The arrow signal indicator wraps a Bollinger Bands envelope around price. It then marks the bars that break out of it. Three lines and two arrow plots share the price chart. It suits traders who want a breakout trigger rather than a fade.
This build ships as arrow-signal-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4 for MT4 and arrow-signal-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 for MT5; the screenshots below come from EURUSD H1.
| Platforms | MT4 (.ex4) + MT5 (.ex5) |
|---|---|
| Chart window | Main price chart |
| Plots | 5: Mid, Upper, Lower, Buy, Sell |
| Alerts | popup, push notification, email, sound |
| Inputs | 9 |
What the Arrow Signal Indicator draws on the chart
Mid runs through the middle in gold. Upper and Lower frame it in medium purple at width 2. The envelope reads at a glance even on a busy chart.
Buy prints a lime arrow below the breakout candle. Sell prints a red one above it. ArrowOffsetPoints holds the gap at 35 points, which keeps each marker clear of the wick.
Signals land on the bar that closed outside the band. Nothing waits for a later confirmation candle.
- Mid: line, gold, width 1
- Upper: line, medium purple, width 2
- Lower: line, medium purple, width 2
- Buy: arrow, lime, width 4, arrow code 233
- Sell: arrow, red, width 4, arrow code 234
How the Arrow Signal Indicator calculates its values
Building the envelope
BandPeriod defaults to 20 and feeds a Bollinger Bands call on closing prices. Deviations defaults to 2.0, so Upper and Lower sit two standard deviation units either side of Mid. All three values come straight from the platform routine, which keeps the envelope identical to the built-in study.
Spotting the breakout bar
A Buy needs two conditions on consecutive closed bars. The earlier close has to sit at or below the earlier Upper value. The current close then has to finish above the current Upper value. Sell mirrors that test against Lower. The pairing filters out bars already outside the band, so only the first push through counts.
Marking and alerting
Buy takes the bar low minus the offset. Sell takes the bar high plus it. Once per new bar the code checks the previous bar and sends one message when either buffer holds a value.
How to read the signals
Breakouts fail often in quiet markets. Check that Upper and Lower have widened before you trust a fresh mark. A squeeze produces the cleanest looking signals and the weakest follow-through.
A lime Buy tells you the close cleared the upper band for the first time in that run. Momentum traders treat it as continuation. Fade traders treat the same bar as stretched. Decide which camp you sit in before the alert fires.
Mid works as a simple exit reference. Price returning to the gold line after a breakout usually ends the move that the mark started.
Alert channels in this build: popup, push notification, email and sound, one message per closed bar.
EnableAlerts and EnablePopup both ship on. EnablePushNotify, EnableEmail and EnableSound wait for you to switch them on. The code checks the last closed bar once per new bar, so a breakout produces a single message rather than a stream.
Every Arrow Signal Indicator input
Core settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
BandPeriod |
Bar count behind the envelope; 20 keeps the classic shape, and 10 reacts far quicker. | 20 |
Deviations |
Envelope width in standard deviation units; 2.5 trims the signal count, 1.5 floods the chart. | 2.0 |
Display settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
ArrowOffsetPoints |
Gap in points between the marker and the candle; raise it on gold or indices with wider ranges. | 35 |
Alert settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
EnableAlerts |
(see inputs panel) | on |
EnablePopup |
(see inputs panel) | on |
EnablePushNotify |
(see inputs panel) | off |
EnableEmail |
(see inputs panel) | off |
EnableSound |
(see inputs panel) | off |
SoundFile |
(see inputs panel) | alert.wav |
Settings that fit your chart
Band breakouts read best on liquid pairs. The EURUSD H1 chart in the screenshot shows the spacing these settings produce. Majors on M15 to H4 behave in a similar way. Instruments that gap, such as indices at the cash open, print marks on the gap bar itself, so treat those with care.
When the Arrow Signal Indicator fails
Trending markets ride the band. Price can close above Upper for ten bars, yet only the first of them earns a mark. The rest of the move goes unlabelled.
Ranging markets do the opposite damage. Each poke through the band draws a signal, price snaps back to Mid, and the next poke draws another one in the same place.
The envelope adapts to recent volatility. A wide band after a news spike swallows normal bars, so signals dry up right when the market starts to move.
Copy arrow-signal-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4 into MQL4/Indicators and arrow-signal-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 into MQL5/Indicators, then restart the terminal and drag the Arrow Signal Indicator onto a chart. The step-by-step guide with screenshots is at how to install MT4 and MT5 indicators.
Download the Arrow Signal Indicator for MT4 and MT5
The zip arrow-signal-indicator-forexmt4systems.zip holds arrow-signal-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4, arrow-signal-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 and a short README, compiled files only. Enter your email below and the download link arrives in your inbox.
Download this indicator free
Enter your email and the file is yours. You also get the full MT4 and MT5 library.
FAQ
Does Deviations change how many Buy signals print?
Yes. It sets the distance from Mid out to Upper and Lower, measured in standard deviation units. The shipped value catches roughly the outer few percent of closes. Push it to 2.5 and breakouts grow rarer but cleaner. Drop it to 1.5 and the chart fills with marginal pushes.
Where does the Mid line sit relative to Upper and Lower?
Mid holds the simple average of the closes behind it, and the outer pair sits an equal distance above and below. On the chart Mid runs in gold while Upper and Lower run in medium purple. Watching price cross back over Mid gives a quick read on whether a breakout has stalled.
Why did no arrow print when price closed outside the band?
The rule needs a transition. If the previous close already sat outside Upper, the current close cannot mark a fresh break, so the code skips it. Long runs outside the band therefore carry one signal at the start and nothing after. That behaviour is deliberate.
Is EURUSD H1 a fair starting chart for this envelope?
It works well, and the screenshot comes from that pair and timeframe. Majors carry enough liquidity for the band to describe real volatility rather than spread noise. Gold and indices need a wider ArrowOffsetPoints so the markers clear their longer wicks. The logic itself does not change.
Are results guaranteed?
No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results. Use the Arrow Signal Indicator as one input. Always backtest before trading live.
Category: this is part of our Signal and Forecast collection. Also, truly, browse more Signal and Forecast for MetaTrader, or explore every MT4 indicator and MT5 indicator on the site.
External references
- The core method is documented in Chartist (occupation) on Wikipedia.
- Additional market context is at Pivotpoint at Investopedia.
About the author
Written by Dominic Walsh, a Forex trader and MT4/MT5 indicator, Expert Advisor and script developer. Every tool on forexmt4systems.com is tested on live charts before release and ships with ready-to-use compiled MT4 (.ex4) and MT5 (.ex5) files. Learn more about the trader and developer behind this site.
How we build, test and correct every tool: Editorial & Testing Policy. Trading carries risk; see the disclaimer.