copy trading ^[5]  

MT4 is built to support the latest algorithmic trading trends, including programming proven trading strategies into a trading bot, allowing it to function as an Expert Advisor (EA) to oversee your trade. No computer programming background is required to benefit from EA, as traders can pick trading bots from the Marketplace to be implemented into their account.  

Besides algorithmic trading with EA, MT 4 also offers copy trading, allowing forex traders to copy trading signals from professional traders. Simply subscribe to the trading signal you want and your account will trade automatically in accordance.  

Alerts and financial news ^[6]  

As the currency markets are sensitive to macroeconomic and geopolitical developments, it’s important for forex traders to stay informed of economic news and important events.  

To aid traders in this goal, MT4 includes a perpetual news feed that collates the most important financial news from around the world. You can receive real-time alerts for markets of interest, ensuring you can trade with the latest information and updates.  

To better understand the differences between MT4 and MT5, read our article,  ‘MT4 vs MT5 Comparison – The Difference Between MetaTrader 4 and 5‘ to uncover the specific features and distinctions between them. 

How to install and set up MetaTrader 4 

You can download MetaTrader 4 on Vantage’s website. Choose from three different desktop operating systems: Windows, MacOS and Linux.  

Follow these steps to install MetaTrader 4. 

1. Start by registering a live account or demo account on Vantage.  
2. Go to this page and click on the operating system you want to use. Your download will begin. 
3. Click on the downloaded file to start the installation process. 
4. Allow changes, agree to the Licence Agreement and choose settings if needed. 
5. Click “Next” and follow the on-screen instructions to complete MT4 installation. 

Setting up a trading account on Vantage 

How to set up a live account 

Setting up a live account allows you to trade the markets in real time. Here’s how you can set up a live account on Vantage. 

1. On the Vantage website, mouse over “Register” in the top right, and then click “Trade Now”. 
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to register for your live account. You will also need to submit documents for verification purposes.  
3. We will contact you once your live account is ready. 
4. Once your account has been funded, login to MT4 to start trading.  

How to set up a demo account 

If you prefer to try out MT4 on a trial basis without a live account, you may do so using a demo account.  

1. On the Vantage website, mouse over “Register” in the top right, and then click “Practice Trading”. 
2. Follow the on-screen prompts to register for a demo account. 
3. Fill in your particulars to receive your username and password. Be sure to keep those safe. 
4. Using your newly generated credentials, you can login to MT4 to explore the software and start testing out trades.  

Overview of the MetaTrader 4 interface on WebTrader 

Here’s a screenshot of MT4; note that we’re using the web browser version that facilitates trading from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection.  

We’ll go through the various parts of the interface one by one. Firstly, let’s zoom into the top toolbar. 

With the first group of symbols (left-most square), you can create a new chart, start a new order, or choose from more markets other than forex. (MT4, while heavily focused on forex, also supports trading of stocks, commodities and bonds, among others.) We’ll go through each button in more detail later. 

In the second group of icons, that’s where you can set different chart types (line, candlestick or bar) and also zoom in and out to better read the chart.  

The third group of icons lets you control the timeframe of the chart. Simply click on the corresponding button and the price chart will change to reflect the selected timeframe. 

Now moving down, the area outlined in red on the left is the platform’s Market Watch, essentially a watchlist of the major forex pairs on the market. You can toggle this panel open or close via “View” in the top toolbar.  

You may customise Market Watch by right-clicking on a forex pair to bring up the sub-menu. You can then choose from several operations, such as starting a new order, opening the currency pair in a new window, or hiding/showing the currency pair.  

The smaller red square next to Market Watch highlights the trading sub-menu, which displays the price of the currency pair in real time. You can make a trade using this sub-menu, but entering your trading lot size and clicking the Buy or Sell button as appropriate.  

And in the main section of the MT interface, we see the price chart of the currently selected currency pair. This is also the same currency pair displayed in the trading sub-menu mentioned above.  

Customising the MT4 interface 

One of the most popular features of MT4 is its customizability, which is highly easy to do. The most common customisations are already in the top toolbar, and you can mouse over each button to get a tooltip that tells you what it does.  

