MetaTrader 4 is unanimously accepted as the best trading platform around, but there has always been one thing missing. The big disadvantage has been that it is not available as a web application. For this reason, clients of brokers running Mac OS X have faced a lot of frustration, as a native MT4 for Mac has been hard to find. Traders have resorted to installing parallel software to run MT4 on their Mac.
Now, Admiral Markets is offering MetaTrader 4 for Mac OS X, without having the extreme hassle of installing Windows on your Apple, or setting it up through Wine.
How does it compare with the Windows software?
MetaTrader 4 for Mac is very similar to MT4 for Windows. Admiral Markets have developed a highly functional user experience, with easy access to the major features, including:
- Live Quotes
- 1-Click-Trading
- Multiple Time Frames
- Unlimited Charts
- Customisable Indicators
What is missing?
The most important difference with MT4 for Mac is that it’s very hard to emulate Expert Advisors (EAs). Admiral Markets advise avoiding usage of custom indicators and trading robots on MT4 for Mac.
Installation
Installation is pretty straight forward if you’re used to using Mac OS X. The application needs to be downloaded, at a hefty size of 200 MB. This is another major difference between the Mac application and the regular Windows app. One of the features of MT4 for Windows is how lightweight it is, never dragging your computer’s operation down. Since this is an emulated app, it has to be quite heavy.
Once downloaded, you simply drag and drop into the Applications directory in Finder.
MT4 for Mac does not come from the App Store, and so you will have to enable your Mac to use applications downloaded from the web. You can do this by opening System Preferences, going to Security and Privacy, and editing the General tab after clicking on the padlock in the lower left corner of the window. Once you have done this, select Anywhere under the text “Allow applications downloaded from:”.
Installing EAs, indicators and scripts
Admiral Markets’ MetaTrader 4 for Mac application allows for installation of additional tools. This will require you to open the Applications folder in Finder and right-click on AdmiralMarkets MT4. In the dropdown menu, choose Show Package Contents. There you will see the contents of the installation file. Double click on “drive_c” to get to the MetaTrader structure.
You can place your Expert Advisors (EAs), indicators and scripts in the MetaTrader file structure.
MT4 is now far more accessible
MetaTrader 4 for Mac has been long in coming. With an increasing number of traders using Apple MacBooks, not having a native MT4 app has been a huge disadvantage. Admiral Markets’ emulated app makes MT4 far more accessible, and is an incredibly important development.
