We rewrite EasyLanguage strategies as MT5 Expert Advisors and indicators, ShowMe and PaintBar studies as MT5 custom indicators — rebuilding orders, sizes and sessions for your MT5 account, and checking the result against criteria agreed with you.
Value1 = XAverage(Close, 21);iMA(…, MODE_EMA, …) + CopyBuffer(…)Plot1(Value1, "EMA");SetIndexBuffer(0, EmaBuffer)Close of Data2CopyRates(symbol2, PERIOD_H1, …)Buy ("LE") next bar at market;close any short, then trade.Buy(…)Same logic, rebuilt for MetaTrader 5
TradeStation to MT5 conversion means rewriting EasyLanguage code in MQL5: a strategy becomes an MT5 Expert Advisor, and an indicator or a ShowMe or PaintBar study becomes an MT5 custom indicator. The move can keep the same market — some MT5 brokers offer stocks and futures — or change it, for example from a futures contract to a CFD. If the instrument changes, trade sizes, price distances and sessions are adapted as well.
| In TradeStation | In MT5 | Carries over |
|---|---|---|
| Indicator | Custom indicator with buffers | Yes |
| ShowMe study | Indicator that draws arrows on bars | Yes |
| PaintBar study | Indicator that draws coloured candles | Yes |
| Function | MQL5 function or include file | Yes |
| Strategy | Expert Advisor | YesOrders, sizes and fills are rebuilt |
| RadarScreen columns | Multi-symbol panel or scanner | PartlyBuilt as a panel; agreed column by column |
A TradeStation strategy and an MT5 Expert Advisor both trade automatically, but they phrase orders, size trades and track positions differently. Converting a strategy keeps its rules and rebuilds its trade handling for MT5.
Buy, Sell, Sell Short and Buy to Cover orders with their entry names become MT5 trade operations — including exits tied to a named entry, scaling in, pyramiding settings and reversals: a Buy while short closes the short before going long, while a plain buy in MT5 can open a separate opposite position on a hedging account.
“Next bar” orders, stop and limit orders that last one bar, and “this bar on close” orders are rebuilt with the rules for when each order becomes active, how long it stays and when it is cancelled — and trade timing is checked against the agreed criteria.
Stop loss, profit target, breakeven and trailing stops become price levels and EA rules, keeping whether each was set per contract or for the whole position. Dollar stops — the loss allowed — are converted with the symbol’s tick value in your account currency. Built-in stops can close a trade on the same bar it opened, so when protection starts after the entry fill is checked too.
On a hedging account each entry can stay a separate position; on a netting account all deals on a symbol make one shared position, and a magic number doesn’t split it — so the EA keeps its own record of named entries. How it works alongside other EAs, manual trades and positions already open at start is agreed in advance.
Fixed sizes, or a dollar amount per trade — the money put into the position — become lots for the MT5 symbol, calculated in your account currency, rounded to its volume step and checked against your risk rules.
Intrabar order generation, variables kept with IntrabarPersist and historical intrabar fills are handled separately, and the method is chosen for each strategy — no single MT5 setting reproduces them all.
MT5 Strategy Tester results won’t match TradeStation’s backtest exactly: the platforms use different data — sometimes for a different instrument — and model fills differently. We choose how intrabar history is calculated and filled for each strategy and check that entries and exits follow the agreed rules.
Converting a TradeStation indicator means rebuilding its calculations in MQL5 and everything it shows on the chart. We convert indicators, ShowMe and PaintBar studies, functions and multi-data indicators.
Numbered plots become indicator buffers, and colours that change from bar to bar become colour buffers.
ShowMe dots become arrows drawn on bars, and PaintBar colouring becomes coloured candles in MT5.
Data2 and other streams become data requested from other symbols or timeframes, with readiness checks, keeping the original’s behaviour — forming or confirmed values. We also check the original for future-data leakage and agree any corrections before conversion.
Functions become MQL5 functions; series functions, which update on every bar even inside a condition that didn’t run, keep that behaviour. Starting values and warm-up history are rebuilt so calculations line up.
Tick, range or Renko bars are built on a custom symbol or in the code itself; for EAs, signals come from these bars while orders go to the broker’s real symbol, since custom symbols can’t be traded. Volume bars need traded volume, which MT5 provides only for some exchange instruments, so their feasibility is assessed before conversion.
RadarScreen columns can become a multi-symbol panel, and alerts become MT5 alerts and notifications.
TradeStation and MetaTrader 5 can trade different instruments, and they run code in different ways. These are the differences that decide whether a converted script behaves like the original — and what we do about each of them.
US stocks and futures through TradeStation
Forex, CFDs, stocks or futures from your MT5 broker
If the instrument changes, we agree which one replaces each TradeStation symbol and adapt sizes, price distances and sessions.
Shares or contracts — fixed, or from a dollar amount per trade
Lots, rounded to the symbol’s volume step
Sizes are recalculated for the MT5 symbol in your account currency and checked against your risk rules.
One strategy position, built from named entries
Separate positions on a hedging account; one shared position per symbol on a netting account
We map each named entry and its exits for your account type — on netting, with the EA’s own record of entries — and agree how the EA works alongside other EAs, manual trades and positions already open at start.
Orders for the next bar or this bar on close; stop and limit orders last one bar
Order timing is controlled by the EA; pending orders stay until filled, cancelled or expired
We rebuild when each order becomes active, how long it stays and when it is cancelled, and check trade timing against the agreed criteria.