The majority of the customisations are sorted in various sub-menus, which you can access from the commands above the toolbar. Simply click on each command to access the sub-menus and their respective functions.   

If you need guidance, click the “Help” command to browse for the answers you seek. There are also several online videos you can refer to for more in-depth guidance.  

How to place trades on MT4 WebTrader 

Earlier we mentioned you can place a quick trade on the forex pair you are currently viewing using the trading sub-menu. Beside that option, you can also place a trade using the main toolbar.  

Choose the currency pair you want to trade from Market Watch, then click the “New Order” icon (red square). This will bring up the order sub-menu. 

Here you can enter your trade volume, as well as set your stop-loss and take-profit levels. You can also choose between Market Order (which executes the order immediately at the current market price) or Pending Order (to wait for a desired entry point).  

As seen in the screenshot above, choosing Pending Order will call up several new options, including Order Type (Buy Limit, Sell Limit, Buy Stop, Sell Stop), as well a field for you to set the price at which you want to trade to execute. You can also set an expiry date for your order. 

Once done, click the Place button to submit your order, which will be filled when the specified parameters are met.  

How to manage your trades in MT4 WebTrader 

Orders you have entered but not yet executed can be modified or managed. To do so, click “View” in the top toolbar, then “Toolbox”. This will bring up the Toolbox panel in the bottom of the screen. 

On the “Trade” tab, your pending orders will be listed. You can right click on the order you want to change, and select “Modify or Delete”. 

This will bring up the order window where you can make changes to your order as desired.  

Using charts and indicators in MT4 WebTrader 

To add technical indicators to your price chart, click “Insert” in the top toolbar, then mouse over “Indicators” to bring up the technical indicators you can use. Select the one you want by clicking on it.  

Here, we’ve added the Relative Strength Index (RSI) which appears as a separate panel at the bottom of the screen.  

To modify or delete indicators, go to “Chart” then “Indicators List”. This will call up the smaller grey window shown above, and you can select the relevant indicator to modify or delete. 

You can do the same with charting objects. In the screenshot above, we’ve added a trendline (the downward sloping line in red). This was done by selecting “Insert” in the top toolbar, then “Lines”, and “Trendlines”. 

To delete this drawing, go to “Charts”, “Objects”. Choose “Objects List” to change drawings individually, or “Delete All” to clear your chart and start over.  

Automating trades with Expert Advisor (EA) 

MT4 supports automated trading through Expert Advisor (EA), which are custom-made scripts that help you to formulate trades. In some cases, these scripts can also execute trades on your behalf – these are popularly known as trading bots. 

Before you can start using EA, there’re a couple of steps you need to take, as follows: 

1. Go to the MetaTrader4 Market to search for the EA you want. You can choose from free or paid EAs, or order up a customised one by visiting the “Freelance” section of the site.  
2. Download the EA you have selected, and save the file in a location you can easily find. If your EA comes as a .zip file, be sure to extract the files first.  
3. Next, login to your MT4 desktop app. Then go to “File”, “Open Data Folder” using the top toolbar. This will open up a folder window in MT4.  
4. Copy and paste your downloaded EA into the window in MT4, then restart your MT4 application.  
5. After you login again, go to “View”, “Navigator”, “Expert Advisor” to see your newly downloaded script. Drag it onto the price chart on the right to start running the script.  
6. If you want your EA to trade on your behalf, be sure to click the “Auto Trading” button on the top toolbar.  

Conclusion 

After covering the key features of MT4 and how it works, hopefully this article has given you greater confidence in trying out the trading platform for yourself. While forex trading is complex and learning the ins and outs of how to trade takes time, you can accelerate your progress by practising paper trades using a Vantage demo account.  

Trade the most popular forex pairs with low fees and tight spreads, and enjoy capital efficiency with 500 to 1 leverage. Beyond forex, expand your trading potential across multiple sought-after asset classes including stocks, commodities, bonds and more.  

Experience the benefits of an award winning broker today. Sign up and start trading today! 

References: