With the profound changes that mobile computing has brought to the table over the last few years, one fact has remained relatively constant for the better part of a decade. Linux-based computers, and specifically the Linux desktop, still comprise only 2% of all computers in existence in the world. If you are a fan of Linux, then you really have to accept that you are almost on an island when it comes to support for Metatrader 4, (MT4 for short) from your broker and/or other MT4 software developers. However, the wonderful thing about being a Linux user is that other Linux users and the Linux user community in general are fantastic when it comes to helping each other out. So while you won’t get support from your broker or Mt4, other MT4 Linux users will probably be happy to help.
Many times this is due to necessity. When there is no technical support for your particular platform, it is in your best interest to share your knowledge with the Linux community to resolve a problem. By helping others, you also help yourself and the whole community benefits, bugs are reported to developers and improvements are made to the software. After all, Linux is free and it was the inspiration for many other open source software that we all love today. Google’s Android operating system and WordPress are among the most notable.
Apart from the minimal direct support you will find from your broker and developers, there are other challenges that can arise with using Metatrader 4 on Linux. The biggest challenge is that there is simply no guarantee that MT 4 will work 100% of the time. I have used Mt 4 on other versions of Linux for several years. Puppy Linux and Ubuntu Linux worked great. Many other versions of Linux failed miserably. I personally opted to try various versions of Linux until I found one that worked.
To run a native Windows application like Metatrader 4, the most cost effective way is to use an open source application called Wine. Now, while I know there are commercial alternatives you can use, that’s beyond the scope of this article. Also, Wine is a Windows emulator that is available and bundled with almost every major version of Linux. A few months ago after upgrading to Ubuntu version 12.04 I tried to run Metatrader with the latest version of Wine, version 1.4. It was a fairly simple process and required very little to install or modify..
- Make sure Wine is installed on your Linux machine. We have a Linux terminal, just type wine –version to be sure.
- Open File Manager on Linux and go to the mounted drive where your Windows files are and where the Metatrader folder is located. Usually: c: Metatrader Program Files otherwise it is c: Program Files The name of your broker ie. FXDD, Alpari
- Point and right click on the file called ‘terminal.exe’
- Select ‘Open with Wine Windows Program Loader’
There is usually a delay before Metatrader opens. It won’t open immediately like it does on a Windows machine. You must remember that there are many resources that are used to emulate. A lightweight program like Metatrader becomes much heavier outside of its native environment.
If Metatrader opens on your Linux machine, then you are in luck. You have achieved something that many have not achieved. However, if you are unlucky in the process, there are a few other things you can try.
First check the version of Wine you are using. Open a terminal in Linux and enter the command: wine –version
Mine shows version 1.4 of Wine. In previous versions of Wine, I had problems getting Metatrader to work. When Wine 1.3 didn’t work for me. I looked in the Wine repository, uninstalled Wine 1.3, and installed Wine version 1.2 instead. It worked fine, the downgrade did not affect the functionality of Metatrader 4 at all and I was able to run other Windows applications like Quicken and options trading software.
Check out the WineHQ website. Users will give feedback on what works and what doesn’t.
You almost have to have the mindset that running an application like Metatrader on Linux is in its Beta phase. There are glitches that occur from time to time, it just comes with the benefits of not having to use Windows just to run Metatrader. I have had Metatrader for days on my Linux computer with no crashes or stops. It could monitor trades, update and modify charts and run Expert Advisors. So I can tell you that there have been great improvements in recent years. 7 or 8 years ago when I started using Metatrader, using it on Linux was just a pipe dream. With the focus on mobile computing and cross-platform computing, my hope is that developers will move towards a web-based port of Metatrader, so Linux users don’t have to wait and wish for a wonderful app like Metatrader features.
