MetaTrader 5 Trading Journal: Auto-Sync, Notes & Screenshots

TradesViz MT5 Sync v3 sends your MetaTrader 5 executions to your TradesViz journal while MT5 is running. It also records supported stop-loss and take-profit values, lets you add a note to your latest captured trade, and can attach screenshots of the chart where sync is installed.

This guide covers the Windows desktop version of MetaTrader 5. Although we often call it a sync indicator, MT5 installs it as an Expert Advisor (EA). Look under Expert Advisors in the Navigator, not Indicators. The EA observes your account; it does not place, modify or close broker orders.

Already using an older version? Use the v3 instructions below. The previous setup guide is under Old/outdated instructions at the end; its old download links, settings and limitations do not describe v3.

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Download MT5 Sync v3

Download TradesVizAutoSync_v3.ex5 for MetaTrader 5

This is the ready-to-use EA. You do not need MetaEditor, source files, a DLL or a compilation step. This .ex5 download is for MT5; it cannot be loaded into MT4, the MT5 mobile app or the web terminal. The v3 download currently displays internal build 2.16 in its properties window; the Navigator name is TradesVizAutoSync_v3.

Before you start

• Sign in to TradesViz Account → General Settings and copy your Account Secret Key. This is not your TradesViz password, broker password or a public REST API key.
• Choose the destination in TradesViz Trading Accounts. Copy its exact name, including capitalization and spaces. For example, Sim101 is a destination account name, not your TradesViz username.
• Open MT5 and connect to the broker account you want to journal. The EA detects its server and login automatically; you do not type them into the sync settings.
• Use one sync EA for that broker account and TradesViz destination. If another importer already supplies the same trades, avoid overlapping date ranges. A separate demo destination is the easiest place to check a new setup.
• For a new connection, begin while flat where practical. The default starts with positions opened after setup; closing a position opened before that boundary does not make its old entry eligible.

Step 1: Put the file in MT5's Experts folder

1. In the MT5 terminal you actually use, select File → Open Data Folder.
2. Open MQL5 → Experts and paste TradesVizAutoSync_v3.ex5 there. An Advisors subfolder also works; it appears as a subfolder in the Navigator.
3. Return to MT5. Open View → Navigator (Ctrl+N) if it is hidden. Right-click Expert Advisors and choose Refresh.
4. Confirm that TradesVizAutoSync_v3 appears. If it does not, check that the file is under this terminal's data folder and under Experts, not Indicators or Scripts.

Step 2: Allow the TradesViz API URL

1. Open Tools → Options (Ctrl+O), then the Experts tab. Some MT5 builds label this tab Expert Advisors.
2. Check Allow WebRequest for listed URL.
3. Double-click the add new URL row and enter exactly https://api.tradesviz.com. Press Enter to finish the entry, then click OK. If the URL is already listed, do not add it again.

The API URL above is the address v3 uses. A website URL such as https://www.tradesviz.com alone is not sufficient. You do not need to allow DLL imports. The sync EA does not send trading orders; MT5's Algo Trading control is not a substitute for the WebRequest setting.

Step 3: Attach the EA and enter three details

Open a chart, then drag TradesVizAutoSync_v3 from the Navigator onto it, or double-click the EA while that chart is selected. Use a dedicated chart if another EA is already attached: MT5 allows one EA per chart. One instance observes executions across the whole connected broker account, including other chart symbols.

In the EA's Inputs tab, double-click each required row's Value cell, enter the value, and press Enter to finish editing it:

Leave Attach chart screenshots set to false unless you want automatic images; see the screenshot section below. Leave both Advanced fields at their defaults for ordinary new-trade sync. A history date displayed as 1970.01.01 00:00:00 represents the default 0 = new trades; the UTC setting 9999 means automatic detection.

Click OK. The EA checks your credentials and destination. Open View → Toolbox → Experts and look for connection verified with your destination. Resolve any connection error before testing sync.

The EA also needs a fresh broker quote to establish the clock. A closed market can leave it at Waiting for the first live broker quote. Once ready, the chart shows Watching for new trades, Uploading to TradesViz or Synced - watching for new trades. It is normal to wait with zero pending uploads when you have not made a new eligible trade.

Open the sync settings again

1. Find the chart with the TradesViz: Add note button and sync status text. This is the chart where the TradesViz EA is attached.
2. Right-click an empty area inside that chart. Click Expert List in the menu that opens. This is separate from Indicator List.
3. In the list window, click TradesVizAutoSync_v3 to select it, then click Properties.
4. In the settings window, click the Inputs tab at the top. Double-click a setting's Value cell to change it.
5. Click OK to apply your changes. If the Expert List window is still open, close that list window to return to the chart.

Optional keyboard shortcut: click the EA's chart, press F7, then click Inputs. The mouse steps above work without using this shortcut.

If Expert List is unavailable or TradesViz is missing from the list, check that you right-clicked the correct chart and that the EA was attached successfully. MT5 can display the Account Secret in plain text: hide it before sharing screenshots or settings files.

Step 4: Check a new demo execution and its upload

Use a connected demo account in the normal MT5 terminal for this check. MT5's Strategy Tester does not allow the WebRequest calls used for delivery.

