Quick Start Guide
Quick Start Guide
com
1.4361
FOREX
TESTER 5
Quick start & How to use guide
www.forextester.com
CONTENT
7 Testing process
10 Downloading data
12 Creating a project
23 Adding indicators
27 Test analysis
48 Chart settings
5
We also provide FREE historical data for 18 symbols starting from
01/01/2001 until the last day of the previous month with the htBasic
tps:/ forextester.com/order
https://forextester.com/order
subscription.
To get even more features, such as 818 symbols, much better data
quality, historical news for 9 main currencies, tick data, and
floating spreads, https://forextester.com/historyservicedescription
choose either Standard or VIP subscription.
6
TESTING
PROCESS
1. Press the “Start” button on the Home tab to start testing
immediately.
7
4. Scroll to one bar back whenever you press the Backspace key
on your keyboard or click the “Bar back” button on the
toolbar.
5. Move forward by one bar every time you press the Space key
on your keyboard or click the “Bar forward” button on the
toolbar.
8
7. Change the timeframe by simply clicking the corresponding
buttons or using the dropdown menu next to them.
9
DOWNLOADING
DATA
In Forex Tester 5, you can enjoy the variety of symbols added.
Choose between 800+ trading instruments, including stocks,
indexes, cryptocurrencies, and futures.
10
3. Choose whether you want to download the full history or
select the date range to download only a part of it and click
the “Update” button.
11
CREATING A
PROJECT
1. Click the “New Project” button on the Home tab.
12
3. Choose the necessary currency pairs that are available within
the project and click the “Next” button.
13
5. Click “Create”. The test will start automatically.
14
PLACING A
MARKET ORDER
1. Click the “Market order” button on the Home tab.
2. Choose the currency pair you are to trade and the lot size
from the dropdown lists. You can also choose a risk-based lot
calculation, but, in this case, the Stop Loss value must be set.
15
3. Enter Stop Loss and Take Profit values.
5. Resume testing until either the price reaches the Stop Loss /
Take Profit, or you decide to close the trade manually.
16
PLACING A
PENDING ORDER
1. Click the “Pending order” button on the Home tab.
2. Select the required type of the order from the dropdown list.
17
Please note that Limit orders should be used when you expect
the price to reach some level and then bounce from it, whereas
Stop orders are made for breakthrough strategies.
If you think that the price will go up, reach a certain point,
and then resume the downward movement, you should set
a Sell Limit order.
18
3. Choose how you want to calculate the lot — manually or
based on risk management. Note that a risk-based lot
calculation requires entering a Stop Loss value.
19
5. Enter the Stop Loss and Take Profit values.
20
CLOSING THE
POSITION
1. To close the order manually, double-click on the row of the
desired order in the Open Positions tab at the terminal’s
lower-left corner.
21
You can also close your order by clicking the corresponding
button on the Order tab.
3. If the Pending order has not been opened yet, it’ll remain in
the Pending orders tab at the terminal’s lower-left corner. To
close it manually, double-click on the row of the desired order.
22
ADDING
INDICATORS
1. To add an indicator, click the “List of indicators” button on the
Home tab.
23
2. To import custom indicators into Forex Tester 5, choose
“Install New Indicator”.
24
HISTORICAL
NEWS SERVICE
In Forex Tester 5, we have the historical news service as one of the
major fundamental trading instruments.
25
3. By default, the news displaying is enabled, and they are
shown at the bottom of the chart as flags. The color of the flag
border (red, yellow, green) indicates their importance.
26
TEST ANALYSIS
1. To analyze the test results, go to the Statistics tab in the
Market Info window located to the chart’s upper left.
27
2. To export the trade history
28
Right-click on the Profit chart and choose the option you
prefer in the open context menu (Export Equity to a File;
Export Equity to Excel).
29
4. The Account History tab displays your profit and loss in
points.
30
TRACKING BAR
PARAMETERS
All the necessary information regarding each candlestick is
reflected in the Data window panel. It is located to the chart’s left.
You can see the bar’s date, time, open, close, high and low prices,
simply pointing with the mouse on it. In addition, you can see
values of volume, indicators, and the index of the bar.
31
USING EXPERT
ADVISERS
1. Click the “List of strategies” button on the Strategies tab.
Make sure that the “Strategies execution” option is ON.
32
3. Click the gear icon to edit the strategy parameters.
33
5. Click the “Close” button.
34
The Expert Advisor will automatically open and close the trades
using the rules of strategy.
35
INSTALLATION
SAVE YOUR TIME
WITH THE QUICK
FOREX TRADING
SIMULATOR’S
INSTALLATION
To install a Forex Tester 5 version, you need to download the
software.
DOWNLOAD
https://forextester.com/download
FOREX TESTER 5
36
1. Launch installer after the download.
37
4. Please, read the End-User License Agreement carefully.
38
7. Activate the “Create a desktop icon” option for easier access
and click “Next” to continue.
