Point Zero Metatrader4 Indicators User guide (v2.0) Thanks a lot for acquiring Point Zero MT4 Indicator, possibly the best trend following suite available for the Metatrader4 Platform. In this short document you'll learn a bit about the indicators and their input parameters. Before going any further, let me explain you briefly what Point Zero MT4 Indicator suite is all about: it is a set of tools which goal is to make your trading life easier. Our indicators will allow you to know where is the market going and when it is safe to take the trade. Once the trade has been taken: our PZ Manager EA will manage the trade for you, cut losses fast, let profits run and avoid costly mistakes. So, your trading experience will be as effective as it gets: 1. Find trading opportunities using the dashboard 2. Pick profitable trades using our trading templates 3. Let the PZ Manager EA manage the trades for you The PZ Manager EA will break-even your trades and apply a trailing stop-loss using your predefined method. In the meanwhile, you can employ your time in finding good trading opportunities instead of monitoring your positions. We shall proceed now to review all indicators from the suite and the Expert Advisor. Arturo López Pérez Trader, speculator, investor and software engineer. Developer of Point Zero MT4 Indicator Suite http://www.pointzero-indicator.com/
1) The indicators There are five indicators in our indicator suite. Each one serves a different purpose, can be combined with others and has different input parameters, which we shall review below. 1.1) The PZ Channel indicator PZ Channel is a sound trend following indicator that will always keep you in the right side of the market. Four different colors are used to let you know where is the market going, and when it is safe to trade. Trend changes are confirmed using fractals and the indicator displays trading zones in dark, meaning that the trend has just accelerated and it is a good trading opportunity. It should be combined with the PZ Oscillator indicator which measures the acceleration/deceleration of the channel, in other words, the strength of the trend. CalculateOnBarClose: This input parameter decides wether the indicator has to evaluate the current bar or not. Default value is true, to avoid false signals.
Signals: This input parameter decides wether the indicator displays arrows signaling trend changes or not. If you use a discretionary trading system, you might want to hide them for visual comfort. ChannelPeriod: This input parameter is the amount of past bars to evaluate to calculate the current trend channel. If the instrument traded is very volatile or you are trading small timeframes, this parameter should increase. ChannelSize: This parameter decides the vertical size of the channel. If it is high enough, it will reflect the current volatility. This parameter does not affect calculations. Sensitivity: This parameter decides the sensitivity to trend changes and trading zones. Possible values range from 1 to 5, and it should be decreased to trade lower timeframes or very volatile instruments. SignalsOnFractals: This parameter decides if arrows are painted on the fractal which triggered the trend change (2 bars in the past) or not. If the fractal is too far away, the arrow will be painted within the current volatility margin. DisplayAlerts: Enable this option to get alerts on trend changes. EmailAlerts: Enable this option to get email alerts on trend changes. AlertCaption: This parameter allows you to set a custom name for these alerts.
1.2) The PZ Levels indicator The PZ Levels indicator tracks the trend based on breakouts of historical highs and lows filtered by the current volatility. Signals have absolutely no lag, and it is so responsive it can be used for scalping. This indicator should be used by novice traders who do not have a discretionary trading system or intraday traders. It should be combined with the PZ Bars and the PZ Oscillator indicator for timing purposes. BreakoutPeriod: This input parameter decides the breakout period that should be used for trend changes. A higher value will allow you to trade longer trends, but entry signals will have more delay. You should increase it a bit to trade intraday charts. Elasticity: This input parameter decides the volatility threshold for trend changes. Increase it to trade longer trends or scalping intraday charts. DisplayAlerts: Enable this option to get alerts on trend changes. EmailAlerts: Enable this option to get email alerts on trend changes. AlertCaption: This parameter allows you to set a custom name for these alerts.
1.3) The PZ Bars indicator The PZ Bars indicator compares the current bar's price action to previous bar's closing/opening prices to predict near term price activity, and overrides the default color of candlesticks with four different ones. It should be combined with the PZ Levels and the PZ Oscillator for timing purposes. Elasticity: This input parameter decides the volatility threshold for trend changes. Increase it to trade longer trends or scalping intraday charts. This elasticity should be smaller than the PZ Levels elasticity.
