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Import historical data

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Import historical data

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You can import historical and tick data in 21 different timeframes on MetaTrader5 (MT5), and in 9 timeframes on MetaTrader4 (MT4). Use other brokers' historical data by importing data.

point What is tick data?

Tick data, the smallest unit that represents price, is not available in MT4, but only in MT5. You can increase the accuracy of backtesting by importing tick data.

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

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

mt4
mt5

Step 1

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

Options of the toolbar Options of the toolbar

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, click "OK" and restart MT4.

Max bars in history Max bars in history

Step 3

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

History Center History Center

Step 4

Double-click on the symbol name of the historical data you wish to import to open the timeframe menu, and then choose your preferred timeframe.

Select a symbol and timeframe on the History Center Select a symbol and timeframe on the History Center
point Symbols are categorized by each broker

If you open the History Center, you will find some categories such as "Forex" and "Crypto", and symbol names such as "EURUSD" and "USDJPY" under each category. This categorization differs from broker to broker. For currency pairs, "Forex" and smaller categories such as "Major" and "Minor" are often used.

Symbol categories in the History Center Symbol categories in the History Center

Step 5

In the "History Center" window, click "Import".

Import historical data Import historical data

Step 6

Click "Browse".

Select historical data Select historical data

Step 7

Choose the historical data file to import. If you can't find the file, change the file type to "All Files" in the lower right so that all file formats will be shown. Available files are csv and hst.

Import data from Browse Import data from Browse

Step 8

Configure the details of historical data to import. Click "OK" and historical data will be imported.

Import completed Import completed

Number

Item name

Descriptions

1

Separator

Specify the character that separates each item in the data.

2

Skip

Specified rows and columns will not be imported. Specify the rows or columns if you don't want to import any data in the file.

3

Shift

Shift the historical data by set hours.

4

Use selected only

Check this box when you want to only import the specified historical data. Don't check it if you don't specify the data.

5

Volume

Check this box when you don't want to import the volume data.

Step 1

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

Click View on the menu and select Symbols Click Tools on the menu and select Options

Step 2

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

Set Max bars in chart to Unlimited in the Charts tab. Click OK Set Max bars in chart to Unlimited in the Charts tab. Click OK

Step 3

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

Click View on the menu and select Symbols Click View on the menu and select Symbols

Step 4

Go to the "Bars" tab if you want to import the histrical bar data, and the "Ticks" tab if you want to import the tick data.

symbol symbol

Step 5

Select the symbol of the historical data to import.

set the symbol set the symbol

Step 6

Click "Create Custom Symbol".

Create a custom symbol Create a custom symbol
caution Existing historical data can't be overwritten in MT5

In MT5, you cannot delete or overwrite existing historical data. When importing historical data, you must first create a new custom symbol. You can save multiple symbols using the same settings by changing the symbol name when creating a custom symbol to import historical data.

Step 7

In the custom symbol window, double-click the symbol name. Set a symbol name different from the existing ones and click "OK".

Name the custom symbol Name the custom symbol

Step 8

Select the symbol name you have set and click "Import Bars/Ticks". Your symbol name will be shown under "Custom".

Import historical data for the custom symbol Import historical data for the custom symbol

Step 9

Click the "Browse" button.

Import historical data Import historical data

Step 10

Choose the historical data file to import. If you can't find the file, change the file type to "All Files" in the lower right so that all file formats will be shown. Available files are csv and hst.

Select the data to import Select the data to import

Step 11

Configure the details of historical data to import. Click "OK" and historical data will be imported.

Imported historical data Imported historical data

Number

Item name

Descriptions

1

Separator

Specify the character that separates each item in the data.

2

Skip

Specified rows and columns will not be imported. Specify the rows or columns if you don't want to import any data in the file.

3

Shift

Shift the historical data by set hours.

4

Tick volumes

Check this box when the historical data has tick volumes.

Date

Created

 : 2022.09.09

Update

Last updated

 : 2024.08.27

Writer

Takayoshi Nakamaru

Manual production consultant, MBA

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Takayoshi Nakamaru

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

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Akira Takagi

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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