MetaTrader 5 is a famous trading software created by MetaQuotes in 2010. This trading platform offers traders access to numerous assets, such as Forex currency pairs, stocks, CFDs, commodities, and so on.
MetaTrader 5 is a newer version of another very popular Forex trading platform, MetaTrader 4. There are numerous trading tools offered by MT5, designed to make trading easier for everyone.
MetaTrader 5 is available on numerous devices, including Desktop and mobile devices. There also are custom Web Trading versions of MT5 offered by numerous brokers. MT5 features the MQL5 programming language, which offers traders the ability to create indicators of their own very easily.
So, let’s discuss everything that MetaTrader 5 has to offer to traders and how you can use it for the best Forex trading experience.
Steps to using MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5 is used by millions of traders around the world. It offers you access to numerous trading assets, which makes it useful for traders of different interests. Usually, there are two forms of MetaTrader 5 available, which are live and demo versions.
The only difference between the two is that you are using your actual funds when you are trading with a live version. The demo trading on MT5 is created mostly for practice and can be used to test out different ideas and trading strategies.
Before you are able to start using MetaTrader 5, there are several steps that you might need to take. Let’s discuss the most important steps to start trading using MetaTrader 5 below.
Opening account & downloading MT5
If you have already found a broker that you want to trade with, you can use their website to download the MetaTrader 5. However, if you only want to use MetaTrader 5 for practice, you can go to the trading platform website and download the official demo version.
Opening an account on MetaTrader 5 is not hard at all, this is especially true if you are signing up for the demo account. All you have to do is to provide very general information about yourself, for example, your name and last name, as well as your email address. After doing so, you will receive your account credentials on your email, which you can use to log in once you download the MetaTrader 5.
Downloading the trading platform is not hard either. Depending on the device that you are using, you might have to follow different steps, however, the major idea is the same. You can go to the official page of MetaTrader 5 and select the device that you want to download the platform on. It will only take a few seconds to download the platform and it can be installed in a few clicks.
The platform can also be downloaded on Mac devices, however, the procedure might be a little different. There are numerous brokers that offer versions of MT5 for Mac OS, and they take a few minutes to install.
As for the mobile versions of the trading platform, it is available on both iOS and Android devices. It should not take more than a few minutes to download the application and you can use the same account you created for the Desktop version to trade Forex using your smartphone.
First steps in MetaTrader 5
Once you download the trading platform, it is time for you to log in. All you have to do is to put your ID and password to respective fields and click login and that’s it, you should be able to start trading Forex right away.
The trading platform is very easy to navigate and is very user-friendly. It looks very simple and finding any kind of information that you might want is very easy. To navigate better in the MetaTrader 5, it is a great idea to first try to remember where everything is.
The Market Watch is a very important place for traders, as you choose which assets you want to chart. By double-clicking the asset you were looking for, you can create a new window to chart it. On the chart, you can set all different types of settings, like timeframes, type of the chart, and so on. You can also change the colors of the chart according to your preferences.
In addition, to make trading easier, you can also add different types of indicators as well as tools to your chart. There are several ways of applying indicators to your chart. First of all, you can look for a special space for indicators below the market watch. Here, you can find the majority of indicators in different types of categories according to their types or creators.
To click the indicator to your chart, you can simply double-click the name of the indicator you want to use, set the setting according to your preferences, and that’s it. The indicator is applied to your chart.
Opening positions
Opening positions are also very simple while using MetaTrader 5. In most cases, the MetaTrader 5 displays bid and ask prices on the chart directly. Depending on the position that you want to trade and the currency that you want to buy or sell, you can simply click the price on the chart and set the order.
There are different types of information that you might have to put into the setting before you open the position. This includes the execution type, order amount, the order type, as well as the stop-loss and other important details.
If you believe that you did something wrong in your position and you want to edit it, MetaTrader 5 offers you the ability to correct the positions that you have opened. MetaTrader 5 guide shows that this platform offers traders the ability to easily control their positions, which is a very important part of Forex trading for beginners.
Complex tools of MetaTrader 5
There are numerous things that MetaTrader 5 has to offer to traders and taking advantage of those offerings can be very helpful for traders. Thanks to the tools and services offered by the trading platform, you can make Forex trading a lot easier.
Simply knowing the basics of the MetaTrader 5 is not enough as there is a lot of very complex information and almost every single feature of the platform has its own purpose. Understanding even these slightest factors can be very beneficial for traders.
MetaTrader 5 is a very useful platform in terms of timeframes, as it offers traders 12 different timeframe options. It is very important to use these timeframes to see the market changes from different points of view. You can change the time frames very easily by simply right-clicking the chart and choosing the unit of time that works better for you.
As we have already noted, MetaTrader 5 trading platform offers traders numerous tools to make trading easier. One such thing is chart templates. This allows traders to quickly and easily access the most used charts with the preferred tools applied to them already.
For example, if there is a certain type of chart that you use very frequently, you can save it as a template with your favorite indicator, and by just clicking on the template, you will have the whole chart ready with your favorite tools as well as settings.
MetaTrader 5 offers traders two types of orders, which are market execution and pending order. You can choose which one you want to use while opening your trading position.
Most popular indicators on MT5
MetaTrader 5 offers traders numerous Forex trading indicators. In addition, you can also download different types of Forex trading indicators from numerous online sources. This can make trading a lot easier as well as accessible for traders.
Forex technical indicators are very popular among many traders because they offer the ability to better test the ongoing events in the market. You can use technical indicators to check how correct your prediction in Forex trading is.
Here are some of the best Forex trading indicators available on MetaTrader 5:
- The Money Flow Index
- Bollinger Bands
- The ZigZag
However, these three are only a very little part of the Forex trading indicators available for MetaTrader 5. There actually are dozens of different Forex trading indicators available for MetaTrader 5, which are created to make predicting the future price movements easier.
There are different types of technical indicators available in the Forex trading market, one of which are the oscillators. One of the most popular technical oscillators in FOrex is the Money Flow Index, simply known as MFI.
This trading indicator uses price and volume data to identify the market conditions, and give you information on whether a certain asset is overbought or oversold. This can also be used to spot divergences in the market, which might be a sign that the trend might be changing. Much like other oscillators, MFI moves between zero and 100.
Bollinger Bands are also very popular indicators which are shown with three different liens on the chart. The top and bottom lines are the bands of the indicator, while the middle line is the moving average. This indicator is used to measure the market volatility and identify the overbought and oversold conditions.
As for the ZIgZag, it is one of the most basic indicators in the market and is used to help determine the reversal in the market.
Should you use MetaTrader 5?
MetaTrader 5 is one of the most popular platforms around the world. The main reason for this is that it is very easy to use and is very user-friendly. In addition, there are a lot of very useful indicators and trading tools offered by the platform.
MetaTrader 5 takes Forex trading to the next level and can be very useful for a beginner as well as experienced Forex traders. MetaTrader 5 was created by the same company that released MetaTrader 4 back in 2005. MT5 is very similar to MetaTrader 4, however, it offers several new features to traders.