The MT4/MT5 Interface
MetaTrader has four main areas: the toolbar at the top, Market Watch and Navigator panels on the left, the chart area in the center, and the Terminal window at the bottom. Let's explore each one.
1. Market Watch (Ctrl+M)
The Market Watch window shows the current bid/ask price for all available instruments. Right-click here to add or remove symbols from the list. To open a chart for any instrument, double-click its name or drag it onto the chart area.
Right-click in Market Watch → "Show All" to see every available instrument. Then right-click again → "Hide" any you don't need to keep the list clean.
2. Navigator (Ctrl+N)
The Navigator panel has four sections: Accounts (manage multiple accounts), Indicators (all built-in indicators), Expert Advisors (automated trading systems), and Scripts (one-time automated tasks). Drag any indicator or EA from Navigator directly onto a chart to apply it.
3. Chart Area
The main workspace. You can have multiple charts open simultaneously — MT4 supports up to 100 charts. Right-click on any chart to access properties. Use the toolbar timeframe buttons (M1, M5, M15, M30, H1, H4, D1, W1, MN) to switch between timeframes.
- Scroll — mouse wheel zooms in/out on the chart
- Ctrl + scroll — shifts the chart left/right
- F8 — chart properties (colors, candlestick type)
- Alt+1 — bar chart; Alt+2 — candlestick chart; Alt+3 — line chart
4. Terminal Window (Ctrl+T)
The Terminal at the bottom has several tabs:
- Trade — all open positions and pending orders with real-time P&L
- Account History — every closed trade with full statistics
- Alerts — manage your price alerts
- Mailbox — messages from your broker
- Journal — log of all platform events (useful for debugging EAs)
MT5 Differences
MT5 has the same layout but adds: a Toolbox (replacing Terminal) with additional tabs, a built-in Economic Calendar, and a "Depth of Market" window showing order book data. It also supports 21 timeframes instead of MT4's 9.