The big candle alert indicator marks bars that come in far larger than recent ones. It measures each candle against a moving volatility yardstick built from ATR, so one setting travels between symbols and timeframes. Big Bull Candle and Big Bear Candle arrows point out the bars that clear the threshold. A corner panel reports the current ATR and the threshold in points.
This build ships as a compiled .ex4 for MT4 and .ex5 for MT5; the screenshots below come from EURUSD H1.
| Platforms | MT4 (.ex4) + MT5 (.ex5) |
|---|---|
| Chart window | Main price chart |
| Plots | 2: Big Bull Candle, Big Bear Candle |
| Alerts | popup, push notification, email, sound |
| Inputs | 13 |
What the Big Candle Alert Indicator draws on the chart
Big Bull Candle (lime, code 233) sits under a qualifying bar that closed at or above its open.
Big Bear Candle (red, code 234) sits above one that closed below its open.
A text label reading BIG CANDLE is placed beside each marked bar, green below or red above.
A rectangle label in the chart corner carries the panel, showing the live ATR reading, the threshold in points and the last qualifying candle direction and size.
- Big Bull Candle: arrow, lime, width 3, arrow code 233
- Big Bear Candle: arrow, red, width 3, arrow code 234
How the Big Candle Alert Indicator calculates its values
Measuring the candle
Size is the high to low range of the bar by default. InpUseBody switches that to the absolute distance between close and open instead.
Either way it is one number per bar, taken from the bar itself with no smoothing applied to it.
The volatility yardstick
The threshold is InpMult multiplied by the ATR reading over InpAtrPeriod bars. ATR comes from the platform own routine at the current bar.
Because the yardstick moves with the market, a candle that counted as big through a quiet stretch may not qualify during a volatile one. That is the point of scaling by ATR rather than fixing a pip figure.
The status panel
ShowPanel draws a small block in the corner chosen by PanelCorner. It reports the ATR reading, the threshold converted to points and the last candle that qualified.
The panel is display only. It reads the same numbers the marking logic uses and changes nothing about which bars get flagged.
How to read the signals
A marker means the candle cleared the threshold on the bar it closed, and nothing more than that.
Clusters of markers show up around news reactions and session opens, where several outsized bars print in a row.
A long stretch with none means candles have stayed inside the ATR based band, so the market is moving at its usual pace.
The panel threshold figure tells you how large the next candle has to be right now to qualify.
Alert channels in this build: popup, push notification, email and sound, one message per closed bar.
Alerts cover popup, push, email and sound. The check runs on closed bars behind a bar time guard, so one big candle produces one alert.
Every Big Candle Alert Indicator input
Core settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
InpAtrPeriod |
ATR period (size yardstick). InpAtrPeriod sets the ATR lookback used as the yardstick. It defaults to 14. | 14 |
InpMult |
Big-candle multiple (size > Mult x ATR). InpMult is the multiple a candle has to beat, 1.8 by default. Raise it to 2.5 to mark only the rare extremes. | 1.8 |
InpUseBody |
Measure body |Close-Open| instead of range. InpUseBody swaps the high to low range for the body size. It defaults to false, so wicks count towards the measurement. | off |
Display settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
InpArrowOffset |
Arrow/label offset (points). InpArrowOffset is the gap in points between a marker and its candle, 60 by default. | 60 |
ShowPanel |
Show status panel. ShowPanel turns the corner panel on. It defaults to true. | on |
PanelCorner |
Corner (0=UL,1=UR,2=LL,3=LR). PanelCorner picks which corner holds the panel. It defaults to 0, the upper left. | 0 |
PanelBg |
(see inputs panel) | black |
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 EURUSD H1. Scaling by ATR means the same InpMult travels between symbols without retuning, which is the main reason to use a relative measure at all. On M1 and M5 the markers cluster around news releases. On daily charts a qualifying candle is rare, so lowering InpMult towards 1.4 gives the tool something to mark.
When the Big Candle Alert Indicator fails
A big candle is not a direction. This tool measures size, and an outsized bar can be the start of a move or the end of one.
ATR includes the bar being tested inside its own window, so a run of large bars lifts the threshold and later ones in that run stop qualifying.
With InpUseBody left off, a bar with long wicks and a tiny body can qualify on range alone.
Around a gap or a rollover the ATR reading jumps, and the threshold follows it for the next InpAtrPeriod bars.
Copy the compiled Big Candle Alert 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 Big Candle Alert Indicator for MT4 and MT5
The zip holds the compiled Big Candle Alert 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.
Download this indicator free
Enter your email and the file is yours. You also get the full MT4 and MT5 library.
FAQ
What does InpMult at 1.8 mean in practical terms?
A candle has to come in bigger than 1.8 times the current ATR reading before it gets marked. At the default InpAtrPeriod of 14 that ATR covers the last fourteen bars. Raising InpMult towards 2.5 leaves only rare extremes on the chart, and lowering it towards 1.2 marks a great many more.
Should I set InpUseBody to true instead of false?
That depends on what you count as a big candle. Left off, the tool measures the whole high to low range, so long wicks can qualify a bar. Switching it on measures the close minus open distance instead, which ignores wicks and marks decisive bars only.
What does ShowPanel put in the corner panel?
It shows the live ATR reading, the current threshold converted into points, and the direction and size of the last candle that qualified. ShowPanel turns it on or off and PanelCorner moves it. The panel is display only and does not affect which bars get marked.
Why does a run of large bars stop clearing the InpMult threshold?
ATR rises as those bars enter its window. The threshold is InpMult times that reading, so it climbs along with them. After a few outsized candles the size needed to qualify is much larger than it was at the start of the run.
Are results guaranteed?
No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results. Use the Big Candle Alert Indicator as one input. Always backtest before trading live.
External references
- The core method is documented in Big Bang (financial markets) on Wikipedia.
- Additional market context is at Oversold 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.