There are several ways to open a position in MT4 or MT5 accounts:

How to open a position in MT4

1. Choose ‘Tools’ ⇒ ‘New order’ in the program menu

MT4 tools new orders

2. Double-click on the name of the trading instrument in the ‘Market Watch’ window

Market Wach

3. Click on the ‘New Order’ button on the toolbar

MetaTrader New order

4. Press F9 key on the keyboard

Positions Details

When opening a position, it is necessary to fill in the following fields:

Symbol Choose the instrument for trading
Volume Set the volume of the order (number of lots)
Stop Loss Set the Stop Loss level (not obligatory) where you prefer to avoid further losses
Take Profit Set the Take Profit level (not obligatory) where you prefer to confirm the profit level of the position
Types Choose the order type which are “Market Execution” or “Pending Orders”

MT4 order screen

Positioning error

It often happens that when you try to open positions but you cannot because of some reasons.

“Grayed out”

When the order buttons, “Sell in Market” and “Buy in Market”, are grayed out, it can be either:

  • You have not logged in to the MT4 account correctly
  • The financial instrument you are trying to trade is not available with the account
  • You have set wrong SL/TP or trading volume which are not available

“Incorrect S/L or T/P”

This is an error message you will get when Stop Loss and Take Profit levels were set too close to the current price.

In this case, you will need to move the levels farther from the current price and repeat the request.

Pending orders

To open a pending order, you need choose “Pending order” in the “Type” menu.

MT4 Pending orders

There are 4 types of pending orders in MT4 which are:

  • Buy limit
  • But stop
  • Sell limit
  • sell stop

You need to be careful with the pending order type and the price set.

Closing Positions

To close a position, right-click on the order in the “Trade” area below the chart and choose “Close order” in the menu.

MT4 closing orders

Another way to close an order is to double-click on it in the “Trade” area.

MT4 order execution

Order with the set levels of Take Profit and/or Stop Loss will close automatically when the price reaches the chosen Take Profit or Stop Loss level.

*A Long position is closed at Bid price, a Short position – at Ask price.
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