Tickstory

Can somebody help please. I couldnt figure out how to backtest with variable spread even with documentation. A short step-by-step walkthrough would be very much appreciated.
EDIT: I think I managed to do it but in the backtest report tab, I still see the fixed spread number that I chose in MT4 strategy tester. But in the journal its saying "variable spread is enabled." So Im not sure if I did it right.

Hi Gu00hero,

There are no indications on the back-test report to denote that variable spread was used. The main indication is that your spread will be changing and you can cross-check this by putting logging to print the bid/ask spread in the Journal. A rudimentary way to check if the variable spread setting is working is that if you test with and without the variable spread option enabled, you should see some differences (assuming spread affects your strategy).

As you seem to have worked out, the general process for testing with variable spreads is:

1) Export your data for a particular symbol and make sure the "Embed variable Spread" box is checked.
2) Launch MT4 in the Advanced Tester and when it appears in the "Ready to Test" tab, ensure it is selected and then select in the 'Custom' settings, select Spread->Check "Enable Variable spread" and then "Use embedded real spread" radio button.
3) Run your back-test. Your EA should end up with 99% modelling quality which will indicate that you have correctly used Tickstory's exported tick data.

Hope this helps.