The MT4 trading platform created by Metaquotes Software Corporation, is considered by many traders to be one of the most user friendly and reliable forex trading platforms available today, and one which offers a variety of numerous and versatile features.

Part of it’s popularity stems of course from the fact that it is a free platform, and one which is now widely available from a huge number of forex brokers. It’s reputation as the forex trading platform of choice for traders, was further enhanced by the release of the MT5 version of the platform in late 2009, which added equities, CFD’s and futures markets to the already well established forex markets

One of the beauties of the MetaTrader 4 platform, and the reason many forex traders use it exclusively is the ease with which you can enter your trades. The simplest and quickest way is simply to select your pair in the market watch window to the left of the screen, double-click, and this will automatically open your order window with the tick chart and all the order options. A second way is to right-click on the chart, select trading, and the ‘new order’ in the drop down menu. The third option is to select the ‘new order’ tab in the top navigation panel at the top of the screen, and finally simply hit F9, which again will pop up the order box.

This is one of the great features of the Metatrader platform and software, making it easy to place and manage your positions. Stop loss management is simplicity itself, with orders simply trailed up and down the screen to lock in profits as the trend develops.

The MT4 user interface is extremely easy to use and the platform offers quick and easy viewing of charts, indicators and quotes. In addition, account balances, open positions and trading history are also just one click away, along with the latest market news which is often provided free of charge by many forex brokers. With all the charting and trading capabilities built into a single platform, the MT4 platform provides seamless integration between the technical view of the market and order execution, whilst remaining on one chart.

In February 2014, Metatquotes released its latest and most comprehensive update to the platform, with the release of build level 600. This release included many new and exciting features including an online shop for third party vendors, increased levels of security and additional features on the trading platform. From a development perspective, the big change was in the merging together of MQL4 and MQL5, a step in the right direction as far as we are concerned. With these changes now established and with many revisions and updates since released, the Metatrader 4 platform looks set to dominate the forex trading space for years to come.