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Does MT4 Work on Windows 10?

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Does MT4 work on windows 10?
Yes, MT4 works on Windows 10, and both MT4 and MT5 are compatible with Windows 10 operating system. Usually, MT4 will update automatically on Windows 10, and then login details can disappear. Always keep login details in your notes.

MetaTrader platform is built for Windows platform in the first place, and for day one, MT4 and MT5 are very stable in Windows operating system. In the last 16 years, many bugs are removed, so MT4 and MT5 work perfectly fine in a windows environment.

In the case of an MT4 update, you can lose login details. IF this happens, ask for a broker to provide you login details. Sometimes, your login details in Windows 10 will be saved in MetaTrader Mailbox.

MT4 mailbox

In down navigation in MT4, you can choose the Mailbox option, and a saved email with a username and password will be available.

More details on how to use MT4 you can read in our article.

What is MT4? – How to Use MetaTrader 4? – Free MT4 Tutorial

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What is MT4?

MetaTrader 4 or MT4 represents the most popular electronic online trading software developed by MetaQuotes in 2005. The platform can be used for demo trading (virtual money trading or paper trading) and live real accounts trading. In both cases, MT4 provides real-time price data. Traders can trade various assets such as forex, equities, cryptocurrencies, indices, commodities, etc.

MetaTrader 4 was a platform that offers only currency pairs in the first versions, but today, online brokers offer various securities for trading via this platform. All the necessary tools for applying technical analysis are available within the platform: trend lines, support/resistance, indicators, and many other trading tools. It is easy to apply, using all the necessary functions can be learned quickly.

Is MT4 legit?

Yes, MT4 software is a legitimate platform and the most used trading platform in the world. Live trading prices can be seen in demo and real accounts. It is a legit platform that follows the highest security standards and very stable.

The platform is available in several world languages: English, Swedish, Spanish, Slovak, Serbian, Russian, Portuguese, Polish, Mongolian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Indonesian, Chinese, Bulgarian, Vietnamese, and Turkish.

Advantages of MetaTrader

MT4 benefits are:

  • Easy to use Technical and Fundamental Analysis Tools
  • Real-Time Access to Market Prices and Liquidity for demo and real traders
  • Offers Multiple Trading Orders and High Flexibility
  • Robust Security
  • High Stability
  • Automated Trading is easy to set
  • There are a lot of free indicators and Expert Advisors for MT4 on the internet.

It is made special by the specific programming language MQL4, which allows refining and formatting programs following users’ needs by inserting external indicators, experts, robots, and other additional applications.

The program provides the ability to conduct one-click trading and graphical adjustment of “take profit” and “stop-loss” orders on the price chart. In this way, we can easily adjust the entered accounts and start new positions without opening additional windows.

MT4 platform screenshot

In short, the main advantages of the MT4 program are:

– Maximum user orientation

– Overview charts

– Security and protection

– Simplicity

There is a possibility of installing the program on desktop computers, tablets, and mobile phones.

The number of instruments available on the platform depends on the offer of the given brokerage house. The software is primarily intended for trading leveraged products (foreign currency pairs, index CFDs, CFDs on stocks…).

How to add a broker to MT4?

First, you need to pick a broker and then download the MT4 platform from the broker’s download page. Each broker has its own MT4 platform, the same M4 platform, but the company logo and instruments are different for each broker. You do not add several brokers to one MT4 platform. Instead, you download for each broker a separate MT4 platform.

How to use MT4?

To use MT4, you need to download the platform, log in using username and password, set up charts, add indicators,  open trading position, and set stop loss, target price. 

To learn how to use MT4, please read the following questions and steps:

How to download MT4 on Windows?


To download MT4 on Windows OS, you need to visit your broker’s download page and run the .exe installation file. After you download the file on your computer, follow the installation process.
For example, you can download the Fxpro MT4 platform or download the Hotforex MT4 platform.

How to download MT4 on Mac?


