How do you guys trade on a Mac? | Forex Factory

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How do you guys trade on a Mac?

  • #1
  • First Post: Mar 18, 2013 3:05am Mar 18, 2013 3:05am
My macbook is the macbook with retina display.
Two questions:
1.Metatrader do not have a mac version.Since I love metatrader, I don't know if there is any other software.
2.I have an account in Oanda, but the fxTrade does not support the retina display.

how do you guys deal with this problem?
  • #2
  • Mar 21, 2013 8:33am Mar 21, 2013 8:33am
web based trading platforms as a rule allow trading on any OS, including Mac. but web apps are not so speedy.
  • #3
  • Mar 21, 2013 8:53am Mar 21, 2013 8:53am
I trade on a Macbook Air and think it's great. It is a superior machine to a PC in terms of speed and stability.

I use a program called Crossover to run MT4. I also use a charting program called Tradeinterceptor. Oanda is my broker and I use fxtrade to enter orders.
Soar on my wings, you'll touch the hand of God, he'll make you King.
  • #4
  • Mar 21, 2013 11:06am Mar 21, 2013 11:06am
Use crossover and stick with mt4. Some webplatforms have execution only pages and are extremely fast. I wouldn't advise any webplatform that has charting on the same page, this will be slooooooow!
  • #5
  • Edited Mar 22, 2013 7:59am Mar 21, 2013 2:46pm | Edited Mar 22, 2013 7:59am
Hello all!

I’m a mac fan too! And I've (unfortunately) never seen a mac based trading platform

One alternative would be to use a VPS with your macbook, and then you would basically have a Windows system accessible to you. There are many VPS services out there, and some brokers offer VPS free if you meet some requirements.

Hope this helps and best of luck trading!

BB
  • #6
  • Mar 21, 2013 10:47pm Mar 21, 2013 10:47pm
Quoting tracywei
My macbook is the macbook with retina display.
I've developed a trading platform that runs on OS X, Ubuntu, and Windows. It's currently limited to FXCM practice accounts only, but may be of use to you as a standalone charting package. I have not tested it on a retina display.

Quote
1.Metatrader do not have a mac version.Since I love metatrader, I don't know if there is any other software.
If you've got your heart set on MT4, CrossOver is the way to go. Several brokers offer it free as standard, or you can purchase it from CodeWeavers.
Quote
2.I have an account in Oanda, but the fxTrade does not support the retina display.
As fxTrade Desktop is a Java 1.5 app to workaround the retina issue, you could run it in a virtualised Ubuntu/Xubuntu environment, just remember to install the Sun/Oracle JRE and not the default. If you choose a to use VirtualBox, this solution will be no cost, but you have Parallels Desktop as an option too.
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  • #7
  • Mar 25, 2013 10:31am Mar 25, 2013 10:31am
I use mt4 on a my Macbook as well -- it works very well for the most part. I have run into issues using a subscription-based EA (those that need a name & password to use). I can't seem to find where the security settings are within Crossover -- has anyone run into this issue or know where the security settings are in Crossover?

Using a VPS (virtual private server) is another very good option that I am seriously considering if I cannot resolve my security issue with Crossover. I've been looking at a number of services -- CNS seems to be the best one which is geared specifically toward traders (they let you select which datacenter is closest to your broker for quickest response time) -- it's about $45-$50/month --- but it's always on and accessible from any device -- Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone, Android phone, etc.
  • #8
  • Mar 26, 2013 12:49am Mar 26, 2013 12:49am
I've got a mac, i use to run the web based trading platform for but ofcourse they weren't as fast so i installed the windows operating system on my mac and that allowed me to switch between Windows and lion. Problem solved
  • #9
  • Mar 26, 2013 1:18am Mar 26, 2013 1:18am
Quoting Latinum
I've developed a trading platform that runs on OS X, Ubuntu, and Windows. It's currently limited to FXCM practice accounts only, but may be of use to you as a standalone charting package. I have not tested it on a retina display.


If you've got your heart set on MT4, CrossOver is the way to go. Several brokers offer it free as standard, or you can purchase it from CodeWeavers.

As fxTrade Desktop is a Java 1.5 app to workaround the retina issue, you could run it in a virtualised Ubuntu/Xubuntu environment, just remember to install the Sun/Oracle...
I really appreciate your help.But I don't quite understand the solution part about the retina display.Is it because of Java?

I don't know about crossover.But I'm using "play on mac" to run metatrader on my mac,the chart is ok,unfortunately some characters are displayed ???.
  • #10
  • Mar 26, 2013 1:00pm Mar 26, 2013 1:00pm
I've got the same Mac with crossover on it. It's not as good as it is through parallels. However it is really easy. I use it while demoing. When live I will move to parallels or another computer. Such a shame that metatrader couldn't develop a mac based system. How difficult could it be

max
Gravity goes both ways in forex...
  • #11
  • Mar 27, 2013 8:35am Mar 27, 2013 8:35am
Quoting Latinum
I've developed a trading platform that runs on OS X, Ubuntu, and Windows. It's currently limited to FXCM practice accounts only, but may be of use to you as a standalone charting package. I have not tested it on a retina display.