39
8. Click “Install” and wait to complete the software installation
process on your computer.
40
Congratulations! The program has been installed on your
computer.
*The Forex Tester 5 shortcut icon will appear on your desktop if you
have chosen this option during the installation.
41
CHART
ADJUSTMENTS
GET MORE OF
FOREX TRADING
SIMULATOR: 6
CHART MODES
FOR DEEPER
FOREX LEARNING
There are 6 modes of chart displaying in Forex Tester. You can
switch between 3 of them (lines, bars, or candles) by clicking the
“Chart modes” button on the Charts tab.
42
1. Lines mode is represented by a curved line connecting all
Close prices.
43
3. Candles mode is set in Forex Tester by default.
4. Range bar mode shows the candles of the same adjusted size
by considering the price only.
44
Forex Tester will ask you to set the range bar size. Insert the
necessary value and click “Ok”.
You will notice that each candlestick (or bar) is equal to the value
you have entered.
45
5. Renko bar mode also highlights the main trend by
eliminating minor price changes.
Note that the specified value for the Renko bar defines the
size of the candle body only.
46
6. Tick chart mode shows every single price change within a
current data range.
To switch to the Tick chart, click the Ticks tab located in the
screen’s left upper corner.
47
CHART SETTINGS
You can adjust the colors of the candlesticks and chart’s
background by right-clicking on the chart and selecting the
“Chart settings” option (or use the “Chart settings” button on the
Charts tab).
48
There are three tabs in the Chart settings window:
background
frame and text
grid
borders of the candlesticks
fills’ colors
period separators
49
Switch to the Additional colors tab, and you will have access to
other important lines that appear on the chart.
By default, Stop Loss / Take Profit values, loss trades, and buy order
markers are colored in red. The orders’ levels, profitable trades,
volumes, and sell orders markers are green.
You can set any color you like using a dropdown menu.
50
Show grid — simplifies the navigation on the chart. Each
grid line provides a trader with information about the price
and the time of the candlestick.
51
Alternatively, you can navigate to the Charts tab and find these
options in the Chart view section.
Show bid level — displays at which price the sell order will be
filled if you open a sell market order.
Show ask level — shows at which price the buy order will be
filled if you open a buy market order.
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Use fixed price range — displays the objects situated in the
vertical range between the Top and the Bottom prices you
set.
Use fixed grid — allows you to set a custom distance for your
grid’s line. By default, it’s drawn after every five pips.
53
3. The All Charts tab.
Scrolling speed.
Mouse sensitivity to lines.
Magnet sensitivity to bars.
Charts’ synchronization align type.
Bars’ thickness.
Alignment of candles, when the timeframe or scale
changes.
2. Drag the mouse either right or left to see the scrolling speed.
54
To test the mouse sensitivity to lines:
*If the mouse sensitivity value equals 3, then even if you click
3 pixels away from the line, you will still be able to move it.
55
You can turn on/off synchronized scrolling by clicking either the
....... button under the chart or the Chart view toolbar button .
56
For the chart’s windows reposition, use buttons on the Windows
or Charts tabs:
57
DATA CENTER
HOW TO MANAGE
YOUR FOREX
HISTORY DATA IN
A COUPLE OF
CLICKS
Data Center serves as the manager of historical quotes. Here you
can:
58
You can open the Data Center dialog window by clicking the
corresponding button on the Data tab.
If you want to get the most accurate results, you can purchase
paid data at an affordable price.
https://forextester.com/HistoryServiceDescription
59
Please note that using the lower quality data will most likely lead
to less accurate test results, which, in turn, may adversely affect
the subsequent results of trading on live accounts in case if you
choose to use your backtested trading system on the real market.
The lower indicator (the gray one with oblique lines on the
screenshot) indicates the absence of tick data in this example. Tick
data is crucial for testing short-term and scalping strategies.
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
https://forextester.com/HistoryServiceDescription
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With this list, you can do the following:
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The Common tab allows you to change the following settings:
Symbol name.
Symbol type (currency pair, stock, index, or futures).
Group — a group of the symbols list which the symbol refers
to.
Lot currency.
Base currency.
Lot size — the cost of 1 lot in the currency of the lot.
Leverage — the ratio between the Lot size and Margin for 1
lot. Each broker uses different leverage, so we recommend
using your broker’s leverage.
62
Post decimal digits — the number of digits after the point.
For example, 1.2500 is a 4–digit value, and 1.25001 is a 5–digit
value.
Spread, points — the spread in points.
Min distance to price — a minimal distance to the current
price in points where you can place pending orders. It
defines two options:
Margin currency.
Margin for 1 lot.
Hedged margin — the margin that will be calculated for
hedged positions for 1 lot.