To download MT4 on Mac, you need to visit your broker’s download page and run the dmg installation file. Usually, almost all brokers beside Windows offers Mac installation file too. After you download the file on your computer, follow the Apple Mac operating system’s installation process.

For example, download the Hotforex Mac MT4 platform.

How to add indicators to MT4?

To add indicators to MT4, you need to paste the .ex4 (or mql file) file in the MT4 Indicators folder and then add indicators on the chart using the Insert/Indicator option.

Usually, to add an indicator to the MT4 platform folder, the fastest way is to open the MT4 platform, go to the File menu and choose the Open data Folder option. In that folder, find the Indicator directory and paste the ex4 file. If you have an mql file, in that case, paste the mql file into the folder, go to the MT4 Navigator section, Righ click, and then Refresh.

add custom indicator in MT4

See the video below how to install a custom indicator:

How to draw trend lines on MT4?

To draw trend lines on MT4, we need to connect either highs or lows using diagonal lines. To draw an upper trendline, we need to connect successive price reaction lows. To draw a down trendline, we need to connect successive price reaction highs (peaks). The trendline importance depends on the number of lows and highs that are connected.

To learn how to draw trendlines read the article and watch video below:

 

How to trade US30 on MT4?

To trade the 30 largest publicly owned companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange via MT4 price-weighted stock market index US30, you need to open the symbol US30, DJ3,0, or DAX30 index. Various brokers have different names for this trading symbol. Usually, you can find it in the section Spot Index or Spot Index major, Index major.

To open the US30 chart in MT4 please go to File/ New chart/ Spot Index Major/ US30.
Open US30 symbol in MetaTrader - How to trade US30 on MT4

How to calculate pips on the MT4 app?

To calculate pips on the MT4 app or MT4 desktop, you need to remember that 1 pip for major pairs is 0.0001, and for yen pairs, one pip is equivalent to 0.01. So if the EURUSD price gain from 1.3001 to 1.3002, it is a 1 pip gain. If the price for USDJPY gains from 102.31 to 102.32, it is 1 pip gain because USDJPY is yen pair. Some indicators can help you do this simple calculation, but professional traders can easily calculate the number of pips using a manual approach.

How to change leverage on MT4?

To change leverage on MT4, you need to go to your broker’s website, log in to the user platform (members area) and then manually change account leverage value in the accounts section. Leverage can be changed only with the help of your broker. You can always contact your broker’s support to help you to do this.
Please read our article How to Change Leverage on MT4 for Different Brokers.

How To Set a Trailing Stop on MT4?

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Trading involves several risks and minimizes them; various trading platforms offer several tools. One such tool is the stop-loss order. It acts as a protective shield for a trader’s capital. It prevents excessive exposure of the trader’s investment. Before the commencement of trade, every trader decides who much capital they are willing to risk should they incur a loss. Then, traders put a stop-loss order at that amount and open a position. If the market moves against their speculations, they will be automatically given the exit when the losses hit the stop-loss.

Just like every other tool, stop-loss orders have their disadvantages as well. They can protect you against unwanted losses, but they are useful only when the market moves in the opposite direction to your prediction. In other words, they cannot protect your losses. For example, you invest $500 and put a stop-loss order at $300. Assume that you make a profit of $100 during one trading day, but the market moves in the opposite direction the next day. The stop-loss order will close your position $300, but it will not be able to protect your $100.

So, what’s the alternative? The answer is trailing stops.

What is the trailing stop-loss order?

A trailing stop-loss order is an order in the trading platform that adjusts the stop price at a fixed percent or the number of points below (for buy position) or above (for sell position) the market price of an asset (forex, stock, commodity, etc.).

How does a trailing stop work?

Using trailing stop traders define trail amount (fixed number of pips or percentage) for stop loss. When the trader sets a trailing stop on the “Buy” open position, then the stop price rises by the trail amount as the market price rises. When the trader sets a trailing stop on the “Sell” open position, then the stop price falls by the trail amount as the market price falls. If the asset price goes in the opposite direction, the stop-loss price doesn’t change. When the price reaches the trailing stop loss level, the trailing stop will close the position.

