independent charts packages?

Any recommendations for independent charting packages? ie not mt4 terminal or broker charts....is a charting package worth having or are they as just as good as what mt4/brokers provide?

I think you may like something like Ninja trader then. I think this is the kind of thing you want.

Hi,

What are your intentions for using the charting packages? What is it about MT4 you dislike? For example, if you don't have any programming experience in MQL4, but desire to build your own automatic strategies, Ninja might be good like the last post suggested. However, Ninja is quite expensive and I think you are better off using MT4 for free or another free package offered by your broker, especially if you are a manual trader. Additionally, there are a wealth of free and low-cost tools on the internet for MT4 that can pretty much be used to suit most of your needs...
The only problem with MT4 that I have noticed, and this may be a broker issue...but when you go back a few months in time on the chart, sometimes data is missing. It is usually miniscule. The biggest issue this poses is irreliable backtesting, but doesn't seem to be a big problem for most traders, especially if you are short term trader. And of course, there is a free tool to check your chart for missing bars. I think I saw one on codebase.mql4.com.

mt4 is great....but i can't easily zoom in out for instance on day charts to get a quick snapshot of whats happened over the last year...or is there a way??

Hi,

Maybe a larger monitor would help you. I use a 24 inch screen and on the daily I can usually squeeze several years into the frame if I zoom out enough. You can get 24inch viewsonic monitors on Amazon for around $100. I am not sure how an independent charting package would resolve that issue. There is also a way in MT4 to adjust the vertical scale and who knows, it might help you see better. To do so, scroll your mouse over the right side of the chart where it displays the prices. A little box saying vertical scale and a small black double sided arrow should appear. Click and hold it as you move up or down to adjust the vertical scale. Lastly, this may be of help...you can scroll back in time on the chart by disabling chart shift and auto scroll and simply scroll your mouse backward or forward to go back through or forward in time on the chart.

Ninja Trader is free as long as you don't use it for live trading ... but of course you would probably need to pay for a decent price feed if you don't have a live account.

Check out Sierra charts, it is paid but it is quite cheap at the same time. Worth a look, software is very customisable.

It is better to go with the free tools offered by your broker. But if you want to go ahead with some of the suggestions listed above, try and check each one of them out..you may find that some of the free ones work just as well as the rest..

I agree Sierra charts is really good when it comes to customization. They have provided a lot of features to make the look and feel of the charts the way you want it.

Only issue is not may brokers have tied up with Sierra charts. As of now you can only demo trade with FXCM.

Still , good charting package. Better than all those expensive ones like esignal/ninja..etc

Sierra is good value. There are 2 fx data feeds but the cheapest option is fxcm. Another suggestion would be Ninja trader + AMP futures (if you deposited $500 you'd get free futures data from CQG and the NT platform for free= 0 costs. CME fx data is generally better than retail fx data plus you get volume and cleaner exchange managed data for pivots etc. My other suggestion would be $2000 deposit at TradeStation fx and free platform thereafter (good if you want to create strategies etc).

Tradestation great for backtesting also has almost everything in it you like to build robust models

ProRealTime : http://www.prorealtime.com/en/ yes , worth having imo

if ure a time trader - i recommend wave59, gannanalyst and cycletimer.

Net Dania Finance Chart, i am using it as I type.

http://www.netdania.com/Products/liv...anceChart.aspx

scfx

Trade station II for charting (Ninja Trader is good, but can be pricey) and MT4 for EA's.

appreciate the feedback guys..

...forgot to mention Multicharts DT (free) and MB Trading UK (free data with demo account). So, all free and away you go. Let me know if you go for this and want a hand hooking it all up.

I also agree that sierra is the best - try the demo and see for yourself.