You need to disable the Use leverage info option if you want
to enter the margin values manually.
63
On the Commissions tab, you can set up the next properties:
Please note that when you close the position partially, the
commission will also be calculated for the part of the
position you want to close. The amount of the commission
will be displayed in the Account History tab at the bottom of
the screen after the position’s close.
64
Swap long — the swap for a long position in points.
Swap short — the swap for a short position in points.
After you change the necessary options, please click the “Ok”
button.
65
You can see the elements of this dialog in detail below:
1. Timeshift
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4) Data management buttons
5) Information line
67
This part is located at the bottom left corner of the Data Center
window. The information line displays the connection state to the
data server. When the message “Connecting to the data server”
appears, we do not recommend doing any actions with data at
this time.
On this tab, you can find the information about available historical
news, download them manually or find the link for upgrading
your subscription.
Learn more about News.
https://forextester.com/historical-forex-news
68
IMPORTING DATA.
HOW TO IMPORT
FOREX DATA AND
MAKE THE MOST
OF IT
Forex Tester allows downloading historical data from our server or
importing it directly from the text files. We provide free historical
data starting from 01/01/2001 until the current moment. This data
can be downloaded via the Data
https://forextester.Center
com/datacenter window in the Forex
Tester program or https://forextester.com/data/datasources
our site’s archives.
69
Use the “Update from server” button to download data from our
server and the “Import from a file” button to import the data from
a text file.
Of a better quality.
With 5 digits after the point (3 digits for the currency pairs
containing JPY).
If you mostly trade on M1 through M30 timeframes, the htVIP tps:/ forextester.com/data
HistoryServiceDescription
htpackage
tps:/ forextester.com/HistoryServiceDescription will suit your needs.
70
The VIP data service allows:
The following dialog window will appear after clicking the “Update
from server” button:
With its help, you can add your missing data (Forex Tester
automatically determines which data is missing for the current
currency symbol) or download data over some period of time.
71
1. Information block
Here you can define what part of history you want to download.
72
Only tick history. Use this option if you want to have the most
precise data for testing.
The start and end dates of downloaded data are displayed under
the green bar:
73
IMPORT HISTORY
FROM A FILE
To import the data from a file into the program, click the “Import
from a file” button in the Data Center window.
Forex Tester can import data from any text file. The source data
should contain bars for one timeframe; the higher timeframes will
be generated automatically. We recommend importing data of a
one-minute timeframe. If you use the higher ones, the lower
timeframes will be displayed incorrectly, resulting in poor testing
quality.
74
The following dialog window will appear after clicking the “Import
history data” button:
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
Download Data files from our site.
Once the file is selected, Forex Tester will try to determine the
destination currency automatically and select it in the “Import to
symbol:” dropdown menu.
If the file does not contain information about the currency, the
program will not be able to determine it automatically, so you will
have to select the currency from the list manually.
75
The Shift time (hours) slider allows changing the timezone of
importing historical data. It is important if you want to import data
from different sources (with different time zones) and have the
same time zone for all data.
There is also the option to delete all previously imported data for
the symbol.
76
You can see the elements of this dialog in detail below:
You will see the dialog such above if the text format is selected.
The program will try to determine all fields automatically, but you
can also change them manually.
77
Column1 ... Column10 — data columns. They can
contain the following values:
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To import historical data, click the “Import” button.
When Forex Tester finishes importing historical data, you will see
the message below:
79
CREATING A NEW
PROJECT
HOW TO OPEN
PROJECT EASILY
You need to prepare historical data before testing.
The “New Project” button allows you to select symbols you want
to test, test time period, initial deposit in USD, etc.
https://forextester.com/datacenter
We recommend creating separate projects to test different
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
trading strategies or specific combinations of trading strategies.
This way, it will be easier for you to understand which strategies (or
combinations of strategies) work and which don’t.
Please note: you can use real historical tick data during testing
(available for subscribers of VIP data service).
https://forextester.com/datacenter
Click the “New Project” button on the Home tab to start a new
project.
https://forextester.com/datacenter
80
Set the project’s name and an initial deposit in USD in the
appeared window and click “Next” to continue.
Activate the pairs you want to test from the list in the window that
appeared.
*You can select all of them using the “Select All” button and test
more than one currency symbol simultaneously. However, we do
not recommend selecting all currency pairs because it slows
https:/ forextester.really
down the testing. Select only those currency pairs that are com/HistoryServiceDescription
necessary.
81
Set the project’s name and an initial deposit in USD in the
appeared window and click “Next” to continue.
Specify the start and end dates of the period that will be shown
during testing in the “From date” and “To date” fields.
82
The “Advanced settings” button invokes the corresponding
window for the settings adjustment.