Unlike a stop-loss order, trailing stops can protect your profits as well. You can set it at an absolute pip number or a defined percentage after considering the prevailing market prices.  Trailing stops work on a similar model but in a different manner. You but a trailing stop on your profits. This means that the trade will continue as long as the market prices move in your preferred direction. Once it starts to move in the opposite direction and reaches your defined percentage or pip number, the trailing stop will close the position. This helps in protecting the profits as this tool does not wait for losses to begin.

Let’s consider an example for a better understanding.

Trailing stop example:  Imagine that you are following a bullish trend. Here, your trailing stop will go higher whenever there is a new high in the market. The trailing stop continues to trail the price as long as it moves in the desired direction. It will maintain the desired percentage or pip distance that you have selected. If the prices begin to move in the opposite direction, the trailing stop will hold your last profitable position until the prices hit it. It will begin to trail the prices again if they move higher.

The notable difference between a trailing stop and stop-loss is that the latter is placed with a server while the former with a client terminal. What does this mean? It means that you will lose your trailing stop order once your terminal is closed. This will leave you unprotected. This does not apply to stop order as that remains active through and through.

How To Set a Trailing Stop on MT4

To set a trailing stop on MT4, you need to go to the terminal and right-click on the already open position. Then, choose the trailing stop option, and custom set the trailing number of pips or select a predetermined number of pips.

how to set trailing stop in MT4

As we can see on the image above, to set a trailing stop on MT4, you have 3 following steps:

  • First, you need to select the order that you wish to protect. Go to the terminal and right-click on it. This will open the context menu. Scroll to find the Trailing Stop option.
  • A pop-up window will surface, allowing you to choose a pip-distance to the prevailing market prices. These pip-distances are predetermined.
  • You can choose the one that you are comfortable with or create a new one by clicking on ‘Custom.’ You only get one trailing stop for one position.

Once your trailing stop is placed, it will be monitored by the terminal. As soon as the prices reach the desired level, a breakeven stop-loss will be employed automatically. From this point forth, the positive movement of the prices will be chased by the trailing stop. If the movement is in the undesired direction, your trailing stop will hold the fort and protect your profits.

If you wish to remove the trailing stop, you can open the menu and select the ‘None’ option. You can also select ‘Delete All’ to remove all the trailing stops from your open and pending orders.

How to set the trailing stop in MT4 iPhone or any cell phone?

How to use the trailing stop on MT4 mobile?

Unfortunately, MT4 mobile apps do not allow to set the trailing stop at the moment. However, traders can open positions and then can set trailing stop loss using a desktop computer.

Download trailing stops loss indicator and trailing stop loss EA

If you need to print on the chart trailing stop loss, you can download the Download Trailing stop loss indicator.

If you need an Expert advisor to close trades automatically using trailing stop loss: Download automatic trailing stop loss EA

Expert Magic Number in MT4

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Technological advancement has proven to be one of the contributing factors to the increase in trading. Since everything can be done online, many traders and brokers are giving trading a chance. You can remotely trade from any part of the world. Online trading had simplified the process, to begin with, but the coming up of the MetaTrader platform made trading even better. 

As a platform, the MetaTrader has simplified trading by eliminating emotions. The Expert Advisors allow traders to make rational decisions by focusing on ‘what is’ rather than ‘what can be.’ Along with Expert Advisors, the MetaTrader platform also gives you expert magic numbers. Let’s explore what an expert magic number is in the MetaTrader platform.

What is the MT4 Expert Magic Number?

The expert magic number represents the MetaTrader concept to track open positions generated by the Expert Advisor. Using an expert magic number, EA can mark each position by number and distinguish the opened trades versus trades that did not open. The expert magic number can be any unique number, and they are license plates for EAs.

expert magic number in mt4

The MT4 platform generates a magic number employed by Expert Advisors (EA) to track open positions. This allows the EA to manage trades in a better way. Still, confused? Let’s make simplify it – equate a magic number with a driving plate. The latter allows the authority to identify the state from where the vehicle has come from and know about the exact individual who owns it. The expert magic number does a similar job. It helps the EA differentiate between the trades that have been opened by it to the ones that it has still not opened. This analysis allows the EA to manage the account in a better way.

