0
Before you start
Three quick checks. Tick them as you go.
Words you'll see. SL = stop loss. TP = take profit. BE = break even. Pending = an order waiting for price to reach it.
Guide · MetaTrader 5 · about 20 minutes
Set up PFX Trade Manager.One panel, one trade at a time.
Trade Manager puts a trade panel on the chart. It places, moves and closes trades for you when you click, and it can manage your open trades automatically. Practise on a demo account first. Clicking Buy or Sell sends a real order.
~20 minstart to finish
8 stepstick each one off
Real orderswhen you click Buy or Sell
Freefor PrecisionFX tools
✓
Nothing trades until you click a button.
The panel only acts on trades you place or rules you switch on. If a step doesn't look like the picture, that's normal: open the "Not seeing it?" box under it.
1
Attach it to one chart
One panel per chart, on the symbol you trade.
- Drag PFX Trade Manager onto the chart of the symbol you trade. Any timeframe works.
- Turn on Algo Trading with the toolbar button, and tick Allow Algo Trading on the EA's Common tab.
- Only one per chart. A second one on the same chart is not needed.
Algo Trading is what lets the panel place, move and close trades. Without it, the buttons will not act.
Not seeing it?
The buttons do nothing. Check the Algo Trading button is green and that Allow Algo Trading is ticked.
The panel is off-screen. Drag it by its header. The – at the top right shrinks it to a small TM button.
2
Learn the four tabs
Each tab does one job.
- TRADE places trades: lots or risk, stop, target, Buy and Sell.
- MANAGE handles break even, trailing stops and partial closes for all trades, or one trade at a time.
- EQUITY sets a profit target and a loss limit across your trades. CONFIG holds alerts, pips or price, templates and deleting pending orders.
Drag the panel by its header to move it, and use the – to make it smaller.
Not seeing it?
I can't find a tab. The four tabs sit along the top of the panel. Make the panel wider if the labels are cut off.
3
Place a trade on a demo
Size it first, then check the risk, then click.
- Pick how the lot size is worked out: None (the Lots box), Cash (a money amount), Risk Bal (% of balance) or Risk Eq (% of equity).
- Fill in SL and TP. The small button between them switches between price and pips.
- Check the risk figure beside the lots. It turns red when it is over your limit. Then click BUY or SELL.
| Tool button | What it does |
|---|---|
| ✎ Draw | Puts an entry, stop and target block on the chart. Drag the lines, then click Buy or Sell |
| ⚖ R:R lock | Moving the stop moves the target too, keeping your risk-to-reward |
| ∅ OCO | Two pending orders become a pair. When one fills, the other is deleted |
| ❄ Freeze | Stop and target stay put while the entry moves |
| ➤ Follow | The entry line follows live price |
| ◌ Virtual | Pending orders are held by the EA, not sent to the broker. MetaTrader must stay open |
The two risk modes need a stop loss to size against. Without one, use None.
Not seeing it?
The button says the lots are wrong. Check the risk mode and that the stop loss is filled in. A risk mode needs a stop.
I clicked the wrong side. Close the trade straight away on the demo, and note which button sent it. Read the button tooltips before you click on a live account.
4
Manage your trades
Break even, trailing stops and partial closes.
- BE moves the stop to break even once a trade is a set number of pips in profit, locking in a set amount.
- Trailing moves the stop as price moves. Click the mode button to pick a style, then set start, distance and step.
- P1 to P4 close part of a trade when it reaches the distance you set. The % box sets how much.
These settings copy onto every new trade. For trades already open, press Apply these settings to open trades.
Not seeing it?
My open trade didn't change. Press Apply these settings to open trades. New trades pick the settings up automatically.
I want one trade to behave differently. Use the ‹ › arrows at the top, or click that trade's line on the chart, then set its own stop, target and partials.
5
Set the equity guard
One profit target and loss limit across all your trades.
- On the EQUITY tab, switch on TP (profit target) and or SL (loss limit).
- Choose money, percent or an equity level, then type the amount.
- When one is hit, every tracked trade closes and the guard latches. It won't fire again until you press Re-arm.
The guard latches on purpose. It stays closed until you press Re-arm, so it cannot restart on its own.
Not seeing it?
The guard fired and I want it back on. Press Re-arm on the EQUITY tab once you have decided what to do next.
6
Know what it manages
By default, your manual trades only.
- By default, Trade Manager manages your manual trades.
- To manage another EA's trades, set the magic number filter in the settings. A value of -1 means everything on the symbol.
- Hotkeys are off by default. Turn them on in the settings if you want them.
The fine-tuning lives in the EA's settings (press F7 on the chart). Each setting is explained in the product's settings page.
Not seeing it?
It isn't touching an EA's trades. That is the default. Set the magic number filter to the EA's number, or -1 for everything on the symbol.
7
Save your set-up
Keep one good set-up and load it on any chart.
- On the CONFIG tab, save your whole set-up as a template.
- Load that template on any other chart to get the same panel and settings.
- Write down which settings you chose, and why, so you can check them again later.
Virtual and hidden stops only work while MetaTrader is running with the EA attached.
Not seeing it?
My hidden stop didn't trigger after I closed MetaTrader. Virtual and hidden stops need MetaTrader to stay open with the EA attached.
Your safety nets
Three ways to stay in control.
1
Demo first
Every new setting is tested on a demo before a live account sees it.
2
Equity guard as a backstop
Set a loss limit so one bad day closes everything, then re-arm only on purpose.
3
Read the risk figure
Check the % and money beside the lots before every click. Red means over your limit.
!
Prop-firm accounts
Check your firm's rules on automated trade management before you use it on a challenge or funded account.
Risk warning: Trading carries a high risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Trade management tools do not guarantee results. Stops and targets can be missed in fast markets. MetaTrader and MQL5 are trademarks of MetaQuotes Ltd.; PrecisionFX is not affiliated with or endorsed by MetaQuotes.