How to Use Meta Trader 5 Platform for New Traders
How Can You Open Trades with MT5?
If you want to learn how to set-up MetaTrader 5 platform this gold lesson explains the step by step tutorial on how to setup MetaTrader 5 for new traders with example - Gold Get to Know Your MetaTrader 5 Platform - Get to Know Your MT5 Software.
The following example below shows the main MT5 software interface. As a beginner trader trying to learn how to execute orders in online market, the main tool for transacting the market is the MT5 software platform. This is the software that you'll connect to your broker with and execute gold trading transactions and monitor your equity balance.
The MetaTrader 5 for trading gold is provided for free by brokers. This MT5 platform resembles the examples below:
Learn MT5 Platform Software
Main Areas of this MT5 as shown above are:
- Navigation Menus
- Tool Bars
- Chart Window
- Navigator
- Market Watch
- Terminal
- Connection Bars
For this MT5 Setup guide we shall look at a brief introduction for each of these:
1. MetaTrader 5 Navigation Menus Get to Know Your MetaTrader 5 Software
The MetaTrader 5 navigation menus are:
- File Menu
- View Menu
- Insert Menu
- Charts Tab
- Tools Tab
- Window Menu
- Help Menu
These Meta Trader 5 menus are the main navigation menus which can be used to navigate MT5 platform. As a beginner trader you can begin by clicking any of these MT5 platform navigation menus to familiarize yourself with the various buttons that are arranged as sub menus within these navigation menus.
These Meta Trader 5 platform navigation menus will be explained and discussed in details in the next MT5 setup tutorials about navigation menus - Get to Learn Your MetaTrader 5 Software.
2. MT5 Tool-Bars MT5 Setup
The Meta Trader 5 tool bars are used to manipulate charts, either by setting technical indicators, line studies, change chart timeframes and load an MT4 template from a list of saved templates on the MT5 platform.
These MetaTrader 5 tool bars will be discussed on other MT5 setup tutorials which will outline each button on this toolbar & how to add & customize these MT5 tool bars - Gold MetaTrader 5 Platform Setup Guide.
3. MT5 Chart Window MetaTrader 5 Setup
MT5 Chart Window Panel is the main area where charts are displayed & one can analyze the trend direction of a chart whether up/down, place indicators for technical analysis and even place trading orders from these charts - Get to Know Your MT5 Software.
5. MetaTrader 5 Navigator MT5 Setup
MT5 Navigator will contain data about accounts, whether practice trade account or live account, this window will also have a list of all the Meta Trader 5 technical indicators as well as Automated Expert-Advisors & scripts.
A trader can select which MetaTrader 5 trading account to sign in by expanding the Accounts menu, choose a chart indicator by expanding the MetaTrader 5 indicator menu or choose an Automated Expert Advisor by expanding the MT5 Expert-Advisor menu - Get to Know Your MetaTrader 5 Software.
5. MT5 Market Watch MT5 Setup
MT5 Market watch is used to show streaming quotes for quotes. This can listing as many symbols that are provided by your broker or a few chosen by a trader. To save inter net bandwidth, right click inside the market watch window panel and select "Hide All", to hide the currencies that you are not transacting & save on internet band width.
6. MetaTrader 5 Terminal MT5 Setup
This is window that's like the bank account trade area for your trades, on this panel you can view your equity balance, profit & losses statement, equity, margin used & also generate a copy of all your trade transactions history.
This will also list all open trade transactions & calculate all the profit and loss in real time as the currencies move up/down.
7. MT5 Connection Bar MetaTrader 5 Setup
Red bars are for no connection, green bars show that there is connection to the servers and trade orders can be set. These Meta Trader 5 connection bars should always be green when a trader is logged into their practice account or real account.
These main areas form the MetaTrader 5 Platform Setup guide & will be the main areas to be covered in detail in next learn MT5 guides. For now it's best to download MetaTrader 5 platform & familiarize yourself with the MetaTrader 5gold platform interface.
Why Meta Trader 5 Software is Required for Opening Transactions with Brokers
MT5 is the software that's used to access the market & analyze these currencies using technical analysis. There are various reasons why one requires to use a good platform. A good software can determine if a as a trader you make profit or not.
So why does a trader need a good platform:
To connect to the Server:
To place a order when trading online a trader needs to use a software that will connect to the trading servers of their broker & allow them to open and close orders. Good trading platforms will connect with ease to the brokers' servers and allow traders to place trading orders at any time from their computer.
To analyze charts and currencies using technical analysis
To place buy or sell order one needs to first interpret the direction of a trading quote. This is why all good softwares provide technical analysis tools such as price charts, technical indicators & various different time frames from which one can analyze price moves using chart time frames of their choice.
MetaTrader 5 Software Setup
From above Meta Trader 5 software interface, the summary of all the info required by a trader is provided in this Meta Trader 5 interface
- Connection - connectivity to the broker servers
- Charts - price charts that display prices
- Tool Bars - tool-bars to add tools and technical analysis indicators
- Market Watch - for displaying available financial instruments
- Data panel - provides account data & other indicator data
- Exchange rates - shows current market price of a trading symbol
- Menu bar - Shows all menu items on MetaTrader 5 platform
MT5 Software Setup