Hi Traders, I'm Luke from disciplined trader.
This video is part of the trading basics series and in this one we are looking at how to get
and use a charting platform.
I will be going through the basic functionality of the platform and I will add a contents
with time links in the description below if you want to skip back to a particular part
at any time.
I will be using Meta Trader 4 as I think this is the best platform for new traders and most
brokers offer this platform with their accounts.
To download Metatrader4, you can go directly to metatrader4.com and download it from there.
Alternatively you can find a broker that offers the platform and sign up for a real or demo
account.
I know activetrades and IG offer mt4 for both their real and demo accounts.
Just go to their websites and follow the instructions to get it installed.
Once that's done and you've opened the platform, It will ask for the login details for your
real or demo account if you have them.
Alternatively there should be an option to set up a new account if you don't already
have one.
As you can see here, I have downloaded this platform though IG and it will allow me to
open a real or demo account and all I do is complete the forms and hit next.
Once you've done that and logged in you should see the bars in the bottom right corner go
green to show you are connected to the live price feed.
Now you have the platform installed and opened, the next thing I will to go over is how to
change the chart options.
As you can see on my platform, I have a range bar chart with a green and black colour scheme.
The first thing I want to change is the chart type to a candlestick chart.
I can do this by either clicking the chart and then clicking the candlestick button.
Or I can right click on the chart, go to properties, then click the common tab and select candlesticks
then press OK.
The next thing I want to change is the colour scheme of the chart.
Again to do this right click on the chart and got to properties and go to the colors
tab.
Here you will be presented with a list of items and their corresponding colours.
You can simply choose the colour you want from the drop down menu.
I want a white background, black foreground, no grid with red and green candles with a
black outline.
You can play around with these settings as much as you need to get the charts just how
you want them.
There are a few ways to read what price the market is currently trading at.
The first I to just look at the price axis on the chart and the current trading price
will be highlighted.
Alternatively you can use the Market Watch window as this shows the bid and the ask prices
for all the markets on the list.
If the window isn't showing you can simply click the market watch button and this will
appear.
Lastly you can show the one click trading buttons and you will be able to see the bid
and ask price on each chart.
To do this, simply click the small black arrow in the top left corner of each chart.
If you want to hide them again, simply press the arrow again.
MT4 gives you the ability to make chart templates to save the settings you have made for your
charts.
For example, you will see if I open a new chart, the settings revert back to before
we made the changes.
So to save the chart settings you want, you need to make a template.
To do this, click on the chart where you have made the settings amendments and then right
click and on the chart and go to template and then press save template.
You can call this anything you like.
I'm going to call this Day Trading.
Then when I open a new chart, I can simply right click on it, go to template, then click
Day Trading and it will use the settings I saved.
You can also get to the template menu by using the button on the quick bar at the top of
the platform.
A little tip when saving your template.
If you call your template default it will open all new charts with these settings from
here on.
For example, I will save these chart settings as a new template called default, and when
I open a new chart this time, it automatically uses those settings.
To open a chart of a different market we need the market watch window.
Again if this isn't already open, you can open it by clicking the market watch button
on the quick bar at the top of the platform.
This window shows a long list of all the markets we can look at.
Simply right click on the market you want to look at and press chart window and a chart
will open up.
If the market you are looking for isn't on the list, you may need to add it.
For example, I want to add the FTSE 100 to my list.
So to do this, I need to right click in the market watch window and press symbols.
You can then look through the different market categories and show or hide any market you
like.
I'm going to add the FTSE 100 so I'll go into indices, click ftse100 and press show then
close.
Now the ftse 100 will be in my market watch window.
To change the time frame of a chart we can either right click on it and go to time frames,
then select the time frame we want to view.
Or we can use the time frame quick bar at the top of the platform to quickly choose
a different time frame.
All you do is click the chart to want to change and then click the time frame button you want.
You can also zoom in and out on a chart.
Again this can be done by either right clicking on the chart and then pressing either zoom
in or zoom out.
Or you can use the zoom quick bar buttons at the top of the platform.
To scroll back on a chart you simply left click on the chart, hold and drag it across
to move backwards.
You may notice that the chart keeps jumping back to the present time and this happens
every time the current price changes.