1.4) The PZ Dashboard indicator The PZ Dashboard is a multi-symbol and multi-timeframe monitor that displays the current trend direction and strength for all symbols and timeframes desired. It relates directly to the PZ Channel indicator and it is best used in a separate window. It implements configurable alerts and email alerts, so you can be on top of the market at all times. Symbols: This input parameter is the list of symbols to be monitored. Timeframes: This input parameter is the list of timeframes to be monitored. ItemsPerLine: Amount of symbols to be shown per row of the dashboard. ChannelPeriod: PZ Channel Indicator period to monitor. Customize alerts and colors of the dashboard!
1.5) The PZ Oscillator indicator PZ Oscillator is an accelerometer which measures the strength of the trend by comparing its rate of change over time. It relates directly to the PZ Channel indicator and must be used to confirm trades and find divergences. Actually, it is another representation of the PZ Channel indicator in an oscillator. CalculateOnBarClose: This input parameter decides wether the indicator has to evaluate the current bar or not. Default value is true. ChannelPeriod: This input parameter is the amount of past bars to evaluate to calculate the current trend channel. If the instrument traded is very volatile or you are trading small timeframes, this parameter should increase.
2) The PZ Manager Expert Advisor Position management is a key ingredient to become a profitable trader. In fact, it is even more important than the entry strategy because poor position management will lead to poor results, regardless of the entry strategy being used. Position management requires discipline but usually human emotions get in the way, and traders end up making the following mistakes: Not placing a stop-loss to all trades Letting the losses grow hoping for the best Closing trades with just measly profits out of anxiety Waste a huge amount of time monitoring their trades That is why our trend following suite includes a position management Expert Advisor, which will take care of all your trades applying a trend following approach. The tasks of the PZ Manager EA are the following: Place a stop-loss order to all trades Break-even all trades as soon as possible Trail the stop-loss for all trades and let the profits run In other words, the PZ Manager EA will prevent costly mistakes, cut losses fast and let your profits run, no matter what. The PZ Manager EA is very customizable and can trail the stop-loss using several methods. But what's more important, you'll have a mechanical approach to position management fully implemented, which means you can employ your time in finding trading opportunities using the dashboard and our trading setups. Once you've taken the trade and placed the initial stop-loss, everything else will be handled for you. The input parameters are heavily commented in the EA and are the following: TF_Forced_enabled: This parameter forces the EA to stick to just one timeframe. TF_Forced: This parameter forces the EA to calculate the stop-loss based on a predefined timeframe. Make sure to declare here the timeframe subject of your trading strategy to avoid the stop-loss orders being changed if you load the same symbol in another timeframe. BE_enabled: This parameter instructs the EA to break-even your trades. This means that as soon as the trade runs in your favor to cover the initial risk, a percentage of the position is closed. BE_MoveSLToOpenPrice: This parameter decides wether the stop-loss is placed at the open price when the break-even is performed. BE_PercentageToClose: Define what percentage of the trade do you want to close when the break-even is performed. The value must be between 0 and 1. TS_ConservativeMode: This parameter decides if the stop-loss can be trailed below the open price. If true, losses will be smaller. TS_ATR_enabled: This parameter enables or disables the ATR based stop-loss. TS_ATR_period: ATR period used for calculations.
TS_ATR_factor: ATR multiplier to calculate the stop-loss. The stop-loss will be trailed applying the following calculation: ATR(TS_ATR_period) * TS_ATR_factor. TS_Donchian_enabled: This parameter enables the Donchian based stop-loss. TS_Donchian_period: Amount of past bars used to calculate the stop-loss. TS_Fixed_enabled: This parameter enables the fixed stop-loss in pips. TS_Fixed_value: Amount of pips to trail the stop-loss with. So, which trailing stop method should you use? Well, that depends on your trading strategy. I would recommend using a Donchian Channel based stop-loss, because it reaps profits faster than any other method, decreases losses and if price action stalls, the stoploss keeps moving towards the current price. Just make sure the Donchian Channel period is coherent with your entry strategy: you generally want your exit strategy to be faster than your entry strategy. The latter simply means that you want to exit your trades before the entry strategy shifts in the opposite direction. You can also use a ATR based stop or a fixed stop-loss in pips. This is your choice.