POC Breakout Analyst chart with candles, overlays and signals Right-panel BUY / SELL / WAIT signal with DOM, gauge and Time & Sales Session Volume Profile with POC, VAH and VAL
MetaTrader 5 · Expert Advisor
AJ Trading Tools

POC BreakoutAnalyst

A precision breakout engine that trades clean moves away from the Point of Control — every signal printed with a defined stop and a TP1 / TP2 / TP3 ladder, read against live volume profile.

Document
Official User Manual
Build / Version
v20.72
Platform
MetaTrader 5
© AJ Trading Tools. POC Breakout Analyst is an analysis & dashboard EA. Order entry is opt-in. Trading involves substantial risk of loss. This document is for educational use.
POC BREAKOUT ANALYST · User Manualv20.72
Navigation

Table of Contents

01Introduction & ConceptWhat POC Breakout is and the idea it trades03
02Requirements & InstallationCompatibility and getting the EA onto a chart04
03Quick StartFive minutes to your first signal05
04The Dashboard, Region by RegionA guided tour of every panel06
05The Core Engine — POC Breakout SignalPre-qualified signals & the SL/TP ladder08
06Volume Profile FoundationPOC, VAH, VAL and the VP Analyst10
07The Analyst Layer14-factor breakout review & dual confidence12
08Order Flow ToolkitDOM, Time & Sales, Bubble Flow, pressure13
09Supporting Signal EnginesSession, Intraday, ORB, divergence, structure15
10Trade Management & Order EntryTrade Manager, Custom Orders, prop guard16
11AlertsSignal, level and manual price alerts17
12Appearance — Themes, Skins & Layout29 themes, 26 skins, resolution presets18
13Complete Settings ReferenceEvery input, grouped as in MT519
14Strategy TesterRunning the dashboard in visual backtest22
15Troubleshooting & FAQCommon questions and fixes23
16GlossaryOrder-flow and volume-profile terms24
AAppendix A — Recommended MarketsSymbols, timeframes & tick sizes25
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01 · Introduction & ConceptPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 01

Introduction & Concept

POC Breakout is a single-file MetaTrader 5 Expert Advisor built around one core idea: trade clean breakouts away from the Point of Control, with predefined risk and targets on every signal. The breakout engine prints each signal with a stop-loss plus a TP1 / TP2 / TP3 ladder on a structured 1:1 / 1:2 / 1:3 risk-to-reward basis, while the live session volume profile anchors the breakout decision.

On top of that signal core, a full custom dashboard layers order flow, an analyst review, supporting signal engines, and an optional trade manager. Visual / alert mode is the default and is fully usable without enabling any auto trading. Live trade-management and order-entry paths are included for users who want them, but they are opt-in.

The idea in one paragraph

The Point of Control (POC) is the price where the most volume traded during the session — the market's current “fair value.” Price tends to rotate around it until an auction imbalance pushes it away decisively. POC Breakout watches for that decisive push and runs each candidate breakout through a proprietary, multi-stage qualification engine that weighs several independent dimensions of market context — auction location, participation, structure, volatility and multi-timeframe agreement. Only breakouts that clear the engine are printed; the exact model and its thresholds are proprietary.

Signal-first

Every signal is complete

No bare arrows. Each print carries entry, stop, and a 1R / 2R / 3R target ladder drawn directly on the chart.

Context-aware

Read against volume

POC, VAH and VAL are structural levels the breakout is measured against — not decoration.

Reviewed

An analyst second opinion

A 14-factor Analyst grades each breakout A–F and tracks whether it strengthens or fails after print.

Self-contained

The EA draws everything

A full-screen custom interface presents the chart, ladder, panels and order flow as one cohesive dashboard.

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Who this manual is for

Traders running POC Breakout on a live or demo MT5 account, and anyone evaluating it in the Strategy Tester. No coding knowledge is required. Every control described here is operated by clicking the on-chart dashboard or by setting inputs in the standard MT5 properties window.

