When you're trading prop, speed isn't nice to have—it's a matter of life and death. The market doesn't wait for you to figure things out; you need to keep up. If you've ever lost an awesome setup because you were stumbling around menus or mousing all the way to an order, you know where I'm coming from. That's where MetaTrader 5 (MT5) shortcuts and hacks enter.
MT5 is full of features to help make your life easier, provided you know where to find them. Most traders, and particularly new funded traders, utilize perhaps 40% of what MT5 is capable of. The remainder? Buried in menus and right-clicks they never even glance at. Let’s reveal those time-saving shortcuts and clever tricks that can make a tangible difference in how you trade for your prop firm account.
Let's get into it.
Why Speed is Important in Prop Trading
When you’re trading with a prop firm, you’re not just trading for yourself—you’re managing someone else’s capital. That means every second counts. A late entry, a delayed exit, or hesitation during a reversal can be the difference between hitting your profit target and hitting your drawdown limit.
Quick execution doesn't only originate from the broker or server—it originates from you. Familiarity with your platform is what provides that little extra. When you can trade a trade, move stops, or browse charts second nature, you have more mental bandwidth to deal with strategy and price action.
It's here that shortcuts become your secret ace.
Making yourself at home with MT5 Hotkeys
MT5 trading platform has a variety of preinstalled keyboard shortcuts that allow you to do all sorts of stuff—from opening new charts to changing orders—without even touching your mouse.
Here are some of the most helpful ones that every prop trader should be familiar with:
- F9 – Open the New Order window in an instant. No more toolbar clicks on "New Order." Ideal when you see a setup and want to move quickly.
- Ctrl + T – Opening or closing the Terminal window to view your balance, equity, trade history, or active positions.
- Ctrl + M – Turn the Market Watch panel on and off. This is where your instruments and quotes appear.
- Ctrl + N – Open the Navigator window. You will use this to find indicators, EAs, and accounts.
- Ctrl + O – Open the Options window, where you can customize key settings such as server connections and charts.
- Ctrl + D – Switch on/off the Data Window, which displays candle-specific data such as OHLC values and indicators.
- Ctrl + F – Turn on/off the Crosshair tool to accurately measure price and time.
- Ctrl + G – Toggle display of the grid on your chart.
- Ctrl + Y – Toggle on and off period separators (great for seeing daily or weekly boundaries).
- + / – (from keyboard) – Zoom in/out on your chart.
- Ctrl + Z – Cancel the last object you created and added to the chart (tremendously useful when marking zones).
Take a bit of time practicing them, and before long your hands will be moving quicker than your mind. It's muscle memory for trading.
Chart Management Shortcuts That Save You Time
You probably have multiple charts open at once as a prop trader, including those for gold, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and maybe a few indices. You can save a lot of time by skillfully bouncing between them.
- To cycle through open charts, use Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + Shift + Tab.
- Control any open chart window (tile, cascade, etc.) by pressing Alt + W.
- On a chart window, right-click → Window → Tile. Windows Immediately arrange the charts neatly so that you can track a lot of instruments without any problems.
Additionally, if you're a trader who likes multi-timeframe analysis:
- Employ chart templates. Personalize one chart—place your indicators, change colors, modify timeframes—and save it as a template (right-click → Template → Save Template).
- Then apply it immediately to new charts rather than doing everything anew.
Another shortcut: employ profiles. Profiles capture your whole workspace configuration—all charts, all instruments, all layouts. You can have one for scalping setups and one for swing trading.
File → Profiles → Save As, give your layout a name, and click between them whenever you want.
Speedy Trade Execution Tips
Prop firms usually judge you on risk management and consistency but they also appreciate traders with clean and speedy execution.
Turn on One-Click Trading
Tools → Options → Trade tab and mark One-Click Trading. This feature lets you open or close a position from the chart with one click.
When markets are moving rapidly, this can save you valuable seconds.
Utilize the Trading Panel on Charts
Once one-click trading is enabled, click on the little triangle in the top-left corner of your chart. This brings up a mini trading panel—ideal for fast entries and exits. You can enter instant buy or sell orders in place without needing to change windows.
Drag-and-Drop Stop Loss and Take Profit
Once you open a trade, simply drag your entry line on your chart up or down to immediately set or modify your SL/TP levels. You don't need to open the order window again.
Close Trades with a Single Click
In the Terminal (Ctrl + T), you can close all trades of a particular symbol in a snap—simply click the little "x" in the "Trade" tab.
Or, right-click any trade and choose “Close.” It’s faster than opening each individually.
Modify Orders by Double-Clicking
Double-clicking an open order brings up its modification window instantly. Adjust your lot size, SL, or TP within seconds.