In CFD/Forex Trading, we will usually use the broker’s website or application trading platform, and it will be pretty simple for traders to make trade decisions quickly. However, due to the simple factor and the primary purpose is to help investors make buy and sell orders, this software will lack the elements to help investors monitor and analyze the market. To easily track and find factors for market analysis, investors need another specialized software, and MT4 is a free software born for this purpose.
Suppose you have ever participated in forex investment. In that case, everyone already understands MT4 software, but if you have never invested, please read the article to give an overview of the features and usage of MT4 software.
About MT4
MT4’s full name is MetaTrader 4, a trading platform developed by MetaQuotes Software for forex, CFD investment. The primary function of MT4 is to help investors quickly make statistics and track asset prices, thereby providing analysis and trading. Although MT4 does not support direct binary options trading, only forex transactions, we can still use it to analyze and predict market trends.
Install software
To install the software, we can quickly go to the homepage of MetaQuotes to download (metaquotes.net) or website: metatrader4.com.
This is the installation screen after we download it from the website. The software installation is straightforward; leave the software in the default setting and press the “next” button. So, after only about three clicks, you can complete the installation, if you don’t mind.
After the installation, the software will display a notice to open an account. Please complete the information and remember to check the box “I agree to subscribe to your newsletter.”
MT4 software overview
MT4 opens four windows by default with charts showing four different currency pairs. We can turn off or minimize each window where we keep track of our asset prices.
At
the top, we will see a toolbar with buttons such as creating a new chart, creating a profile, toggling the market watch, navigator, or terminal areas, zooming in and out, and selecting the chart type. And three commonly used buttons are adding indicators (indicators list), time frames (periods), and creating templates (templates).
Under the toolbars on the left will be the MarketWatch frame to monitor the prices of currency pairs, gold prices, and indices.
Under the MarketWatch is the “Navigator” window to monitor your account metrics and some advanced features.
The bottom area, “Terminal,” includes six areas to which the Trade tabs (transactions), account history (account history), Alerts (warnings), Mailbox (mailbox) need to pay attention.
Charts and settings
Color
you can set the color of the charts according to each trader’s style and preferences. Right-click on the price chart and select “Properties” to choose the color and other chart features.
Template
Templates are templates that contain the settings you want. You can save the “save template” when all settings are done. Then when creating a new chart, you need to apply the desired template and no more installation work.
Price bar
Price bars here are the bars that represent the price of the asset appearing on the chart. By default, the price bar is candlestick, and you can choose a bar or line style. You can click on the 3-button area to choose the chart type to get familiar with.
Indicators
Various statistical indicators can be added to the price chart. Select Add Indicators in the toolbar to select the indicators that you find essential.
Time frame
Usually, we can choose time frames like 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, 1 day, 1 week, and one month. With different time frames, we can see different trends in the market.
Thus, you have grasped the essential elements and simple settings to help you gradually explore MT4. Getting started can be quick, but discovering the full power of MT4 takes a lot of time and knowledge. You will likely use it to turn this into a powerful tool, an essential software when trading CFDs.