No.7: Support as initial stop loss
Description
You can find an example for the Expert Advisor Builder on this page. If you need to familiarize yourself with the MetaTrader strategy tester and the Expert Advisor Builder, please begin with the Getting Started article.
This example utilizes the chart analyzer signal generator, which scans the previous chart for significant support and resistance levels. Each of these levels is conveniently represented as a line on the chart. A long trade is opened when the market experiences a correction, which is also identified by the same chart analyzer module. The stop loss is then set to an appropriate support level but must be at least a certain minimum distance from the entry price. This ensures that the strategy does not select support levels too close to stop loss values. With a risk ratio of 1.4, the take profit is calculated based on the initial take profit.
Please note that this is not a plug-and-play trading strategy. A trading strategy needs suitable adjustments, fine-tuning to the timeframe and symbol, and thorough backward and forward testing. Therefore, providing fully working trading strategies as read-to-use examples is impossible. However, this example could serve as a foundation for your trading strategy.
Reset of inputs
Locate the Expert Advisor Builder application in the dropdown menu of the strategy tester settings under FEA Trading\MT4\Expert Advisor Builder 2.0 if you're using a MetaTrader 4 instance or FEA Trading\MT5\Expert Advisor Builder 2.0 if you're using a MetaTrader 5 instance. You can replicate the entire example in minutes by following the steps outlined in this article. To begin, kindly reset the strategy tester input as indicated.
The default input parameters of the Expert Advisor Builder are designed to be highly functional. This implies that only some parameters must be adjusted when creating a new strategy. As a result, even with minimal reconfiguration, the output strategy can be significantly different.
Inputs configuration
Most examples can be executed in any timeframe and on any symbol. However, please set EURUSD as the symbol to be tested, M15 as the timeframe, select Open prices only (MT4) or 1 minute OHLC (MT5) as the model, and the previous four weeks as the test period. Finally, enable the visual testing mode.
Refer to the table below to set up the input parameters for the Expert Advisor Builder.
| Input variable within MetaTrader (Identifier in SET file) | Example value | User manual chapters |
|---|---|---|
| > (OUF) Idea output description (max 63 characters) (IN_strOufIdeaOutputDescription) | No.7: Support as initial stop loss | Output Folder |
| > (ISL) Selection (IN_enmIslSelection) | CHART ANALYZER | Initial Stop Loss |
| > (ISL) Rate of change (min value) (IN_dIslRateOfChange) | 0.0015 | |
| > (SLT) A Type (IN_enmSltAType) | OFF | Stop Loss Trailing |
| > (CA1) CONF, Signal in use (IN_enmCa1SignalInUse) | ON | Configuration Example with CA1 Example with CA2 Example with CA3 and CA4 combined |
| > (CA1) CONF, Width (IN_nCa1Width) | 140 | |
| > (CA1) CONF, Prominence (IN_dCa1Prominence) | 0.05 | |
| > (CA1) CONF, Draw base (IN_enmCa1DrawBase) | OFF | |
| > (CA1) CONF, Draw extrema (IN_enmCa1DrawExtrema) | OFF | |
| > (CA1) CONF, Draw swing phase (IN_enmCa1DrawSwingPhase) | OFF | |
| > (CA1) COND, Trade volatility low (IN_enmCa1TradeVolatilityLow) | OFF | |
| > (CA1) COND, Trade swing phase overstatement (IN_enmCa1TradeSwingPhaseOverstatement) | OFF | |
| > (CA1) COND, Trade swing phase understatement (IN_enmCa1TradeSwingPhaseUnderstatement) | OFF | |
| > (CA1) COND, Trade swing phase over correction (IN_enmCa1TradeSwingPhaseOverCorrection) | OFF | |
| > (CA1) COND, Trade swing phase downswing (IN_enmCa1TradeSwingPhaseDownswing) | OFF | |
| > (CA1) COND, Trade swing phase undefined (IN_enmCa1TradeSwingPhaseUndefined) | OFF |
Confirm the inputs by pressing OK, and finally, start the test run with Start.
Chart example and SET file download
The underlying algorithm is highly optimized for execution speed. Generally, it only takes a few minutes until the entire test period is simulated. At the end, you will see a chart similar to the following.
To reproduce the chart from this example, you can download and use the SET file package eab_example_7_v_2_0.set.