Range Bars on MT4 - Full Setup Guide

The first step is taking the correct software and make it working.
For the range bars on MT4 we will need the generator indicator:

Download RangeBar.ex4

And for interactive control of the Range bars range we will need additional indicator:

Download OmniaRemote.ex4

Generator Installation
Now switch to the MT4 and open the data folder from menu File->Open Data Folder. Navigate to folder MQL4/indicators. Move the downloaded RangeBar.ex4 and OmniaRemote.ex4 here.
When the indicators are in place, we have to notify the MT4 to update the indicator list. Re-launch the MT4 Terminal.
Find or open a chart for a symbol, you need the range bars for. The timeframe does not matter, use the one you prefer for usual work.
In the MT4 Navigator (Ctrl+N) unfold the Custom Indicators list. Drag and drop the RangeBar item onto the open chart.

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A dialogue pops up. Look at the Inputs tab. Pay attention only to the Output TF entryand fill in some value (e.g. M10). Let the rest fields default.

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In the Common tab enable DLL imports.

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Confirm the dialogue. The indicator appears at chart bottom in a subwindow.

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You may repeat steps add more range bar indicators to this single chart.
The left grey button indicates the output timeframe we entered in the inputs. Click the button for a hint and open the chart from menu File->Open Offline.

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Find and select your chart. The chart that opens is our range bars char.
You may open the offline chart multiple times if you need them more than once.

Remote Control
Actually you may stop here and use the range bar chart as it is. But the next step will make your chart interactive in the way you like.
In the MT4 navigator (Ctrl+N) unfold the Custom Indicators list. Drag and drop the OfflineRemote item onto the offline chart. A dialogue pops up. Confirm the dialogue. The indicator appears at chart bottom in a subwindow.
The subwindow pane contains all you need to control the range bars:

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1. bar range (in points)
2. session breaks (whether ignore trading sessions or restart the chart with a new session open)
3. navigation shortcut to the feed chart (click the button to bring the original range bar indicator to front)

Now you have full control of the range bars directly in the chart. You may switch the range of candles as easily as you can switch the time frame.

The remote may be repeatedly removed and re-attached to the offline chart, without affecting the chart.

History download
Now the range bars chart is working and you may control parameters directly from the chart.
What else may I do for better range bars? The range bars generator cannot load much history data alone. Download as much data as you can for it - with help of script.

Download LoadAllHistory.ex4

Navigate to folder MQL4/Scripts. Move the downloaded script here. Re-launch the MT4 to reload the script list.
In the MT4 navigator (Ctrl+N) unfold the Scripts list. Drag and drop the LoadAllHistory to the chart with symbol you need to download the data for and wait for about a minute the script to complete.

Strategies and Testing
Can we use and test strategies with the range bar chart? Yes, we can run strategies in same way as with a regular chart, but we need some workaround for testing. Download the helper script for enabling the testing strategies with the range bars chart:

Download OfflineTestHelper.ex4

Navigate to folder MQL4/Scripts. Move the downloaded script here. Re-launch the MT4 to reload the script list.
In the MT4 navigator (Ctrl+N) unfold the Scripts list. Drag and drop the OfflineTestHelper on the range bar chart you intend to use with strategy tester.
Follow instructions it displays.
The script disconnects from the current broker, so be sure you are not on the instance that runs your strategies.

In case you are deciding which generator to use for the range bars, I would like to point out some unique features of this particular generator, which may be not obvious.

• it is an indicator rather than a script or EA, which makes it comfortable (though this feature is not unique)
• input setting is accessible from multiple places: input dialogue, entry on a feed chart, and entry on the offline chart. Settings available on the offline chart makes the range switching as simple as switching a timeframe.
• generator enables secure feed chart timeframe switching (no need to dedicate this chart for a feed)
• generator breaks chart into sessions by a single click control
• generator uses all available timeframes for the initial model, it is not bound to the selected timeframe
• generator estimates the offline chart starting point from the requested candle count
• a single indicator drives multiple identical offline charts, so you can run multiple EAs with a single generator
• indicator detects interrupts in feed and rebuilds the offline chart after the feed reconnects with a time gap
• calculates correct candle volume, and you may rely on the tick volume in your analysis or EA
• guards for a change of the account/server (lacking feature in MT4)
• works correctly with symbols having conflicting names (i.e. "EURUSD.." trailing double dot in name with a few brokers)
• reports unexpected time gaps in the MT4 history
• excludes phantom ticks (with no volume), so the attached EA won't get triggered by the phantom
• fixes incorrect range input for a non-trivial instrument tick size
• can decrease chart refresh rate on demand, to help keeping resources low
• indicator development is open, it has continuing support. You do not need to search Internet and pray volunteers for a fix
• 180-day free starting trial period with full features available. And 15-day trial period every 3 months.

Hi Ovo,

I've heard it's not possible to accurately backtest Renko, how accurate is backtesting using the above procedure???

Hello Valkyry,
the above mentioned script only delivers the offline chart to the Strategy tester.
When testing such chart, there are multiple factors that influence the testing accuracy:
- the chart model - offline charts have artificial OHLC values, that mostly did not happen.
- quality of underlying data - the chart is calculated from another data with limited accuracy
- The EA design - if the EA trades only on open, then its result has higher trustworthy than EA working on every tick

Having the above in mind and creating the chart from Metatrader M1 data, I would expect that testing Range bars would be more precise than testing Renko, higher ranges will be more precise than lower ranges. Charts like mean Renko are so far artificial, that their testing using the above script is not trustworthy at all.

Hi Ovo, could you upload the upload offline remote file again? The link is not available anymore... Do you have any website?
Thank you!

Actually the OfflineRemote got a slightly different name OmniaRemote to be in line with the top product Omnia Charts. I fixed the link in the first post.
And yes, I got a website you can grab the range bars from, it is specified in my profile.

thx!!

http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...47#post8200647

Is it possible to generate more than 1 range bar chart for EA offline testing?

hello OVO what parameter can i input to generate a 10 tick renko chart. thanks for your post.

Hello Steve, I suppose you talk about Range bars. It depends on the tick size. Multiply the tick size by tick count. Most instruments have tick just in line with the input resolution (1 tick = 1 input point), while others might have tick size of 5 or 25 input points. If you do not hit the proper tick size in inputs, it gets rounded to the closest value.

hi, can i run expert adviser on the offline chart generated by this range bar indicator?

Anybody got a free rangebar indicator that works? Thanks in advance.

It is a trial vesion with expiry. No point download

Well there is an obvious point, you can try it for 14 days and the full omnibar multi indicator and when you realise nothing competes you may want to support the good work the Ovo team has done .
enjoy