83
If you have selected to Use minute and tick data, the “Use floating
spread” option will be available in this window. This feature is vital
for all intraday traders (timeframes M1, M5, M15, M30, H1) to obtain
the most precise test results.
Suppose you created a project for several currency pairs, and one
of them lacks data. In this case, you will see the following window:
84
If you want to skip this step, click the “Next” button.
*Bear in mind that there will be a “No data” message on the
symbol’s chart with missed data after the test begins.
85
Select the time zone of historical data by using the “Timezone”
slider. The selected time zone will be applied to all selected pairs
for testing. The default time zone is GMT+0.
“Start testing from the first date in range” option uses the date
from the “From date” field of the previous window.
To change the starting date, use the “Set start day” option. Thus,
the testing will be started from a further date, and all previous
data will be shown on the chart.
You can either choose the “Start testing after creation” option to
start the testing immediately after the project is created or use the
“Forward testing only mode” option to make it as close as
possible to real conditions.
86
The last means that you cannot go backward in your testing. You
can only restart the project.
If the testing hasn’t started after creation, click the “Start” button
on the Home tab to start it manually.
87
START TESTING
HOW TO START
TESTING IN THE
FOREX TESTER
TRADING
SIMULATOR
EASILY https://forextester.com/datacenter
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
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When the testing begins, the bars start moving on the chart(s),
and the “Start” button changes to “Pause”
88
The pausing allows you to suspend the price changing and
analyze the current situation.
*You can also use the Pause Break key on your keyboard to pause
and resume the testing.
89
4. The “Jump to” button allows you to perform a quick jump
to a particular date and time (the Go To option) or find a
necessary point on the time axis (the Search option).
Please note that in case you enter the date in “future”, your orders
will be executed or closed automatically by strategy rules or Stop
Loss/Take Profit. In case you enter the date in the “past”, your
orders will be deleted. If you want just to search the particular date
and time in the chart without orders execution/deletion please
select the Search option.
90
Specify the date and time you’re looking for in the
corresponding field.
Please note: you can change the hotkeys for these and other
actions via the “Hotkeys” button on the Settings tab.
91
The described above is a visual testing mode that allows you to see
your https://forextester.com/placeorder
trades and place them manually to check how your strategy
works.
Forex Tester can also test automated strategies written with C++
and Delphi. You can find API and examples on how to write
custom indicators and strategies in the \Examples\ folder after
installation. API help can be enabled over the API Help menu on
the Help tab in Forex Tester. For more info, check our forum:
Programming lessons
https://www.forextester.com/forum/viewforum. php?f=9 & https:
Forex / www.forextester.Tester
com/forum/viewforum.API.
php?f=8
92
PLACING ORDERS
HOW TO PLACE
ORDERS IN FOREX
TESTER TRADING
SIMULATOR
QUICKLY AND
EASILY https://forextester.com/datacenter
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
After starting the test, you can place orders in the Forex Tester
program.
93
You can place, modify or delete orders using the buttons located
in the Order tab.
94
7. Duplicate position — makes a copy of the selected order
with the same SL/TP and lot values.
95
MARKET ORDER
DIALOG
You can place a new market order here. There are the Common
and Trailing Stop tabs in this dialog window.
https://forextester.com/datacenter
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
https://forextester.com/datacenter
1. The Common tab
96
The “Calculate with risk %” option defines the lot
size based on risk management.
* Note that if you choose a risk-based lot calculation,
you must enter a Stop loss value.
97
PENDING ORDER
DIALOG
You can place a new pending order here. This window has the
same Common and Trailing stop tabs, but with the slight
difference.
https://forextester.com/datacenter
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
https://forextester.com/datacenter
On the Common tab, you can also set:
Please note that the order type will affect your SL and TP values
calculation.
98
You can also place orders using a popup menu by the right mouse
click on the chart.
https://forextester.com/datacenter
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
This menu allows you to pick up the price from the chart at the
point where you right-clicked.
You can see this price in the menu (here 1.24030). In this example,
you have 5 choices: https://forextester.com/datacenter
99
Execute a quick buy order (Ctrl+B) with predefined
parameters.
https://forextester.com/datacenter
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
https://forextester.com/datacenter
100
ADJUSTING THE
DEFAULT ORDER
https://forextester.com/datacenter
If you set there only 1 order in the list, the order will be set
immediately after pressing Ctrl+B / Ctrl+S. Otherwise you will be
asked to choose which order to execute:
101
Note: you can change the hotkeys for these and other actions via
the “Hotkeys” button on the Settings tab.
102
FOREX SPEED UP
TOOL
In the Forex Tester 5 version, we’ve included the One-click-trading
Forex Speed Up tool as a button in the Order tab.
