How to Add an Indicator in MT5 (and MT4)

What an indicator is

An indicator is a calculation drawn on a price chart. It uses price or volume data, such as a moving average of closing prices. MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4 include a set of built-in indicators. You can also add your own files, which is covered on the custom indicators page.

An indicator shows a view of past prices. It does not predict the next move. Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast, whatever indicators are on the chart. If you are learning, practise on a demo account first.

How to add an indicator in MT5

You can add an indicator from the main menu or from the Navigator.

From the Insert menu

1. Open the chart of the symbol you want to analyse and select the timeframe.
2. In the top menu, click Insert, then Indicators.
3. Choose a group: Trend, Oscillators, Volumes or Bill Williams. Custom indicators you have installed appear in their own group.
4. Click the indicator name, for example Moving Average.
5. The settings window opens. Check the parameters (see below) and click OK.

From the Navigator

1. Open the Navigator with View → Navigator or Ctrl+N.
2. Expand the Indicators folder and then the group you need.
3. Drag the indicator onto the chart, or double-click it to apply it to the active chart.
4. Adjust the settings and click OK.

To find a tool you use often, right-click it in the Navigator and choose Add to Favorites. It then appears in the Favorites tab of the Navigator. You can also open Insert from the toolbar's indicator button, which shows the same groups.

How to add an indicator in MT4

The steps are almost the same in MetaTrader 4:

1. Open a chart.
2. Click Insert → Indicators, then choose Trend, Oscillators, Volumes, Bill Williams or Custom.
3. Pick the indicator, set the parameters and click OK.

The Navigator also works the same way: Ctrl+N, open Indicators, then drag the indicator to the chart. For differences between the two terminals, see MT4 vs MT5.

MT5 indicator settings

The settings window has several tabs. The names can differ slightly between indicators and builds, but the main ones are:

The main parameters mean:

• Period: how many bars the calculation uses. A longer period gives a smoother, slower line.
• Shift: moves the line forward or back by a set number of bars.
• MA method: the type of moving average, such as Simple, Exponential, Smoothed or Linear Weighted.
• Apply to: which price the calculation uses. In a subwindow you can also choose Previous Indicator's Data to build one indicator on top of another.

In MT4, line colours are on a separate Colors tab rather than on Parameters.

To change settings later, double-click the indicator line on the chart. You can also right-click the chart, choose Indicators List (Ctrl+I), select the indicator and click Edit.

Main chart or subwindow

Built-in indicators open in one of two places:

• On the main chart (overlay). Indicators measured in price, such as Moving Average, Bollinger Bands, Envelopes, Parabolic SAR and Ichimoku, are drawn over the candles.
• In a separate subwindow. Oscillators such as RSI, MACD, Stochastic and CCI have their own scale, so MetaTrader places them in a window under the chart.

You can drag a subwindow's border to make it taller or shorter. To place an indicator inside an existing subwindow, drag it from the Navigator into that subwindow. Then set Apply to to the data of that window's indicator if you want it calculated on that data, for example a moving average of RSI.

Too many indicators make a chart hard to read and often repeat the same information. The chart setup page covers layout and colours.

Save indicators as a template

A template stores the chart's indicators, their settings, colours and objects. You can then load the same setup on any chart.

1. Set up the chart with the indicators you want.
2. Right-click the chart and choose Templates → Save Template.
3. Enter a name and click Save.
4. To load it on another chart, right-click that chart and choose Templates, then pick the name from the list.

If you save a template with the name default, MetaTrader applies it to every new chart you open. Profiles, which save a whole set of chart windows, are explained on the templates and profiles page.

Remove an indicator

There are several ways to delete an indicator from a chart:

• Right-click the indicator line and choose Delete Indicator.
• Open Indicators List (Ctrl+I), select the indicator and click Delete.
• To close an empty subwindow together with its indicator, right-click inside the subwindow and choose Delete Indicator Window.

Removing an indicator only clears it from that chart. It stays in the Navigator and can be added again at any time.

Indicators on web and mobile

The MT WebTerminal and the MetaTrader mobile apps also include built-in indicators. Their menus differ from the desktop version. Custom indicators and templates from the desktop terminal do not carry over to them. More keyboard commands for the desktop terminal are listed on the keyboard shortcuts page. To learn how indicators are used in analysis, see technical analysis.

Frequent questions

Why can't I see the indicator after adding it?

Check the Visualization tab. The indicator may be turned off for the current timeframe. Also check that the line colour is not the same as the chart background.

Can I put several indicators on the same chart?

Yes. Add each one in the same way. Overlays share the main chart, and you can drag oscillators into the same subwindow.

How do I change the period of an indicator already on the chart?

Double-click its line, or open Indicators List with Ctrl+I, select it and click Edit. Then change Period on the Parameters tab.

Are MT4 and MT5 indicators the same files?

No. MT4 uses MQL4 files and MT5 uses MQL5 files, so a custom indicator built for one terminal does not run in the other. See MQL4 and MQL5.

Do indicators tell me when to trade?

No. They show calculations on past prices and can give false readings. Any trade on leveraged products can lose money quickly. Read risk management before relying on any tool.