How to use presets from Yannis
A preset file is a file that contains all the settings used or to be used with an expert advisor. It is very useful to have preset files since they allow us to safely guard our settings and also to be able to change various settings globaly in 1 quick move by loading different presets we may have saved. So we use preset files (files with an extension .set) to save and restore specific settings for an expert.
You can access these files in the “Presets” folder which is in your “experts” folder.
To access your ea settings (once the ea is ut on a chart), you can right click on a chart where you have your expert advisor, click on Expert Advisors and then on ‘Properties’, or simply click on your chart and press F7. You will have access to the expert settings (2nd tab page => Inputs).
On this tab page where you can change your expert’s parameters, you have 2 buttons on the right corner.
Load is used to ‘import’ the settings saved in a preset file, Save is to ‘export’ the current settings and save them to a file so you can ‘Load’ them again at any time. So preset files are not only a way to safeguard some settings you like for an expert, and retrieve them later, but also the quickest way to change settings on multiple charts / pairs since you can load the same or different preset file on each chart.
Here's a recap on saving and loading a preset file
Saving a preset file.
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- Click on the chart you EA is on.
- Press F7 to popup the Expert's Properties window
- Click on the 2nd Tab Page "Inputs"
- Click on the 'Save' button you'll see in the lower right corner
- Give a name to your preset file (be careful to remember where you save this file)
Loading a preset file.
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- Click on the chart you EA is on.
- Press F7 to popup the Expert's Properties window
- Click on the 2nd Tab Page "Inputs"
- Click on the 'Load' button you'll see in the lower right corner
- Choose the name of the preset file you want to load so the EA uses the specific settings in this file.
Attention: Many times we 'think' we know what the actual EA's settings are . You will discover that at times, the EA do not have the settings you thought it has. This happens because the EA has its initial settings coded within the source code. So what happens is that we place the EA on a chart, we change the settings and the parameters we want and here we go. BUT in some cases, the EA is 'resetting' to its default settings (not the ones you changed). This can happen for instance if you switch time frames after having changed the ea settings, or in case of de-initialization of the expert that can appear for various reasons.
I would suggest to go to your main menu, click Tools/Options/Expert Advisors and UNCHECK all 'inside' (Right) column of checkboxes, while you make sure all the 'outer' (Left) column of checkboxes is checked.
Special attention must be given to 2nd and 3rd option starting with Disable experts when .... where checkboxes MUST BE UNCHECKED.