You can also find this button in the Action/Orders menu on the
Home tab:
https://forextester.com/datacenter
103
After the first start, you will see the window where you can
download and install the Forex SpeedUP. All further starts will call
up the tool in a separate window.
https://forextester.com/datacenter
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
After installation, the tool will start automatically. You will see the
following window:
https://forextester.com/datacenter
104
1. The “Gear” button — calls up the Settings window.
On the Aliases tab, you can find the list of symbols with their short
names called aliases. To add a new alias, click the “Add new
button” and fill in the fields.
105
To delete the alias, click on the “X” button next to the one you don’t
need.
The settings on this window are divided into 2 groups: for single
orders and groups of orders.
106
Market/pending order — allows choosing between
market or pending order.
On the Group tab, you can add a group of orders and define the
parameters for them so you will be able to open several orders at
the same time.
107
3. The “Close window” button.
6. The Stop Loss field. Required for the lot based on the Risk %.
108
8. The “BUY” button — opens long positions.
You can drag the Forex SpeedUp window to any location of your
screen. Grab the window at any point (except buttons and text
boxes) and carry it to the desired place.
109
MODIFYING
ORDERS
HOW TO EASILY
MODIFY ORDERS
IN FOREX
TRADING
SIMULATOR https://forextester.com/datacenter
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
https://forextester.com/datacenter
The Stop Loss and Take Profit levels.
110
The Stop Loss and Take Profit levels.
If you place only one order, you can modify it by clicking the
“Modify order” button on the Order tab.
111
You can also use the F4 key on your keyboard for that purpose.
If you place more than one order, you need to select the one you
want to change the settings for in the Open Positions or Pending
Orders tabs at first, and then click the “Modify order” button.
You can also use the right mouse click on order and select the
“Modify Order” option from a popup menu.
Double-click the left mouse button on the order to move the chart
to the time when the order is placed. You will see a vertical line
that highlights that moment and a “Modify order” dialog opened.
The parameters that can’t be modified are grayed out. By clicking
the “Close position” button, you can close the opened order.
112
Click the “Delete order” button to remove a pending order.
113
There are toolbar buttons, hotkeys, dropdown, and popup menus
to close the opened positions or delete pending orders as well —
use any you’re fine with.
There is also an option to move the SL/TP of market orders and the
execution price of pending orders by drag-n-dropping the chart’s
lines.
114
USING
INDICATORS
FOREX TRADING
INDICATORS: AN
ULTIMATE TOOL
TO SPOT THE
TREND AND SET https://forextester.com/datacenter
UP THE TRADE
https://forextester.com/data/datasources
115
In addition, you can right-click on the chart and select “Add
Indicator”.
116
Note: you can download more indicators from our repository via
the List of Indicators → Recommended Indicators menu.
You will see the following dialog window where you can modify
the indicator’s properties before it is placed on the chart.
117
To apply changes, either press the Enter or Tab key or left-click on
the dialog. If you need to cancel the changes you’ve made, press
the Esc key.
118
To edit the indicator on the chart, right-click on the indicator’s line
and select the “Edit …” option. Use the “Delete …“ option to delete
it.
119
If you close the oscillator’s window, all other indicators in this
window will be deleted.
You can view and manage all indicators on all charts and
timeframes with the help of the List of indicators → Current chart
button.
120
The list of built-in Forex Tester indicators:
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Bulls Power
MACD
MACD new
Momentum
Polarized Fractal Efficiency (PFE)
Price Daily Range
Rate of Change (ROC)
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
Solar Wind
Stochastic
Trade dynamic index (TDI)
Ultimate Oscillator
Williams’ Percent Range (%R)
MarketProfile(old)
Market Facilitation Index (MFI)
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On Balance Volume (OBV)
Volume
1.4 Volatility:
ADR
Average True Range
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1.5 Adaptive:
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1.6 Custom:
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ATR_MA
Bollinger Bands %b
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Commodity Channel Index (CCI)
Elder’s Force Index
Engulfing Bar
Fractals (B.Williams)
FTLM-STLM
Gann HiLo
I-Sessions
Inside Bar
PCCI
Range Bars
Range Expansions Index
Time box
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USING NEWS
SERVICE
FOR TRADERS
WHOSE TRADING
STRATEGIES ARE
BASED ON NEWS
ANALYSIS https://forextester.com/datacenter
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To update the news, click the “Update News” button on the Data
tab to open the Data Center window.
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You can see the list of currencies for which data is provided on our
server on the left and 3 bars indicating the availability of news
according to your subscription: high, medium, and low
importance on the right. Each bar displays the start and end dates
of the available news. If the bar is green, data for that period has
already been downloaded. If the bar is gray, the news for the
specified period is available on the server. The date and time when
the news information was last updated are displayed under the
bars.
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To subscribe to our Paid Data Service, click the “More data
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com/historyservicedescription
options
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Upgrade” button.
The “Update News from server” button allows you to update the
news immediately.
If news data cannot be updated for some reason, you will get an
information message.
