EA basics

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SteveHopwood
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EA basics

Post by SteveHopwood »

There are certain basics that all users of EA's should be aware of:
  • - your chart will show the EA name in the top right. This should have a 'smiley face' next to it. If you have a 'frowning face' Expert Advisors are not enabled.
    - you can only run one ea per chart.
    - you can have as many charts open running as many ea's as you want.
    - you can have as many indicators as you want on a chart hosting an ea.
    - when downloading an ea update, or a new ea, follow this procedure:
    • - close down your platform.
      - use Windows Explorer to delete the existing .mq4 and .exe files, or rename them if you want to keep the existing one.
      - download the update.
      - restart the platform. The source (.mq4) code will compile for use with your platform.
      - if this fails, then you have to load the source code into the MetaEditor and compile the source manually:
      • - Navigator window.
        - right click the ea name and select 'Modify'.
        - press the F5 to compile the code.
    - never use the F7 key to make changes to your inputs. Forget you ever heard of it. The variables used by the program are not necessarily reset, and chaos can ensue. Always follow this procedure:
    • - drag a fresh instance of the ea onto your chart (it automatically replaces the previous one).
      - load the set file you made the first time you set up the ea.
      - make your changes to the inputs.
      - re-save your set file.
      Click OK and look for the smiley face on the EA.
    - if the platform is new:
    • - go to Tools/Options/Expert Advisors.
      - ensure that all the left-most boxes are selected and the rest are un-selected.
      - make sure your chart history is as complete as possible. One of the many, many unlovely features of the Empty4 platform is that there are damn great holes in many of the charts history. On each chart you are going to trade, and on every timeframe:
      • - turn off Auto-scroll.
        - zoom out as far as possible.
        - press the Home key until the chart will move no further.
        - right-click anywhere on the chart.
        - select Refresh.
        - Remember, you have to do this on every chart and every time frame.
      Lucky for us, Gary has found a script that simulates this procedure - it is attached. Download it into your Scripts folder, close down and restart your platform, then run the script just once, on just one chart. I suspect the run will take a while, so wander off and pick a fight with the cat whilst the script is doing its thingy.

      (Addendum: if you run the script just once, it will fill all TFs on all pairs nicely, with maybe 2000-8000 bars depending on TF. That is probably enough to run any EA. However it is NOT all the data your crim has; if you hammer on the HOME key it will continue to download more history. If you want more history than that, you can either do the manual HOME trick, or you can try running the script one or more times again. Each time you run it, it will download more data.)
  • - What to do when and EA crashes your platform. This can happen when code written on one platform will not run on a different one. This is a criminal's issue, not a code issue. To overcome this:
    • - Close down your platform.
      - Use Explorer to delete both the source code (EaName.mq4) and compiled code (EaName.ex4).
      - Re-download the source code.
      - Use Explorer to open the source code. It will open in the code editor.
      - Press Ctrl + F5 to compile the code. If you gen error messages, press Undo a few times (Ctrl + Z) as you accidentally pressed a key and entered an errant character somewhere.
      - Restart your platform and reload the EA. If it still crashes your platform, change criminal.
Fellow mods, feel free to edit this post and add your own basics. Others, please suggest additions.

:D
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