We’ll repeat it again, but the choice of a platform Is a very important step for every trader.
Everyone is suited for something different and each of us has different preferences..
In the third part of this section we will take a look at the cTrader platform. It is a
state-of-the-art platform, and, according to many traders, this is evident at a glance when
comparing it to MT4 and MT5. It is a popular alternative to the MT4 and MT5 platforms, but for
traders used to MetaTrader the environment may seem a little bit confusing. Compared to
MetaTrader, cTrader contains many features and tweaks already in the basic setup and there is no
need to download them from the Internet.
cTrader on PC
cTrader offers modern user interface with chart settings, advanced backtesting and also trading
tools and much more.
Login
After downloading and installing the platform, the first time you open the cTrader, you have a
login to your demo or real account. You will do it with cTrader ID and password, which you will
find in the FTMO Client Area..
Workspace
When you log in to the cTrader software, you will see the default workspace. In the layout tab,
you can control the surroundings panels around your chart. If you want to save your changed
workspace, just click on My Workspace and save it.
Watchlist
On the left, you have a window with the Watchlist, which has all the popular instruments. If you
want to create your own watchlist, click on Create a New Watchlist and modify it as you want it.
If you want to see the chosen instrument in the chart, just drag it into the centre of the
workspace, where all the charts of a chosen instrument are or just right-click on it, and select
New Chart.
Next to the Watchlist is the All Symbols tab where you can see all the instruments that you can
trade. There are many more instruments to trade, like majors, minors, cryptocurrencies, indices,
CFDs, commodities etc.
Trade Watch
Below the chart is the Trade Watch, where you see your open positions, pending orders, history
of closed orders, defined price alerts, your transactions history, and your notes in the
journal. In the first four tabs you can also see the account stats.
Active symbol panel
In the active symbol panel, you can learn information about chosen instruments such as Bid and
Ask spread, depth of the market, current news events, symbol information, market hours, and
trading history. At the top of the symbol panel, you can also open new positions.
Open a trade
If you go to the Watchlist and right-click on the instrument you want to trade, a window will
appear where you can choose a “Create New Order” option. In the new window, you will see your
Bid and Ask prices for selling or buying an instrument for opening short or long trades.
First, you have to decide if you want to open a market order, a limit order, a stop order, or a
stop-limit order. Then you can choose if you are going long or short and set the volume of the
specific instrument measured in lots. Below the quantity, you can set your limits on the order.
Here you can set your Stop Loss and Take Profit for closing your trade. You can also add some
comments there. You can also use the chart on the right to quickly drag and drop your Stop Loss
and Take Profit and see your potential loss and profit. This feature is very useful in quick
decision-making, and it is something that MetaTrader does not offer.
If you want to open a trade with just one click, just click anywhere in the chart to allow this
feature to work, and then place a buy or a sell trade. You can modify the settings of the
One-Click order in the settings found in the Quick Trade tab.
Trailing stop
If the price moves in the desired direction and you want to automatically shift your Stop Loss
to a higher level, just right-click on your position in the trade, select Stop Loss, and set the
Trailing Stop below.
Another tool for this is the small shield icon for the advanced Stop Loss and Take Profit
orders. If you left-click on it, you can set up scale-out Take Profits, and automatic Break
Evens. Bear in mind that this advanced feature only works when your cTrader is turned on.
Close a trade
To close a trade, you have to go to the Trade Watch where you have your position, right-click on
it, and close it. If you want to close just some volume of your position, double left-click on
it and specify the amount you want to close. You can also press the small x button on the right
side of the position.
You might have noticed two additional buttons between the X and the shield button. The double
arrow will double your existing position, and the u-turn icon will immediately close your
positions and open one in the opposite direction. These buttons can sometimes cause more bad
than good, so be careful when you are using them.
Technical Indicator
To apply an indicator, go to the Indicator icon. Simply select the indicator, and the window
will appear, and you will choose desired settings. When you modify the settings of the
indicator, click OK, and it is done. If you want to remove it, right-click on it and choose to
delete it in the upper right corner.
