Choosing a trading platform is a very important step for every trader. It is a working tool that
must be transparent enough, but at the same time it must offer a lot of features and tools that
will make the trader’s job easier. In the following parts of our FTMO Academy, we will take a
closer look at how to handle and to manipulate the trading platforms on which our FTMO Traders
can trade.
MT4 on PC
Once downloaded and installed, the first time you open the app, you can see the Market Watch tab
with a list of selected investment tools and the Navigator tab.
Login
There are two ways to log in to your FTMO account. In the right lower corner, there is a
connection tab. Click on it and press login. There you can put your login credentials from the
FTMO Client Area, and after a successful connection, you are logged in.
Navigator
If you have already used MetaTrader 4 with a different server, you need to search for the FTMO
server in the Navigator window. You can open it by clicking the View in the main menu or by
pressing CTRL+N (Command+N on Mac). In the Navigator window, you can switch between different
accounts and also quickly add technical indicators, expert advisors and scripts. To login to a
new server, right-click on the Accounts tab and select Open an Account. There you can add a new
broker and select an existing trade account, where you enter login credentials from the Client
Area.
MarketWatch
This window shows you the real-time quotes of Bid and Ask prices for each financial instrument
that you can trade. You can open it by clicking on the View in the main menu or by pressing
CTRL+M (Command+M on Mac). By right-clicking it, you can add additional data such as the current
spread, high/low, time of last change, etc. By right-clicking it you can also show or hide all
instruments, see the specifications of chosen instruments, open a new chart window or enter a
new order for the selected instrument.
Chart window
The chart window is the most important tool for technical traders. Open it by right-clicking on
the selected instrument, or by dragging the symbol into the chart window space. By opening the
chart, we get access to the new toolbar called”Charts”. There you can zoom in and zoom out the
chart (also by dragging the mouse sideways on the time scale), change the graphical
representations to bars, candles or lines, scroll to the end on tick incoming or shift to the
end of the chart from the right border, add indicators, change the timeframe or set and save
templates of your chart. You can also do all this by right-clicking in the chart window, where a
small help window will open. In this window you can find properties, where you can change chart
visuals, modify different colours and use some additional settings in the common tab.
The last option on the toolbar is the line which is used for drawing trendlines, horizontal and
vertical lines, channels, Fibonacci retracements, making notes or arrows in your charts, and for
using the crosshair for better navigation.
Terminal
Terminal gives you snapshots of what is going on in the market and in your account. You can open
it by clicking on the View in the main menu or by pressing CTRL+T (Command+T on Mac). On the
Trade tab you can see the Balance, Equity, Margin and details of opened and pending orders. The
Exposure tab displays summary information on the volumes of each currency for all open
positions. The Account history tab displays closed positions and cancelled pending orders. The
News tab is used for following the market events and trends. The Alerts tab shows information
about created alerts for signalling what you want to signal.
The Mailbox tab is for an internal mailing system, which brokers can use for additional
communication. The Market tab is a secured service from where you can purchase trading robots,
technical indicators, and scripts. Article tab shows you many articles that can help you with
your trading. The Codebase tab allows you to access the code base published at MQL4.community
right from the client terminal. The Experts tab is used for Expert Advisors, and the Journal tab
shows all performed operations and events.
Trade
There are several ways to open a trade in MT4. By right-clicking on the instrument in the
MarketWatch window and by choosing New Order is one of the options, but the easiest way is to
press the F9 key. In the small window you can set the volume in lots, the Stop Loss and Take
Profit levels, the method of execution – market or pending order (Buy Stop, Sell Stop, Buy
Limit, Sell Limit) and the price at which you want to enter the market with a pending order. If
you did not set the Stop Loss and Take Profit beforehand, you can modify it in the chart by
dragging from the actual price.
If the price moves in the desired direction, you can set a Trailing Stop by right-clicking on
your open position and by choosing the number of points.
Closing a trade without limit orders is also possible. Go to the Terminal tab, and right-click
on the trade that you want to close, and click on “close order” or press the X symbol on the
right side.
MT4 on Android
Many traders use the ability to trade via their mobile phones. Some say that it is not the most
convenient way to analyse and trade, but a lot of people love this way of trading and it suits
them. The Metatrader 4 application is divided into two parts, the main bar and the bottom bar.
Login
For a login to your server, go to the main bar and choose Manage Account. You can log in there
to your FTMO trading account with your login credentials.
Bottom bar
The bottom bar has six different options that can also be found in the main bar.
Quotes tab
The quotes tab shows real-time Bid and Ask prices of the selected financial instruments. You can
add symbols by clicking on the plus and choosing an instrument. By taping the pencil, you can
modify your quotes in some order or delete some symbols.
Chart Tab
This tab is used for viewing a chart of the selected instrument. You can apply different
indicators and objects there. By pressing on the chart, you can change the timeframes and the
general settings of a specific chart.
Trade tab
The Trade tab displays your current balance, equity, and margin information on your current
positions. It also shows your open trades.
History Tab
The History tab shows you a history of your trades, pending orders and past trades. You can
select the period of trading by pressing the calendar and by selecting a specific period. To see
more details about your trade, click on it and take a look.
Chat tab
The Chat tab gives you access to MQL trading communities.
Opening a trade
To open a new trade, go to the Quotes tab, select the instrument, choose the new order to set
your stop loss and take profit and click on the sell or buy button. You can choose from
different types of orders, such as limit orders or stop orders and set the parameters for them.
Closing the trade
Go to the Trade tab, choose the order you want to close and swipe it from right to left. You
will need to select the closing order icon, and in the next window you will need to confirm it.
If you want to close a part of your order, repeat the same process but reduce the size you want
to close.
MT4 on iPhone
On the iPhone, MT4 is even more simple, and everything is managed by five icons on the bottom of the display.
Login
To login to your server, go to the Settings tab and click on “new account” and enter your login credentials.
Quotes tab
This tab shows a real-time Bid and Ask prices of financial instruments. If you want to add a
symbol, click on the plus and use the search bar. By pressing the pencil button you can modify
your existing symbols. You can also change the view settings from simple to advanced.
Chart Tab
This tab is used for viewing a chart of the selected instrument. By pressing the indicator or
the object icon, you can apply different indicators and objects. Timeframes can be changed in
the upper left corner, and you can also quickly execute trades in the upper right corner.
Trade tab
The Trade tab displays your current balance, equity, and margin information on your current
positions, and it also shows all open trades.
History Tab
The History tab shows a history of your trading account. At the upper part of your screen, you
can filter trades by the symbol or custom periods.
Open a trade
To open a new trade, go to the quotes tab, select the instrument, and select trade. Then set
your stop loss and take profit and click on the sell or buy button. You can also choose from
different types of orders such as the limit order, or stop order and set the parameters for
these orders.
Close a trade
Go to the Trade tab, choose the trade that you want to close, hold on to it, and select close
order. There you will choose the closing order button. If you want to close just part of the
position, you need to specify the number and then hit the close button.