How to place a signal on MT5: entry, stop loss and three targets

To place a signal on MT5, open a new order on the signal's symbol, set the volume, type the signal's stop loss and one take profit, and press Buy by Market or Sell by Market. If the price has not reached the entry yet, place a pending order at the entry instead. One MT5 position holds one take profit, so a signal with three targets becomes three positions with the same entry and stop, one target each.

Work out your lot size before you open the order window. It comes from your risk and the stop distance, not from the signal, and the position sizing guide has the formula.

Find the symbol and its minimum lot

Open Market Watch with Ctrl+M and find the signal's market. Your broker may add a suffix or use its own name, so gold can appear as XAUUSD.m or GOLD; the suffix guide shows how to find yours. Right-click the symbol and open Specification once: the minimal volume there, usually 0.01, is the smallest position you can open.

A market order on the desktop

Use a market order when the price is at the signal's entry now.

1. Right-click the symbol in Market Watch and choose New Order, or press F9.
2. Check Symbol, then set Type to Market Execution. The exact name of this option depends on your account.
3. Set Volume to the lots for this position.
4. Type the signal's stop into Stop Loss and one target into Take Profit, as prices, exactly as the signal writes them.
5. Press Buy by Market for a buy signal or Sell by Market for a sell.

The trade appears in the Toolbox (Ctrl+T), on the Trade tab, with its stop and target beside it. Check both are there before you look away.

A pending order on the desktop

If the price has not reached the entry yet, a pending order waits for it. A buy limit sits below the market and a sell limit above, waiting for a better price; a buy stop sits above and a sell stop below, waiting for a break. The order types guide covers which one a signal needs.

1. Open the order window as above and set Type to Pending Order.
2. Choose Buy Limit, Sell Limit, Buy Stop or Sell Stop.
3. Set Price to the signal's entry, then Stop Loss and Take Profit.
4. Set an Expiration, so a forgotten order cannot fill on another day, and press Place.

Three targets means three positions

One MT5 position carries one take profit. To follow TP1, TP2 and TP3, open three positions with the same entry and stop, one target each, and split the size: 0.03 lots becomes three of 0.01.

Take an example gold sell: entry 4,155.00, stop 4,163.00, TP1 4,150.00, TP2 4,145.00 and TP3 4,137.00, sized at 0.03 lots. You place the same order three times, changing only the target:

Splitting does not change the risk. If all three are stopped, the loss is the same as one 0.03 position: the stop is 80 pips away, counting a gold pip as $0.10 of price, and 80 pips at $0.30 a pip is $24.

The minimal volume limits the split. A size of 0.02 makes two positions, not three, so you follow two of the targets, and 0.04 splits unevenly, as 0.02, 0.01 and 0.01.

Hedging and netting accounts

Three positions on one symbol need a hedging account, the usual retail MT5 account, where each order is its own position. On a netting account, positions on the same symbol merge into one line in the Trade tab.

On netting, open the full size with the stop and TP3, then close part of it by hand at TP1 and at TP2. Right-click the position, choose to close it, and set the volume to close.

Change the stop or target later

To change a level when the channel posts an update:

1. Open the Toolbox with Ctrl+T and go to the Trade tab.
2. Right-click the position and choose Modify or Delete, or double-click it.
3. Type the new Stop Loss or Take Profit and confirm.

If your chart shows trade levels, you can also drag the stop and target lines. Pending orders sit in the same list, and the same menu deletes one you no longer want.

On the phone app

The MT5 app for iPhone and Android follows the same logic, but its screens differ a little between versions, so treat these names as what to look for.

1. Open the Quotes tab and tap the symbol.
2. Choose Trade, or New Order, depending on your version.
3. Choose the execution type: market, or a pending order with its price.
4. Set the volume, the stop loss and the take profit.
5. Tap Sell or Buy, or place the pending order.

Open positions are in the Trade tab; tap or press and hold one for the options to modify or close it. For three targets, place the order three times, one target each.

When MT5 refuses the order

A refused order leaves its reason in the Toolbox, on the Journal tab. These four messages are the common ones.

• Invalid stops. A stop or target is on the wrong side of the price, or closer than the broker's minimum distance, the stops level. A buy's stop goes below the price, a sell's above.
• Not enough money. There is not enough free margin for this volume. Reduce the volume; the margin guide explains free margin.
• Market closed. The symbol is outside its trading session. Wait for it to open; gold's sessions are in the market hours guide.
• Invalid volume. The volume is below the minimal volume, or not a multiple of the volume step. Check both in Specification.

If Invalid stops appears because the price is already within the stops level of the signal's stop or first target, do not move the level to make the order fit. The entry is no longer valid; skip it.

Before you press the button

• The right symbol, with your broker's suffix if it has one
• The right direction: Buy for a buy signal, Sell for a sell
• Volume sized from the stop and split across the targets
• Stop loss typed in at the signal's level, on every position
• Take profit typed in, one target per position
• The entry still valid: if the price has run far past it, skip the signal

With the Forexero Copier

The Forexero Cloud Copier places signals on MT4 or MT5 automatically, with the stop set at order time, and closes the share of the position you choose at each target. By hand, the checklist above is the part to repeat on every signal.