How to use templates in MetaTrader 4
Templates in the MetaTrader 4 trading terminal are a very useful feature that novice traders often underestimate due to lack of experience. What are templates in the MT4 terminal, how to create your own template and install a ready-made one?
What is a pattern in MT4 and why it is needed
A template is built-in trading platform MetaTrader 4 function, which allows you to save settings of the chart and the combination of technical indicators, to transfer them to the charts of other currency pairs.
For more understanding, here's a simple example. You move to a new apartment, but would like the interior of the old apartment. You save the interior in the old apartment and load it into the new apartment. This is the template.
The template performs all the necessary procedures for the trader - it changes the color gamut and other settings of the chart, installs the specified indicators with the necessary parameters to the chart.
Moreover, the template saved in one terminal can be successfully transferred to MT4 of another broker and it will work. The only condition is the availability of indicators included in the template in another terminal.
How to create your own pattern in MT4
Let's go back to a simple example. To trade on the euro/dollar pair you use a combination of the following indicators:
- EMA (50);
- EMA (100);
- MACD (5, 13, 1);
- MFI (7).
At the same time, the chart is customized by you for more comfort: candlestick view, convenient coloring of candlesticks, displaying the grid, etc.
You decided to apply the same combination of indicators to the GBP/USD currency pair. When you open it, you get the following result by default:
And now you have two choices:
- slow and time-consuming - to reconfigure the chart display and set indicators, setting each of the required parameters.
- fast and convenient - create a template and use it.
To create a template right-click anywhere on the price chart, settings and indicators from which you want to transfer. In the window that appears, find the "Templates" tab and click on "Save Template".
In the window that appears, specify the name of your template and click "Save".
Now it remains to install the same template on the pound-dollar pair chart.
How to install a template in the MT4 terminal
To install the template, go to the chart of the currency pair GBP/USD, right-click again in any point of the mouse, find the tab "Template" and click "Load Template".
After that, the terminal will offer a choice of all available templates. Find our saved "My Template" and click "Open".
As a result, we get a customized chart of the currency pair GBP/USD with indicators with the necessary parameters already installed.
All operations to create a template and install it on another chart take 15 seconds at most, but save the trader a lot of time and a ton of nerves.
How to install a third-party template in MT4
Let's say you're interested in our website trading strategy. By downloading the archive, you get a set of custom indicators used in the strategy, as well as a template for their installation. What to do with all this good stuff?
It's simple. Trade indicators have the extension mq4 and ex4. To install them you can use our step-by-step instructions on how to install the indicator in MetaTrader 4.
The template file has a tpl extension. It should be copied to ...MetaTrader 4\templates.
After restarting the terminal, we perform the necessary operations to install the template. As a result, we get a ready-to-use chart for trading the selected strategy with the indicators already installed and configured.
If you've never used templates in MetaTrader 4 before, you should definitely give them a try. Before you know it, you'll get used to it and wonder why you didn't use them before and how much time was wasted.
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