Bar times follow the chart’s setting — local or exchange time
Your broker’s server time and the symbol’s sessions
We compare sessions, bar timestamps and the time zone each version’s logic uses — matching chart clocks alone isn’t enough.
MaxBarsBack sets the history needed before calculation starts
Indicators calculate from the first available bar
We rebuild starting values, warm-up history and readiness checks for each series, so calculations line up.
Look-Inside-Bar Back-testing for intrabar fills
The Strategy Tester on real ticks, 1-minute bars or open prices
We choose how intrabar history is calculated and filled for each strategy, so both backtests are compared on similar assumptions.
Some things depend on the platform itself: protected .ELD files can’t be opened without the original code; DLL calls and global variables used by EasyLanguage are checked one by one; and data available only in TradeStation, such as some fundamental and options data, has no MT5 equivalent. We point these out before work starts and agree the closest MT5 equivalent with you.
A converter or an AI pass can produce MQL5 code quickly. The risk is not the tool but an unchecked result: code can compile and still trade differently, because TradeStation and MT5 phrase orders, size trades and track positions differently. We start from how the TradeStation version behaves and rebuild it in MQL5.
| Automatic conversion | Manual conversion at Nordman Algorithms | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Often the EasyLanguage syntax, statement by statement | How the TradeStation version behaves |
| Platform differences | Often found later, if at all | Identified before work starts and agreed with you |
| Orders and sizes | EasyLanguage order statements and sizes copied as they are | Rebuilt for MT5 order handling, lots and your account type |
Send it to us — we review it and give you a fixed price and timeline before work starts.
We run the TradeStation original and the MT5 version on the same timeframe, with matching trading sessions and bar timestamps, and compare them against acceptance criteria agreed with you:
If the instrument stays the same, we compare values and signal timing directly. If it changes — say, from a futures contract to a CFD — the data differ, so we check that the agreed rules are followed and the risk is recalculated correctly, rather than expecting identical values or trades. If something doesn’t match, we find the cause — price data, platform behaviour or the code.
Export the indicator or strategy as an unprotected .ELD file — or send the code as text — with the functions it calls and your strategy settings, plus a short description.
You sendSource + functionsWe analyse the code, check it for future-data leakage, agree your MT5 broker, account type, symbols and sessions — the same market or a new one — and agree settings, acceptance criteria, price and timeline.
You getFixed price + criteriaThe indicator or strategy is rebuilt as an MT5 custom indicator or Expert Advisor, including any extra features you asked for.
We buildThe MT5 versionThe MT5 version is checked against the acceptance criteria agreed in step 2.
We checkValues, signals, tradesBugs and differences from the agreed specification are fixed after delivery.
You get.mq5 + .ex5 filesEvery strategy and indicator is reviewed before we quote. These are the main factors.
How much logic the code contains, including the functions it calls.
For strategies: order types and timing, built-in stops, positions and intrabar order generation.
Data2 and other streams, and non-time bars the code relies on.
ShowMe and PaintBar studies, drawings and text on the chart.
External DLL calls and global variables — each is checked and replaced where needed.
Conversion needs unprotected code. Without it, recreating the strategy or indicator from your description is assessed separately.
No. MetaTrader 5 runs MQL5; EasyLanguage indicators, studies, functions and strategies have to be rewritten.
Yes. The strategy’s rules are kept and its trade handling is rebuilt for MT5 — orders, lots, stops and positions on your account type — with sizing and risk agreed with you.
If your MT5 broker offers the same instruments, the market stays the same, but each symbol’s specification, volume, sessions and execution are still checked. If you move to another market — say, from a futures contract to a CFD — sizes, price distances and sessions are adapted, and how the EA behaves there is checked against the agreed rules.
TradeStation’s backtest fills these orders at the bar’s close, but a live order can only be sent once the bar ends, and the session’s last bar behaves differently. We distinguish the simulated bar-close fills from the live order behaviour, then agree the corresponding MT5 timing — for example, at the first tick of the next bar or shortly before the close — and check it against the agreed criteria.
ShowMe studies become indicators that draw arrows, PaintBar studies become coloured candles, and functions become MQL5 functions or include files. RadarScreen columns can be rebuilt as a multi-symbol panel. What carries over is agreed before work starts.
A protected .ELD file doesn’t show its source code, and conversion needs the code. Without it, we can assess recreating the indicator or strategy from your description, settings and examples of how it behaves — but an exact match can’t be promised in advance.
On the same market, values can come close but not always match exactly: TradeStation and your MT5 broker provide different data, and starting values depend on the history each platform loads. If the instrument changes, identical values aren’t the goal — we check that the agreed rules are followed and the risk is recalculated correctly.
Not exactly. The platforms use different data and model intrabar fills differently — Look-Inside-Bar Back-testing in TradeStation, real ticks or 1-minute bars in the MT5 Strategy Tester — so we choose how intrabar history is calculated and filled for each strategy and check that entries and exits follow the agreed rules.
It depends on the size of the code, the functions it calls, additional data streams, visual elements and, for strategies, the order logic. After reviewing your EasyLanguage code we give you a fixed price and an estimated timeline before work starts.
Share an unprotected .ELD file or the code as text, with the functions it uses, and a short description of what it should do in MetaTrader 5. We will review it and give you a fixed price and timeline before work starts.