MT5 charts: open a chart, change timeframe, and save templates and profiles

Most of your time in MT5 is spent on charts. This guide covers opening a chart, choosing the timeframe and chart type, moving around the chart, and saving your setup so you do not rebuild it every time. Templates store the look of one chart; profiles store a whole workspace of charts.

MT5 · Guide 5/10 2 min read · Platform menus checked against official help: October 2026

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MT5 chart shortcuts and saving your setup (drawn mock-up)ChartsTimeframesM1 … MN (21 in total)CandlesticksAlt+2PropertiesF8Data WindowCtrl+DTemplateTemplates → Save Template…ProfileFile → Profiles → Save AsOK
MT5 chart shortcuts and saving your setup (drawn mock-up) — Drawn mock-up for illustration, not a screenshot. Names may differ slightly between versions and brokers.

Open a chart and choose how it looks

  1. Open a chart. Right-click a symbol in Market Watch and choose “Chart Window”, drag the symbol onto the workspace, or use File → New Chart. MT5 can hold up to 100 open charts.
  2. Pick the timeframe. Use the Timeframes toolbar, the Charts menu or the chart's context menu. MT5 has 21 timeframes, from one minute (M1) to one month (MN).
  3. Pick the chart type. Bars, candlesticks or a line of close prices, from the toolbar, the Charts menu or the keyboard: Alt+1 (bars), Alt+2 (candlesticks), Alt+3 (line).
  4. Change colours and display. Right-click the chart → Properties (or press F8). Choose a colour scheme or set each element, and on the Show tab turn on the Ask price line if you want to see where buys are filled.

Move around the chart

  1. Zoom. Use the + and − keys, the zoom buttons, or hold Ctrl and roll the mouse wheel.
  2. Scroll. Drag the chart left or right with the mouse. Home jumps to the oldest loaded bar, End to the newest, Page Up and Page Down move one screen.
  3. Read exact values. Turn on the crosshair from the Line Studies toolbar (or click the mouse wheel on the chart) and open the Data Window with Ctrl+D to see prices and indicator values under the cursor.
  4. Arrange several charts. Use the Window menu to tile or cascade them. To move a chart to a second monitor, untick “Docked” in its context menu and drag it.

Save your setup: templates and profiles

  1. Save a template. Set up one chart (type, colours, indicators, lines), then right-click → Templates → Save Template… and give it a name.
  2. Apply a template. On any other chart, right-click → Templates and pick the name. The same indicators and colours appear on the new symbol and timeframe.
  3. Change the default chart. Save your template with the name “default” to overwrite default.tpl, which MT5 applies to every new chart.
  4. Save a profile. Arrange all the charts you watch, then File → Profiles → Save As. Switch profiles from the same menu, or with Ctrl+F5 (next) and Shift+F5 (previous).

Common problems

The chart shows a line, not candles
Press Alt+2, or choose Candlesticks in the Charts menu.
I lost my chart layout
Open File → Profiles and pick the profile you were using; the current profile name is in the status bar.
A template brought old lines onto a new chart
The template was saved with objects on it. Delete the lines, then save the template again under the same name.

Frequently asked questions

How many timeframes does MT5 have?

21, from M1 (one minute) to MN (one month), including H2, H3, H4, H6, H8 and H12.

What is the difference between a template and a profile in MT5?

A template saves the settings of one chart (type, colours, indicators, objects, an attached Expert Advisor). A profile saves all open charts with their positions, sizes and templates.

How do I make every new MT5 chart open with my settings?

Set up a chart, then save it as a template named “default”. MT5 applies default.tpl to new charts.

Sources (official help pages)