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Risk disclaimer — please read

POC Breakout Analyst is an analysis and dashboard tool first. Its BUY / SELL / WAIT outputs are signals, not financial advice, and no signal, grade or confidence read is a guarantee of any particular outcome.

Trading leveraged instruments such as forex, indices, metals, energies and crypto carries a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. You can lose more than your initial deposit. Past performance — whether live, demo or from the Strategy Tester — does not guarantee future results, and backtest behaviour can differ materially from live trading due to spread, slippage, liquidity, latency and broker conditions.

You are solely responsible for your own trading decisions, risk and money management, and for complying with the rules of your broker or prop firm. Always test thoroughly in the Strategy Tester and on a demo account before committing real capital, never risk money you cannot afford to lose, and do not enable order entry until you fully understand the trade-management settings in Chapter 10. If in doubt, seek advice from an independent, licensed financial professional. By using this software you accept that the author and AJ Trading Tools accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from its use.

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02 · Requirements & InstallationPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 02

Requirements & Installation

System requirements

RequirementDetail
PlatformMetaTrader 5 — any recent build.
DependenciesSelf-contained. No external indicators, libraries or installs required.
Symbols & timeframesOptimised for intraday trading on the 5-minute timeframe. See Appendix A for the full list of recommended symbols and their tick sizes.
Depth of MarketThe DOM is inferred from live price and trade activity, and uses broker market depth directly where it is provided.
For order entryA broker account with trading permission, plus the relevant input flags enabled. Optional — not required for analysis.
DisplayRecommended 1920×1080 (1080p) or higher. Layout-fit presets cover 1080p, 1440p, 4K, Ultrawide and 2560×1080 (Chapter 12).

Installing the Expert Advisor

  1. Open the data folder In MetaTrader 5, choose File ▸ Open Data Folder.
  2. Copy the EA Place POC Breakout Analyst.ex5 into the MQL5\Experts\ folder.
  3. Refresh the Navigator Back in MT5, right-click Expert Advisors in the Navigator and choose Refresh. POC Breakout Analyst appears in the list.
  4. Allow algo trading Click the Algo Trading toolbar button so it is green. (Required for the timer and any order entry; analysis still renders without it, but live updates rely on it.)
  5. Attach to a chart Drag POC Breakout Analyst onto a clean chart of your chosen symbol, or double-click it in the Navigator.
  6. Set inputs & confirm The properties window opens — review the input groups (Chapter 13), tick Allow Algo Trading in the Common tab if you plan to use order entry, and click OK.
First-run recommendation

Leave every order-entry setting off for your first sessions. Run the EA purely as a visual/alert dashboard while you learn the panels. Analyst and custom-order entry only act when you explicitly use them.

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Set the tick size for your symbol

Before trading a symbol, set InpTicksPerLevel to the value listed for it in Appendix A. The tick size controls the chart's price buckets and the DOM — an incorrect value can make the displayed spread look too wide. This is the single most important setting to get right per symbol.

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03 · Quick StartPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 03

Quick Start

Five minutes from a blank chart to reading your first breakout signal.

  1. Attach & let it build Drop the EA on a chart. On the first few ticks it builds the session volume profile, the signal history, and higher-timeframe trends. The full dashboard appears over a hidden native chart.
  2. Set your session window In inputs, confirm InpSessionStart / InpSessionEnd match the session you trade. The volume profile, POC, VWAP and cumulative delta all anchor to this window.
  3. Find the POC line The yellow horizontal line (black in light theme) is the session Point of Control — the breakout's anchor. VAH and VAL bracket the value area around it.
  4. Read the breakout labels When a completed candle triggers a qualifying breakout, a BUY or SELL tag prints on the chart with its SL and TP1/TP2/TP3 lines. STRONG variants indicate an especially high-quality setup.
  5. Check the right-panel consensus The right trade panel shows a stable BUY / SELL / WAIT read that blends trend, order flow, participation and the engine's own bias.
  6. Open the Analyst Click the Analyst button on the bottom feature strip to grade the latest breakout A–F and watch its live confidence evolve.
  7. Turn on alerts Leave InpSignalAlerts on so each new signal pings you. Add SL/TP level alerts and notifications as you like (Chapter 11).
If the chart looks empty

Give it a few seconds and a few ticks — the profile and signal history build on the first completed bars. Make sure Algo Trading is enabled so the 50 ms render timer runs in live mode.

