Setting up MT5 for the first time: what to change

MT5’s default configuration is not well suited to disciplined trading. The ten minutes of changes below
will save you a great many mistakes later.

1. Turn on the Ask line

By default the chart draws only the Bid price. That leaves you unable
to see the spread, and puzzled about why a short position closed when the candle had not touched your
stop.

How: right-click the chart → Properties → Show tab → tick Show Ask line.

2. Turn off one-click trading if it is on

One-click trading opens a position with a single click and no confirmation step. For a beginner it is
the source of positions opened in the wrong direction or at the wrong size.

3. Set the default volume very small

In the order window the default volume is usually 1 lot. An accidental fast click is then a position far
larger than planned. Set the default to 0.01 so every slip is harmless.

4. Read the specification for every instrument you plan to trade

Right-click the symbol in Market Watch → Specification. Read four lines:

• Contract size — it determines
  pip value.
• Minimum volume and step.
• Margin requirement.
• Long and short swap, and the triple-charge day.

These are the five most important minutes of the whole setup, especially for gold, silver and oil —
where contract sizes differ between brokers.

5. Show the full account information

In the Trade tab, make sure you can see the
margin level as a percentage. It is the
most important number on the screen, more important than the floating profit and loss.

6. Keep the time zone in your head, not in the software

The broker’s server runs on its own time zone and you cannot change it. What you can do is know the
offset between server time and your own, and write it down.

A quick check: compare the timestamp of the most recent H1 candle with your actual local time.

7. Save the layout as a template

Once the charts, indicators and timeframes are arranged as you like them, save it: right-click →
Template → Save template. Make it the default so every new chart opens correctly configured.

8. Turn off notifications you do not need

The news feed running inside the platform is a distraction and a source of impulse trades. If you already
check the economic calendar each morning, switch the in-platform
feed off.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Conditions and fee levels are published by the brokers and can change at any time — check with the broker you actually use. Leveraged forex and CFD trading carries a high level of risk and can cost you your entire deposit.