*** MetaTrader 4 Open/close a position in MT4

If the analysis made by you has shown that the currency pair chart will grow you should buy. We always buy at Ask price. To buy a currency pair means to buy the currency which is the first in the abbreviation, and sell the currency which is the second. In this case making a deal you bet on that the currency you buy will strengthen and the currency you sell will weaken. I.e. for a unit of the first currency you will get more units of the second one or that is to say that currency pair's rate will rise.

If your analysis has shown that the given currency pair chart will fall you should sell. We always sell at Bid price. To sell a currency pair means to sell the currency, which is the first in the abbreviation, and to buy the currency, which is the second. In this case making a deal you bet on that for a unit of the first currency less units of the second one will be given, or in other words the rate of the currency pair will fall.

In order to open a new position you have to activate the «New order» window. There are several ways to do it:

1. click the right mouse button in the «Market watch» window or in the «Terminal» window (the «Trade» tab) and choose the «New order» item in the context menu;

2. press the F9 hotkey;

3. use the «Service -> New order» menu;

4. click the right mouse button on the chart and select in the appeared context menu the «Trade -> New order» item;

5. double click a currency pair in the «Market watch» window.

«Symbol» — the currency pair you want to make a deal on;
«Volume» — the deal's volume in lots (sizes of 1 lot in Alpari are shown in «Contract Specification»);
«Stop loss» — a Stop Loss order level;
«Take profit» — a Take Profit order level;
«Commentary» — your commentary on the deal. As a result of any of the abovementioned actions you will see the «New order» window.

«New order» window (Instant Execution technology)

There are two technologies of making deals: «Instant Execution» and «Execution at request».

Instant Execution means that for making a deal there's no need to request quotes from the dealing center as you can see them in real time in the «New order» window. If at some moment the quotes offered by the dealing center will suit you you can open a position by pressing the «Buy» or «Sell» button.

Quotes for the currency pairs that are traded using the Instant Execution technology in the «Market watch» window are the quotes that the dealing center offers for making a deal.

Quotes for the currency pairs traded using «Execution at request» in the «Market watch» window are indicative and you can not make a deal without a prior request. In this case when you activate the «New order» window the buttons «Buy» and «Sell» are inactive but the additional button «Request» appears.

«New order» window («Execution at request» window)

Once you pressed the «Request» button the dealing center will offer you quotes for making a deal.

Quotes request for making a deal

The quote offered by the dealing center will be valid within few seconds. By pressing the «Buy» or «Sell» button you will open a new position for buying or selling respectively. This position will appear in the «Terminal» window (the «Trade» tab).

Position opening confirmation

It is obvious that the «Instant Execution» technology is more convenient for a trader than the «Execution at request» technology. It takes just a few seconds to make a deal on a real account while in case of using the «Execution at request» technology the time needed for making a deal increases up to 30-40 seconds (on a demo account all the operations are done within several seconds, as demo accounts are quoted automatically while real accounts are quoted by people).

Additionally in case of the «Execution at request» quotes in the «Market watch» window are indicative, that is the quote offered by the broker can differ from the the quote in the «Market watch» window, you saw before making a request.

Consequently the possibility of making deals using the «Instant Execution» technology is an important factor while choosing a dealing center. In Alpari every instrument has been traded with the «Instant Execution» technology from 2005.

Before making a deal you can modify a number of fields in the «New order» window:

In order to close a position you should select it in the «Terminal» window (the «Trade» tab) and press the right mouse button. The context menu appears where you should choose the «Close order» item.

Context menu of the «Trade» tab in the «Terminal» window»

If you double click the left mouse button the open position in the «Terminal» window will give the same result. The «New order» window will appear, where the «Close the position # number …» button will appear.

Position closing («Instant Execution» technology)

In case of the «Execution at request» technology you should at first request quotes for making a deal from the dealing center by pressing the «Request» button. After that the «Close the position # number …» button will become active.

Position closing («Execution at request» technology)

If the market is quiet deals are made at the quotes offered by the dealing center. However when key economic news is released the market dynamics can become so fast-moving that the the quotes offered by the dealing center will quickly go out of date (in less than a few seconds given to a trader for making a decision on the deal). In this case the old quote will be cancelled and the «Requote» window will appear, where the broker will offer new quotes.