MetaTrader tip aE Expert Advisor optimization MetaTrader’s strategy tester is what you should use to make the most of your expert advisor – get the facts! This will be used to backtest and optimize your strategy. Backtesting is a great way to test your strategy over time. With the optimization feature, you can also find out what settings worked best for a particular historical chart period. MetaTrader 4’s optimization feature allows you to test thousands of combinations expert advisor settings in order to determine the best settings for a selected chart period, date range and period. For maximum profit, indicator-based strategies must be optimized. Even EAs that use tick data will gain from optimization, if you can provide complete historical M1 data. The optimizer returns the best settings for the chosen date range, but there is no guarantee they will continue to be profitable.

For best results, it is essential to re-optimize the expert advisor on a regular basis. Market conditions are constantly changing. To optimize your expert adviser, select the drop-down Expert Advisor box. Choose the symbol box for the currency pair and the chart period in the Period box. You’ll want to choose “Open Prices Only” for Model unless your EA runs off tick data. If this is the case, choose “Every Tick.” Select the option Use Date and choose a date range to optimize. Last, ensure that the Optimization option is selected. Click the Expert Properties to open up your advisor’s settings. You can enter your range of values under the Inputs Tab. The column for the Start value will always be lower than the column for the Stop setting. The “Step” column indicates the number of steps that will be taken by the optimizer to move from one setting to another. The optimizer tests every possible combination from 20,40,60 and so forth up to 200. Choose a value for your start, stop and step that corresponds to the optimization setting. Even values (5, 10, etc.) Even values (5, 10, etc.) are fine. The checkbox on the left side must be checked for the setting to be optimised. If you don’t check any settings, the value column will be used to optimize them. The Initial Deposit can be adjusted to make it more realistic under the Testing tab.

If you want to start optimizing, click the Start button at the bottom right of your Strategy Tester window. When you are ready to start optimizing, click the Start button in the lower right corner of the Strategy Tester. The time it takes to optimize settings can vary from minutes to hours, depending on factors such as the test model, date range and period. If it takes too long, you can shorten the time range or optimize fewer settings. You could also use a higher step value. Double-click on the Profit column in the tab Optimization Results to sort results after the optimization. Double-click on any result to import it in the tester. Press the Start button to run a backtest using the settings you selected.