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04 · The Dashboard, Region by RegionPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 04

The Dashboard, Region by Region

POC Breakout Analyst replaces the native MT5 chart with its own full-screen interface. Everything you see — candles, ladder, panels, order flow — is drawn by the EA itself. Here is the anatomy.

1Top header strip. View-Controls summary box (pair, price, session bias, MA status, cumulative delta, daily change), eight sci-fi indicator equalizer boxes, and five higher-timeframe trend boxes (M5/M15/H1/H4/D1). A top-left master toggle collapses it to a compact Sleek-style strip. 2Custom chart. Candle/heatmap chart with grid, supply/demand zones, Fibonacci, key levels, MA/VWAP overlays, the session volume profile, and the POC / VAH / VAL lines. Supports zoom, compression, manual pan, auto-range and reset. 3Price ladder. Styled ladder aligned to the live price marker, redrawn above overlays so it always stays readable at the chart edge. 4Right trade panel. Collapsible group containing the DOM, Time & Sales tape, info rows, and the stable BUY / SELL / WAIT signal panel. 5Lower-left lanes. Volume bars, the Bubble Flow panel, and the Bulls/Bears pressure gauge stack here, independent of the right-panel height. 6Bottom timeline. A dedicated bottom-most lane with dense timestamps running all the way to the price ladder — no separate far-right clock.
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Floating tool panels

Several tools open as floating panels in a shared stack: Session VP, Session TPO, VP Analyst, Price Alert, ORB stats, divergence and trendline. They are opened from the top utility strip or the bottom feature strip and layer above the chart without blocking the master toggle.

Top-strip buttons that open the floating tools
Figure 4.1 — The top-strip buttons open the floating tools (Session TPO, VP Analyst, Price Alert and more).
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04 · The Dashboard, Region by RegionPOC Breakout Analyst

Chart navigation controls

The custom chart is interactive. Controls are exposed as on-screen click targets on the header and toolbars.

ControlWhat it does
ZoomScales the visible price range between InpChartZoomMin and InpChartZoomMax in steps of InpChartZoomStep.
CompressionHorizontally compresses/expands candles between InpChartCompressMin and InpChartCompressMax.
PanManually shifts the view left/right by InpChartPanStepPct. Locking pan stops auto-range from moving the view.
Auto-range / ResetRe-fits the visible price window to recent action and clears manual pan/zoom back to defaults.
Auto-scrollWhen InpAutoScroll is on, the chart keeps the latest price in view with a InpScrollMargin buffer.

In-panel editing (keyboard)

Some tools accept typed values directly on the panel — for example MA periods on the MA/VWAP panel, ORB fields, orderflow-pulse settings, and custom-order sizes. When an edit field is active:

Type digits / decimal point to enter a value Enter ↵ — commit the value Esc — cancel the edit Backspace — delete last digit
Collapsing for focus

Use the top-left master toggle to collapse the header into the compact strip when you want maximum chart space, and collapse the right trade panel as a single group when you only need the chart and signals. The bottom feature strip has its own hide/restore tab.

POC Breakout Analyst top header strip with View Controls, indicator equalizer boxes and HTF trend boxes
Figure 4.2 — Top header: View Controls, indicator equalizers, and HTF trend boxes.
Indicator suite panel with eight indicator equalizer boxes
Figure 4.3 — The Indicator Suite: the eight-indicator equalizer panel with live signal tags.
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05 · The Core EnginePOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 05

The Core Engine — POC Breakout Signal

This is the heart of the product: a proprietary, multi-stage qualification engine. Every signal it prints arrives pre-validated and carries a complete risk plan — so you read conclusions, not raw indicator noise.

