Plotting Trend lines & Regression channels in MT4

[Valkryder]

Thanks for your reply Clint. I'm still trying to get famililar with the initials ECN, NDD etc....

Frankly I don't care which platform or broker I use as long as it is fair and reliable. I just want one that does not try to cheat me or take advantage of me. If they do, I'm gone...

I probably will use the MT4 platform. May someday when I'm all grown up I'll find something I like better.

[Clint]

kazmur --- and others who may be interested,

If you want a dynamic LRC for your MT4 platform, I can recommend one. See the attachment at the bottom of this post.

A brief explanation: the Linear Regression Channel (LRC) built into MT4 is good, but it has one serious limitation. As I mentioned in my previous post on the LRC, when you extend it to include the current (active) candle on the far right-side of your chart, that leg of the LRC will remain active, and up-to-date, only while that particular far right-hand candle is active. As soon as the current time period ends, and a new candle begins, the LRC ceases to be active.

The zipped file attached below contains a custom LRC indicator for MT4 which overcomes this limitation. When you open the attached .zip file, you will find an .ex4 file, !LinRegrBuf.ex4, which can be copied and pasted into the MT4 "indicators" file on your computer.
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Here are the specific instructions:

Click on the zipped file in the attachment, below, and open it. Check to see that the opened file is labelled !LinRegrBuf.ex4

Copy this .ex4 file (with your mouse)

Go to Start > My Computer > Local Disk (C) > Program Files > (your MetaTrader file, whatever it's called) > experts > indicators

You should now be looking at a window labelled "indicators", displaying the contents of the MT4 "indicators" file. You will see a long list of standard indicators that are built into MT4 (plus any custom indicators that may have been added).

Copy the !LinRegrBuf.ex4 file into this folder, as follows: put your cursor on a blank spot in the "indicators" window, right click, select Paste, and it's done. Scroll to the bottom of the "indicators" list and you will find your new LRC listed there.

Close the "indicators" window.

You have now successfully added this custom LRC indicator to your MT4 files --- but, it's not yet accessible to the MT4 platform. In order to make it accessible to the platform, you have to close the platform and re-open it.

Now, if you go the Navigator window in MT4, and expand the listing of Custom Indicators (by clicking on the + sign), you will find !LinRegrBuf at the top of the list (now you know what the ! sign is for --- it puts this indicator at the top of the alphabetical listing ---sneaky, these MT4 code writers).

You can now add this custom LRC to any chart by dragging and dropping, as you would any other indicator. No matter where you drop it, it will open on the far right-side of your chart. And it will encompass the last x-number of candles on the chart. Initially, this number will be 50 candles, but you can change this number.

To change the number of candles encompassed by the LRC, hover your cursor over any of the three lines of the LRC, and right click.

On the pop-up menu, select !LinRegrBuf properties. A window will pop up. Click the Inputs tab. On the line labelled "Bars to Count", double-click the number 50, backspace to erase the number, and type in the number of bars (candles) you want to encompass in your channel. Click Reset. Click OK. And you're done.

There are other properties you can change, as well. Play with it. You won't break it.
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Unlike the standard LRC indicator built into the MT4 platform, the !LinRegrBuf indicator updates at the end of each time period, moving one candle to the right to always encompass the current candle, and always remains active.

You can leave this custom LRC indicator on your charts indefinitely. When you restart your computer and re-open your MT4 platform, your custom LRC will still be current and active.

Clint

[Valkryder]

Thank again Clint. Works like charm!

[PipLayer]

This is a channel indicator that moves with the trend on any timeframe. If you're an indicator trader, this may help with plotting your trend lines. Its out there, look for it.

Good luck and good trading,

Mike

[SlikRick]

This is a channel indicator that moves with the trend on any timeframe. If you're an indicator trader, this may help with plotting your trend lines. Its out there, look for it.

Shi Channel True is a neat indicator and does a good job adjusting to market conditions in real time. The only complaint I have is its over reactions to slight market reversals. For example, if a currency pair has been trending upward in a tight channel on a 5 min chart, and then the currency tanks and a large bearish candle forms, the Shi Channel might reverse and give misleading bearish signals. It takes time to learn, you'll see what I mean if you ever use the indicator on smaller time frames.