MetaTrader 4 is one of the leading Internet forex trading platforms currently available for the individual trader. This article is designed as a tutorial in using the MetaTrader 4 software to back-test an expert adviser or a personal trade plan.

Your first step will be to get the expert advisor software or your personal trade plan loaded into the MetaTrader 4 system. You can consult your expert advisor’s instructions and tutorial on how to do this. Once you have loaded the expert advisor, you then go to the “View” pull down menu at the top of the MetaTrader 4 console. Then click on “Strategy Tester” or hit “Ctrl R” on the keyboard.

After clicking Strategy Tester, a window will appear at the bottom of the MetaTrader 4 console. This is where you will set up your expert advisor. Note that you will need to input your trading parameters into the MetaTrader 4 system before you can back-test your own personal trade plan or strategy. Only expert advisors and trading plans that have been compiled and placed in the /EXPERTS subfolder of your MT4 directory can be tested.

If you have correctly installed your expert advisor, and/or correctly input your personal parameters for your personal trade plan, you must then select the expert in the “Tester-Expert Advisor” field. At this point, continue by taking the following steps in the “Settings” tab of the “Tester” window where you will:
1. Select the expert advisor and set up its inputs.
2. Select a symbol and period.
3. Select from among the three modeling methods.
4. Set the time range you will want to test, if different from the default.

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