The 'main' EA

For an Algo-Trader who has many EAs, the set-up on MT4 is very boring. The work to be done for each EA of the Portfolio is:

• open the Chart of an instrument
• add the EA to the Chart, and set its input parameters

ForecastCycles solve this problem. It offers a special Expert Advisor, the 'main' EA.

The 'main' EA allows to open all charts and apply to them the Expert Advisor and its input parameters. The 'main' EA is able to do that by reading configuration files called 'Templates'.

To download the 'main' EA, download a 'Portfolio' of Anomalies.

The 'Template' of an EA

The EA Template (.tpl file) is a configuration file, that contains all information relative to a MT4 Chart:

• from the color of the candles of the Chart
• to the EA and its input parameters

It is editable with every text editor (Notepad, VSCode, Sublime etc.)

When you download an EA from ForecastCycles you download also its Template.

How to edit a 'Template'

How to edit a 'Template' of an EA

If you edit an input parameter in the EA, you have to edit also in the Template.

For example, if you edit the input parameter 'Stop Loss Value' of the EA, you have to edit also the  input parameter 'Stop Loss Value' in the Template. By doing that, the 'main' EA will set the 'Stop Loss Value' automatically.

Summary

Set-up the Templates of the EAs, put them into 'MQL4/Files/FC-Files/Templates'

• Copy and paste the Template of the 'main' (main.tpl) in 'MQL4/Files/FC-Files'
• Open a chart, for example 'EURUSD'. Right-click above it => 'Load Template' => main.tpl
• Done

How to add an EA to its Chart.

To add an Expert Advisor to its MT4 Chart, open the chart you want to trade from 'Market Watch'. (1)

In this example I have a strategy for S&P500, so open the chart of "Usa500" which is the CFD of S&P500 in ActivTrades, and I put above the chart the EA. (2)

I write in 'Symbol Name MT4' the base name of the symbol, which is 'Usa500'. (3)
To read how to insert the correct 'Symbol Name MT4' parameter check this
guide.

Click OK.

I got an error:

The error appears because I set 'Fixed Lots'=0.01, while the minimum lots tradable for S&P500 is 0.5.

To see from MT4 that the minimum lots tradable is 0.5, go to 'Market Watch' => right-click 'Usa500' => click 'Specification' => read 'Minimal volume'.

So I change 'MM Value' to 0.5.

Click OK.

Now it works.

To be sure that everything is ok,  check in the upper-right of the Chart. If there is a :) smiley face the EA is active and it will start trading.

Save the Templates

Is possible to save the configuration in a Template, that can be loaded in the EA instead of writing input parameters.

Repeat the procedure for each EA you have

Repeat the procedure for each EA you have.

Next we will make available a system to manage the EAs and to automatize most of the set-up time.

The input parameter 'Symbol Name MT4' it is used to:

• speed-up the setup of the EA's portfolio in MT4
• allows EAs to do contract rollovers, which otherwise would have to be done manually

(screenshot MT4 del parametro)

How to find the 'Symbol Name MT4' to insert in the EA

To find the 'Symbol Name MT4' to write, follow these steps.

Display all the Symbols available in MT4: go to 'Market Watch' => right-click above a Symbol => and click 'Show All'.

Let's make few examples of 'Symbol Name MT4' to insert among these MT4 Symbols of ActivTrades broker.

If you trade 'Euro USDollar' you have 1 choice: the 'Symbol Name MT4'is 'EURUSD'.

If you trade 'Crude Oil WTI' you have 2 choices:

• 'LCrude' cash: a continuous contract. It has a cost (in few cases an income) when the position is kept open overnight.
• 'LCrude_' futures (LCrudeDec23, LCrudeJan24, etc.): a list of contracts with expiration dates, that the EA will manage by rolling the chart and eventually the trade. It has no-overnight costs.

The 'futures' contracts most of the times has lower costs if the EA keeps the position open overnight.

But sometimes the new 'futures' contract may be loaded in MT4 by the Broker with few historical data. And, if the EA has a long-period entry filter such as 'MA 100 > MA 200' it may not operate.

If in doubt, I choose 'LCrude'.

