A practical guide to adding and customising both default and third-party technical indicators on MetaTrader 4 price charts.
How to display and customise indicators to improve your technical analysis in MT4
MT4 (MetaTrader 4) can display a wide range of technical indicators directly on trading charts, offering users enhanced analysis capabilities.
How to display indicators on MT4 charts
MT4 comes pre-installed with over 50 technical indicators.
In addition to these, there are many other compatible indicators available from the MT4 library or online sources.
These can be added to your chart to personalise your technical analysis further.
This guide explains how to display both default and third-party indicators on MT4 charts.
How to display MT4's default indicators
There are several ways to display MT4’s default indicators, but the simplest method is via the “Navigator” window.
Simply drag and drop your chosen indicator onto the chart.
Alternatively, you can double-click the indicator in the “Navigator” window while the chart is selected, which will open a settings window.
Once the settings window appears, you can configure parameters and visual styles.
After making the required adjustments, click "OK" to apply the indicator to the chart.
How to display third-party indicators
To display indicators downloaded from external sources, you must save the relevant “MQL4” or “EX4” file to MT4’s internal directory.
Follow these steps:
- From the MT4 menu bar, click “File” and select “Open Data Folder.”
2. In the folder window, double-click “MQL4” to open it.
3. Inside the “MQL4” folder, double-click “Indicators”.
4. Paste the downloaded “MQL4” or “EX4” file into this folder.
Either file type is supported.
Note: Some indicators may require DLL files or have special installation instructions.
Always follow the developer’s guidance where provided.
After saving the file, restart MT4. The indicator will not appear in the “Navigator” unless you restart MT4.
Once MT4 has restarted, the newly added indicator will be visible in the “Navigator”.
You can then drag and drop it onto your chart in the same way as the default indicators.
