There are a few different ways to create a new order in MT4 and MT5. But before you open a position for the first time, ensure that you understand the difference between a Market Order and a Pending Order, as you will have to specify which of the two types of orders you are attempting to place.
A Market Order is an instruction to make a trade right now at the current market price.
A Pending Order is an instruction to make a trade when the price reaches a certain level predefined by you.
In this way, a Pending Order to buy an asset (or go long) allows you to buy it lower than the current market price by instructing the platform to open a position if the price should drop to the level of your choosing.
A Pending Order to sell (or go short) allows you to do the opposite, selling at a higher level than the current market price by instructing the platform to sell only when the price rises to a level of your choosing.
In order to place a trade in MT4/MT5, you have to bring up the “Order” window, which can be done in all of the following ways:
Press the ‘New Order’ button on the “Standard” toolbar
Select “New Order” from the “Tools” dropdown menu
Press F9
Right-click an instrument in the “Market Watch” window and select “New Order”
Double-click an instrument in the “Market Watch” window
All of the above actions will bring up the MT4/MT5 ‘Order’ window in which you can finalise the trade you're trying to place. Now, let’s take a closer look at all of the available options:
At the top of this window you will see a dropdown menu titled “Symbol,” this tells you the individual symbol you are about to place a trade on and allows you to change it if need be.
Below this you can see the “Type” drop-down box. If left set to “Instant Execution,” you are set to place a Market Order (an order to buy right now at the current price). You can change this to “Pending Order” if you would like to specify a price at which to buy or sell at other than the current market price.
Your third option in the Order window, is the “Volume” tab, which indicates the size of the trade you are about to place in lots, and can be edited before finalising the order.
Below you will find the Stop Loss and Take Profit boxes. You do not have to set Stop Loss/Take Profit levels in order to place a trade. Ensure you understand what they are and what they do before entering any values into these boxes.
If in Instant Execution mode, you can use the “Deviation” box at the bottom of the order window to set a pip-range that is acceptable to you if the market price deviates from the price at which you clicked buy or sell. This can be used at times of high volatility to increase the possibility that your order gets executed with no re-quotes.
Finally, you have the “Buy” and “Sell” buttons that enable you to execute your trade in the direction of your choosing.