Using a MetaTrader Magic Number

Many traders use the same Forex pair to trade across multiply timeframes. If you are one such trader, you wouldn’t want to employ an EA to track one currency pair across different timeframes. For example, consider a situation in which you are trading GBP/USD in two ways, one using an hour chart and the other on a 15-minute chart. You will need two EAs to track these two different time frames. Here, the first EA will be trend following as it is tracking the one-hour chart and the other one is scalping as it is chasing a 15-minuet chart. It is clear from the example that you should manage trades differently when you are using different timelines.

The above example is a testimony that, along with your general stop-loss exits and takes profit, you need to run channel stops for one trade and trailing stops for the other. In such cases, you will end up in a chaotic mess if you use only the currency pair to identify different trades because the currency pair is standard across the channels. It would help if you had something that stands apart.

Your bulletproof savior in the above situation is a MetaTrader magic number. The platform assigns a specific number to each trade as soon as it is opened. The EA will now follow these unique numbers instead of the currency pair to track the trade. For example, the trend-following EA may follow the 214 magic number, while the other EA might chase the magic number 316. 

Thus, we can conclude that you can use these magic numbers to separate orders across different timeframes and strategies, especially when using the same currency pair. It makes EA more operational by allowing it to use its potential.

Finding a Magic Number for an Open Trade

The magic number for the trades that are opened manually is zero, but the trades that are opened on the MT4 platform, using an EA, are assigned unique numbers that can range from 0 to 2147483647. These numbers can help you in finding open trades. Let’s see how.

The MQL language uses OrderSend to open a trade. OrderSend is a function that is based on multiple parameters, the magic parameter being one of them. When a trade is opened by an EA using this function, a magic number is automatically assigned to the trade, known as OrderMagicNumber. Doesn’t it sound simple? The truth is, it isn’t a straightforward path when you employ this function for the first time, but it certainly gets easier with time. The more you use it, the more familiar you get with it.

All you need to do us to run OrderMagicNumber in an order selection loop. Select a trade by suing OrderSelect. This will allow you to run the OrderMagicNumber for your chosen trade. Once your trade has been assigned a magic number, you can put trade exits using the ‘if-then’ logic. It is a fairly easy technique to understand. For example:

  1. If my magic number is equal to 197, run a trailing stop.
  2. If my magic number is equal to 303, run a channel stop.

MT4 is a user-friendly platform that various brokers offer to their clients. Its codes are not as complicated as compared to other platforms. Yes, it does take some time to get used to it, but such is the case with anything new that you use. Along with EAs and magic numbers, it has various other features to maximize your profits.

Export Live Data from MT4 to Excel

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Microsoft Excel is one tool that is used by almost everyone. Whether you are a student, a business person, a trader, or even a homemaker, you can take advantage of this tool to organize everything ranging from content to expenses and more. On the surface, Microsoft Excel looks like a sheet that can help you manage your content. Still, it offers many other functionalities that could be highly useful for traders when used correctly. 

MetaTrader 4 is a popular Forex trading platform. It offers a plethora of features and tools that can make trading easier and more effective. Traders can use these tools to devise efficient trading strategies. However, one is required to know MQL Programming to experience the full potential of these tools. Coding is not common to all, and managing all the Expert Advisors (EAs) and indicators can leave many feeling overwhelmed. If you are finding the MQL language difficult to understand, you can try Microsoft Excel.

Export MT4 data to Excel

A trader can export live data from MT4 to Excel using a free MT4 file. A trader needs to enable Enable Dynamic Data Exchange Server (DDE server) in Metatrader Tools/Options section in the first step. In the next step, a trader needs to open the DDE-sample file from the Program Files directory. In that Excel file, a trader can change values, add new columns and rows, new instruments.