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To disable the news, right-click on the chart and uncheck the
“Show news” item.
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The News tab is displayed to the Journal tab’s right by default at
the bottom of the Forex Tester terminal.
All news on the News tab and the chart are synchronized. When
you click any line of the News tab, it becomes highlighted, the
chart is scrolled to the corresponding news icon (flag) and marked
with a white vertical line.
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The cursor hovering on the corresponding news flag on the chart
shows pop-up information about the news.
If the news for different symbols comes out at once, the news
icons collapse into one icon of the Earth with the number
indicating the quantity of news at a given time. The hovering over
this icon shows you a pop-up window with information on this
news.
For your convenience of using the news in your trade strategy, you
can use the filters on the News tab by clicking the “Show Filters”
button.
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By clicking the “Apply” button, all the selected filters will be
applied to the list and to the news displaying on the charts within
the project.
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USING GRAPHIC
TOOLS
GRAPHIC TOOLS:
TAKE YOUR
FOREX LEARNING
TO THE NEXT
LEVEL EASILY https://forextester.com/datacenter
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Fibonacci tools (Fibonacci retracement, Fibonacci
time zones, Fibonacci fan, Fibonacci arc, Fibonacci
extension).
Andrews’ Pitchfork.
Text label.
Wave symbols.
Risk/Reward tool.
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You can turn on the Graphic Panel to conveniently use all the
graphical tools by clicking the button.
The crosshair lines are movable lines that can be used to specify
and measure positions on the chart.
If you hold down the left mouse button in the crosshair cursor
mode and drag it to any of the sides, you can get the following
information:
3. The interval between the start and end points of the cross
in days/hours /minutes.
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— enables synchronizing crosshair on all charts.
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The line drawing is easy:
135
In the Channels group, you will find the Fibonacci Channel tool
and the Linear Regression Channel.
Select the necessary tool to add it to the chart and choose the
start point. Then, move the mouse to the second point and
left-click to finish drawing the tool.
You can add different signs to the chart by clicking the “Icons”
button.
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The Fibonacci tools group consists of 5 instruments for chart
analysis:
1. Fibonacci Retracement.
2. Fibonacci Time Zones.
3. Fibonacci Arc.
4. Fibonacci Fan.
5. Fibonacci Extension.
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The construction of objects with these tools has common
principles:
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Forex Tester has the Andrews’ Pitchfork tool among its
instruments. You can add Andrews’ Pitchfork to a chart by clicking
the button in the Graphic elements
menu.
The “Text labels” button allows you to add any text to your chart.
You can also add it by pressing the Ctrl+T combination on your
keyboard.
Left-click on the chart to place a Text label. You will see the Text
settings window:
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Here you can write any text, which will be shown on the chart (in
the Text: field), and also change the format of text (font type and
size, color of the text, base point, and text alignment). Click the
“Apply” button to finish the text adding.
The Wave symbols tool allows you to mark waves on the chart in a
convenient way. Just select the symbol from the window by the
left-click and put it on the chart.
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For example, if you select the first symbol in a table and then
left-click on a chart, the [I] symbol will be placed. If you left-click
one more time, the [II] symbol will be placed on the chart. And so
on.
Each tool has its properties. To edit them, right-click the tool and
select “Edit tool”. You can also duplicate this tool or delete it using
this menu.
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To select the tool, double-left-click it. You will see white points
which you can move to change the shape and position of the tool.
If you press the Delete key, all selected tools in this chart window
will be deleted. To deselect the tool, double-left-click it one more
time.
There are some hotkeys that will help you to manage graphic
tools:
Note that all the hotkeys can be changed via the “Hot Keys”
button on the Settings tab.
You can see these shortcuts through the right-click popup menu
or Graphic elements menu.
You can also view all tools currently added to a selected chart and
change or delete any of them using the “List of objects” button.
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The Objects list dialog window looks like this:
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To synchronize graphical tools on all charts and timeframes of one
currency pair, use the Paint toolbar’s button
For example, you can add a trend line to one chart, and then it will
appear on all of your charts.
You can find the tool in the Graphic Elements menu (as well as in
the Graphic Panel).
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To begin drawing the tool, you need to select the trade type you
want to see Risk/Reward for and choose between Risk/Reward
Buy or Risk/Reward Sell.
After clicking the necessary Risk/Reward type, you will see the
following window:
Select the place on the chart where the tool will be displayed.
The drawing tool will show you the following information about
the further trade:
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Please note that you can move, resize, change properties and
SL/TP levels of the tool after applying to the chart anytime you
need to. In this case, all the values will be recalculated
automatically.
To change some tool parameters, like name, style, the risk for lot
calculation, right-click on the border or corner of the figure and
select “Edit”.