Chart window and modification
The drawing and windows toolbar is on the right side next to the chart. There you can adjust
your windows, add different lines, text, and so on. You can change the timeframes on the left
side, save your template, manage your indicators, and change the chart visualisation. If you
click on time periodicity next to the symbol name, you can change your chart type based on time,
ticks, range or renko charts. In the main menu on the left, there are also options for copy
trading, algo trading, trade analytics and settings.
cTrader on Android
The popularity of trading and managing accounts via mobile phones has been growing rapidly in
recent years. This is certainly no exception with cTrader, although some traders say that it is
not the most convenient way to analyse trades.
Login
Once you open the cTrader platform, you will be asked to log in. You do it by filling in the
email you used for the FTMO registration.
Menu
The home screen has six different tabs, which you change by swiping left and right. You have two
options below, the main one is called Trade, and the second one is called Blotter, and it
displays all new economic events.
The menu can be accessed by pressing the menu button in the upper left corner. You can make a
new order, create a price alert, find and add symbols, open settings, sign out or switch between
different accounts.
Watchlists
If you click on the Watchlists tab, you can create different watchlists and open new positions.
New watchlists can be created by clicking on the small arrow button, and new symbols can be
edited when you scroll down and click on add symbols. Existing symbols can be modified by
clicking on the pencil button. In this tab, you can create different watchlists and also open
new positions.
Positions
In the positions tab, you can see your currently opened trades. If you press the new trade
button on the lower right side, you can quickly open a new trade. The newly opened trade is in
the positions tab, where you can modify it by closing partial profits, setting Stop Losses, and
Take Profits. You can also open the chart for a given instrument and see the details of the
instruments.
Order
The next tab shows your pending orders. If you create a new buy limit order and create it below
the market, you can see it in the orders tab.
Price alerts
The price alerts allow you to see your active price alerts and create new ones. If you press the
plus button on the lower right side, you can create a new price alert.
History
The History tab shows your profits and losses (P&L) from all your executed trades. If you scroll
down, you can see realised P&L of your whole account. You can click on each trade to show
details.
Transactions
The transactions tab shows deposits and withdrawals on your trading account.
Charts
If you go to the Watchlist tab after you click on the instrument of your choice, you can see the
quick execution bar chart, market sentiments, depth of market, economic calendar, instruments
specs, market hours, and your trading statistics.
If you enlarge the chart, you can use the bottom bar for changing time-frames, different chart
visualisations, adding indicators, drawing tools, and making new orders.
cTrader on the iPhone
Login
Once you open the cTrader platform, you will be asked to log in. Similar to the Android version,
you can fill in the email you used for the FTMO registration in the iPhone version of the
platform.
Menu
The home screen of the platform on iPhone has seven different tabs, which you change by swiping
left and right. The first tab can be accessed by pressing the menu button in the upper left
corner. There you can make a new order, create a price alert, find and add symbols, open
settings, sign out or switch between different accounts.
Popular markets
If you swipe to the next tab, you will see the popular markets. In this tab, you can create
different watchlists and also open new positions.
New watchlists can be created by clicking the plus button, and new symbols can be edited when
you scroll down and click on Add Symbols. Existing instruments can be modified by clicking the
Pencil button. In this tab, you can create different watchlists and also open new positions.
Positions
In the Positions tab, you can see your currently open trades. If you press the new trade button
on the upper right side, you can quickly open a new trade. The newly open trade is now in the
Positions tab, where you can modify it by closing partial profits, setting Stop Losses and Take
Profits. You can also open the chart for a given instrument and see the details of the
instruments.
Order
The next tab shows your pending orders. If you create a new buy limit order and create it below
the market value, you can see it in the Orders tab.
Price alerts
The Price Alerts allow you to see your active price alerts and create new ones. If you press the
Price Alert button in the upper right corner, you can create a new price alert.
Transactions
The transactions tab shows deposits and withdrawals on your trading account.
Charts
If you go to the Popular Markets tab after you click on the instrument of your choice, you can
see the quick execution bar charts, market sentiments, depth of the market, economic calendar,
instruments specs, market hours and your trading statistics. If you maximize the chart, you can
use the bottom bar for changing time frames, different chart visualisation, adding indicators,
drawing tools and making a new order.