1. After the EA is ready, use your demo account to open and close a small position. An unfilled pending order is not an execution.
2. Open View → Toolbox (Ctrl+T), then select Experts. Check the messages from TradesVizAutoSync_v3.
3. Look for CAPTURED for the execution, followed by UPLOADED. Execution entries identify the deal, symbol, buy/sell side, quantity, price and time.
4. In TradesViz, select the same destination account, refresh the dashboard and use a date range that includes the trade. Compare the entry, exit, quantity and costs with MT5.

The chart lists Uploaded events, Pending uploads, Pending screenshots and Items needing attention on separate rows. An event may be an execution, SL/TP update, note or screenshot, so the uploaded count is not a count of completed trades.

Sync checks on a five-second timer and sends one queued event per cycle. Several executions and attachments can therefore take more than one cycle. Temporary failures retry automatically; a restart does not re-log already acknowledged uploads as new events.

Add a note to the latest captured trade

1. Click TradesViz: Add note on the chart.
2. Check the trade shown in the editor: its symbol, side, execution time and destination account.
3. Type your note and click Save note. The note is queued for upload; wait for Note uploaded to TradesViz or its UPLOADED log entry.

You do not need an execution ID or an Inputs edit. The editor selects the most recently captured execution across the connected account, which can be a different symbol from the chart. That selection stays fixed while you type, even if another fill arrives. To select a newer captured trade, close and reopen the editor.

A saved note belongs to your TradesViz trade; it does not change the broker's order comment. Cancel closes an unsaved draft. Reinitializing or closing the EA also discards an unsaved draft, so save before changing Inputs.

If the editor says No captured trade yet, close it and reopen it after an eligible execution is captured. If it asks you to enlarge the chart, maximize the chart first. If saving fails, the editor keeps your text: resolve the displayed sync error and try again.

Attach chart screenshots automatically

1. Find the chart with the TradesViz sync status and Add note button. Right-click an empty area of that chart → Expert List.
2. Select TradesVizAutoSync_v3, click Properties, then click the Inputs tab. The steps above show how to find it.
3. Double-click the Value cell for Attach chart screenshots (optional), select true, then click OK. It is disabled by default.
4. Wait for sync to finish its initial capture cycle and return to watching for new trades. Keep MT5 and this chart running.
5. Test with a new execution on the same symbol as this chart. The EA captures the chart automatically; you do not need to save or upload an image manually.
6. Open Toolbox → Experts. Look for CAPTURED screenshot, followed by UPLOADED screenshot for the same execution/event. Then open the corresponding trade in TradesViz to view its attached image.

• Execution syncing covers the account; screenshot capture covers this chart's symbol. An EA on USDCHF can sync a GBPUSD fill, but it will not create a GBPUSD screenshot from the USDCHF chart.
• Images are attempted for recent live executions after the initial capture cycle. Historical replay does not create pictures of old trades from today's chart.
• The image can show the chart shortly after the fill, rather than the exact execution instant. Capture depends on the chart and file being available; it is best effort.
• Once captured and queued, an image retries through the same delivery process as other events. Watch Pending screenshots and the screenshot upload log.

Do not attach duplicate sync EAs to every symbol just to collect more screenshots for the same account mapping. Keep one sync instance and choose the chart you want photographed.

What happens to stop-loss and take-profit?

The EA reads SL/TP values supplied with executions and polls current positions for changes. Where the trade can be linked and its TradesViz target mode uses prices, those values can update its journal stop-loss and profit-target fields. When the journal uses P&L targets, broker price levels are preserved as notes rather than treated as monetary amounts.

This is observation only: changing a journal target does not move an order at your broker. Changes made between polls or while MT5 is closed cannot be reconstructed as a complete order history. Pending-order creation, modification and cancellation are not imported as executions.

History, restarts and switching from an older version

Normal setup starts with newly opened positions. Positions opened before the saved start point are excluded, including their later scale-ins or closes. The chart reports excluded positions encountered in the available history.

After a restart, the existing connection resumes from its saved start point and retries retained events. Recovery depends on the history MT5 still exposes. Keep MT5 and the EA's chart running during your trading session; leaving only the TradesViz website open does not run this connector.

An older-history import is an advanced option: choose a start before the original opening execution and supply the broker UTC offset for that history period. For example, UTC+2 is 120 minutes. A current offset does not establish historical daylight-saving time. If you are unsure, use the MT5 broker connection or contact support for the appropriate import method instead of guessing.

When upgrading, replace the EA on its existing chart, keep its destination settings and retain the saved delivery data. Do not clear the EA's local history as a troubleshooting step. If moving from the older v0.x EA, FTP sync or file imports, plan a clean cutover: the new connector cannot automatically deduplicate every trade imported by another method.

Troubleshooting and delivery status

Read the chart message first, then the Experts tab. These are the common cases:

Some broker instruments need a supported symbol mapping. A netting reversal that closes one position and opens the opposite position in one deal can also require reconciliation. Separate balance, cash, swap, rebate and commission transactions are not all included in calculated journal P&L. Compare a broker statement before treating the account totals as reconciled.

For help, email [email protected] with the EA version, chart status and relevant Experts messages. Remove your Account Secret and personal account details from screenshots. This guide is for manual trading; the restriction on using this sync for automated systems or bots continues to apply.

More platform sync and API guides

See the platform sync comparison for feature differences, or use the TradesViz API to build your own journal tools.

• NinjaTrader trading journal setup
• Sierra Chart trading journal setup
• ATAS trading journal setup

Previous-version instructions

The section below is the original article, including its screenshots and downloads. It describes the older release. Follow the v3 instructions above for a new setup.