Overnight Rates of Continuous contracts

To check overnight rates that determine if trading Long or Short would pay or costs: go to MT4 'Market Watch' => right-click the Symbol => click 'Specification' => and read Swap Info

These 2 Swaps represent the ActivTrades financing rates in yeary percentage. The rates vary over time. Now going:

• Long costs -8.42% yearly => daily -0.0241%
• Short pays +2.42% => daily +0.0065%

So now if my EA goes short S&P holding overnight, the continuous contract would make it earn something more than the 'futures' contracts.

AutoTrading button

In the upper-menu, left-click on AutoTrading button

And it will turn green

Options of Expert Advisors for AlgoTrading

In the upper-menu, click on 'Tools', then click 'Options'

Click 'Expert Advisors' tab, and select the options as shown in the image:

Click 'OK'.

Options to optimize MT4 performance

The only disadvantage of using MT4 is that of using a slightly dated and not very powerful platform, so settings must be optimized to avoid it crashing.

1. Reduce the 'Max bars in history'
Reducing "Max bars in chart" should offer a dramatic performance increase.

To do so, in the upper-menu click 'Tools' ==> click 'Options' ==> select 'Charts' tab ==>
- set 'Max bars in history' 2000.
- set 'Max bars in chart' 1000.

2. Disable unnecessary features
Even new computers might experience MT4 lagging, high memory usage, and annoying slowdowns. To reduce MetaTrader's memory leakage, we can disable 'News' and 'Email' notifications.

3. Keep in 'Market Watch' only the symbol needed and don't open new Charts
The EAs automatically:

• add the Symbols in the 'Market Watch'
• opens all the necessary charts

Do not add other symbols and do not open other charts to avoid worsening performance.

In the upper-menu of MT4, click 'MetaEditor' icon.

In MetaEditor 'Navigator', right-click on 'Experts', then click 'Open Folder'.

Create a new folder called 'FC-Experts'

Extract and paste the EA (.ex4 file) in the new folder

Now, to complete the load in MT4 platform you have 2 choices:

• close and reopen MT4
• go to MT4 'Navigator', right click above 'Expert Advisors', and click 'Refresh'.

And the EA will be loaded.

Create an Account

To create a new Account:

• Go in the Home Page and click 'Sign Up'
• or go directly to Sign Up page

Download MT4 for Windows

Log-in to your account and go to this link and click "Download MT4 for Windows"

Install MT4 for Windows

Follow the procedure of the installer, once finish MT4 will be opened.

Open a Demo or Real MT4 Account

To create an account (demo or real) you can follow the procedure in MT4, or you can create it from the website.

To create the trading account from MT4, follow the procedure,

and finish it. At the end it will be shown login and password. You have to insert an email address already registered in their website.

Instead...

To create the trading account from the website, go to this link to open a new demo-Account

Copy the credentials 'account number' and 'account password'

Paste the credentials in MT4

And click login.

When you are logged in, the bars in the bottom-right corner will turn green.

These are the common settings (input parameters) of each EA, divided by sections.

EA INFO

• EA Name
  • the unique name of the EA in the Portfolio
• Symbol Name MT4
  • the name of the Symbol of Metatrader 4 given by the broker.
  • Examples in Activtrades: "Usa500" is the S&P 500 | "EURUSD" is Euro vs US Dollar | "LCrude" is WTI Crude Oil | "Soybns" is Soybeans | "UsaTB" is US 30y bond price
• Category
  • the asset class of the instrument, used to compute the exit time adjusted by weekdays and major holidays.
  • Cryptocurrencies are open 24/7 while other instruments 24/5.
• Magic Number
  • it is very important
  • it the unique identifier of the order in the entire portfolio.
  • Rules:
    • In an EA all Magic Numbers must be different
    • In a portfolio of EAs all Magic Numbers must be different
  • If rules are not respected, an EA will manage an order belonging to another EA.

