Stop Loss (S/L) and Take Profit (T/P) orders are risk-management instructions that can close a position if the configured price is reached and the order is executed. Gaps, liquidity, volatility, slippage, platform or connection conditions, and product rules can affect triggering and execution. These orders do not guarantee execution at the requested price, protection from loss, or profit. Here's how to set and modify them:
These steps apply to the MT4 and MT5 desktop applications. Their menus and order windows differ from Web Trader and mobile apps. Confirm the intended trading account before opening or changing an order; choose the volume and price levels yourself.
Setting S/L and T/P When Opening a New Position:
Open New Order for the intended instrument. On Windows, F9 is another way to open the order window. Verify the account, symbol and volume, then select the intended market execution mode or Pending Order type.
In MT4, enter the desired prices in Stop Loss and Take Profit. A value of 0 means that level is not set. In MT5, check whether these fields use prices or a distance in points, according to the platform setting, before entering the values; do not confuse points with a price.
Review both levels and the order details before submission. For a market order, use the intended Buy or Sell control; the button may read Buy by Market or Sell by Market for market execution. A pending order instead requires its type and entry price, plus any available expiry setting, before Place. Placing a pending order does not mean a position has already opened.
Read the submission result. In MT4, check Terminal → Trade; in MT5, check Toolbox → Trade. Locate the intended position or pending order and verify its S/L and T/P values. A closed order window or an entered value alone does not prove the server accepted the instruction.
Adding or Modifying S/L and T/P After Order Placement:
Open Terminal → Trade in MT4 or Toolbox → Trade in MT5. Match the position's ticket and symbol before editing. If you intend to change a pending order instead, select that order rather than an open position.
In MT4, right-click the position and choose Modify or Delete Order. In MT5, choose Modify or delete from the position's context menu. Open the modification form rather than the position-close action.
Enter the new Stop Loss or Take Profit value, keeping the other level unchanged if you still need it. MT4 may offer a Level field and Copy as controls to turn a distance into a price; these are not a universal MT5 layout. In MT5, check the price-versus-points input setting and the resulting levels in the form.
Check the current minimum stop distance and other applicable instrument rules. Use the instrument's current properties or specification for the exact account; do not assume a fixed distance applies to every symbol. If Modify is inactive or the server rejects invalid stops, the new levels have not been confirmed. Review the values and the returned message before another attempt.
Choose Modify when you are ready to submit, then check the result and the S/L and T/P values on the same Trade row. Confirm both levels, including the one you intended to keep. If the request failed, do not assume the previous levels changed.
Modify or remove an existing S/L or T/P
To remove only one level in the desktop modification form, set its Stop Loss or Take Profit value to 0, preserve the other value, and submit Modify. Setting both fields to 0 requests removal of both levels. Verify the server result and the displayed values afterward. Removing a level removes that closing instruction; it does not close the position.