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Download historical data

You can download historical data in 21 different timeframes on MetaTrader5 (MT5), and in 9 timeframes on MetaTrader4 (MT4). The data is also different between MT4 and MT5; it is provided by MetaQuotes on MT4, while on MT5, it is provided by each forex broker.

Here we will look at how to download historical data on MT4/MT5.

Switch between MT4/MT5 tabs to check the steps for each.

Step 1

First, increase the number of bars on charts. Click "Tools" on the menu and select "Options". (Shortcut keys: "Ctrl"+"O")

Step 2

In the "Charts" tab, type "9"s till it reaches the ends of the "Max bars in history" and "Max bars in chart" fields. The maximum number of bars is "2,147,483,647" for both, which can be saved and retrieved automatically by typing "9"s. After that, restart MT4.

Step 3

Next, download the historical data. Click "Tools" on the menu and select "History Center".

Step 4

In the "Symbols" field of the "History Center" window, choose the symbol and timeframe you wish to download and click "Download".

Step 5

If you receive a "Download Warning", check the warning and click "OK".

Step 6

Once downloading is completed, you will see the number of downloaded data under the symbol field. The historical data beneath that will be applied to the chart. It might take some time depending on the amount of data.

Difference in historical data of MT4 and MT5

On the other hand, in MT5, there is no history center. All price data comes directly from each forex broker. However, please note that some of their old data may come from price data provided by MetaQuotes.

Step 1

First, increase the number of bars on charts. Click "Tools" on the menu and select "Options". (Shortcut keys: "Ctrl"+"O")

Step 2

Set "Max bars in chart" to "Unlimited" in the "Charts" tab. Click "OK" and relaunch MT5.

Step 3

Next, download the historical data. Click "View" on the menu and select "Symbols". (Shortcut keys: "Ctrl"+"U")

Step 4

Download historical bar data

In the "Bars" tab, set the symbol, timeframe, and period for the historical data to download and click "Request".

Download historical tick data

In the "Ticks" tab, set the symbol, timeframe, and period for the historical data to download and click "Request".

Number	Item name	Descriptions
1	Symbol	Select the symbol for which you want to download the historical data.
2	Type	To download the historical bar data, select one of the 21 timeframes. To download the historical tick data, select the type of tick data.
3	Period	Specify the period of the historical data to download.

Step 5

Once downloading is completed, you will see the number of downloaded data under the symbol field and also the historical data beneath that. It might take some time depending on the amount of data.

Download historical bar data

Download historical tick data

If it says "limited by charts settings"

If you see the message, "limited by charts settings" under the symbol field, the historical data of the specified period hasn't been fully downloaded. To fix this, you must adjust the settings to increase the number of bars displayed on the chart. Check/adjust your settings and restart MT5 to download all the historical data.

Difference in historical data of MT4 and MT5

The downloaded historical data of MT5 differs from those of MT4. When downloading historical data on MT4, the app downloads the data from the history center of MetaQuotes. Since these are price data provided by MetaQuotes, they will not match the price data provided by the actual forex broker. In MT5, there is no history center. All price data comes directly from each forex broker. However, please note that some of their old data may come from price data provided by MetaQuotes.

Created

: 2022.09.09

Last updated

: 2024.02.07

Writer

Takayoshi Nakamaru

Manual production consultant, MBA

Nakamaru is a manual production consultant at FINTECS, a company that specializes in creating manuals for their clients.
With a wide range of experience from fintech to entertainment, he presents what user-friendly manuals should be like.
He works with numerous large corporations as an external manual production project manager.

【Business information】
http://www.fintecs.co.jp/profile/

Supervisor

Akira Takagi

Systems engineer, MetaTrader administrator

After graduating from Computer Science at the Uninove, Brazil, in 2014, he has worked on various systems development projects.
He participated as a developer in the launch of forex services in 2019. Since then, he has also been involved in the development of MetaTrader plugins and APIs. He is certified by MetaQuotes as a MetaTrader5 Administrator and active in consulting and advisory as well.

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