Use this guide with MT4 or MT5 desktop. The Data Window and Crosshair help you read chart information precisely. Browser and mobile platforms have different controls. These tools do not place or modify orders.
What do the two tools show?
The Crosshair marks a point on the chart: its horizontal line refers to a value on the price scale, while its vertical line refers to time. Moving it into an indicator panel uses that panel’s scale instead. The cursor’s height is a location you choose; it is not automatically the selected candle’s closing price.
The Data Window shows the selected bar’s date, time, open, high, low and close, together with available indicator and volume information. Move the pointer over a bar to inspect it. This is useful when a candle is too small to read accurately from the picture alone.
How do I inspect a particular bar?
Select the correct chart. Check the complete symbol name, including any suffix, the trading account and server, and the timeframe. A candle on M5 represents a different interval from a candle on H1.
Open the Data Window. On the Windows desktop terminal, Ctrl+D toggles it. Activate the Crosshair with Ctrl+F. Keyboard handling may differ on Mac; use the platform’s corresponding window and drawing-tool controls if the shortcut is intercepted.
Move the pointer to the bar you want to inspect. Read its date and time, then its prices and indicator values in the Data Window. Keep the pointer on that bar while comparing the values. Moving to a neighbouring bar changes the selected information.
Distinguish the selected historical bar from the latest bar. MT4 can show an additional latest-data column. The currently forming bar can change as new quotes arrive; its present close is not a finished candle’s final close.
What do OHLC values mean?
Field | Meaning for the selected bar |
Open | The first price recorded for that bar. |
High | The highest price recorded within that bar. |
Low | The lowest price recorded within that bar. |
Close | The last recorded price for that bar; it can still change while the bar is forming. |
These values describe the chart’s price series. They are not your order’s entry, exit or average execution prices. A point between the high and low is not necessarily the close. Indicator values belong to the selected time and the indicator’s configured calculation, not to a trade confirmation.
Why might a value be missing or misleading?
In MT4, the Data Window’s context menu can hide individual fields. Check its display selections before concluding that data are missing.
An indicator’s visualization settings can hide its values from the Data Window. Confirm that the intended indicator is attached and configured to display its data. A blank indicator field alone does not establish a platform or trading fault.
Volume is chart activity data, not your position size. In MT5, an available bar spread field describes the selected historical bar; do not treat it as a current executable quote or a complete record of every spread during that interval.
How do I make a useful comparison?
Compare the same complete symbol, server, timeframe and bar timestamp. Do not assume that chart time equals your computer’s local time. Different price series, history coverage and indicator parameters can produce different readings. Preserve those details before comparing two charts.
For a question about an executed trade, use the corresponding trade-history record as well as the chart. Record the bar time, platform, symbol and timeframe, and retain only relevant screenshots with private details hidden. Chart readings alone cannot establish the exact execution price or prove why an order was filled or rejected.