MT4_7. Placing Orders

Lesson 7: Placing Orders

In this tutorial we will show you the various ways that you can place orders. The first
and most common method is to double click on an instrument that you wish to buy.
For example, suppose you want to trade on EURUSD, you can double click on it in
the market watch window.

Another method is to click the “new order” button in the toolbar menu - or
alternatively, right click on the selected instrument and click on New Order.

A third - and very quick method - is to press F9 on your keyboard.

Irrespective of how you place an order, the order window will appear. First, ensure
that the currency symbol you are planning to trade is correctly seen in the symbol
box. Next, you will have to enter your contract size in the volume box.

Remember that Volume 1 for a standard trading account is equal to 100.000 units
while for micro accounts, volume 1 is equal to 1 unit. Either you can click on the
arrow and choose the volume from the listed options in the drop-down box - or you
can left click in the volume box and type in the required value.

In both types of account, the least you can trade for is 0,01. In the case of standard
accounts, the minimum you can trade is 1.000 units whilst for micro accounts, the
minimum contract size is equal to 10 units. Don’t forget that your contract size
directly affects your possible profit or loss. The comment section is not essential
but you can use it to identify your trades by adding comments.

In the next option type, the value is set to ‘Market Execution’ by default. ‘Market
Execution’ is the model for executing orders at the current market price. If you wish
to open your trade at a particular price, you can do so using ‘Pending Order’. We
will explain order type PO in more detail in another tutorial session.

Finally, you need to decide which type of order to open. You can choose between a
sell order and a buy order.

Sell orders are opened at bid price and closed at ask price. In this order type, your
trade may bring a profit if the price goes down. Buy orders are opened at ask prices
and closed at bid prices. In this order type your trade may bring profit if the price
goes up.

Once you click on either buy or sell your order will be processed instantly. You can
view your active trades in the terminal window trade tab. All the orders that you
place have a unique number signature.

You can identify all the types by colour: Red for sell and Blue for buy. Alternatively,
you can check them in the type column in the terminal window panel.

When you are ready to close an order, double click on the pending order ticket
number and click on close - OR - right click the required active order in the terminal
window. Select close order and confirm by again selecting the close tab button. You
will get to know more about these panels in a separate tutorial session.