DrawDown Limiter — User Guide

📖 Overview

DrawDown Limiter is the ultimate account protection utility. It monitors all trading activity on your account — whether manual or from any other expert advisor — and automatically closes positions and orders when a configured drawdown threshold is reached.

It is specifically designed to help you meet prop firm rules (FTMO, My Forex Fund, and others), protect personal accounts, and enforce discipline. It is compatible with MT4 and MT5, and works alongside any other EA running on the same account.

Key measurements tracked by DrawDown Limiter:

Code	Meaning
GDD%	Global Account Drawdown — compares initial account size vs. current equity
DDD%	Daily DrawDown — range profit/loss (closed + floating) vs. your configured maximum
OTRD	Open Trades — current number of simultaneously open positions
ATRD	All Trades in Range — total positions opened and closed within the current range

Once a GDD or DDD threshold is reached, DrawDown Limiter closes all open positions and orders. Any new order created after that point is instantly closed.

DrawDown Limiter can only act after an order has been sent to the terminal — it cannot prevent the user or another EA from sending orders in the first place. Think of it as a safety net that reacts immediately, not a firewall that blocks in advance.

🔧 Installation

Follow the standard MQL5 product installation guide. If you received the EA directly from Trade't, refer to the Trade't EA installation guide instead.

Run one instance per account — attach it to any chart (e.g. EURUSD M1). Running multiple instances on the same account causes conflicts. It monitors the entire account regardless of which chart it is attached to.

⚙️ A. General Settings

Parameter	Description
Magic Number	Keeps track of the trades closed by the EA. If running multiple instances (e.g. for portfolio drawdown), use a different magic number for each.
Trade Comment	Comment attached to orders executed by DrawDown Limiter and included in notifications.

🔄 B. Reset Range

Parameter	Description
Drawdown Reset Cycle	Choose between Daily bar opening (resets at your broker's daily candle open — 5 PM EST for most prop firms) or Specific Range (custom start time).
Specific Range Hour (0-23)	Start hour of the custom range (broker server time).
Specific Range Minute (0-59)	Start minute of the custom range.
Skip Weekends	If true, DrawDown Limiter continues monitoring on weekends — useful for crypto trading.

All times are based on your broker's server time, visible in the Market Watch (Ctrl+M). Most prop firms reset their daily drawdown at 5 PM EST (midnight CE(S)T) — confirm with your firm's FAQ.

🌍 C. Account Overall Drawdown

Parameter	Description
Initial Account Size	Your starting account balance. Used to calculate the global account drawdown (GDD%).
Max Account DD %	The maximum allowed global drawdown as a percentage of the initial account size. Updates the GDD traffic light and triggers an alert.

📉 D. Daily Drawdown

Parameter	Description
Choose what to control	Monitor the entire account, a specific EA (by magic number), or multiple EAs (comma-separated magic numbers, e.g. `52896,55884,12365`).
Set specific EA Magic Number	The magic number(s) of the EA(s) to monitor when using specific EA mode.
Drawdown Calculation Options	The reference used to calculate the daily drawdown: Initial Deposit (FTMO standard), Account Equity, Account Balance, Higher of Equity or Balance (MFF standard), or Risk In Money (fixed amount).
Initial Deposit or Risk In Money	The base amount when "Initial Deposit" or "Risk In Money" is selected.
Max Daily DD %	Maximum daily drawdown percentage. Once the calculated loss reaches this level, all positions are closed. Most prop firms set 5% — configure to 4% to leave a safety margin.
Include Swap and Commission	Includes swap and commission charges in the drawdown calculation. Required by some prop firms.

How DDD% is calculated:

If your starting balance is $11,197.78 and Max Daily DD is 1%, the max allowed loss is $111.98. If the current floating profit/loss is -$76.93, the result is: (-76.93 / -111.98) × 100 = 69%. This value is shown in the traffic light — once it reaches 100%, the threshold is triggered.

🔐 E. End of Range Security Zone

Protects against a specific prop firm edge case: an open losing position held overnight whose floating loss exceeds the new day's allowed drawdown as soon as the range resets.

