A cluttered, badly set up chart makes trading harder than it needs to be. Spend ten minutes getting your charts clean and consistent once, save it, and every chart you open afterwards looks the same and reads instantly. This lesson shows you how to set up a chart and keep that setup with a template.
01 Pick your chart type and timeframe
First, switch the chart to candlesticks if it is not already, using the toolbar button or the Charts menu, because candles are the easiest to read as we covered earlier. Then choose your timeframe from the row of buttons, M1 up to MN, where M15 is fifteen minutes, H1 is one hour, D1 is a day, and so on. As a beginner, spend most of your time on H1 and D1 where the signals are cleaner.
02 Make it readable
Right-click the chart and open Properties to set the colours. A dark background with clear up and down candle colours is easy on the eyes for long sessions. Turn the grid off for a cleaner look, and use the plus and minus keys or the scroll wheel to zoom so a sensible amount of history is on screen. The goal is a chart you can read at a glance without squinting.
03 Save it as a template
This is the time-saver. Once a chart looks the way you like, right-click it, choose Template, then Save Template, and give it a name. From then on you can apply that exact look, including any indicators, to any new chart in two clicks. You can even set it as the default so every chart opens ready to go. Set it up once, reuse it forever.
04 Work with more than one chart
MetaTrader can show several charts at once, which is handy for watching a few pairs or the same pair on different timeframes. Arrange them with the window tiling buttons. If you build a whole workspace of charts you like, save the arrangement as a profile so you can bring the entire layout back later. None of this is essential on day one, but it is worth knowing it exists.
- Which two timeframes suit a beginner best?
- What does saving a template let you do?
- Where do you change the chart's background and candle colours?
Show answers
1) H1 and D1, the one-hour and daily. 2) Reapply your exact chart look and indicators to any new chart in a couple of clicks. 3) Right-click the chart and open Properties.
- Set the chart to candlesticks and pick a timeframe, favouring H1 and D1 early on.
- Tidy the colours and remove clutter so the chart reads at a glance.
- Save your setup as a template, and even the default, so every chart opens the way you like.
Use the row of timeframe buttons on the toolbar, or open the Charts menu and pick a period. M15 is fifteen minutes, H1 is one hour, D1 is one day, and so on.
Right-click the chart, choose Template, then Save Template and name it. Apply it to any chart later from the same menu, or set it as the default so new charts use it automatically.
Yes. Open multiple charts and use the tiling buttons to arrange them. Save the whole arrangement as a profile if you want to reload that layout later.
Further reading: View and configure charts, the official MetaQuotes guide to chart settings and templates.
Next lesson: add indicators and one-click trading →