The client terminal can be installed and run on computers with Mac OS using Wine. Wine is a free software that allows users of the Unix-based systems to run an application developed for the Microsoft Windows systems. Among all the Wine versions there is one for Mac OS.
Note that Wine is not a fully stable application. Thus, some functions in the applications you start under it may work improperly or not work at all. |
For the installation on Mac OS we recommend to use the free application PlayOnMac. PlayOnMac is a Wine-based software for easy installation of Windows applications on Mac OS.
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To install PlayOnMac, open the product's official web site, move to Downloads section and click the link for downloading the latest version.
After downloading the DMG package, launch it from Downloads section of your system:
PlayOnMac first launch window will appear. After clicking 'Next', the installer will start checking and installing the various components necessary for work.
The first necessary component is XQuartz. This is a software for using X Window System on Mac OS. X Window System provides standard tools and protocols for building the graphical user interface in Unix-like OS.
If you have already installed XQuartz or want to install it later, select 'Don't install XQuartz for the moment' or 'I've downloaded file by myself', respectively.
XQuartz installation is performed in several stages. First of all, you should read the important information (Read Me) and accept the license conditions.
Before the installation, Mac OS security system will ask you to enter your account's password:
Wait for the installation to complete. For changes to take effect, you should restart your PC.
After restarting the system, launch PlayOnMac again from the setup file in Downloads folder. The first launch window will appear again. This time, the installer will offer to install MS Windows fonts necessary for correct operation.
Accept the license agreement conditions and wait till the installation is complete. After that, PlayOnMac is ready for use. Its main window will appear:
Wine v. 1.4 is installed together with PlayOnMac. Wine 1.4.1 is the latest stable version at the moment. Wine 1.5.21 beta release containing many improvements is also available for download. However, it may be less stable. It is recommended to install the latest version of Wine.
To upgrade Wine to the latest version, open PlayOnMac upper menu and select Manage Wine Versions:
The window with Wine versions available for installation will open. Select the latest version (1.5.21 at the moment).
Move the latest Wine version to the right side of the window. The installation will start.
After the installation is complete, the new version of Wine will appear in the left part of PlayOnMac Wine versions manager window. You can then close the window and install the trading terminal.
To install the terminal, download the installer 'mt4setup.exe'. After the download is complete, launch the setup file. PlayOnMac will be used automatically to open it.
The standard terminal installation process with all its stages will start:
When the installation is complete, PlayOnMac will offer you to create the shortcuts for the terminal components - the client terminal itself and MetaEditor:
After creating the necessary shortcuts, you can start using the client terminal. Double click on it in PlayOnMac window to launch the terminal.
As was already mentioned above, Wine is not a completely stable software. Thus, some functions of the terminal may work improperly. Currently the following issues are discovered:
Except for the above problem, you can enjoy all the features of the client terminal on Mac OS.
PlayOnMac creates a separate virtual logical drive with necessary environment for each installed program. The default path of the installed terminal's data folder is as follows:
LibraryPlayOnMacWinePrefixClient_Terminal_DriveCProgramFilesClient Terminal |
Developer(s) | Metaquotes Software Corp. |
---|---|
Operating system | Windows, Android, iOS[1] |
Type | Trading platform, Technical analysis software |
License | Metaquotes Software Corp. |
Website | www.metaquotes.net/en/metatrader4 |
MetaTrader 4, also known as MT4, is an electronic trading platform widely used by online retail foreign exchangespeculative traders. It was developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2005. The software is licensed to foreign exchange brokers who provide the software to their clients. The software consists of both a client and server component. The server component is run by the broker and the client software is provided to the broker’s customers, who use it to see live streaming prices and charts, to place orders, and to manage their accounts.
The client is a Microsoft Windows-based application that became popular mainly due to the ability for end users to write their own trading scripts and robots that could automate trading. In 2010, MetaQuotes released a successor, MetaTrader 5. However, uptake was slow and as of April 2013 most brokers still used MT4. While there is no official MetaTrader 4 version available for Mac OS, some brokers provide their own custom developed MT4 variants for Mac OS.[2][3][4]
Its developer, MetaQuotes Software, had previously released a number of versions of the MetaTrader platform starting in 2002. MetaTrader 4 was a significantly enhanced version and was released in 2005.[5]
Between 2007 and 2010, a number of brokerages added the MT4 platform as an optional alternative to their existing trading software due to its popularity with traders and the large number of third party scripts and advisors.[citation needed]
In October 2009, a significantly re-coded MetaTrader 5 went into public beta testing.[6] The first MT5 live account was subsequently launched by InstaForex in September 2010.[7] In 2013 and 2014, the MQL4 programming language was completely revised eventually reaching the level of MQL5. Starting from build 600, MQL4 and MQL5 use unified MetaEditor.[8]
Although MT5 was introduced in 2009, according to a study conducted in September 2019, MetaTrader 4 was still the most popular Forex trading platform in the world at the time.[9]
The client terminal includes a built-in editor and compiler with access to a user contributed free library of software, articles and help. The software uses a proprietary scripting language, MQL4/MQL5,[10][11][12] which enables traders to develop Expert Advisors, custom indicators and scripts. MetaTrader's popularity largely stems from its support of algorithmic trading.
Yahoo! hosts a large group (over 12,000 members) devoted to development of free open source software for MetaTrader.[13]
MT4 is designed to be used as a stand-alone system with the broker manually managing their position and this is a common configuration used by brokers. However a number of third party developers have written software bridges enabling integration with other financial trading systems for automatic hedging of positions. In late 2012 and early 2013, MetaQuotes Software began to work towards removing third-party plugins for its software from the market, suing and warning developers and brokers.[14]
MetaTrader provide two types of trading orders, Pending Orders and Market Orders. Pending orders will be executed only when the price reaches a predefined level, whereas Market orders can be executed in one of the four modes: Instant execution, Request execution, Market execution, and Exchange execution.[15] With Instant execution, the order will be executed at the price displayed in the platform. Its advantage is that the order will be executed at a known price. However, a good trading opportunity can be missed when the volatility is high and the requested price cannot be served.[16] Request execution mode enables trader to execute a Market order in two steps — first, a price quote is requested, then, a trader decides whether to buy or sell using the received price. A trader has several seconds to decide if the received price is worth trading. Such mode offers a certain knowledge of price combined with guaranteed execution at that price. The tradeoff is the reduced speed of execution, which can take a lot longer than other modes.[17] With Market execution, the orders will be executed with broker's price even if it is different from that displayed in the platform. The advantage of this mode is that it allows trading without any sort of requotes. However, deviation can get considerable during volatile price changes.[18] In Exchange execution mode, the order is processed by the external execution facility (the exchange). The trade is executed according to the current depth of market.[19]
The complete MetaTrader 4 package includes the following components:
The platform is focused on margin trading. Some brokerages use MetaTrader 4 to trade CFD but it is not designed for full-time work in the stock market or exchange-traded futures. At the same time, MetaTrader 5 also works with equities and commodities exchange-traded commodities. Both MetaTrader 4 and 5 can use custom indicators and trading programs (called Expert Advisors) for trading automation.[25]