MAIN PARAMETERS

• Direction
  • long or short

MONEY MANAGEMENT

• "MM Mode" and "MM Value" the size of the trade that the EA will open. There are 3 choices:
  • Fixed Lots
    • Example: 0.01 means that each trade size will be 0.01 lots
    • Note: each instrument can have a different minimum lot size. Is possible to see it by right-clicking the instrument in 'Market Watch' => click 'Specifications' => read 'Minimal Volume'
  • Equity Percentage
    • Example: "0.01" means that each trade will lose 1% of Equity if the Stop-Loss will be triggered.
  • Fixed Money
    • Example: "10" means that each trade will lose 10 if the Stop-Loss will be triggered.
    • 10 is based on the Account Currency that can be Euro, Dollars, etc.

TRADE MANAGEMENT

• From here is possible to set Stop-Loss, Take-Profit, and Risk-Free levels.
  • "Stop-Loss" (SL) is the level to exit from a trade in loss
  • "Take-Profit" (TP) is the level to exit from a trade in gain
  • "Risk-Free" (RF) is the level, computed from the Entry-Price of the trade, to move the Stop-Loss equal to the Entry-Price. So if the price will come back, it will exit with no-profit and no-loss.
• Mode and Value there are 4 choices for each one, let's use the Take Profit to do examples:
  • "No Take Profit"
  • "Percentage" example: if TP Value is "0.025", the TP will be set at 2.5% distance from the entry-price.
  • "ATR multiple" example: if TP Value is "2", the TP will be set at the double of ATR(14) from the entry-price.
  • "Price, in Points" example: if TP Value is "500", the TP will be set at 500 points of distance from the entry-price. The point is the smallest unit for measuring the price of the instrument

Entry Months allowed
To set the months in which the EA is allowed to open new trades.

Entry Weekdays allowed
To set the weekdays in which the EA is allowed to open new trades.

Entry and Exit Filters

Entry Filters
The filters allows to filter the trades. The EA will enter in a trade only if all filter conditions are satisfied.

Exit Filters
These filters allows to exit from a trade before the time of exit is reached. The EA will exit from a trade only if all filter conditions are satisfied.

Each filter has its associated Timeframe in which it will be computed:

• 'Current' means that it will be the same of the Chart Period, but
• it is recommended to choose the timeframe among the list [1m, 5m, 15m, 30m, 1h, 4h, 1d, 1w, 1mo] to avoid errors.

These are the filters:

• ADX
  • The ADX (Average Directional Index) is an indicator to measure how strong is a trend. It goes from 0 (min strength) to 100 (max strength). It can be computed using different peridos (5, 14, etc.)
  • Example "ADX(5) > 30" means "ADX(5) is now greater than 30"
• Body Range Ratio
  • The Body formula is "absolute(close - open")
  • The Range formula is "high - low"
  • Example: "Body < 50% Range" means "the last candle has a body that is lower than 50% of the Range"
• RSI
  • The RSI (Relative Strength Index) is a momentum indicator that measures the magnitude of recent price changes to analyze overbought or oversold conditions. It goes from 0 (oversold) to 100 (overbought). It can be computed using different peridos (5, 14, etc.)
  • Example "RSI(14) < 60" means "RSI(14) is now lower than 60".

• Consecutive Bull/Bear candles
  • Example "2 cons. Bull Candles": The previous 2 candles were bullish (close > open)
• Consecutive Higher/Lower Highs and Lows
  • Example "2 cons. higher High&Low": each one of the previous 2 candles has higher high and low than its previous candle.
• No gap filters
  • O[0] < HH[3] means "the last Open (shift 0) is lower than the Higher High of the last 3 candles (from shift 1 to 4)". The market has not openend in a gap-up.
• Breakout (or not) filters
  • C[1] > HH[1]: means "the last close (shift 1) was higher than the 1 period Higher High (shift 2)". The price has breakout the higher high of 1 period.
  • C[1] < LL[3]: means "the last close (shift 1) was lower than the 3 periods Lower Low (shift 2 to 5)". The price has breakout the lower low of 3 periods.

• Price and Moving Average
  • Moving average used is exponential (EMA).
  • Example 1: "P > MA 100" means the last close was above the 100 periods Moving Average.
  • Example 2: "PP > MA 100" means the last 2 closes were above the 100 periods Moving Average.
• Fast and Slow Moving Averages
  • Moving average used is exponential (EMA).
  • Example: "MA 50 > MA 200" means that the MA 50 is above the MA 200.