Display rectangle/triangle/ellipse

MetaTrader4/5 User Guide Display rectangle/triangle/ellipse

This article was :

published

updated

On MetaTrader4 (MT4) / MetaTrader5 (MT5), you can display 3 types of shapes on the chart, a rectangle, a triangle, and an ellipse. You can change the colors, or show them behind the chart. Use these tools to analyze the market with better precision.

Here we will look at how to display and set up the shapes like rectangle, triangle, and ellipse on MT4/MT5.

Switch between MT4/MT5 tabs to check the steps for each.

Step 1

Click "Insert" in the menu. Hover the pointer over "Shapes" and select a shape.

Rectangle

Highlight a specific part of the chart with a rectangle.
Triangle

Highlight a specific part of the chart with a triangle.
Ellipse

Highlight a specific part of the chart with an ellipse.

Step 2

Draw a rectangle

Click the starting point on the chart and drag it to the end point to create a rectangle.

Draw a triangle

Click the starting point of the triangle on the chart. Click again at the midpoint, then drag the pointer to the end point to draw the triangle.

Draw an ellipse

Click the starting point of the ellipse on the chart and drag it to the end point to plot the major axis. Then drag the middle point in the direction of the minor axis to create an ellipse.

Step 3

If you want to adjust the position of the shape, make sure the white dots are being displayed on the shape and move each dot as necessary. If you cannot see the white dots, double-click near the shape to display the white dots.

Number	Descriptions
1	Change the starting point of the shape.
2	Change the position of the shape.
3	Change the midpoint of the shape.
4	Change the end point of the shape.

Step 4

To modify the shape settings, right-click near the shape and select "(shape name) properties".

Step 5

On the "Properties" window, edit the parameters in the "Common", "Parameters", and "Visualization" tabs and click "OK".

"Common" tab

Number	Item name	Descriptions
1	Name	Name the shape.
2	Description	The description of the shape can be displayed on the chart. Related article: Show or hide items on chart
3	Style	Set the color, line type, and line thickness for the shape.
4	Draw object as background	Check this box if you want to place the shape behind the chart.

"Parameters" tab

Number	Item name	Descriptions
1	Starting point position	Specify the starting point position by date, time, and price.
2	End point position	Specify the end point position by date, time, and price. For triangles, specify the midpoint position instead.
3	Scale	Change the length of the ellipse's minor axis. The smaller the value, the longer the minor axis. This parameter is not available for rectangles. For triangles, this parameter is to specify the end point position by date, time, and price.

Shapes can be filled on MT5

On MT5, you can choose whether to fill a shape with color or only show the border.

"Visualization" tab

On the "Visualization" tab, you can specify the timeframes to use the shape with.