FTMO example: The Maximum Daily Loss resets at midnight CE(S)T. Say you close the day with $4,000 profit but have a floating loss of $13,000 on an open position. On that day the daily loss is only -$9,000 ($4,000 closed profit − $13,000 floating), which is within a $10,000 limit. However, if you hold that position past midnight, your $4,000 profit no longer counts toward the new day — and the $13,000 open loss immediately breaches the $10,000 daily limit. The security zone prevents this by closing the position a few minutes before the reset.

Parameter	Description
Close Open Positions if DD Reached in Security Zone	Enables the end-of-range security zone.
End of Range Security Zone in Minutes	How many minutes before the range reset to activate the zone. 5 minutes is typically sufficient.
Security Zone Risk from Daily DrawDown	The threshold inside the security zone, expressed as a percentage of your max daily DD. Example: if your daily DD limit is $5,000 and you set this to 80%, the EA closes all positions when the floating loss reaches $4,000. Setting it to 100% means it only closes at the full daily limit — a lower value gives an earlier, more conservative exit before the reset.

🚫 F. Stop Overtrading

Parameter	Description
Max Number of Range Positions	Maximum total positions (open + closed) allowed within the current range. Pending orders do not count until triggered. Partial closes count as one position.
Max Number of Open Positions	Maximum simultaneous open positions. Any new position above this limit is immediately closed.

⚠️ G. New Trade Risk Alert

DrawDown Limiter alerts you when trades are opened without proper risk control. No automatic action is taken — alerts only, so you can intervene manually.

Parameter	Description
Alert for Trade with No SL	Sends an alert when a new trade is opened without a Stop Loss.
Alert for Trade with Risk	Sends an alert when a trade's risk exceeds the configured threshold.
Max % or Money Value	The maximum allowed risk per trade — expressed as a percentage of balance/equity or a fixed money value.

🔔 H. Action Settings

Parameter	Description
Send Notifications for Each Action	Sends push notifications to your MT5 mobile app for every action DrawDown Limiter takes.
Close Extra Trades on Next Tick	Closes new trades on the very next tick after drawdown is reached, instead of waiting for the check frequency timer.
NFA Brokers — FIFO Rule	Enable FIFO compliance for US-regulated (NFA) brokers. Two modes available.
Terminal Action When DD or Max Trades Reached	Keep terminal open (to manage running positions) or close the MetaTrader terminal automatically. It will reopen on the next range start.
Close Other Charts When DD or Max Trades Reached	Automatically closes all other charts when the threshold is reached, while keeping the DrawDown Limiter chart open.

🖥️ I. Display Settings

Parameter	Description
Traffic Light Position	Default, Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Right, or Bottom Left.
Traffic Light Style	Display the four indicators horizontally or vertically.
Vertical / Horizontal Shift	Fine-tune the exact position of the panel on the chart.

Advanced Style Settings allow you to customize fonts and colors to match your chart theme.

🔧 J. Advanced Settings

Parameter	Description
GV to use in Other EA	The name of the Global Variable created by DrawDown Limiter when the threshold is reached (e.g. `GV_isDD`). EA developers can check this variable to prevent new orders from being opened after drawdown is hit.
Check Frequency in Milliseconds	How often the EA scans for drawdown breaches. Lower = faster reaction but more CPU usage.

If you are an EA developer, check the Global Variable in your code to block new orders after drawdown is reached. The variable is automatically removed at the start of the next range, re-enabling trading.

🚦 Traffic Light Colors

Drawdown lights (GDD% and DDD%):

Color	Meaning
🟢 Green	Range is in profit
🟠 Orange	Drawdown is less than 50% of the limit
🔴 Orange-Red	Drawdown is between 50% and 75% of the limit
🔴 Red	Drawdown is beyond 75% — close to triggering

Trades threshold lights (OTRD and ATRD):

Color	Meaning
🟢 Green	Less than 50% of the trade limit used
🟠 Orange	Between 50% and 75% of the limit
🔴 Red	Beyond 75% of the limit

📊 Portfolio Drawdown

If you run multiple EAs and want to assign individual risk budgets to each, you can run multiple instances of DrawDown Limiter — one per EA plus one for the overall account.