Let us see the steps:
Step 1: Enable DDE server MT4
Open Tools and Options in MT4
Enable DDE server in MT4

Step 2: Open DDE sample Excel file:
Open DDE sample Excel file

Step 3: Connect mt4 to excel. Add new instruments, quotes, rows, and columns and update live data (low, high, ask, and bid price):
add quotes live data in Excel from MT4

In Excel, traders can call ASK, BID, HIGH, and LOW price using commands and manually add new instruments:

BID request: = MT4|BID!USDCHF result: 1.2234
ASK request: = MT4|ASK!USDCHF result: 1.2235
HIGH request: = MT4|HIGH!USDCHF result: 1.2238
LOW request: = MT4|LOW!USDCHF result: 1.2134
TIME request: = MT4|TIME!USDCHF result: 21.05.02 11:52
TIMES request: = MT4|TIME!USDCHF result: 21.05.02 11:52:43
QUOTE request: = MT4|QUOTE!USDCHF result: 21.05.02 11:52:43 1.2234 1.2235 1.2238

This is one of the simplest transitions possible in the trading market. You can easily export live data from MT4 to Excel. This is how you can transfer prices:

Run the Excel software and open a chart.

  1. Click on the file. You a box will appear. You need to click on ‘Save As.’
  2. You can now rename the file per your comfort.
  3. Make sure that the file is in .csv format. CSV is the acronym for Comma Separated Values. MS Excel supports this format.
  4. Now, click on ‘Save,’ and you are done.

Benefits of Exporting MT4 Prices to Excel

Let’s begin by stating the obvious; using Microsoft Excel is easy. You can find a lot of tutorials online that can assist you in learning shortcuts as well. As it is a popular software, the chances are that you can easily find someone in your vicinity to tell you more about it. Now, let’s see the other benefits of this software that will convince you to export MT4 prices:

  • You can easily view data for longer time periods.
  • Excel files do not require a lot of space. Thus, you can easily share Excel files with others as attachments. 
  • You can use this software for price comparisons if you are using multiple brokers on the MT4 platform.
  • You do not need super-speed internet for Excel. It works offline, as well.
  • You can take advantage of this software if you are one of those who find it difficult to set up platforms.
  • Excel does not crash the way platforms do. If it does, your data gets automatically stored.
  • It is not an expensive software. If you already have Office, Excel will not cost you a thing.

Export Live Data from MT4 to Excel

The Drawbacks or Limitations of Using Microsoft Excel

While MS Excel is excellent software, it does have a few limitations rather than drawbacks. One of the most important limitations arises from MT4’s inability to save ask prices. As the MT4 platform saves only bid prices, you will export only this data to Excel. You can easily export the history of price movements, and you can do it as frequently as you wish; you cannot stream live data on MS Excel.

Download EXCEL RTD Premium Tool to export live MT4 data to Excel- MT4 excel plugin

Traders in MT4 can use a special MT4 Excel plugin to export MT4 data to Excel.

Hotforex broker offers an excellent free tool for exporting MT4 data to Excel.
Please download the EXCEL RTD tool and export live data from MT4 to excel.

In this video, you can see how it works:

Plainly put, Excel is a basic software with several advantages. It is a reasonable buy and easy to understand. It is its qualities that, sometimes, render it inadequate. If you want to up your game, you can ask a professional programmer to help you understand how to use the MT4 platform and use its tools like the EA and magic numbers. The programmer will also assist you in managing bugs. However, keep in mind that it will be an expensive alternative.

There is a middle way, as well. You can buy software or an application from a third-party. These applications can work separately as well as an extension of MS Excel. These applications are generally easy to understand. The only thing you need to keep in mind with third-party vendors is that your information on the MT4 platform becomes vulnerable. You need to ensure that the vendor is trusted and offers good customer support. We would advise you to use a VPN blocker when using a third-party extension.

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