Charts Toolbar Menu and How to Customize it on MT4
The Charts toolbar on the MT4 is shown below.
Before explaining how to use each item listed on this charts tool-bar, let's make sure that all the available tools are added to it by customizing it:
- Right-Click at the customize button key to the left of this tool bar (Looks like a stack of coins) as shown below.
2. Click customize 3. Add all Tools
How to Customize
After adding the customize window will look like:
The toolbar will now look like:
Explanations of Stock Indices Trading Tools Listed
The following guide explains how to trade with each of the buttons numbered below:
1: Bar button, sets the chart drawing technique to Bars
2: Candlesticks button, sets the chart drawing method to Candles
3: Line button, sets the chart drawing technique to Line plot
4: Zoom In, zooms in
5: Zooms Out, zooms out
6: Auto Zoom, automatically zooms chart to highlight the most recent stock indices price candlesticks automatically once it has been clicked. That way the workspace of the indices prices shows the real time candle that's being quoted in that moment.
7: Chart Shift, shifts the recent stock indices price candlestick towards the center, therefore leaving space between the most recent candlestick and the extreme right side of the MetaTrader 4 software, making it easier for technical analysis.
8: Technical Indicators menu shows list of all indicators & from this list a trader can choose a particular indicator, double click on it to place it on the trading panel.
9: Periodicity displays all the chart timeframes and a trader can change to a different time frame for the from the one they are using by clicking this periodicity shortcut button.
10: Indices Step by Step is used to backtest manual indices systems where a trader places their trading system on a stock indices chart, moves it back for about 2 months, then starts to move it indices trading step by step while at the same time recording where their strategy would have given a buy stock indices signal or a sell stock indices trading signal or an exit signal, just the same way a trader would have traded realtime while the indices prices update.
11: Templates Button Key used to save new templates and load templates that have been saved on the platform.
All the buttons provide short-cuts instead of traders looking for these option the long way using the main navigation menu, a trader just clicks a tool & gains quick access to it. The toolbar will mainly contain the tools that are frequently used by a trader within the MT4 Stock Indices Trading Platform.