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Proprietary engine — not disclosed

The exact trigger logic, the qualification model, its weighting and its thresholds are proprietary to POC Breakout and are intentionally not documented. This chapter explains what the engine delivers and how to act on it — not the internal recipe.

How a breakout qualifies

Signals are evaluated on completed bars only, so they are stable rather than repainting intrabar. A candidate breakout is not printed on a single condition — it must clear a sequence of independent validation stages. The engine weighs the move against several distinct dimensions of market context and requires enough of them to align before it commits a signal:

Dimension

Auction location

Where the breakout sits relative to the session's fair-value structure.

Dimension

Participation

Whether genuine order flow and volume are backing the move.

Dimension

Market structure

Whether the move is a real structural shift rather than noise.

Dimension

Volatility & trend

Whether conditions and the multi-timeframe trend support follow-through.

Only when enough of these dimensions agree does the engine print a signal. The precise model, the way each dimension is weighted, and the qualifying thresholds are part of POC Breakout's protected edge and are not published.

Signal grades

Qualified signals print as BUY or SELL. When a setup clears the engine's highest-quality bar, it is elevated to STRONG BUY or STRONG SELL — your cue that an unusually strong confluence of conditions has come together.

Trend continuation

By default the engine can print consecutive signals in the same direction (BUY→BUY or SELL→SELL) when a strong trend keeps producing fully-qualified setups, letting you stay aligned with momentum rather than forcing an alternation. This can be switched to strict one-per-swing alternation if you prefer (see the advanced engine note in Chapter 13).

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05 · The Core EnginePOC Breakout Analyst

The risk plan on every signal

The moment a signal qualifies, the engine attaches a complete, pre-calculated risk plan — there is never a bare arrow. Every signal carries one entry, one protective stop, and a structured three-step target ladder at 1R, 2R and 3R (1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 reward-to-risk):

ENTRY the breakout level on the completed signal candle STOP an adaptive, volatility-aware level placed beyond the breakout structure TARGETS TP1 = 1R TP2 = 2R TP3 = 3R # R = the distance from entry to the protective stop

The stop and all three targets are drawn directly on the chart at the signal, so the whole plan is visible at a glance and easy to manage. Signal history is retained for stats and replay review. The exact stop placement is determined internally by the proprietary engine.

Signal locking & persistence

Newly printed labels are locked immediately from the completed signal candle, including in the Strategy Tester. Locked signals are preserved through history rebuilds and saved to chart-scoped runtime state, so a printed signal does not move or vanish after recalculation, a new candle forming, or switching timeframe on the same chart.

The right-panel BUY / SELL / WAIT consensus

Separate from the chart labels, the right trade panel shows a stable BUY / SELL / WAIT consensus. It surfaces a strip of visible confirmation factors — trend, volume-weighted price, order-flow delta and participation — and combines them with the session's auction context and the engine's own latest bias.

Bullish context → BUY Bearish context → SELL Mixed / unconfirmed → WAIT

The read is deliberately stable: it holds through noise and only changes when the confirmation factors and auction context decisively agree, so you are not whipsawed by single-tick moves.

How to use the signal

Treat each print as a pre-qualified, ready-to-manage idea: the entry, stop and 1R/2R/3R targets are already on the chart. Use the Analyst (Chapter 7) for a graded second opinion, the right-panel consensus for current bias, and alerts (Chapter 11) so you never miss a print. The engine's own tuning lives behind a single advanced settings group that is best left at its optimised defaults (Chapter 13).

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06 · Volume Profile FoundationPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 06

Volume Profile Foundation

Volume profile is not a side feature here — it is the context every breakout is read against.

