Traditional MACD with MT5

I feel that MetaQuopes should provide the traditional MACD in their suite of indicators provided with MT5 as a lot of traders find the version of MACD provided by MQ to be unsatifacory in that it hasn't got crossover lines and the hisogram behaves a whole lot differently. I have got a new MT5 account with Alpari in the UK and in my endeavour to get the traditional MACD, I downloaded a file titled MACD_true.mq5 and added it. However, it doesn't appear correct as it displays on the page- it is as if wrong values were put in the code concerning its display. I cannot alter the code as it a display only file. If MQ provided the traditional MACD in their suite of indicators, there wouldn't be any need to search for and add it as an additional indicator. How about MQ's programmers adding the traditional version of MACD to the indicators provided when they next bring out a revision ro MT5 ?  

Well I guess you need custom MACD to meet your need.

However, I highlight your comments there that I find interesting, seems like both MACD display incorrect in tour MT. May I know what Windows you're using including it's bit and where directory did you install MT5 in your PC.

About altering the code, from MT5, right click the indicator name and select modify - it will open MetaEditor 5 where you can alter your indicator's code. 

In answer to your questions, I am running Windows 7 – 64 bit. It is installed in the following directory: "C:\Program Files\MetaTrader 5 - Alpari UK\terminal64.exe". When I right click on the indicator in MT5 and then click modify, I get the following error message:      “  C:\Users\Kieran\AppData\Roaming\MetaQuotes\Terminal\62FE5B6112847A69D1ABE633A337F1DA\MQL5\Indicators\MACD_true.mq5 not found “

The Screenshot 1 below is showing how it is displaying, while Screenshot 2 from an MT4 account is showing how the same chart should display. I also include below a copy of the file containing the indicator. 

I hope this clarifies matters.

Well. I run on latest build 772 and - despite differences in the thickness of line and histogram (which can be changed from indicator property window)  - everything seem OK - of course I don't have MT4 version to compare the MACD result value.

If you have the .mq5 file, you should put that .mq5 file in user common directory (in your PC, it would be, C:\Users\Kieran\AppData\Roaming\MetaQuotes\Terminal\62FE5B6112847A69D1ABE633A337F1DA\MQL5\Indicators\ ) and so you will able to modify its code.

 in u

kwaldron2013.02.21 13:42

kwaldron2013.02.21 13:42

I think MACD version that is currently with MT5 is already a traditional MACD, and since there are already code base, I'm not sure if MQ willing to add more MACD to MT5, though maybe other programmers willing to add MACD through codebase.

 You mentioned that ...

...so there must be MACD_true.mq5 file reside in your computer somewhere, all you have to do is search for the file (press Windows key logo  + F and type MACD_True.mq5), and when you find it, you can modify it with MetaEditor. BTW, AFAIK, MACD_True has slighty different calculation than MT5 MACD

Anyway, attached is MACD that is currently with MT5 which I modified so that the MACD's histo is displayed as line and the subtracted value of MACD and signal is displayed as histo. I haven't try this on live or testing, but is this what you're looking for ?

Thanks for your comment and help. The file that you sent me is very close to what I want. The display characteristics of your modified MACD are exactly as I want them with crossover lines and the histogram displayed prominently. However, the histogram in your version is not as responsive at turns in the market as the MACD_ True that I loaded, as is evident from Screenshot 4 provided below where yours is the bottom indicator. I don't know where the .mq5 file for the version of MACD that I loaded has gone but it is no longer on my computer. I post below a copy of the .ex5 file to see if you can make sense of where it came from. Again, thanks for your help.  

Well, AFAIK, MACD_True has different calculation that MT5 MACD, and sorry to say, that I don't know its calculation :(.

That's all I can do.