Although it might seem fine at first, this is, unfortunately, the same as reading a book dipped in mud and written in a foreign language. You will not be able to read a word written in the book, nor understand what the chart is trying to tell you.
How to personalize your MT4 chart
In this article, therefore, I will show how to personalize your MT4 chart and discuss the logic to begin each change.
Style of financial chart
We begin by changing the default bar chart to candlesticks. This, like most customizations, can be done at the tool section at the top of the MT4 platform.
History lesson: Candlesticks are thought to have been developed in the 18th century by a Japanese rice trader Munehisa Homma, long before the West developed the bar and point-and-figure analysis systems.
Today, we use the candlestick charting technique mainly because of its simplicity, ease to read information, and accepted candlestick patterns.
Background color
The background color could be anything you like. However, avoid dark colors. Dark, especially black, colors are associated with negativity. Like anywhere in life, if you aim to be successful you should avoid negativity. This includes technical analysis. Even if you think that it’s silly and you think you don’t feel any difference – you are not supposed to, the negativity acts subconsciously.
That said, the white background might not suit best as well since it can be too strenuous when analyzing the chart in the evenings.
To personalize your MT4 chart colors, right click on your chart, select properties, and chose “Colors” tab.
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Grid
Grid adds boundaries to price action. In trending markets we will subconsciously look for reversal levels, instead of following the trend. Therefore, I would advise to hide the grid by right clicking the chart, going to options, then common, and unticking “Show grid.”
Even better, after hiding the grid, go to the “Colors” tab and change grid color to the same as the background. This will hide the current price level.
The chart
We are left with the funky green/white/black color combination of our candlestick chart. Again, you should choose any colors you want. However, avoid color contrast, eg. Green and red, or black and white. This way you will not see price fluctuation as “good and bad.”
Foreground colors should be neutral and should not overshadow the candlesticks or be strenuous to look at.
All colors can be customized by going back to the “Colors” tab.
Tool section
This brings us to our last point – shortening the tool section, which is particularly useful if you are using a laptop or any other device with a lower resolution. To hide any unwanted tools, such as bar chart, line graph etc. right cling the tools section at the top of your MT4 platform and select “Customize.” Afterward, just insert or remove any tools. Note, this can be done on all the tool subsections which are separated by a vertical dash.
Getting all together
If you have changed the different colors accordingly but you still don’t like what you see, start by choosing mainly neutral colors and try to avoid any bright colors such as lime or aqua. Only then choose a brighter color for a specific indicator or tool which importance you would like to emphasize.
After getting everything together, your personal MT4 chart could look similar to mine. Note that particular colors can appear differently on different monitors. For instance, the dark grey color on my laptop has a blue shade to it which I find likable, in contrary to the same plain grey color on my monitor.
My personal MT4 chart (click to zoom-in)
With specific colors as follows:
My personal MT4 chart colors
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It may take few attempts to personalize your MT4 chart and find a right setup. But you will know it’s the perfect chart setup when you will not want to look back at that black default chart anymore. Before you finish, save it as a template under the name "Default" in “Charts” then “Template” section.
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