Each instance monitors its assigned EA's magic number(s) independently. This lets you define, for example, that EA1 can lose a maximum of 2%, EA2 a maximum of 1.5%, and the total account cannot lose more than 5%.

When running per-EA instances alongside a global account instance, set the refresh period on the global (master) instance to double the value used for each EA-specific instance. This prevents race conditions where both instances try to act simultaneously. Always use a different Magic Number for each DrawDown Limiter instance.

🤖 Algo Trading Disabler

If you want DrawDown Limiter to automatically toggle Algo Trading ON/OFF in MetaTrader (instead of only closing trades), contact Trade't after purchase to receive the free Algo Trading Disabler EA.

It reads the Global Variable set by DrawDown Limiter (GV_isDD) and disables algo trading automatically
Set its scan frequency 3–5× higher than DrawDown Limiter's check frequency to avoid race conditions
Requires DLL imports enabled in MT4/MT5

The Algo Trading Disabler is not published on the MQL5 Market due to MQL5's restriction on DLL imports. Contact Trade't directly after purchasing DrawDown Limiter to receive it for free.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Which chart should I attach DrawDown Limiter to if I trade multiple pairs? You only need one instance for the entire account — attach it to any chart. A major pair like EURUSD is recommended so you benefit from frequent ticks. If you trade crypto on weekends, attach it to a pair where the market is open so the EA can read market info and take action.

Should I use daily bar opening or a specific range for the reset? Almost all prop firms reset at the daily bar open (5 PM EST). Use the specific range option only if you have a custom drawdown window that differs from the standard daily reset.

What reference should I use to calculate my drawdown? For prop firm accounts, check your firm's FAQ — most use Initial Deposit (FTMO) or Higher of Equity/Balance (MFF). For personal accounts, setting a fixed money value (Risk In Money) is a practical approach.

How does DrawDown Limiter determine the starting balance at the beginning of the day? On first launch, it captures the current balance and equity as its reference point, since it has no way to know what the balance was when the day actually started. Once it has been running continuously (e.g. on a VPS), it captures the exact balance and equity at each new range start and holds them as the reference until the next reset. Never close the chart, remove the EA, or close MetaTrader mid-session without understanding this — the reference resets when the EA reloads.

If I make a withdrawal, do I need to update the settings? If you use balance or equity as your drawdown reference, the EA adjusts automatically at the next range reset. If you use a manually entered Initial Deposit or Risk In Money amount, you must update that value manually.

If my daily drawdown limit is 5%, should I configure it to exactly 5%? No. Hitting 5% means you have already breached the limit and lost the challenge. Set DrawDown Limiter to 4% or lower to leave a safety margin. For high-frequency strategies that open many trades, go even lower — it takes approximately 1 second to close 3 trades on a low-latency connection, so brief spikes can push you past the limit if configured too close to the edge.

Why does the EA check on a timer instead of on every tick? Using a tick-based check depends on price delivery for the chart the EA is attached to. Some instruments (e.g. BTCUSD on weekends) have no ticks for extended periods, which would make the check unreliable. A timer-based refresh period is always active regardless of market conditions.

What happens when the terminal is configured to close after drawdown is reached, but I need immediate access? You have two options: install a second MT4/MT5 instance and log in from there, or navigate to the MetaTrader data folder (AppData\Roaming\MetaQuotes\Terminal\<InstanceID>\MQL5\Experts\Market), cut the DrawDown Limiter .ex5 file to a temporary folder, restart the terminal (it will start without the EA loaded), then move the file back after you have managed your account.

📋 Disclaimer

The products and software provided by Trade't are tested in certain market conditions and technical environments. Trade't is not responsible for any loss, error, or misuse of the provided software. Users are invited to do their own testing in a demo environment before using any tools in a live setting with real money — this decision is their sole responsibility and at their own risk.

Past performance is no indication or guarantee of future performance. Trading forex involves a significant risk of loss. Always do your due diligence before making any investment decision.