TMA Centered Bands Indicator: Triangular Average, ATR Bands

Written by Dominic Walsh · Published 13 Jul 2026 · Last updated 26 Aug 2026

The tma centered bands indicator wraps a triangular moving average in bands sized by ATR. TMA Mid runs through the candles with Upper Band and Lower Band either side. CenteredMode is the input that matters most, because it decides whether the average repaints.

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	5: TMA Mid, Upper Band, Lower Band, Buy, Sell
Alerts	popup, push notification, email, sound
Inputs	12

What the TMA Centered Bands Indicator draws on the chart

TMA Mid (blue) is the triangular average of the bar midpoints.

Upper Band and Lower Band (silver) sit BandMult ATRs above and below it.

Buy (lime, code 233) and Sell (red, code 234) mark the signal bars, offset from the candle by a fraction of ATR.

• TMA Mid: line, dodger blue, width 2
• Upper Band: line, silver, width 1
• Lower Band: line, silver, width 1
• Buy: arrow, lime, width 2, arrow code 233
• Sell: arrow, red, width 2, arrow code 234

How the TMA Centered Bands Indicator calculates its values

The triangular weighting

Weights rise to a peak at the centre of the window and fall away on both sides. HalfLength sets how far that window reaches, so the full span is double HalfLength plus one.

Each bar contributes its midpoint, meaning the high and low averaged, multiplied by its weight. The result is a smoother line than a simple average of the same span.

Repainting, and the switch that avoids it

An authentic triangular average is centred, meaning it reads bars on both sides of the one it plots. That is mathematically correct and it repaints, because the bars to the right have not happened yet.

CenteredMode defaults to false for that reason. Left off, the calculation uses only bars already printed. Switch it on and you get the textbook centred version, along with a line that shifts as new bars arrive.

Band width and arrow spacing

Band distance comes from a Wilder smoothed true range over AtrPeriod bars, multiplied by BandMult. Both bands widen as volatility rises and pull in when it settles.

ArrowOffsetATR spaces a marker from its candle as a fraction of that same ATR, so the gap scales with the market instead of staying fixed in points.

How to read the signals

Price reaching a band means it has stretched BandMult ATRs from the smoothed midpoint.

TMA Mid turns later than a simple average, since the triangular weighting concentrates on the middle of the window.

SignalCooldownBars spaces the markers, so a busy stretch produces fewer than the raw rules would give.

With CenteredMode off, the most recent part of the line is built from fewer bars than the rest.

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

Alerts cover popup, push, email and sound, with the file named by AlertSound. A bar time check keeps it to one alert per closed bar.

Every TMA Centered Bands Indicator input

Core settings

Setting	What it does	Default
HalfLength	TMA half-length (full window = 2*HL+1). HalfLength sets the reach either side of the centre, 12 by default, giving a 25 bar window in total.	12
BandMult	Band width (ATR multiplier). BandMult multiplies ATR to set band distance. It defaults to 1.6, so widen it towards 2.5 for fewer touches.	1.6
AtrPeriod	ATR period for band width. AtrPeriod is the true range window behind the bands, 14 by default.	14
CenteredMode	Authentic centered TMA (repaints) vs non-repaint. CenteredMode picks the authentic centred average, which repaints, over the non-repaint version. It defaults to false.	off
SignalCooldownBars	Bars to wait between arrows. SignalCooldownBars is the minimum gap between markers, 3 by default.	3

Display settings

Setting	What it does	Default
ArrowOffsetATR	Arrow gap from candle (x ATR). ArrowOffsetATR spaces a marker from its candle as a fraction of ATR, 0.5 by default.	0.5

Alert settings

Setting	What it does	Default
EnableAlerts	Master alert switch.	on
EnablePopup	Popup alert.	on
EnablePushNotify	Mobile push alert.	off
EnableEmail	Email alert.	off
EnableSound	Sound alert.	on
AlertSound	Sound file. AlertSound names the file played from the MT4 Sounds folder and defaults to alert.wav.	alert.wav

Settings that fit your chart

The screenshot uses EURUSD H1. A 25 bar triangular window on H1 covers roughly a day, which suits pairs rotating around an intraday mean. On H4 the same window stretches across a week and the bands turn slow. Below M15 the smoothing helps, but the bands react to almost every candle.

When the TMA Centered Bands Indicator fails

With CenteredMode on the line repaints, and any backtest built on that version will flatter itself badly.

With CenteredMode off the newest values rest on half a window, so the right hand end of the line is less reliable than the rest.

Bands sized from ATR widen after a fast move rather than before one, so they sit widest once the market has already turned dangerous.

A triangular average lags more than a simple one of the same span, because the weight sits in the middle of the window.

Copy the compiled TMA Centered Bands 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 TMA Centered Bands Indicator for MT4 and MT5

The zip holds the compiled TMA Centered Bands 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 CenteredMode make the TMA Mid line repaint?

Yes, and deliberately so. The authentic centred average reads bars on both sides of the one it plots, so its most recent values keep changing as new bars arrive. That is why the input defaults to false, which restricts the calculation to bars already printed.

What window does HalfLength 12 actually produce?

Twenty five bars: twelve either side of the centre plus the centre itself. Weights peak in the middle and fall away towards both ends. Raising HalfLength widens the span and smooths the line further, at the cost of a later turn.

Why do the bands use ATR instead of standard deviation?

ATR measures the true range of each bar, gaps included, while standard deviation measures how far closes scatter around their mean. Sizing from ATR keeps BandMult meaningful across symbols and timeframes without retuning for each one.

What does ArrowOffsetATR 0.5 mean in points?

It depends on the market. The gap is half the current ATR reading, so on a quiet EURUSD hour it is small and during a volatile session it grows. Fixing the offset in points instead would make markers crowd the candles on some symbols and float away on others.

Are results guaranteed?

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