The session profile

Session Volume Profile with POC, VAH and VAL levels
Fig 6.1 — Session Volume Profile: POC, VAH and VAL.

POC Breakout Analyst builds a Session Volume Profile from traded volume inside your configured session window. From it, three structural levels are drawn on the chart:

POC — Point of Control (most-traded price / fair value) VAH — Value Area High VAL — Value Area Low

The value area covers the configured percentage of session volume. The POC line anchors breakout decisions; the profile can render as Total, Delta, or a Buy/Sell split, and defaults to the right side of the chart.

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Why the levels stay still

The structural levels are built from completed bars only, excluding the bar that is still forming. They do not flicker on every tick — they update when a new bar completes or the session genuinely changes, and the POC line stays put as the view re-scales.

Session TPO panel

Session TPO panel
Fig 6.2 — Session TPO panel.

A floating top-strip tool that shows the current session as a slot-based TPO (Time Price Opportunity) distribution — price rows, row concentration, and POC-style behaviour over the session window. The slot size is configurable. Open it from the top utility strip.

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06 · Volume Profile FoundationPOC Breakout Analyst

The Intelligent Volume Profile Analyst

Intelligent Volume Profile Analyst panel with profile preview, HVN/LVN markers, signal and pattern card
Fig 6.3 — The Intelligent Volume Profile Analyst.

Opened from the top strip, this floating panel is a scan-driven, research-grade read of the live profile. To keep it light, the heavy profile and auction model are only rebuilt when you press SCAN — after that it renders from a cached snapshot and shows the last scan time. Before the first scan it displays a “Press SCAN” prompt.

What it reports

ReadMeaning
POC acceptance latchA BUY above POC stays BUY until price loses POC and breaks a downside ATR/value invalidation level (SELL is symmetrical). Prevents signal flicker around POC.
HVN / LVNHigh-Volume Nodes act as accepted-volume magnets; Low-Volume Nodes act as rejection / fast-travel gates.
Shape classificationDetects P-Shape, b-Shape, B-Shape / Double Distribution, and D-Shape / Balanced Auction, with a Pattern Field Manual card describing formation, auction story and a trade guide.
Auction behaviourAggression, absorption, exhaustion and magnet-zone reads, plus trend bias.
FOCUSA compact read naming the nearest major reference — POC Fair Value, HVN Magnet, or LVN Gate — and its distance in ATR units.
How to use the four shapes quickly

P-Shape often signals short covering / building support (accepted node high, tail below). b-Shape the inverse (accepted node low, tail above). B-Shape / Double Distribution shows two value areas — watch which one price accepts into. D-Shape is a balanced, rotational auction — breakouts from balance carry more weight.

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07 · The Analyst LayerPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 07

The Analyst Layer

Analyst report panel with A-F grade, factor bars and dual confidence
Fig 7.1 — The Analyst panel.

The Analyst is a second-opinion review built on top of the breakout signal — it doesn't generate signals, it grades them and tracks how they age.

Open it from the Analyst button on the bottom feature strip. It reviews the latest breakout using a 14-factor model and presents an A–F grade with equalizer-style factor bars in a single-column sci-fi UI.

The 14 factors

Factors include VWAP Alignment, Confluence, value-area quality, auction behaviour, freshness, entry stretch, setup quality, signal-window delta, ATR expansion, daily and HTF alignment, regime strength, volume participation, and retest behaviour around the original signal line. BUY and SELL use directional bull/bear theming rather than a shared accent.

The dual-confidence model

① Confidence at print

A frozen snapshot captured the moment a new signal appears. It records how strong the setup looked at print and never changes for that signal — your unbiased “at the time” read.

② Live breakout likelihood

A live read that can improve or weaken after the signal — especially as price moves away, retests the signal line, and either holds or fails.

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The retest case

The Analyst specifically catches the strong continuation pattern where price moves away from the breakout, revisits the original signal line, and still holds. A successful hold strengthens live confidence; a clean failure weakens it.