Very nice work. Is this availabe? I'm with FXCM broker
  • #12
  • Mar 28, 2013 3:56am Mar 28, 2013 3:56am
I'm a music industry professional by trade so only do mac, i have tried most solutions to make windows software work on a mac and by far the highest performing solution is to create a partition on your mac system drive using bootcamp and install a full windows install onto it. Parallels etc do work, but there is a significant performance increase to be gained in terms of how MT4 handles, by just simply giving it what it wants, ie. a full windows install without another operating system running over the top of the windows operating system using CPU resources needlessly. All u do to boot from the windows partition is hold alt down at boot up and select the windows partition. Ta-Da!!! MT4 doesn't even realise its being run on a mac.

Regards
M
  • #13
  • Mar 30, 2013 4:14am Mar 30, 2013 4:14am
Quoting tracywei
I really appreciate your help.But I don't quite understand the solution part about the retina display.Is it because of Java?
I can't confirm why fxTrade Desktop doesn't work with retina, my (untested) workaround would take advantage of the fact that a virtual machine has a virtual graphics card, with its own resolution.

Quote
I don't know about crossover.But I'm using "play on mac" to run metatrader on my mac,the chart is ok,unfortunately some characters are displayed ???.
I've tried PlayOnLinux and MT4, I found it unusable. However (I hope) all brokers offering CrossOver MT4 have tested it and have found it adequate, for live use.

Quoting lucariga
Very nice work. Is this availabe? I'm with FXCM broker
It's available. The program only currently allows practice account logins, so even if your with FXCM already, if its not a practice account, will need to get one, they are free and available to everyone.

I have switched off real accounts, until I've fully implemented and tested trading commands. I've only tested on an Australian live account, and UK, Asian, and Australian practice accounts.

The current version on the website has version 1.2 as the latest download, 1.4 will be uploaded in April, it will include many more features, including saving chart templates, which is missing from 1.2.

You may have noticed I didn't include a link, I'm sneeky like that. It's on my profile.
  • #14
  • Apr 7, 2013 12:19am Apr 7, 2013 12:19am
You will need to get a VPN/VPS service. If you type in MT4 VPN in google you should be able to find a good one. It is around $30 a month which isn't very much when considering the cost of trades (spreads).

I have used crossovers before and my macbook pro starts to over heat. This is because crossovers uses a lot of cpu.

Bootcamp is a huge pain as you will need to shut down all your programes and restart/boot into windows. This also overheats my macbook. Really not worth the price of buying windows and spending the many hours setting it up.

Parallels/vmware is ok to use. Sometimes it is a bit slow to use. Depending on how much you want to spend it may be the best way to go.


I personally have gone with the VPN because i can look at my personalized charts from any computer anywhere in the world. Also it was very easy to set up.


Cheers Pipin
  • #15
  • Apr 8, 2013 10:05am Apr 8, 2013 10:05am
Quoting mlewis
I'm a music industry professional by trade so only do mac, i have tried most solutions to make windows software work on a mac and by far the highest performing solution is to create a partition on your mac system drive using bootcamp and install a full windows install onto it. Parallels etc do work, but there is a significant performance increase to be gained in terms of how MT4 handles, by just simply giving it what it wants, ie. a full windows install without another operating system running over the top of the windows operating system using CPU...
I am exactly the same, got my 13.3 Retina this week and installed Boot camp and windows 7 ultimate. I am not over yet with all the required software and a still need a USB to Ethernet adapter (the new mac-books are wireless only!).

I love windows, cant think about trading without it.

BTW, you can of course run Jforex (which I use) which is java based and fully supported on Mac. It is especially good for scalping.
  • #16
  • Nov 6, 2014 1:19pm Nov 6, 2014 1:19pm
The one that FBS gave me is still the Windows installer. However, they installed an app to install any Windows Installer/Program. You can find the app here: http://winebottler.kronenberg.org. It works fine for me! Message me if you need any help in installing it!
  • #17
  • Jun 30, 2016 6:59am Jun 30, 2016 6:59am
Hey Guys

1) Here is a trick, if you download either pipindex or think forex MT4 platform it can run on Mac.
2) Click on 'file' (top left corner)
3) Click on 'open an account'
4) Where is displays the text 'add a new brokername or address' type in your broker details and press scan.
5) Your brokers details should be listed and then press next
6) Add in your account details (number and password)

this should create it i have two macs and have done this twice with success.
  • #18
  • Jun 30, 2016 8:05am Jun 30, 2016 8:05am
Many brokers offer MT4 4 mac.

I don't want to advertise brokers or leave any out if I just give one or two names, but there are many and increasing number of brokers that do offer MT4 for Mac. Essentially, they use wineskin (wine emulator like crossover and others) to run MT4, so that we don't have to install wine ourselves.
  • #19
  • Mar 7, 2019 6:07pm Mar 7, 2019 6:07pm
https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT201468

Greetings, this is my first reply on this forum as a beginner trader.

I thought I might add to this older post as the information might help someone else struggling to download MetaTrader 5 onto a Mac.

The above link details how to run Microsoft on a Mac as instructed by the technician at Apple, I will be trying this and I’ll let you guys know how I go.

From Mat.
  • #20
  • Mar 7, 2019 11:17pm Mar 7, 2019 11:17pm
After attempting multiple methods of converting windows to mac I went with Parallels and have never looked back. Its works flawless with true windows and as well it adds to your range on tools as a former windows user I lost allot switching to mac. If your familiar with Mac's window view switcher the transition from your Windows screen to Mac screen is instantaneous and lag free.
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