You can also place the pending order using this tool: right-click on
the figure’s border or corner and select “Place pending order” in
the menu. The program automatically detects the type of
pending order and places it at the level that corresponds to the
price in the “Open at” field, as well as fills in the SL and TP values.
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USING TEMPLATES
AND DESKTOPS
BUILT-IN
TEMPLATES: THE
PROVEN WAY TO
EASILY MASTER
BACKTESTING https://forextester.com/datacenter
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You can use templates to make your testing easier and more
comfortable. When all settings are put up, you can save your
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template.
147
You can also save your template by right-clicking on the chart and
selecting Chart Templates → Save Template.
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3. Type the template’s name and tick the necessary item.
149
3. Type the template’s name and tick the necessary item.
If you need to use this template as the default one, you can check
the “Save template as default” option. The template will be
applied to all new charts automatically.
150
Note: The chart changes according to the Template, so the
timeframe will shift to the one saved in your template. That means
that the template saves a complete state of the chart, including
timeframes and indicators applied to the selected timeframes
only.
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2. Select the template you need from the list.
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4. Or click the “Delete” button and confirm the deletion of
the template.
153
When right-clicking on the chart and choosing the Templates →
default, the default settings will be applied to the chart.
To rename or delete the templates:
The Forex Tester program allows saving the charts, indicators, and
graphical instruments as a single file and then loading this file
again to restore all necessary configuration.
For example, you can have 4 charts open in the program, add
indicators and graphical instruments onto these charts, and then
save them as a desktop on your local disk via the Desktop → Save
Desktop menu on the Charts tab.
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After that, you need to enter the name of a saved desktop and
select the folder where the desktop will be saved.
You can load your saved desktop via the Desktop → Load Desktop
menu on the Charts tab.
Please note that the desktop will be applied only to the currency
pair it was initially saved for. If you save the desktop on a particular
currency pair and then select a new currency pair when creating
the project — the desktop will not be applied. The program will
warn you about that with the information message.
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By selecting Desktop → Restore Default Desktop, you will load the
default desktop. Please note that this will delete your chart, so we
recommend saving graphics from your chart as a template via
Chart Templates → Save Template on the Charts tab.
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SAVING PROJECTS
HOW TO SAVE
YOUR PROJECTS
AND EFFECTIVELY
LEARN LESSONS
FROM YOUR
TRADING https://forextester.com/datacenter
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To save your current project, click the “Save project” button Home
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tab.
157
Type in the project’s name, and click Save.
To open your saved project, click the “Open project” button on the
Home tab.
158
You’ll see the window with the list of saved projects. Select the
project you need and click Open.
Project restoration saves your time: you can save just your strategy
project, or even a couple of parts of the same strategy, and then
come back to any saved point any time you wish. It’s easy, quick,
and practical and allows you to save the point you want or freeze
some interesting trading spots.
You can start a current project from the beginning at any time of
testing by clicking the “Restart Project” button.
159
Note that this action will delete all your current trades and
account history.
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EXPERT ADVISERS
HOW EXPERT
ADVISERS CAN
HELP YOU GET
THE MOST OF THE
BACKTESTING
PROCESS https://forextester.com/datacenter
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To backtest the EAs already included in Forex Tester, click the “List
of strategies” button on the Strategies tab.
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161
Make sure that the strategy execution is enabled. The
“Enable/Disable strategy execution”
button on the toolbar should be active.
162
4. Select the timeframe to test your strategy.
163
5. Set up a lot size.
6. Pick the Fast (F) and Slow (S) periods for moving average.
8. Click “Apply”.
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9. Click “Close” to exit the List of strategies window.
Forex Tester will automatically open and close orders due to the
strategy rules programmed in the Expert Adviser.
165
Click “Close” to exit the List of strategies window.
166
STATISTICS AND
ACCOUNT
HISTORY
IMPROVE YOUR
TRADING RESULTS
BY SIMPLY
LEARNING FROM https://forextester.com/datacenter
STATISTICS
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You can add the Profit chart for analysing your trade strategy by
clicking the “Profit Chart” button on the Charts tab.
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A profit chart is an individual chart that contains the specific
candlestick chart and three additional lines:
The balance and equity’s main difference is that the balance line
can be built only when the trade is closed, whereas the equity line
shows all the changes in the account for both open and closed
trades.
You can export the Profit chart to file or excel for further analysis.
To do that, right-click anywhere on the chart and select Export
Equity to a File / Excel.
169
If you right-click the Statistics window, you will be able to export
these data to Excel or a *.txt file.
170
You can disable the statistics window by clicking the “Statistics”
button on the Windows tab.
Account History
You can also view your Profit and Loss in points on the Account
History tab in the “Profit/Loss” row.
171
You can apply any of the represented filters:
You can also export the account history to Excel or text file by
right-clicking the Account history tab and selecting a necessary
export option.
