Expert Advisor Tutorial MetaTrader 4
Have you ever thought why, when economic news is released, currency markets may change so quickly, almost in the blink of an eye? What makes this possible? Trading robots, which are programmed to buy or sell depending on the interpretation of economic data, are the answer. Trading algorithms are computers that have been trained to buy or sell. There is a whole business dedicated to designing and maintaining these systems. Large participants in the market, such as High-Frequency Trading algorithms, are mainly responsible for these changes. The retail trader has the ability to construct a robot and apply it to a trading account as well.
Expert Advisors overview
Expert Advisors (EAs) are algorithm-based programs. EAs can monitor and trade financial markets on the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. They find opportunities depending on the criteria you choose, then notify you or open a transaction for you automatically. After your position is open, an Expert Advisor can apply closing conditions like stops, trailing stops, and limits.
For example, you might use an EA to monitor a few major markets. When it finds a possible profit opportunity, it will notify you. You could even turn it run on the markets, opening several positions each day with little human intervention.
Expert Advisors are primarily used for Forex trading by the majority of traders. However, you may use them to trade any market available on your MetaTrader 4 platform. You may use an EA to trade Forex, indices, and commodities.
Expert advisors operate by allowing you to define the criteria for finding opportunities. Opening and closing positions – utilizing a set of yes/no rules to make trading decisions. You may either create your own Expert Advisor or import an already created one.
Expert Advisors can execute complicated trading strategies. Integrate many yes/no criteria into a complex mathematical model. Leveraging computer power to make decisions and act on them instantly.
Installation and Setup Expert Advisor Tutorial MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader expert advisors are straightforward to use, yet some individuals are puzzled by them. A person may become confused with an expert advisor file after downloading and unsure what to do next. Here’s a quick lesson on how to add an expert advisor to a MetaTrader chart and trade with it. Although the procedure is the same as installing a custom indicator, there are a few changes.
First, download MetaTrader 4 expert advisor and save it on your PC. Start trading platform and open data folder via menu File->Open Data Folder:
Copy your expert advisor into the Experts folder inside the MQL4 folder
The next step is to restart the MetaTrader, otherwise, the newly copied Expert Advisor will not be found on the Expert Advisors list in the Navigator tab. After closing and restarting the MetaTrader platform, the new Expert Advisor can be found on the Expert Advisors list in the Navigator tab as shown in the image.
Attach Expert Advisor to a Chart and Settings
The final step before we can start Expert Advisor is to attach EA to the Chart and configure settings. All we have to do is to select the Expert Advisor from the Navigator tab as explained earlier, right-click on desirable Expert Advisor and click Attach to a chart. We can also drag it to the desired chart or simply double-click on it. Bear in mind EA will be attached to the current Chart, and don’t worry as it is not going to start immediately.
When we attach EA, a new window will be displayed with settings as on images. The second tab is called common and contains the main settings required for Expert Advisor to run: Common, Live Trading, and Safety. To enable EA to trade Allow Live Trading option is required, also some Expert Advisors require Allow DLL imports to be enabled. The third tab Inputs, contains Expert Advisor settings like the Lot size or Moving averages period in this example as on images.
Enable and Start Expert Advisor
The final step is to enable Expert Advisor to trade. The next thing you’ll notice is an upset face emoticon on the top right of the chart. Emoticon indicates Expert Advisor attached to chart but not enabled. To allow EA to trade automatically, enable Auto Trading found in the standard toolbar in the toolbar section of MetaTrader. By enabling the AutoTrading the emoticon will turn into a smiling face.
A smiling face emoticon displayed on the chart indicates the Expert Advisor is up and running and the algorithm will open and close new trades as per programmed instructions and settings. Before choosing if this is the best and fastest option for you to trade forex markets, find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of using Expert Advisor. We advise traders to thoroughly backtest and test on demo forex broker accounts at first.
