In short. When opening a trade, enter the levels in the «Stop Loss» and «Take Profit» fields of the order window (F9); zero means the level is not set. For an open position, stops are changed via «Modify or delete» in the context menu on the «Trade» tab or by dragging the line on the chart. Stop loss and take profit are stored and executed by the broker's server — they trigger even with your computer off; a trailing stop works only while the terminal is running. Names follow the MetaTrader 5 help as of 13 October 2026.
How to set a stop when opening a trade
- Open the order window: «New order» in the Market Watch context menu or the F9 key.
- Enter the levels in «Stop Loss» and «Take Profit». Whether you type a price or a number of points from the price is set in «Tools» → «Options», the «Stop levels» option.
- Leave zero and that level is not set. A level that is too close or on the wrong side is rejected: «Invalid stops» appears.
The chart decides where the stop goes; the account decides how much you can lose: first the stop level, then the size from risk — the lot size calculator and the 1% rule. How to balance stop and target — in «Risk/reward ratio».
How to change the stop of an open position
- On the «Trade» tab. Right-click the position → «Modify or delete», enter the new levels → «Modify...». While the levels are invalid, the button stays disabled.
- By dragging on the chart. Drag the position or stop line up or down — a tooltip shows the potential profit or loss in account currency and points, then the modify window opens. «Show trade levels» must be enabled in the options; «Disable dragging of trade levels» turns dragging off.
- From the chart context menu → «Trade»: the stop is placed at the price under the cursor. With «One Click Trading» on — instantly, without a dialog.
Where and at what price stops trigger
- On the broker's server. Stop loss and take profit do not depend on your terminal: switch the computer off and they keep working.
- A long position is checked against Bid, a short one against Ask. So the stop of a short position can trigger when the spread widens without the price itself reaching the level — at night or on news, for example. Exchange-traded symbols usually use the last trade price (Last).
- Triggering closes the whole position. A partial close does not change the stops.
- If the server rejects the close, the stop is not deleted and triggers again on the next tick.
- On gaps and news a stop may fill worse than its level — the loss can exceed the plan.
Why a stop cannot be placed
| Reason | What to do |
|---|---|
| Wrong side: a buy's stop above Bid, a sell's stop below Ask | for a buy, stop loss below Bid and take profit above; for a sell — the other way round |
| Too close: «Stops level» in the symbol specification is a channel in points from the price where stops cannot be placed | «Market Watch» → right-click the symbol → «Specification»; move the stop outside the channel |
| Code 10016 — invalid stops in the request (from an EA) | the same: side and stops level |
| Code 10029 — order or position frozen | the price is in the freeze zone near the order level — it cannot be changed now, try later |
Trailing stop
Right-click the position on the «Trade» tab → «Trailing Stop» → a distance in points (your own — «Set custom level»). When the profit in points reaches that distance, the terminal places a stop loss and moves it only in the profitable direction — at most once every 10 seconds. To turn it off — «None».
The key point: the trailing stop runs in the terminal, not on the server. Close the terminal and trailing stops; the last stop loss it placed stays on the server. If you use trailing, keep the terminal on a VPS.
Netting, hedging and one-click trading
- On a netting account the stops of a new order on the same position replace the old ones, and zeros delete them — so the order window pre-fills the current levels. Do not wipe them by accident.
- On a hedging account one-click trading opens positions without stop loss and take profit — set them right after entry.
- On exchange markets stops are reset when a position rolls over to the next trading day; on OTC markets (forex) they are kept. Check your stops in the morning.
What Davinchu does
- Blocks trades without a stop. With the «Risk per trade, % (max)» rule the T-Manager risk manager for MetaTrader 5 does not open an entry through its panel without a stop loss or with risk above your limit — «How to limit losses in MT5» and the «MT5 risk manager» page.
- Reports stop changes and closes by stop. The Davinchu monitor sends SL/TP changes and closes by SL/TP to Telegram — with a chart screenshot if you like — «MT5 notifications in Telegram».
- Shows the habit. In the journal a trade can be marked with the mistakes «Entry without a stop» and «Moved the stop» — the «Recurring mistakes» block of «Review» shows what they cost.