How to test with AT and variable spreads

Discussion of the latest application betas including reports of bugs, issues and suggestions before it is made available as a general release.
Post Reply
gu00hero
Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 11:20 am

How to test with AT and variable spreads

Post by gu00hero »

Hello, I just want to be sure that Im doing everything correctly. It will be short as possible:

1. I right click on pair and export to mt4, embed spread info ticked and chose my brokers GMT. In the same popup window, in metatrader info tab, I load symbol properties through the file generated by tickstory s MQ4 script and I load account info through the FXT file generated in MT4 by selecting "Open prices only"

2. Then after export finishes I open Advanced Tester Beta and I create a profile. I only make sure that Real Spread is selected in profile options. And save this profile. Then load metatrader 4 through ATB.

Is there anything I miss or not do correctly? Is there something unnecessary in these steps?

tickstory
Posts: 4883
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:27 am

Re: How to test with AT and variable spreads

Post by tickstory »

Hi Guu00hero,

Here are the steps you should use to test with variable spreads:

1. Start Tickstory by "Running as Administrator" (this will allow you to save your settings as default as described below)
2. Export to MT4 with Tickstory and the following settings:
a. (One time configuration to get your Account information - leverage, commissions, etc) Start a back-test in "Open price" mode for the required symbol. Then, select "Load from FXT..." and select the file <symbolname>*_2.fxt. Then, "Save as default". Now, all your Account settings should automatically be set every time to export.
b. Select 'Embed spread'.
c. In the MT4 Settings->Map to, select your MT4 symbol name. This will automatically acquire all your symbol settings (no need for MQL scripts any more).
3. Launch AT and select your MT4 terminal from the 'Ready To Test' tab. In the Custom Settings section, enable 'Variable spread' and ensure the "Use Embedded Spread' radio is clicked. (You can optionally save this as a test profile so you can easily select this configuration in the future from the 'Testing Profile' combo box.)
4. Begin your test in MT4's Strategy Tester, ensuring that you have selected the "Every tick" modelling method (this will ensure you are using tick data and the embedded spread that you exported in step 2).

Hope this helps.

gu00hero
Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 11:20 am

Re: How to test with AT and variable spreads

Post by gu00hero »

Thanks, I followed these steps very carefully and saved them as default in tickstory. And I reopened tickstory and when I tried to right click to the pair > export to mt4 I get the error in the image. When I check the symbol properties in MT4 I see that tick value and tick size is 0 too. So I guess I can ignore the error right? Or does it mean my broker is hiding this info? (By the way when I use MQ4 script to load symbol properties I get different values. Tick size etc are not 0)
Attachments
6.jpg

tickstory
Posts: 4883
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:27 am

Re: How to test with AT and variable spreads

Post by tickstory »

Hi Gu00hero,

Yes, please ignore this notification. The tester in MT4 automatically assumes a value of these settings if they are not in the instrument specification. You will notice that when you print out the tick value and tick size in MQL, it will likely come out as "1" and "0.00001" for EURUSD, respectively.

We're reviewing whether this notification should still be present, as it originally was useful for people manually inputting these numbers.

Thanks.

tradingdelightful
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2021 1:36 pm

Re: How to test with AT and variable spreads

Post by tradingdelightful »

tickstory wrote:
Sun May 09, 2021 11:45 pm
Hi Guu00hero,

Here are the steps you should use to test with variable spreads:

1. Start Tickstory by "Running as Administrator" (this will allow you to save your settings as default as described below)
2. Export to MT4 with Tickstory and the following settings:
a. (One time configuration to get your Account information - leverage, commissions, etc) Start a back-test in "Open price" mode for the required symbol. Then, select "Load from FXT..." and select the file <symbolname>*_2.fxt. Then, "Save as default". Now, all your Account settings should automatically be set every time to export.
b. Select 'Embed spread'.
c. In the MT4 Settings->Map to, select your MT4 symbol name. This will automatically acquire all your symbol settings (no need for MQL scripts any more).
3. Launch AT and select your MT4 terminal from the 'Ready To Test' tab. In the Custom Settings section, enable 'Variable spread' and ensure the "Use Embedded Spread' radio is clicked. (You can optionally save this as a test profile so you can easily select this configuration in the future from the 'Testing Profile' combo box.)
4. Begin your test in MT4's Strategy Tester, ensuring that you have selected the "Every tick" modelling method (this will ensure you are using tick data and the embedded spread that you exported in step 2).

Hope this helps.
hello there,
Is it necessary to click Embed spread in tickstory for the advanced tester variable spreads?
Another question how can i access the in 2c described Map to feature in mt4?

tickstory
Posts: 4883
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:27 am

Re: How to test with AT and variable spreads

Post by tickstory »

Hi Tradingdelightful,

Yes, it is necessary to embed spread information when doing your export. Technically speaking, the MT4 file format does not contain bid/ask information so this step is necessary if you want to test with variable spreads.

Regarding the "Map to" feature, please see the attached slide to show how to select your symbol. This information is also available in our Help Manual.

Hope this helps.
Attachments
How to Export with Tickstory v1.9.5.4.gif

Post Reply