How to Save a Chart Template in MT5 and Use Profiles

What you'll learn

• What a chart template stores in MetaTrader 5, and what a profile stores.
• The exact steps to save, apply, set as default and delete a template.
• How to save and switch profiles, and where MT5 keeps the files.
• How to keep your templates and profiles clean as your setup grows.

This lesson is part of the MT5 Power User module and assumes you know the MetaTrader 5 interface. New to the platform? Start with how to use MetaTrader 5.

How do you save a chart template in MT5?

To save a chart template in MT5, set up one chart the way you want it, right-click the chart, choose Templates, then Save Template, and type a name. MetaTrader 5 saves the template as a file. From then on, any other chart can take on the same indicators, colours and settings in one click, whatever its symbol or timeframe.

Step by step, on the desktop platform:

1. Open a chart and add your indicators with the settings you want, for example a 50-period moving average, RSI(14) and ATR(14).
2. Set the colours, chart type and scale, and add any lines you want to keep.
3. Right-click the chart and choose Templates, then Save Template.... The same Templates menu is also in the Charts menu at the top of the platform.
4. Type a short, clear name, such as trend-volatility, and click Save.

To change a saved template, save it again under the same name, as the MetaTrader 5 help on templates describes.

What is a chart template in MetaTrader 5?

A chart template is a saved set of chart window settings that MetaTrader 5 can apply to any other chart. It stores how one chart looks and what is drawn on it. It does not store which charts are open or where they sit on your screen; a profile does that.

What does a template store?

According to the MetaTrader 5 help, a template can store:

• the chart type and colours, and the colour scheme;
• the chart scale, and whether the OHLC line is shown (OHLC means open, high, low and close);
• technical and custom indicators, with their settings;
• graphical objects, such as trendlines and horizontal lines;
• day separators;
• a running Expert Advisor and its parameters. An Expert Advisor is a program that can trade automatically.

Which template names are special?

Three template names have a fixed job in MetaTrader 5:

How do you apply, set as default and delete a template?

You apply, change or remove a template from the same Templates menu, which opens from the Charts menu or by right-clicking a chart. The template name you choose in that menu replaces the current chart's indicators and look with the saved ones. Naming a template default changes what every new chart looks like.

What is a profile in MetaTrader 5?

A profile is a saved workspace: the charts that are open, their position and size on screen, and the templates applied to each one. When you open a profile, every chart comes back exactly where it was. Changes you make to open charts are saved to the current profile automatically, as the MetaTrader 5 help on profiles explains.

A default profile is created when the platform is installed, with four charts: EURUSD, USDCHF, GBPUSD and USDJPY.

How do you save and switch profiles?

1. Arrange the charts you want, for example four currency pairs, each with your template applied.
2. Open the File menu, choose Profiles, then Save As, and type a name. The new profile becomes the active one.
3. To switch, open File, Profiles and click another name at the bottom of the menu. You can also click the profile name in the status bar at the bottom of the window.
4. To step through profiles, press Ctrl+F5 for the next one and Shift+F5 for the previous one.
5. To delete one, choose File, Profiles, Remove. You cannot delete the current profile or the default one.
6. To open a profile automatically for one account, name it after that trading account number. MT5 applies it when you switch to that account.

What is the difference between a template and a profile?

A template controls how one chart looks; a profile controls which charts are open and how they are arranged. A profile includes the templates on its charts, so the two work together: one template for a consistent look, and one profile per set of markets you watch.

Where are MT5 templates and profiles stored?

Open the File menu and choose Open Data Folder. The MetaTrader 5 help on files and folders places them inside the MQL5 folder: chart templates are .tpl files in MQL5\Profiles\Templates, and each profile is its own subfolder of MQL5\Profiles\Charts, holding one .chr file per chart. To move a setup to another computer, copy the .tpl file or the whole profile folder into the same place there.

How much time does a template save?

A template turns a repeated manual setup into one menu click per chart, so every chart gets identical settings. Take four charts, EURUSD H1, GBPUSD H1, USDJPY H4 and XAUUSD D1, each wanting a 50-period moving average, RSI(14) and ATR(14), at about 1 minute per indicator.

Then check the result. Press Ctrl+D to open the Data Window and hover over the last candle on each chart: ATR(14) should be listed on all four. ATR, the average true range, measures how far price has moved per candle, in price units (explained in the Bollinger Bands and ATR lesson):

• EURUSD: an ATR of 0.0040 is 40 pips, because one pip is 0.0001.
• USDJPY: an ATR of 0.40 is also 40 pips, because one pip is 0.01.

At 0.10 lot of EURUSD in a USD account, a pip is worth about $1, so a 40-pip move is about $40. The pip value calculator works this out for other symbols and sizes.

In any account currency the setup is identical. A template stores indicators and settings, not your account currency, so the same file works on any account.

How do you keep templates and profiles clean?

Keep templates and profiles clean by saving only the indicators you use, checking a template's contents before applying it, and keeping a clean copy of each profile. A template copies whatever you saved, so saving a cluttered six-indicator chart as default makes every new chart open cluttered.

The lesson on combining indicators explains why fewer indicators, each with a clear job, are easier to read. Keep one clean template for analysis and test any new one on a demo account first.

Try it on demo

On a demo account in MetaTrader 5, add a 50-period moving average, RSI(14) and ATR(14) to EURUSD H1 and save it as a template. Apply it to GBPUSD, USDJPY and XAUUSD, then check ATR(14) in the Data Window on each chart. Save the four charts as a profile, then switch away and back.

How do I make a template the default in MT5?

Save it with the name default. MetaTrader 5 applies default.tpl automatically to every new chart, so saving over it changes how each new chart opens. Charts already open keep their current settings until you apply a template to them.

Can I copy MT5 templates to another computer?

Yes. Open File, Open Data Folder, then MQL5\Profiles\Templates, and copy the .tpl file. Paste it into the same folder on the other computer, or apply it there with Templates, Load Template. For a whole profile, copy its folder from MQL5\Profiles\Charts instead.

Does an MT5 template change the symbol or timeframe?

No. A template applies its indicators, colours and objects to whatever symbol and timeframe the chart already shows.

Why did my MT5 template not save my drawings?

A template stores the graphical objects on the chart at the moment you save it. Objects you add afterwards are not in the file until you save the template again under the same name.

• MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Templates and Profiles, accessed 19 October 2026: what a template stores (chart type and colours, colour scheme, scale, OHLC line, running Expert Advisor and parameters, indicators, graphical objects, day separators); templates apply to any symbol and timeframe; default.tpl for new charts, tester.tpl for testing results and debug.tpl for MetaEditor debugging; Save Template, Load Template and Remove Template; what a profile stores, automatic saving, the default four-chart profile, Save As, Remove, Ctrl+F5 and Shift+F5, profiles named after a trading account number applied automatically, and the option to disable Expert Advisors when changing profile. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/charts_advanced/templates_profiles
• MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Files and Folders, accessed 19 October 2026: the Open data folder command in the File menu, and the MQL5\Profiles folder, with chart templates as .tpl files in Templates and each chart profile as a subfolder of .chr files in Charts. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/start_advanced/structure