172
STRATEGY
OPTIMIZER
In Forex Tester 5, we’ve added the Strategy Optimizer feature with
AI-based algorithms. This feature allows you to select the optimal
parameters for your automatic strategy (expert) to gain the best
profit.
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Before optimization, you need to make a preliminary step and
adjust the initial settings.
In the 1st stage of the initial, you need to select the Strategy (EA)
from the list and add your custom strategy by clicking the “Add
new strategy” menu item.
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Let’s have a look at how the tool works on the AwesomeEA
strategy example. After choosing the strategy, click Next.
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2. Neural Network — an AI based algorithm. The complex
mathematical formulas that underlie this algorithm can
select the strategy parameters with a high level of
accuracy — up to 95%. This precision is achieved by using
a minimal dataset, so that you can get the result 10–100
times faster in comparison with a full grid (Brute Force)
test.
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When you’re ready with the algorithm selection, click Next.
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Generate ticks by OHLC points — if you select this method, each
bar will contain 1-4 ticks based on Open/High/Low/Close values of
the given bar (less than 4 ticks are possible in the situation when
Open=High, or Low=Close).
If you have activated the Use minute and tick data option, the Use
floating spread option will be available in the advanced settings
window. This feature is important for all intraday traders
(timeframes M1, M5, M15, M30, H1) to obtain the most precise test
results.
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When all the parameters related to the symbols and data quality
are set up, click Next.
In the 4th stage, you can work with your Strategy parameters that
should be optimized. By default, all parameters are switched off
for optimization, and you need to enable only those options that
you think should be optimized. For example, let’s enable the Lot
size parameter.
Enter the necessary values into the From, To, Step fields. You can
leave the auto value in these fields, so that the algorithm will
select the parameters at its discretion.
In our case, we’ve entered the following parameters for the Lot
size optimization:
From = 0.1
To = 0.5
Step = 0.1
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If you need to reset the setting value to auto, delete the entered
symbols by pressing the Backspace key and click on any empty
place of the window.
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A tip: if you hover the mouse cursor on the headers of stages, you
can see the parameters you’ve set up in the information popup.
During the testing process, you can see the chart with control
points appear and the progress bars for the current iteration and
the whole process. To see detailed information about the
particular point, hover the mouse cursor on it.
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You can use the Pause button if you need to pause the
optimization process for any reason.
If you want to change some settings during the test, click the
Reconfigure button on the window’s left top. The Optimization
summary window will be shown.
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Note: you can change only the parameters of the strategy and
common settings without restarting the test. Changing the
strategy, symbol, and data will lead to a test restart, and all the
results will be lost.
When the optimization is completed, you will see the report with
general statistics of trades for this testing and the best parameters
for getting the maximum profit. You can also see the best settings
and profit after the end of every iteration in the left top part of the
window.
In our case, the best profit is reached when the Lot size = 0.5.
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GENERAL
PROGRAM
SETTINGS
ADJUST YOUR
FOREX TESTER
PROGRAM TO
YOUR NEEDS IN https://forextester.com/datacenter
JUST A FEW
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CLICKS
To open the program settings, please switch to the Settings tab.
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1. Check for updates is used to check for program updates
manually.
3. Hotkeys.
Default orders.
Suppose your strategy requires opening the order with the Stop
loss of 40 pips, Take profit of 60 pips, and same lot size of 0.1 — you
can easily set it up!
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5. Add a comment if you need it.
6. Click “OK”.
Follow the same steps to set the default sell order, but instead, use
the CTRL+S hotkey to place it. https://forextester.com/datacenter
Hotkeys.
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Time frames.
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You can add a custom timeframe by clicking the Edit Time
Frames button on the Main toolbar.
In the Edit Time Frames window, you can set this timeframes list
as default for your new projects by clicking the “Make default”
button.
Sounds. https://forextester.com/datacenter
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1. To set your own audio file, click the “Open file dialog”
button.
Updates.
188
Other.
Has only one option — to “Set pause after start test”. When it’s
enabled, new bars will not appear after clicking the “Start Test”
button till you click “Pause”.
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189
You can also enable or disable any of the nine panels of the Forex
Tester terminal.
190
4. The “Statistics” chart provides you with all the necessary
information on your strategy’s performance.
10. The Notes tab allows creating any notes using the “Add
note” button and also displays a list of all created notes.
191
You can also use the “Graphic elements ” button on the toolbar
and select the chart’s bar to which you want to add a new note.
192
You can set up the note’s date and time, select one or all symbols
to link the note to, enter the title and text.
To quickly jump to the bar on the chart the note is linked to,
double-click on the note’s row.
To edit/delete a note, use the right mouse click (or the icon
on the chart). You can also edit/delete the note by clicking the
corresponding buttons.
Use the Search field to find the necessary note. Pay attention that
search works only through note’s headers (titles).
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