A Basic Introduction to MetaTrader (Part Two)

This is Part Two of MetaTrader basics if you have not already done so I recommend you read Part One first.

The first thing that we will look at in MetaTrader is charting. I have found that MetaTrader is one of the best free program for this purpose and it has a fairly large user base amongst the FOREX community.

Opening a Chart
In MetaTrader there are two ways to open a chart. The first is by left clicking on the new chart icon in the toolbar and selecting the chart you wish. Secondly you can right click a symbol in the market watch window and then select “Chart Window”. This is outlined below:

Chart Time Frames
The quickest way to change the timeframe for a chart is via the periodicity toolbar. This is the toolbar shown below:

On this toolbar it adjusts the period of the chart the period represents the difference between closing and opening times. M1 represents one minute, M5 represents two minutes, M30 represents 30 minutes, H1 represents 60 minutes or one hour, H4 represents four hours, D1 represents a day, W1 represents a week and MN represents a month.

The grayed out area in the toolbar lets you know what time period the chart is currently displaying.

Charts Toolbar
By clicking this icon the currently selected chart will be displayed as a bar chart. Keyboard shortcut ALT + 1.

By clicking this icon the currently selected chart will be displayed as a candlestick chart. Keyboard shortcut ALT + 2.

By clicking this icon the currently selected chart will be displayed as a line chart. Keyboard shortcut ALT + 3.

By clicking these icons you can zoom in or out of the currently selected chart. Keyboard shortcuts Zoom in: + and Zoom out: -

By clicking this icon AutoScroll will be enabled meaning the latest bar is always displayed.

These groups of icons allow for the adding of technical indicators to a chart, changing the time period of a chart and the final button allows for managing of templates.

Line Drawing Toolbar
The line drawing toolbar allows you to add various geometric shapes to a chart window. This can be helpful for technical analysis and for highlighting different features on a chart.

By clicking this icon the crosshair will be enabled in the chart window. The crosshair will graphically highlight the price and time at any given point on the chart. Shown Below:

By clicking on this icon a vertical line is placed on the chart window at the given point in which it has been drawn.

By clicking on this icon a horizontal line is placed on the chart window at the given point in which it has been drawn.

By clicking on this icon a trend line can be drawn in the chart window between to points. This is Shown below:

By clicking on this icon an equidistant channel is drawn on the chart from one point to another. This shown below:

By clicking on this icon a corresponding Fibonacci retracement lines can be added. Shown Below:

By clicking these icons text and arrow objects can be added to charts at a given area.

This is Part Two of a three part series on the basics of MetaTrader. Click to read the next article in the series A Basic Introduction to MetaTrader (Part Three).

About the author

Mark - Is a 28 year old form Australia. He has a Bachelor in Economics and a Major in CS. He is currently working towards his CFP. His interests include algorithmic trading systems, artificial intelligence, game theory and poker.