Bigger TF OHLC Indicator: Daily Levels on an Intraday Chart

Written by Dominic Walsh · Published 30 Jul 2026 · Last updated 26 Aug 2026

The bigger tf ohlc indicator puts four levels from a larger timeframe onto the chart you are working on. It reads the open, high, low and close of InpHTF directly and draws each as a horizontal segment. The forming bar draws solid, while completed ones draw dotted.

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	0
Alerts	popup, push notification, email, sound
Inputs	19

What the Bigger TF OHLC Indicator draws on the chart

Four trend line segments per higher timeframe bar, one each for open, high, low and close, in their own colours.

Each segment spans only the width its own higher timeframe bar occupies on the chart.

The currently forming bar draws solid and updates live as price moves.

Completed bars draw dotted, so the two read differently at a glance.

A corner panel and text labels name the levels when ShowLabels and ShowPanel stay on.

How the Bigger TF OHLC Indicator calculates its values

Reading the larger timeframe

Four direct reads pull the open, high, low and close at a given shift on InpHTF. The chart timeframe never enters the calculation.

That is what makes the levels identical whichever chart you attach it to. A daily high is a daily high on M5 and on H4 alike.

Spanning the right width

Each segment has to cover exactly the chart bars belonging to its own higher timeframe bar, so the code works out where that bar starts and ends on the current chart.

Get that wrong and a daily level would either float across the whole screen or shrink to a point. Matching the span is what makes the drawing readable.

Live versus settled

The forming higher timeframe bar has an open that is fixed and a high, low and close that are not. Its segments update as price prints.

InpNumPrev decides how many completed bars stay drawn behind it, two by default, and those never move again.

How to read the signals

A solid segment belongs to the bar still forming, so its high, low and close can still change.

Dotted segments are settled and will not move.

The open level is the only one on the forming bar that is already final.

Levels apply to the higher timeframe, so intraday price crossing one is a smaller event than it looks on a fast chart.

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

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

Every Bigger TF OHLC Indicator input

Core settings

Setting	What it does	Default
InpHTF	Bigger timeframe to overlay. InpHTF is the timeframe the levels come from. It defaults to the daily, and any larger period than your chart works.	PERIOD_D1
InpNumPrev	Completed HTF bars to show (plus the forming one). InpNumPrev is how many completed higher timeframe bars stay drawn, 2 by default.	2

Display settings

Setting	What it does	Default
InpOpenColor	Open level.	gold
InpHighColor	High level.	lime green
InpLowColor	Low level.	orange red
InpCloseColor	Close level.	dodger blue
InpLineWidth	Current-bar line width. InpLineWidth sets segment thickness, 2 by default.	2
ShowLabels	Show O/H/L/C price tags. ShowLabels writes the level names on the chart and defaults to true.	on
LabelFont	Tag font size.	8
ShowPanel	Show HTF OHLC panel. ShowPanel draws the corner readout, also on by default.	on
PanelCorner	0=UL 1=UR 2=LL 3=LR. PanelCorner picks which corner holds that panel, 0 for upper left.	0
PanelYStart	Panel top offset (clears one-click panel).	120
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. Daily levels on H1 is the classic pairing, since a day covers enough H1 bars for the segments to have width. On M5 the segments stretch a long way and the panel does more work than the lines. Setting InpHTF below your chart timeframe makes no sense and the levels stop being meaningful.

When the Bigger TF OHLC Indicator fails

Higher timeframe bars follow the broker clock, so a daily level starts where your broker says the day starts rather than at any market open.

The forming bar high and low move, which means a level you noted an hour ago may sit somewhere else now.

Nothing here judges whether a level matters. All four get drawn with equal weight every bar.

Only InpNumPrev bars stay drawn, so older levels disappear whether or not price is heading back to them.

Copy the compiled Bigger TF OHLC 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.

Background reading on the method behind the Bigger TF OHLC Indicator: MT4 ECN Bridge on Wikipedia, Overbought at Investopedia.

Download the Bigger TF OHLC Indicator for MT4 and MT5

The zip holds the compiled Bigger TF OHLC 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

Does InpHTF or the chart timeframe set the levels?

No. Every read goes to InpHTF directly rather than to the chart series, so a daily high stays the same number whether you attach this to M5 or H4. Only the width of the drawn segments changes, because that follows how many chart bars the higher timeframe bar covers.

Why does InpNumPrev draw dotted segments, not solid?

The solid ones belong to the higher timeframe bar still forming. Its high, low and close can still change, so it updates live. Dotted segments belong to completed bars and never move again. The difference tells you at a glance which levels are settled.

How many past bars does InpNumPrev 2 keep?

Two completed higher timeframe bars behind the forming one. At the daily default that gives you yesterday and the day before, plus today updating live. Raising it draws more history at the cost of a busier chart.

What happens if InpHTF is smaller than my chart timeframe?

The idea breaks down. Each higher timeframe bar would cover less than one chart bar, so the segments collapse and tell you nothing you cannot already see. Keep InpHTF above the chart period for the overlay to mean anything.

Are results guaranteed?

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