How to Place Orders in MT4

It's time to learn how to use your MT4 account now that you've set it up!

We're well aware of the situation. If it's your first time using the MT4 platform, the sheer number of tabs, panels, and buttons can be frightening.

But don't worry, it's not going to bite you! Besides, we'll be holding your hand the entire time and going at a leisurely pace.

We'll start with the fundamentals: placing orders.

When you're finished with this lesson, you'll be able to:

• Using market execution, you can buy or sell.

• Using a pending order, you can buy or sell.

• After a deal has been entered, you can make changes to it.

Are you all set？ Great! Let's get started!

Using Market Execution to Enter a Trade

To create a new order, click the New Order button. It can be found in the normal toolbar.

• There should be a dialogue box appear. Choose the currency pair you want to trade from the drop-down menu.

• Then, in the Order Type drop-down list, choose Market Execution.

• Fill in the dimensions of the position you'd want to open. Remember that volume, which represents the size of your position, is measured in conventional lot sizes. Keep in mind that a normal lot is worth 100,000 units. As an example, if you want to buy 5,000 units of a particular currency pair, you'd put “0.05” in the volume area.

• In the comment section, you can write any remarks or notes regarding your deal that you'd like to include. This is an optional step.

• Finally, decide whether you want to SELL or BUY the currency pair. A confirmation dialog box will popup to indicate that your exchange was completed.

You may have noticed that the stop loss and take profit fields are disabled when you select to buy or sell a pair at market. Don't be concerned!

These options have been blocked to allow you to enter a trade as quickly as possible when the price is already moving.

You can still define your exit levels after the trade has been entered by amending the trade. Later on, we'll show you how to update previous orders.

Using a Pending Order to Enter a Trade

• Select New Order from the drop-down menu.

• Choose the currency pair you want to trade from the drop-down menu.

• Next, in the Order Type dropdown list, choose Pending Order.

• In the Order Type dropdown list, choose whether you want to BUY or SELL the pair.

  There will be four alternatives available to you:

  If you want to go long at a lower price than the market, set a Buy Limit.

  If you intend to go short at a price greater than the market, set a Sell limit.

  If you intend to go long at a price higher than the market, use a Buy stop.

  If you want to go short at a lower price than the market, use a Sell stop.

• After you've chosen the order type, enter the price at which you want to enter the market.

• In the volume field, type the size of the position you want to open.

• Fill in the fields for stop loss and take profit.

• You'll notice that when you use a Pending Order, you can also set an expiration date for your order.

• When you've finished filling out all of the fields, click the Place button to complete your trade. A confirmation dialog box will pop up to indicate that your exchange was completed.

Changing Trades

Select the Trade tab. All of your trades will be listed there, together with their entry prices, position sizes, stop losses, and profit objectives. Don't worry if you don't see the Trade tab; it's there. It's only a matter of hiding.

Select View | Terminal from the menu bar at the top of the window (or press CTRL + T on your keyboard).

To add or change a stop loss or profit objective, follow these steps:

· Right-click on the trade you wish to change and choose “Modify or Delete Order” from the drop-down menu.

· After that, enter your preferred levels in the Stop Loss and Take Profit areas. When you're finished, click Modify.

· A dialog box should pop up to confirm that your trade modifications were made.

To close an open transaction:

· Right-click it and select “Close Order” from the drop-down menu.

· Select the yellow button below the Buy and Sell choices to close your whole position.

· Your profit balance should change once you hit close, reflecting the profit or loss you made on your recently closed trade.