Beginners' Mistakes when Working with MetaTrader 4 Client Terminal

Tatyana | 9 January, 2007


  • My terminal shows wrong time. How can I set the same time as on my PC?

    It is the time shown in the terminal that shows when the quote last income in the Client Terminal was formed on the trade server. It can also be the server time last available in the Client Terminal. In MQL4 programs, this time can be obtained using the TimeCurrent() function. The server time cannot be changed in the Client Terminal. It can only be changed by your brokerage company on server side.

  • When I test the same Expert Advisor on different PCs, I get different results. Why?

    Test results depend on the Expert Advisor's trading strategy algorithm (Does it use High, Low or Close prices of the current bar? Is it sensitive to every tick price changes?), on historical data (the availability and quality of historical data), on test mode. Check whether the symbol and timeframe history is the same in your Client Terminals installed on different PCs.

  • The Print() function does not put the full information in the journal. Why?

    The Print() function prints a message in the Expert Advisors' journal, all messages of the function being placed in this journal. The message is simultaneously put in the 'Expert Advisors' tab of the 'Terminal' window. When messages are put in mass, the terminal does not show all messages in the 'Expert Advisors' tab in order to save time and space. If it is necessary, any lines put by the Print() function can be viewed in logs in the '\MetaTrader 4\experts\logs\' folder of the Client Terminal.

  • After updating (restart) of the Client Terminal, some symbols disappeared in the 'Market Watch' window. What has happened?

    You should select the 'Show All Symbols' command in the 'Market Watch' window context menu.

  • I cannot delete symbols from the 'Market Watch' window. Why?

    A symbol cannot be deleted from the 'Market Watch' window if:

    1. there is an open chart for this symbol;
    2. the terminal was not restarted after the symbol chart had been closed;
    3. there is an open position for the symbol.
  • When testing a strategy on a preset timeframe, the Tester informs that there are no data although all necessary bars are in the chart. What can be done?

    Try to load more historcial data. If you use dates (From - date 1, to - date 2) for tests, you have to have at least over 100 bars loaded before the date 1 on the given timeframe.

  • When I try to import my history, nothing happens. Why?

    Historical data must be presented in one of the formats below:

    YYYY.MM.DD HH:MM O H L C V
    YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM O H L C V
    YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM O H L C V
    DD.MM.YYYY HH:MM O H L C V
    DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM O H L C V
    DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM O H L C V
    YYYY.MM.DD,HH:MM O H L C V
    YYYY-MM-DD,HH:MM O H L C V
    YYYY/MM/DD,HH:MM O H L C V
    DD.MM.YYYY,HH:MM O H L C V
    DD-MM-YYYY,HH:MM O H L C V
    DD/MM/YYYY,HH:MM O H L C V

  • Some brokerage companies allow leverages above 1:100. But the Client Terminal does not allow this when trying to open a new account.

    You should download the Client Terminal from the website of the brokerage company that makes this service, then open an account with this broker.

  • In my Client Terminal, incoming traffic for 4-hour charts of basic currency pairs turned to be 600 KB within 10 minutes! Is it a bug or a regular appearance?

    It is the initial pumping of history. The matter is that some thousands of bars are pumped for each chart. For further working with the same account on the same server, the traffic will be very little since the history has already been pumped.

  • It is sometimes necessary to move the mouse cursor along the bar or the ticker for a very long time to see the hint.

    The popup window appears when the cursor approaches the Close price. The desired data can also be viewed in the 'Data Window'.

  • Fibonacci Arcs are shown as straight lines. What should be done?

    Scaling can be adjusted with the price scale. By default, 1 point falls on one period, but this is not enough for daily and monthly charts. So you have to change scaling.

  • I recently opened a demo account. Today, the program has informed about 'Invalid account'. Why?

    Demo account are deleted on expiration of a certain period of inactivity. In this case, you can just open a new demo account.

  • When I open a news, its body is empty. Why?

    Only subjects of news are transmitted on demo accounts.

  • Trading on real, I try to open an order. The program informs that 'Price changed'. What does it mean?

    The matter is that on real accounts, you have only seven seconds (including the time taken by receiving the price and giving a reply) to confirm the trade. If your connection is bad, it is possible that you just exceed the allotted time. Contact the support service of the company where you opened your real account, specify your account number and ask them to check your trades: Did the timeouts take place? You may also get the 'Price Changed' message if the price has changed and your broker refuses to make the trade by the given price.

  • When I try to open a position, the 'Not Enough Money' message appears. Why?

    Recheck the free margin size and the volume of the trade to be made.

  • Why does the 'New Order — Request' returns 'Market Is Closed'?

    Most probably, you are trying to open a position on a holiday — there is no trading on these days.