MetaTrader 4 Strategy Tester – Setup

In this tab, you can choose the testing parameters and the expert optimization parameters. During the testing, the expert advisor is run through the modeled data one time in order to determine its profitability and efficiency. During the optimization process, the mechanical trading system is being run several times in order to determine the experts parameters at which show highest profitability. Below you can see a screenshot of the Strategy Testers settings tab.

Here is a list of the available commands:

– Expert Advisor allows you to select the expert you want to test. The expert must be compiled and placed in the /EXPERTS directory. All newly created experts will be automatically placed into this directory.

– Symbol is used to select an available security.

– Period menu selects the symbol time frame.

– Model menu selects the method of bars modeling:

     1. Every tick is based on all available least time frames with fractal interpolation of every tick. It is the most precise method;

     2. Control points is based on the nearest less time frame with fractal interpolation of 12 control points. This is a crude method, results must not be considered;

     3. Open prices only is the fastest method to analyze the bar just completed and is used only for advisors that explicitly control bar opening.

– Use date selects a range of dates. If this option is enabled, the data from the given range will be used during testing. Otherwise, all available data for the given symbol and period will be used.

– Visual mode option enables the mode to visually display the test process on a graph. You can adjust the speed of the testing visualization using the panel to the right. You can also specify a date in the “Skip to” field to skip visualizing the test until that date.

– Optimization option enables the expert parameters optimization mode.

– Expert properties command opens up the “Expert Properties” window that allows to manage the expert parameters when testing and optimizing.

– Symbol properties window allows you to view the symbol parameters.

– Open chart creates a new chart window for the symbol selected for testing. When being tested, the expert works with a virtual chart. Signs of opening and closing of positions, objects and indicators used by the expert, are added in this chart. This chart can be opened only after the expert has been tested. When opening a virtual chart, the TESTER.TPL template is used, and, if it is not available, the default settings are used. You can also give a template the same name as that of an Expert Advisor. In this case, that exact template will be used when opening the chart of the Expert Advisor.

– Modify expert opens up the “MetaEditor” and begins to edit the selected expert. This is mainly used when you need to swiftly introduce small changes to the expert.

– Start button begins the testing or optimization. After this button has been pressed, you can estimate the speed of testing or optimization in progress bar in the lower part of the window. After the testing has been started, the “Start” button will be replaced with the “Stop” button, which is used to stop the testing or optimization while it is in progress.