Automatic Orders, how to set them

If you are looking for a tutorial on how to set up automatic orders on IC Markets and CTrader, you are in the right place.

Why use automatic orders

Automatic orders are useful if you don’t have the possibility to monitor the market in real time. You probably have a job and you don’t have time to check the charts, or maybe you signed up to a signal service and you cannot execute the inputs manually, due to time problems or because your time zone does not allow it. No worries. Ic Markets provides a rather efficient automatic ordering system.

A few words about the broker

Ic Markets is a reliable broker regulated by the Australian ASIC. This is very important because it allows you to use an advantageous lever also for European citizens. The Ctrader platform allows lower spreads than Metatrader, so you can take advantages of their True ECN account. To receive more information about the broker you can find our review here.

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Setting Automatic Orders

Now we show you how to set up automatic orders. But before we start we make two recommendations.

• If you define the entry points on an external chart (ex. Tradingview), be careful to calculate the differences in pips between the external chart and your platform (MT4 or CTrader).
• When using an automatic order you must also calculate the spread. If the spread is one point and you want to make an entrance, for example, at 1.2325 LONG, you will set the signal at 1.2326 (12325 + 1 spread)

Summary – IC Markets how to set automatic orders

1. Set up a Stop Order
2. Place a Limit Order
3. Set Up a Stop/Limit Order
4. Conclusions

Set Up A Stop Order

With the Stop Order, once the symbol price reaches the entry price you set, a market order will be automatically created and it will be filled at the best price available.

To set up a Stop Order on CTrader Platform you have 2 ways.

Create New Order (the longest way)

First of all, simply click on the “New Order” button at the top of the Ctrader screen. You will see a window like the one below.

7 Easy steps

1. Symbol – Here you can choose the asset you want to trade.
2. Sell or Buy – Use the buttons below the symbol to select the direction of your trade. Sell if you want to open a short position, or Buy if you want to set a long position.
3. Entry Price – Here you have to set at what price you want the order will execute.
4. Quantity – Set how many lots you want to invest. Under the lots field you will easily know how much you will invest in $. Please note that the lot value changes by the leverage you are using.
5. Expiry – Using this option you can give the not executed signal an expiration that cancel the order at the time you will set. It is useful for example if you use an intraday signals service.
6. Stop Loss – Activate this option if you wish to set a Stop at a certain level.
7. Take Profit – Activate this option if you wish to set a Take Profit level.

Once you set up all the steps above, you have simply to click on place order and you will se your order on the chart.

Right Click On The Chart (The easiest way)

Otherwise you can simply click on the chart with the right button of your mouse. To set a Sell Stop order you need only to click under the actual price, for a Buy Stop simply click above the actual price. You will see a menu like this:

Then select Buy Stop and a bar will appear on the chart, exactly where you clicked.

Now you can move the bar where you want to place the order. Do the same to move the TP (Take Profit) and the SL (Stop Loss) bars. Alternately you can make a double click on the bar, and you will see the same window used above to create a new order.

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2 Automatic Orders – Limit Order

Unlike the Stop Order, a Limit Order is commonly used to trade on a rebound of the price. This type of order is useful if you trade with resistances and supports methods. Therefore the Limit Order is a price threshold which, once touched, triggers the order in the opposite direction.

Also in this case you have 2 ways to set up a Limit Order:

Create New Order (the long way)

As mentioned above click on the “New Order” button at the top of the Ctrader chart. You will see a window like the one below.

7 Easy steps

1. Symbol – Here you can detect the instrument you want to trade.
2. Sell or Buy – Use the buttons below the symbol to select the direction of your trade. Sell if you want to open a short position, or Buy if you want to set a long position.
3. Entry Price – Here you have to set at what price you want the order will execute.
4. Quantity – Set how many lots you want to invest. Under the lots field you will easily know how much you will invest in $. Please note that the lot value changes by the leverage you are using.
5. Expiry – Using this option you can give the not executed signal an expiration that cancel the order at the time you will set. It is useful for example if you use an intraday signals service.
6. Stop Loss – Activate this option if you wish to set a Stop at a certain level.
7. Take Profit – Activate this option if you wish to set a Take Profit level.

Once you set up all the steps above, you have simply to click on place order and you will se your order on the chart.

Once the price will reach the limit on the chart, your order will be triggered in a LONG position, in fact you will see that TP and SL bars are inverted, unlike the Stop Order.

Right Click On The Chart (The easiest way)

Also in this case you can easily set a Limit Order just clicking with the right button of your mouse on the chart.

Now select the Buy Limit (Or a sell limit) option and a bar will be placed on your chart. Exactly as mentioned for the standard order you can move the bar where you want to place the order. Do the same to move the TP (Take Profit) and the SL (Stop Loss) bars. Alternately you can make a double click on the bar, and you will see the same window used above to create a new order.

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3 Stop & Limit Order

A Stop & Limit order is a contingent exchange for a chosen period of time that mixes the Stop functions with the Limit functions and decreases the risk. Once the stop price is reached, the Stop & Limit order triggers a limit order to buy or sell at the limit price or better.

We make an example. Let’s suppose that you think EUR/USD will rebound on a support at 1.2345, but you are not so sure and the price could continue its trend and breaks the support. The Stop Limit is like an Order Cancel Order (OCO) well known on MT4, so thanks to this kind of order you can set a range, and if the price breaks that range, the limit will reverse your order by canceling the previous one. Also in this case we have 2 ways to place a Stop Limit Order, and I’ll show you only the detailed one. But it’s easier to do it, let’s go.

Create A New Order

Access this window by clicking on “New Order” button above your chart, then follow these steps:

1. Symbol – As usual, choose your asset.
2. Sell or Buy – Choose the direction (Remind that in this case the Stop will be executed as first step, then just in case, it will trigger in a Limit Order).
3. Entry Price – Here you have to set at what price you want the order will execute, then go on.
4. Quantity – Set how many lots you want to invest. Under the lots field you will easily know how much you will invest in $. But note that the lot value changes by the leverage you are using.
5. Limit Range – Here you have to set up the range that once reached will trigger your order in a Limit Signal. So here you have to set the tolerance (in poins/pips), after which you want the order to be reversed.
6. Expiry – Using this option you can give the not executed signal an expiration that cancel the order at the time you will set. It is useful because if you use an intraday signals service. Then go on.
7. Stop Loss – Activate this option if you wish to set a Stop at a certain level.
8. Take Profit – Activate this option if you wish to set a Take Profit level.

Conclusions

This automatic ordering system is very useful. But please be careful: almost all broker apps, carry out orders correctly only if you keep the app active, either on your computer or on your phone. It’s not the case of Ctrader but to avoid mistakes I recommend anyway to enable the background activity for the mobile app.

If you want to try automatic orders you can join our Signals Service that comes with 3 days of free trial, to let you try the signals on your demo account.

See you soon, richer than now.