After determining the entry point, the next most important task is the constant monitoring of the results and profit/loss balance. Indicators of open positions display the settings and the current state of your already taken decisions (open) and trading intentions (pending orders) on the screen.

Analysis and calculation of the position are held prior to making the trading decision, and its correctness is visible on the result, which is desirable to monitor in dynamics to correct the situation at any time if necessary.

Indicators of open positions belong to the category of information ones. They do not give advice on the entry or closure, but rather process the already open or pre-installed orders and display the calculated data directly on the working chart.

Important: sometimes the excess information displayed on the screen prevent from seeing the real picture of the price, so to display large amounts of data the extra screen is often used, on which the status of positions on all instruments is tracked.

Below is a brief overview of the most popular and freely available indicators for MetaTrader 4(5).

Mathematics indicators

These indicators obtain the primary information on open orders directly from the trading terminal: tool, prices, spread, volume, type and direction of the order. Dynamic calculation of the current profit is required. Calculation mechanisms built in the more advanced scripts may include calculation of the overall balance, equity parameters, possible results at the closing of one or more orders at any given time.

Complex calculations are usually not required, so the code of these indicators can be combined with other mechanisms (such as closing or change of the orders parameter) in the form of expert advisors or executable scripts.

Installation and setup

Normally, the installation is performed by the standard method: the indicator file with the extension *.mq4 (or *.ex4) is placed in \ProgramFiles\MetaTrader4\MQL4\indicators, then dragged to the price chart from the terminal shell. If a program code in the form of the expert adviser is offered, it is placed in the directory \ProgramFiles\MetaTrader4\MQL4\experts. The set of parameters may be different, but the basic (different names are allowed) are always present:

• ModeProf: location of the data on profit/loss: near the current price, at the level of the order or in the other part of the screen;
• Type: types of orders for which information is displayed – 0(all), 1(only Buy), 2(only Sell);
• CurOrders: whether to show pending orders;
• ShowProfits: profit parameters (in pips or in currency);
• ShowTargets: whether to show the distance to TakeProfit/StopLoss levels or to neighboring orders;
• HistOrders: history or closed orders settings;
• Setting color and font size.

Important: "accuracy" of the calculations depends on the communication reliability and accuracy of quotations received by the terminal.

Examples of indicators of open positions

Exposure is the most popular and built-in to the standard package of MetaTrader 4(5) indicator. It is located in the additional window, has no specific parameters, displays the minimum amount of information: tool, lot, direction, price, profit. Keeps track of the total volume, profit and the weighted average price of the tool.

VisualOrders indicator shows the current open positions in the form of arrows and with the short story deals with the profit data. It works only on a single tool. It is convenient for scalpers, as well as for those who prefer to trade on the grid of orders.

Another simple but informative indicator of open positions from the standard package is Indicate_orders. It displays minimal data, but it is sufficient to assess the current situation.

iOrdersInfo indicator was once created as a case study to demonstrate the operation of the MQL COrdersCounter software class, but turned out to be very useful in practice. It displays information for each symbol, on all types of orders and open/closed positions as a convenient table.

Table options:

• FILTER – filter of the orders;
• BUYS /SELLS – number of Buy/Sell orders;
• BUY/L and SELL/L – number of BuyLimit and SellLimit orders;
• BUY/S and SELL/S – number of BuyStop and SellStop orders;
• VOLUME and P/L – total volume and total profit/loss in points.

Indicator of the open positions 7_indicate_orders performs complex calculations of basic parameters of the trading account and displays them in a separate custom window. Besides the order parameters, you can see the leverage, balance, margin and funds available for trading.

Informer_v1 indicator, along with the current server time, shows leverage and spreads, free margin, and the current trading result, profit – loss, in the upper part of the working chart. An interesting feature is the current deviation from the opening price of the order.

Sometimes indicators of the open positions are built in the expert advisors together with additional features, such as Info_Close_all. Visually, the indicator shows the details of possible developments: min/max lot, spread, and the number of points to the possible siphon-off. Special buttons are offered for quick decision-making.

Equity indicator performs advanced analytics of the current trading status. It performs charting of the equity and the current balance on the account history, taking into account the current open positions for real-time updates. You can also build the margin or available funds charts, but only in the monitoring mode.

You can only build by some orders and certain tools, excluding the initial balance or deposit/withdrawal, calculate the drawdown and recovery options.

Important: these indicators of open positions only work properly with full access to the history of trades.

Thus, we can fully analyze the work of, for example, several MTS on one trading account. Another utility is that the results of the calculation can be written to an external file.

And as a conclusion...

Assessment of the state of the account with open positions is a mandatory component of successful trading, and this can be done through the built-in reports in the shell of the terminal. But do not forget that such reports are difficult to understand and will always lag.

At the same time, indicators of open positions are constantly working, on all tools and regardless of the timeframe chosen, they perform the actual analysis on open trades and pending orders, display current results in real time directly on the price chart. This is illustrated, practical and allows you to keep your account under control.