New user help with MT4 Back-testing

[csimpson503]

Hi
I have bought tickstory V 1.6. I run Win vista with metatrader 4 build 840. I’ve watched you tube clips read forums and I just can’t get the system to work. Does V 1.6 work with 840?
I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong. I’ve saved metatrader and tickstory on C:\User instead of C:\Program Files. When in tickstory and I Export to MT4 it seems to do that part ok, I then launch metatrader through tickstory and go to history centre. When I try and browse for the exported files the folders are empty, if I go through the start menu in windows until I get to metatrader folder the exported files are there. Why is this? I’m new to all of this and would be grateful for some advice.
My end goal is to build my own EA and test it but I’m struggling with the first hurdle.

[tickstory]

Hi Csimpson503,

Welcome aboard. Please check the following to ensure you are exporting to the correct location:

1) Start MT4 via Tickstory - make sure you do not log into your terminal, otherwise data you have exported from Tickstory could be overwritten by data obtained from your broker.
1) In File->Settings, ensure you have selected the correct MT4 Installation folder (should be in C:\Users). Once you have selected the installation folder, Tickstory will automatically set the "MT4 Data Folder".
2) In MT4, select File->Open Data Folder and make sure the folder that is opened corresponds with that set in Tickstory.
3) Perform your export for the selected symbol & date-range (Note: If you are exporting a symbol such as EURUSD, this symbol must match your MT4 symbol. If it does not, you will need to "Map To" the corresponding MT4 symbol. See below for more).
4) You should now be able to see the data when you open a chart.

For more information, please ensure you have read through the manual (press F1 in Tickstory) as it gives a more detailed primer on the back-testing process. The "Maps to" feature is also described here and you can also find many examples by searching the forum (i.e. http://tickstory.com/forum/search.php?keywords=maps+to).

Hope this helps!

[csimpson503]

Hi
I followed you advice and I’ve managed to run a few tests with using MACD sample and Moving average on different time frames and they have come back with modelling quality 99.9% which I think is good but I have a few questions.
1. When I launch MT4 through tickstory the top bar is Metatrader 4 with tickstory launcher (FXT overwrite prevention, fixed spread) but as soon as I press start on a test it reverts back to META QUOTES- DEMO. Is this normal?
2. When I go through MT4 >History Centre>Import>Brows and search the history folder for the .fxt files they are not there. Should they be there? If I go to File>Open Data Folder they are there.
3. When I delete the MT4 history folder to get rid of the .hst and .raw files, they reappear each time MT4 is launched. I need to delete my account but how do I do this and still be able to run tickstory and run tests? On older versions of metatrader you would right click on your account and just delete but this function is not there anymore.

Thank you for your support

[Senthil]

Same here... Bought couple of days ago,, still don't know how to make use of it...

Download is done...
Export is done.
Symbol is mapped.

But when I prese the start button in strategy tester, I just get a blank chart... Test wound not run...

Iam going mad...

[tickstory]

Hi Csimpson,

Good to hear you have managed to get 99.9% modelling quality - this demonstrates you have performed the most important steps correctly. Regarding your questions:

1. When I launch MT4 through tickstory the top bar is Metatrader 4 with tickstory launcher (FXT overwrite prevention, fixed spread) but as soon as I press start on a test it reverts back to META QUOTES- DEMO. Is this normal?
This is not a problem. The title bar can change and the most important thing is that the launcher advised you of no error when launching. This means you are good to go.

2. When I go through MT4 >History Centre>Import>Brows and search the history folder for the .fxt files they are not there. Should they be there? If I go to File>Open Data Folder they are there.
FXT files are merely the actual files in the "Data Folder". When you are viewing this data in the History Center, you will instead see the symbol and the time-frame of the data which you can select to view.

3. When I delete the MT4 history folder to get rid of the .hst and .raw files, they reappear each time MT4 is launched. I need to delete my account but how do I do this and still be able to run tickstory and run tests? On older versions of metatrader you would right click on your account and just delete but this function is not there anymore.
You don't need to manually delete these files. The HST files will be generated/re-generated as part of the Tickstory export process. You should at least be able to "log out" of your terminal to prevent data from being downloaded from your broker.

Hope this helps.

[tickstory]

Hi Senthil,

Try and get the basics going first. That is, you should be aiming to get 99.9% in your back-test quality result. This means that the data has been exported in the right location and you have launched MT4 correctly.
After that, run the MACD Sample EA provided with MT4 to see if you get some trading results. If not, check the Journal to see if any errors have appeared.

Let us know how you go!

[Senthil]

Hi thanks for the reply, i managed to get up to that point, but when i run the test with the default MACD EA, as well us my EA, it goes up tho the first trade and stops because of this error,

" 2015.07.31 09:07:44.112 2014.08.22 11:54 MACD Sample: tester cannot calculate prices"

can you please help me on this.

Thanks

[tickstory]

Hi Senthil,

Please refer to this thread and see if it helps you:

http://tickstory.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=450

If you are having any additional issues, you can also search the forum for the error message as perhaps there already is a solution available.

Hope this helps.