Bar Duration
This is a powerful addition to your MetaTrader 5 toolkit designed to optimize market analysis and performance. This technical indicator acts as a specialized analysis tool designed to visualize market data. It helps traders identify emerging trends, momentum shifts, and key support or resistance levels by plotting statistical calculations directly onto price charts.
How to Setup and Use Bar Duration
1. Installation: Place your file in the MQL/Indicators folder via "Open Data Folder" and restart your terminal.
2. Loading: Find the indicator in the Navigator, drag it onto your chart, and configure the input parameters in the popup window.
3. Customization: Press Ctrl+I to open the indicator list, select your tool, and click "Properties" to change colors, levels, or visual styles.
4. Updating: Replace the old file in the Indicators folder with the new version and restart the platform to apply changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is my indicator not showing? A: Verify the file is in the MQL/Indicators folder, or try right-clicking the "Indicators" tree in the Navigator and clicking "Refresh."
Q: Do custom indicators slow down the platform? A: Too many complex indicators can impact performance; remove unused ones via the "Indicator List" (Ctrl+I).
Q: Can I use MT4 indicators on MT5? A: No, MQL4 and MQL5 are distinct languages; ensure the indicator is compiled specifically for your platform version.
Description & Settings
This indicator displays a subwindow with histogram of custom bars' durations in minutes. It's applicable for renko boxes, PnF, equivolume bars, and other custom charts, where bar durations are variable, as opposed to standard charts based on timeframes.
Please note that MT5 does not support charts with variable timeframes, so the custom representation, such as renko or equivolume, is emulated by standard charts anyway, and usually uses M1 timeframe, because it's the smallest available timeframe and it provides highest possible accuracy of bar alignment on time axis.
Using this indicator on a regular chart makes small sense, because it'll show vertical columns of the same height for all bars.
Inputs
Directional
- a boolean option to show signed or unsigned histogram; by default, it's false (unsigned) and all values are absolute; if direction is enabled (true) - the values are positive or negative depending from price change on corresponding bar;
