ATR HiLo TT Indicator: High and Low Averages Plus ATR

Written by Dominic Walsh · Published 27 May 2026 · Last updated 26 Aug 2026

The atr hilo tt indicator takes the high and low average idea and adds a volatility cushion. One band is the average of the highs pushed up by an ATR multiple, the other is the average of the lows pushed down. HiLo up and HiLo down show whichever side the regime is on.

This build ships as a compiled .ex4 for MT4 and .ex5 for MT5; the screenshots below come from XAUUSD H1.

Platforms	MT4 (.ex4) + MT5 (.ex5)
Chart window	Main price chart
Plots	4: HiLo up, HiLo down, Buy, Sell
Alerts	popup, push notification, email, sound
Inputs	10

What the ATR HiLo TT Indicator draws on the chart

HiLo up carries the line while the regime reads up.

HiLo down takes over on the other side.

Buy marks the bar where the regime flips upward.

Sell marks the flip down.

• HiLo up: line, lime green, width 2
• HiLo down: line, red, width 2
• Buy: arrow, lime, width 3, arrow code 233
• Sell: arrow, red, width 3, arrow code 234

How the ATR HiLo TT Indicator calculates its values

Two padded bands

A simple average of the highs over HiLoPeriod gets an ATR multiple added to it. A simple average of the lows over the same length gets the same multiple subtracted.

So both bands sit further from price than the raw averages would. That padding is what separates this from a plain high and low activator.

Regime that persists

The state carries forward from bar to bar. An up regime only flips down when the close finishes below the lower band, and a down regime flips up on a close above the upper one.

Between those two levels nothing changes. Price can move a long way inside the pad without touching the state.

Why the ATR term matters

Without it the two averages sit close together and the regime flips on almost any push, especially in a range.

Multiplying ATR by Mult widens the gap in proportion to what the market is actually doing, so a quiet session needs a smaller move to flip than a volatile one does.

How to read the signals

Line colour is the regime, and an arrow is the change.

The distance between price and the line is the pad the ATR term is currently providing.

In a volatile stretch the bands widen and flips become rarer, which is the intended behaviour.

A flip needs a close beyond the band, so a wick through it changes nothing.

Alert channels in this build: popup, push notification, email and sound, one message per closed bar.

Alerts cover popup, push, email and sound on each regime flip. A bar time check keeps it to one alert per closed bar.

Every ATR HiLo TT Indicator input

Core settings

Setting	What it does	Default
HiLoPeriod	HiLoPeriod is the window for both averages. It defaults to 14.	14
AtrPeriod	AtrPeriod is the volatility window behind the padding, also 14.	14
Mult	Mult is how many ATRs each band sits beyond its average. It defaults to 1.5, and raising it towards 2.5 makes flips considerably rarer.	1.5

Display settings

Setting	What it does	Default
ArrowOffsetPoints	ArrowOffsetPoints is the cosmetic gap between an arrow and its candle, 30 points by default.	30

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

The screenshot uses XAUUSD H1. Padding by ATR is exactly what lets one Mult travel from gold to a currency pair without retuning, since gold moves far more in absolute terms. H1 and H4 give the regime time to hold. On M5 even a padded band gets cleared often.

When the ATR HiLo TT Indicator fails

ATR expands after a fast move rather than before one, so the pad is widest once the market has already turned dangerous.

In a strong trend the line trails a long way behind price, because the pad sits on top of an average that is already lagging.

A single Mult drives both sides, so the up flip and the down flip cannot be tuned separately.

The regime seeds at the first calculated bar, so the leftmost part of a fresh chart shows a state price never earned.

Copy the compiled ATR HiLo TT Indicator file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, and the MT5 build into MQL5/Indicators, then restart the terminal and drag it onto a chart. The step-by-step guide with screenshots is at how to install MT4 and MT5 indicators.

Download the ATR HiLo TT Indicator for MT4 and MT5

The zip holds the compiled ATR HiLo TT Indicator build for MT4 and MT5, plus a short README. Compiled files only, no source. Enter your email below and the download link arrives in your inbox.

FAQ

What does the ATR term add over a plain high and low activator?

Separation. Without padding, the average of highs and the average of lows sit close together and the regime flips on almost any push. Multiplying ATR by Mult widens that gap in proportion to current volatility, so a quiet session needs a smaller move to flip than a busy one.

Why does Mult 1.5 suit gold as well as a currency pair?

Because the pad is measured in ATR rather than points. Gold moves far more per bar than EURUSD in absolute terms, and its ATR reflects that, so 1.5 times ATR is proportionally the same cushion on both. A fixed point pad would suit only one of them.

What stops Mult 1.5 flipping on an intrabar spike?

The test reads closes, never highs or lows. Price can run well past a padded band during a bar and finish back inside, and the state holds. Only a close beyond the opposite band changes it, so a spike alone never moves the regime.

Can HiLoPeriod make the up flip harder than the down?

Not in this build. One Mult and one HiLoPeriod drive both bands, so any change applies symmetrically. If you want an asymmetric setup you would need two instances with different settings, reading only the side you care about from each.

Are results guaranteed?

No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results. Use the ATR HiLo TT Indicator as one input. Always backtest before trading live.