First Time EA Configuration

Now that you have Quantdle Data Manager correctly installed, it is time to do the quick initial configuration so you can start backtesting your trading strategies as soon as possible with the best quality data from Quantdle.

Requirements

1. Quantdle Data Manager EA must be correctly installed in your MT5 Terminal.

Quantdle EA not yet installed?

If you don’t have your Quantdle Data Manager EA already installed, you can find the detailed installation guide here.

EA Configuration

Step 1: Obtain your API Keys

1. Follow the quick and easy steps of the API Keys guide here.

2. See you back here in 2 minutes!

   Keep the API Keys window open

   Keep the API Keys window open in another tab, as you will need the API Keys in the next steps for copying and pasting them into the Expert Advisor.

Step 2: Place API Keys into EA

1. Go to your MetaTrader 5 terminal and locate the chart where you attached the Quantdle Data Manager EA.

2. Right-click on the chart and select “Expert List”. Then select the Quantdle Data Manager EA and click on “Properties”.

   You can also press F7 on your keyboard.

   EA not yet attached to a chart?

   If you don’t have the EA attached to a chart, you can do it by simply dragging the EA from the Navigator (Ctrl + N) window to any chart. Then, the “Properties” window will appear.

   If you have any problem, please refer to Step 7 from the installation guide here.

3. Navigate to the “Inputs” tab.

4. Fill in your user email address, the “API Key” and “API Key ID” fields with the keys you generated in the Quantdle App during the previous step.

   

Protect your API Keys

Your API keys are confidential credentials that grant access to your Quantdle’s EA data plan and monthly bandwidth. Never share them with anyone.

If you suspect your keys have been compromised, you can generate new ones at any time in the Quantdle App.

Note: Remember to update your API Keys in the EA if you have generated new ones.

Step 3: Configure Custom Symbol Suffix

The Quantdle Data Manager EA will automatically create the necessary custom symbols using the data downloaded from Quantdle’s servers and your broker’s symbols as a template. This is so the custom symbols have exactly the same properties as the ones your broker provides.

The importance of correct Custom Symbols

Matching the exact conditions that your broker offers is of paramount importance to ensure that your backtests are as accurate as possible. This could be a lengthy and error-prone process if done manually.

But here’s some good news: the Quantdle EA will do all the configuration for you!

If you want to learn more, please refer to the “Custom Symbols” section here.

It is a good practice to add a suffix to your custom symbols to avoid any confusion while you are backtesting your strategies. By default, Quantdle will add the suffix .QDL to your custom symbols. If you want to change this, you can do so by changing the “Suffix” field in the EA properties window.

Remember the dot at the beginning

Remember to also add the dot (.) at the beginning of the suffix you want to use: .QDL, .custom, etc.

Step 4: Configure Indices Names (and others)

In contrast to FX Pairs or Commodities, Indices are not always named the same way across different Brokers. To ensure that the Quantdle EA can correctly identify the Indices you want to backtest, you can configure the “Indices Names” field in the EA properties window.

Here you should add each Index symbol exactly as it is named in your Broker. For example, for the S&P 500 Index, you should add the symbol as SP500 if that is how it is named in your Broker.

Tip: Don't know your broker's symbol names?

If you are unsure about the name of the Index symbols, you can find them in the Symbols section of your MT5 terminal (Ctrl + U).

Next Steps

If you run into any persistent issues, revisit each step carefully or consult the MetaTrader 5 user guide for further details on managing EAs and DLL imports.