History Center on Tools Menu in MT4

The history center on MT4 is located on tools menu. The history center will begin to store data for each chart which you open on the MT4, This means that if you open the EURUSD M15 chart, then from that point on the MT4 history center will store information for this EURUSD time frame and every time you sign in again to the platform software to trade this info will be updated with the most recent prices & will then stored.

This also means that for any other chart not opened on your MT4 the trading platform will not begin to save data for that chart. For example, if you only open M15 for EURUSD only information for M15 will be stored, and not for EURUSD 1H or EURUSD 4H chart. Hence, if you want to begin saving records for H1 & H4, then you must start by opening these time-frames and the data will start to get saved from this point.

In the illustration below, the EURUSD Time frames are Shown, However only M151, H1 and H4 Icons are marked & labeled yellow & Green meaning data is being saved and updated to the History center. All the others are Gray in colour, meaning they have not yet been opened on this software. To change this and have these charts begin to update and have the price information saved, just open any timeframe for the EURUSD, for example the 30 minutes & the Icon for this time frame will change immediately from Gray to Yellow & Green, do the same for all the others.

From the above exemplification you can see the format that MT4 uses to store price data information as figures, these figures are the ones used to replicate the trading chart.

Why Use the MT4 History Center

Because of the format of storing data in figures it means that these figures can be analyzed using math formulas and math methods then can be used to analyze these currencies prices market moves.

These Mathematical trading methods are implemented in trading using computer algorithm trading programs. Computer programs will be programmed using these mathematical techniques/methods & formulas. This will produce what in programming is referred to as algorithm, these algorithms are implemented in MT4 using programs referred to as EAs - Automated Programs.

This EAs answer the question why the need for the History center? The information stored is used by traders to test their automated EAs to get an idea of how these EA Robots would have traded & then determine whether they're profitable or not. If these are profitable, traders implement these automated systems on real market, if not then the trader changes their mathematical formula & reprograms the algorithm, then tests this new algorithm with the same data on the history center until the time the trader will program an algorithm that's profitable enough to trade the live/real market & make profitable trade positions.

One of the methods of obtaining and getting data to the history center is to download this info using download button just as is shown and illustrated below: However, this downloaded figures tends to have gaps & give inaccurate data, therefore as a fx trader it is best to use data which has been downloaded by the trading platform itself after installing it. That means the info that is available from when you downloaded the software & started to trade with it, even if it's a few weeks or a few months.

If you want to start testing these Expert Advisors(EAs) then for every currency you trade you must open that currency, & also opening all the time-frames of that currency, that's the following:

1 Minute - M1
5 Minutes - M5
15 Minutes - M15
30 Minutes - M30
1H - 1H
4 Hour - 4H
Daily - D1
Weekly - W1
Monthly - MN

If you want to test you strategies on EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDCHF, USDJPY, EURJPY, AUDUSD, you'll have to open all these charts and then also all the above time-frames one by one. After this The History Center will update automatically for all these every time you login and then you can then use this info to start testing out your Expert Advisors.

In testing your Expert Advisor, select the begin date as the date when you will execute the above operation of downloading all the data for these time-frames & for different currencies also, so as to ensure your EAs are using correct data and give you the right results.

Because of this explanation you should not download any data on your MT4, just use the data that is available after you open the charts just as shown above and start from that point onwards.

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History Center on Tools Menu in MT4

Why Use the MT4 History Center