Improved OrderHistory mq4 script to display trade history on charts

The problem is that in strategy tester the Results tab shows open, modify and close order managements in separate lines. Probably the problem could be solved by programming EXCEL as well (to make a new spreadshit from the raw one) but the solution seems better to write a file by the EA.
I now converted your script to an indicator and I can call it from EA but the problem is that after changing the hstTotal definition from OrdersHistoryTotal() to OrdersTotal() it does not count any trade (hstTotal is 0), not even when attached to a live chart (it wrote the full history of the account before, both from EA and from live chart).
I am searching for the problem, no idea yet....

Probably it is possible only if trades are Orderelect()-et by ticket number. So if one writes out each closed trade to csv file, problem is solved.

Thanks a lot for your order history script and it helps me a lot. I prefer candlestick chart on which the arrows and lines are covered by the candlestick. Is there any way that I can bring the arrows and lines front? Thanks a lot.

I've figured it out. The chat is foreground as default. From menu Charts->Foreground chart, uncheck the menu item will bring all the non-background objects front.

Hey Pips4life,
Just downloaded and loaded your indicator, LOOKS rather great but...what is the average % profit in a month?

The only way I could fix it is editing the script an replacing all
by

pips4life
Thank you for this script.
I try to put on the chart the history from another account in deferent broker, but the show me the error of reading the file.
My steps:
1. I saved the trade history for whole period as html.
2. Open this save in excel and resaved it as csv in directory script/files
3. restart the mt4 platform
5. open the chart with the same currency that was traded.
5.lunch script
6. appositive "input_historyfrom_FileNames_CSV" I put the file name, (ex.: atlaseforexacc)
7.I have notification that it is error with reading file.

Kind regards

Your step #1 is incorrect. Don't use MT4 to save the output as HTML. Rather, use the script on the 1st broker mt4 and specify an output filename. The format it outputs will already be suitable for use as an input file into another broker session. (Once writen, you will have to copy the output file from the files/ folder for the 1st broker to the files/ folder for the 2nd broker). If your two brokers have different broker times, you will need to timeshift the data either while writing the output file, or while reading the input file. If your two brokers have different definitions of what a "Lot" size means, you can scale the size as appropriate (usually 0.1 or 10.0), again either while writing the output file, or while reading the input file.

Thank you for reply.
Is it possible to update the program in a way that I can see the trades for the saved history? In a case if another trader show you the history of his trades, and you want to see trades on the charts.

Kind regard
Maxim

You make a good point and suggest a feature that I could use myself. I'm working on it and will post a new version sometime soon.

2010-08-23: New "P4L OrderHistory.mq4" (V5) released. (See Post #1)

* The input/output file format (column order) was changed but files created by previous versions ARE still compatible as input files. The benefit is that standard MT4 Statements (reports) can be read into Excel, then converted and written out as a tab-delimited file (with 10 data columns) and used as an input file.

* Added variables Input_File_Delimiter and OUTPUT_File_Delimiter with default of "Tab". (Comma or Semicolon or other specific characters can be specified).

* Added "DrawMostObjectsAsBackground" (true). Normal use-model assumes F8 "Chart on Foreground" is OFF but user can experiment and can change this variable to "false" if desired.

* To suppress trades from AccountHistory and just show those from input file(s), the user can specify input as "ONLY filename1 ...". Alternatively, the user can change new variable "IncludeTradesFromAccountHistory" to "false".

* This version calls a private-author library routine that can read the trades taken by any EA in the StrategyTester and convert the format into a standard input-file format to display the EA-simulated trades on a chart. This library file has not been provided for free/public use, but the missing library file is ignored when using standard input files.


There were some fairly major changes to the code but in my testing this version seems to work as before, plus has new added features. If you find any problems, please post the details here for further consideration.

Reminder: "P4L OrderHistory.mq4" is a script, not an indicator. As such, it goes into the folder C:/Program Files/your_MT4_broker/experts/scripts/

Kent (pips4life)

P.S. The new input/output data format is still tab-delimited (although the delimiter is now able to be user-specified).
The new column order in the code (beginning with column "order" (a.k.a. "Ticket") below) is now:

Thank you very much for the soonest reply and updates.

