How Much Time Does MetaTrader 4 Have Left? An Exclusive Interview with Metaquotes.

Greetings once again to traders on the TradeLikeaPro portal! Metaquotes, the developers of the well-known MetaTrader 4, kindly agreed to give our site an interview from which you will learn: the timing of the full transition to MT5, what to expect from mobile terminals, which products and services the company will focus on in the near future, and what we will see in MetaTrader 6.

A representative of Metaquotes answered our questions.

  The question that concerns everyone: how much time does MT4 have left? Many have spent a lot of money and time on buying/developing software for this terminal, and for some, their entire trading strategy will stop working without this terminal. I have come across information online that support will continue "until the last client." Is that true?

Yes, that is absolutely correct. The MetaTrader 4 terminal will be supported for a long time to come. If we are talking about adding new functionality (do not confuse this with updating), it is not planned for MetaTrader 4.

 That leads to the question: will there be any program for integrating expert advisors and indicators from MT4 into MT5?

Unfortunately, no.

We know that learning the MQL5 language should be comfortable. That is why we spend a huge amount of time making sure it is: we constantly publish articles, update the documentation, and answer questions on the forums and in the Service Desk. If all of this is used correctly, there should be no difficulties in mastering it.

Remember that the MQL5 Language, already being the fourth version of our trading-strategy programming language, is a well-thought-out solution born of many years of practice. It is a specialized applied language, not a general-purpose language.

 In recent years, Apple computers have been gaining popularity. Is an MT4 / MT5 version for MacOs planned?

Perhaps in the future we will consider this possibility, but at present the version under Wine fully covers traders' needs. See http://www.mql5.com/ru/articles/619

 Why is one-click trading absent in MT4, forcing people to buy third-party solutions in the form of scripts and expert advisors that implement this function?

Right now all our efforts are concentrated on MetaTrader 5. We are not planning a phenomenal update for MetaTrader 4. Only improvements to certain things are possible. By the way, just the other day we released another MetaTrader 4 update, where the ability to trade directly from the chart appeared.

 What improvements are planned for developers? One wish is improved code navigation, since when developing large projects navigation becomes extremely inconvenient. Also, is an expansion/change of the programming language's capabilities planned (for example, adding the ability to create at least simple structures)?

Yes, there will definitely be improvements. Some of them are already presented: MQL5 Storage, the Debugger, and the Profiler. We will think about navigation later; right now we are focused on higher-priority tasks.

If we are talking about MQL5, it is constantly being expanded and updated. By the way, structures do exist in the language. See http://www.mql5.com/ru/docs/constants/structures

If you have your own wishes or questions, you can always voice them through the Service Desk (http://www.mql5.com/ru/forum/625) or on the MQL5.community forum. We will always listen to them and analyze them, even if that takes time. The thing is that we are unable to accept 90% of proposals. This is due to a number of reasons. Write your wishes, and we will think about them. But do not forget that we work by the principle of "Simplicity at the expense of functionality."

 Will there be an option to choose the source for downloading historical quotes? I mean a situation where the broker does not provide quote history in the required volume (at the moment only Alpari provides normal history), or there is none at all (while, for example, quotes from the Metaquotes server are loaded). At the same time, perhaps independent services will appear that provide a wide variety of quotes for everyone?

No, we do not plan such a source.

Let us look at things soberly: working historical quotes are in the broker's own interest. If a broker does not want to do this, then perhaps it is worth changing brokers. On our side, everything needed for this exists. So make your broker bring its quotes into proper condition.

 Are you planning to create a service with real tick quotes that would give 100% modeling quality in the strategy tester?! And so that they would be without GAPS in the history.

No, for now that is not in the plans.

 Recently, trading with volume analysis has once again become popular. Will any tools be introduced for evaluating trade volumes on a given candle, beyond tick data? Many use data from CME futures; it would be good to have some kind of indicator in the terminal that aggregates such data.

Yes, perhaps in the future we will provide such an opportunity.

 Let us touch on mobile terminals. A great many people are waiting for an MT4 version for iPad. Is it under development?

Yes, it will be presented soon. Follow the news.

 Also, regarding mobile terminals: is the release of MT4 planned for operating systems such as Windows Phone? Its predecessor (Windows Mobile) had its own terminal version and it was quite good; I used it at one time.

It all depends on whether it takes off or not. At present, its position leaves much to be desired.

 People also often ask about support for third-party indicators in mobile terminals. Unfortunately, I am not sure whether this is technically possible, but still: are there any plans to introduce support for external files? If not indicators, then at least templates?

No, there will be no custom indicators or templates in the mobile versions. Just imagine the volume and complexity of the MQL5 virtual machine system with all its functionality. This is a fundamental point.

 At the moment there is a lot of talk about introducing MT5 on the Russian stock exchange (FORTS, MICEX). Is MetaQuotes really moving in this direction? And if so, how soon can we expect MetaTrader 5 to appear with Russian stock brokers?

Yes, we are moving in this direction. Already now it is possible to trade on FORTS. Several brokers already provide this opportunity. Soon it will also be possible to trade futures. Follow the news.

 I understand that it is still too early to talk about this, but I will ask: what should we expect from MetaTrader 6?

Of course, a reliable and convenient product, just like its predecessors. MetaTrader 6 will include all the best from all platforms. That was the case with MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. In any case, it is still too early to talk about this.

 What are the company's plans for the future? Perhaps we will see some new products or services?

There are in fact a great many plans.

First of all, we will continue working on improving MetaTrader 5 and its services (Trading Signals, Market, Jobs, etc.). Work on them is ongoing constantly; be sure to follow the news.

In parallel with this, we will develop relationships with various exchanges and platforms. We have very good positions here; we recently launched on FORTS, and futures are in the plans.

Thank you very much for your answers. We will gladly follow the further development of your company and its products.