To turn this off so you can scroll back without been interrupted by price changes, simply
press the button with two axis with a little green play button.
If you want to turn this feature back on, simply press the button again.
To use drawing tools on a chart you simply use the quick bar at the top of the platform.
Just select which tool you want to use and then start adding them to your chart.
You can change the settings of the drawing by double clicking on them on the chart so
the two little boxes appears at either side of the drawing, then you can right click on
them and pressing settings.
To delete a drawing just double click it then hit delete on your keyboard or right click
and press delete.
You can add other drawing tools to the quick bar by right clicking on it and pressing customize.
You can then look through the list and add tools to the quick bar.
You can also remove any tools that you don't want on there.
You can measure the price change from two points by using the cross-hair cursor.
Select it from the drawing tools quick bar and simply left click on your chart and drag
to where to want to measure to.
You will be shown three numbers and the first is how many candles you have measured over,
the second is the pip change with one decimal place.
So for example, if it shows 504, that is a change of 50.4 pips.
And the last number is the price at which your cursor is at.
To add indicators to you chart, simply click on the chart you want to add an indicator
to and then go to insert at the top of the platform and then indicators.
You will then see a list of different indicators you can add to your chart.
To change the indicator settings or remove it from your chart, right click on the chart
and go to indicator list.
You can then select which indicator you want to change and either edit the settings or
delete it completely from the chart.
You can resize any chart by simply dragging one of the sides or corners to the size you
want.
Metatrader does has an inbuilt function to arrange the charts for you.
Simply go to the window menu at the top of the platform and choose from either tile windows,
cascade windows, tile horizontally or tile vertically.
You will also see a tab along the bottom of the chart window for each chart window you
have open.
If you are looking at the charts in full screen, you can toggle through the chart windows using
these tabs.
If you want you have the charts open over two monitors, press the restore down button
on top right corner of the platform and drag it over the two monitors.
You can then arrange the charts manually over the two monitors.
You can enter a trade by clicking the new order button on the quick bar at the top of
the platform.
A little dialogue box will open asking for more details about the position you want to
open.
You simply select the market you want to trade from the drop down, set the position size
in the volume box, set a take profit level and a stop level if you want to and if not
leave blank.
And lastly choose what order type you want.
Then press buy or sell to execute the order.
You can also quickly enter a trade by using the one click trade buttons we looked at earlier.
To turn them on, go to tools on the quick bar at the top of the platform, then press
options.
Then check one click trading, agree to the terms if you are happy and press OK.
The buttons will then be added to your charts.
To use them simply enter the position size you want in the little box and click either
buy or sell and your trade will be executed straight away.
Any open trades you have will be displayed in the terminal window at the bottom of your
platform.
If this window isn't open, simply press the terminal button on the quick bar at the top
of the platform.
The press the trade tab on the terminal window and your open trades will be displayed there.
To close a trade immediately, you can click the little cross at the far right side of
the trade entry in the terminal window.
You can also close a trade by setting a stop loss level or a take profit level.
To add or edit these levels, double click the box for either on the trade entry in the
terminal window and a dialogue box will open.
Then simply enter the level you want each to be at and press modify.
These levels will then be shown on your chart.
You can view all your past completed trades by clicking on the account history tab in
the terminal window.
It will show you the order number, time, date, trade direction, position size, market traded,
price you entered, stop loss level and take profit level if set, date and time you closed
the position, price you closed the position, any swap amendments and the p/l for the trade.
I know some traders will be asking about the other charting platforms out there.
There are other charting platforms other than MT4 available such as Pro Real time, Ninja
trader, eSignal, Trade Station to name a few, but the reason I have used MT4 here is because
I think it's a great place to start for new traders and its free!
It has all the features you need and is offered by the majority of brokers.
It's very easy to use and to get to grips with.
The last thing you want is a confusing platform when you're trying to learn to trade.
That wraps up this video on using a charting platform, I hope you have found it useful.
If you enjoyed the video, please feel free to drop a like on it.
If you have any questions or want me to cover any other topics in future videos, please
let me know in the comments below.
Also subscribe to the channel for more videos like this one.
I will be continuing this trading basics series to provide new traders with all the knowledge
they need to get started.
Thank you very much for watching and I hope you all have a good trading week.