Is it possible to speak with you via skype?

Kind regards.
Maxim

I'm glad you like the update. With respect to contacting me, the best way would be to post here or send me a PM with your questions first and go from there.

Can you help me with the steps?

1. I go to the account, go to trade history, save statement as html
2. Open this statement with excel, and resaved as csv or as usual excel?

Your step #1 is correct.

For step #2:
The script can handle any delimiter, but "tab" is it's default. In Excel, you can save the file as a tab-delimited file (usually filename.txt), or as a comma-delimited file (usually filename.csv). The choices are seen when you do a "Save As" in Excel, and there is a cyclic that offers different file formats. The filename and extension don't matter, but whatever delimiter you use, be sure InputDelimiter in the script is consistent with your file.

In Excel, as you save it to a tab-delimited file (e.g. filename.txt), it may ask you what section to save, and of course you would click on the data section with all the closed-trades. (FYI, I didn't try to import the sections with Open or Pending trades and those may not work unless the file format is manipulated to get the right 14 columns as described below. Closed trades already have these 14 columns.).

Excel will also give popup warnings that some information will be lost if you save it in that non-Excel format but that's OK because it's just formatting info, not the actual data itself.

IMPORTANT: MT4 can only read/write files in the folder:
C:/Program Files/your_MT4/experts/files/
Either save your excel file there, or copy it to there manually.

If your tab-delimited (or comma-delimited) Excel file still has some extra header lines at the top or the bottom, above and below the relevant data section, then I would suggest to delete all that extra stuff. (Select those rows and use "Delete" -> "Entire row"). It will then be a more suitable format for import into my script. The cleanest file for import would have nothing but the exact trade data columns, and perhaps only those lines that are actual trades. Extra lines like account deposits and withdrawals won't be displayed but I think they will just be ignored -- or you could delete them from the data.

Your converted delimited-data file should have 14 columns:
Ticket, OpenTime, Type, Size, Item(=Symbol), Price, S/L, T/P, CloseTime, Commission, Taxes, Price, Swap, Profit

That information is read and then, if the trades match the chart symbol, the trades are graphically drawn with trendlines and objects, the same as with the normal AccountHistory trades.

If the trades don't appear to exactly match your chart data, it might be necessary to timeshift your input file relative to your MT4 broker. Use variable "Shift_Input_TimesBy_Hours" from 0.0 to ___(??).

Reminder: When you provide an input file, those trades are ADDED to the trades which are currently visible in your AccountHistory. If you want to see only the trades for the input file and nothing from your AccountHistory, you could:
a) specify the input as: ONLY filename (the prefix keyword "ONLY " eliminates your AccountHistory trades from display)
or b) Set variable "IncludeTradesFromAccountHistory" to "false"
or c) In the AccountHistory section, zero out all the displayed trades by choosing a "Custom Date" range that includes no trades (like 1/1/1970 - 2/1/1970).


P.S.
I know my use of the acronym "CSV" is kind of misleading since that ordinarily stands for "Comma Separated Variable" but when I wrote the routines, I was not certain if some of the MT4 data fields like "Comment" might actually include literal commas... so I used "tab" instead. Since I started that way, I didn't see any big reason to change to "comma" from "tab". Most likely, either will work so long as you specify the correct delimiter in the script.

Thank you very much!!!!
With you clear explanation I did it:-)

Hi pips4life!

One more time thanks for your help.

Do you know any scripts, that allow you to show the information from the excel file on the charts?
For example this file has information with ome volumes for particular dates.
Date1 value1
Date4 Value-1
Date8 value 10
So this script should show this value or any sign on the charts according its values.

Maxim

Such a thing would be a custom program written for a specific purpose. My script is a code example that does indeed read information from an external file saved by Excel, then it sets variables accordingly, and then uses those variable values to create specific objects on a chart. There isn't, however, any generic program that can do it. One would have to be written. Perhaps you can use it as an example to learn more about programming... good luck.

Hello,

Is it possible to make this script an EA and have the ability to generate tradehistory .csv files on a frequent basis.

Thanks,
Ram

I can't figure out what would be the point of running this script regularly/frequently with an EA. Care to elaborate why manually running the script is insufficient?