Analyst inputs

InputRoleDefault
InpAnalystLotSizeManual lot size used by Analyst trade tooling.0.10
InpAnalystRiskPercentAccount risk %; 0 = use the manual lot size.0.0
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08 · Order Flow ToolkitPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 08

Order Flow Toolkit

A complete suite of order-flow visuals turns raw activity into readable pressure, depth and absorption.

Depth of Market (DOM)

DOM, pressure gauge, Time and Sales tape and the right-panel BUY/SELL/WAIT signal
Fig 8.1 — DOM, pressure gauge, Time & Sales and the right-panel signal.

A market-depth ladder with bid/ask sizes and flash state on traded levels. In live mode it uses the broker's market book; in the tester it's simulated. The DOM can use its own tick spacing via InpDOMTicksPerLevel (0 = use the chart's InpTicksPerLevel) without affecting the chart, profile, or signal calculations.

InputRoleDefault
InpDOMWidth / InpDOMLevelsPanel width and number of depth levels.280 / 30
InpDOMTicksPerLevelDOM-only tick size (0 = inherit chart ticks).0
InpDOMFlashDurationHow long a traded level flashes (ms).500
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Spread & tick size

If the tick size is not correct for the symbol, the displayed spread may appear to widen. If the spread on the ladder looks too wide, increase the tick size for that symbol (see Appendix A for the recommended values).

Time & Sales tape

A rolling tape of recent trades, classified as buy/sell with a confidence read. In live mode entries come from tick processing and inference; in the tester they are generated from historical bars and tester ticks.

Big orders & whales

Large prints are highlighted as Big Order markers, vertical Whale Order beams, and Heavy Buying / Heavy Selling cluster labels. Thresholds and styling:

InputRoleDefault
InpBigOrderThresholdSize at which a trade counts as a big order.100
InpBigOrderFlashSizeSize that triggers a DOM/level flash.100
InpBigOrderBubbleMinSize / MaxBubble-marker size range in the Bubble Flow panel.7 / 20
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08 · Order Flow ToolkitPOC Breakout Analyst

Bubble Flow overlay

A scrolling bottom panel that visualises participation as horizontal volume histograms flowing across the chart's lower edge, moving right-to-left by event age. It includes:

The lower-left order-flow lanes: volume bars, Bubble Flow histograms and the Bulls/Bears pressure gauge
Figure 8.2 — The lower-left lanes: volume bars, Bubble Flow histograms and the Bulls/Bears pressure gauge.

Orderflow Pulse — single footprint candle KEY FEATURE

Orderflow Pulse single footprint candle showing imbalances, volume and aggression
Fig 8.3 — The Orderflow Pulse footprint candle.

The Orderflow Pulse is one of the core order-flow tools. It renders a single, live footprint candle that breaks the current move down by price level, showing at each level:

The price grid uses a configurable bucket step, and the imbalance sensitivity is editable directly in the panel. Together with the Bulls/Bears pressure bar beneath the lower-left lanes — which summarises overall directional pressure — the Pulse gives a fast read of who is in control right now.

Cumulative delta

Cumulative delta is a dedicated tick-based session accumulator. At session start it is rebuilt from tick history (classifying ticks by MT5 buy/sell flags where available, otherwise bid/ask mid movement) and then updated per tick in both live and tester modes, anchored to the main session window. It is one of the six core factors in the right-panel signal.

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The right-panel volume arrow

The V arrow on the right panel reads Session VP buy-vs-sell totals, falling back to session buy/sell volume if the profile isn't ready. Because it excludes the bar that is still forming, this read is clean and VP-aligned, updating mainly as new bars complete.

Volume bars & MA/VWAP tools

The Volume bars tool draws candle-aligned bars in DELTA, TOTAL, BUY or SELL mode. The MA/VWAP tool draws up to three session-limited moving averages (periods/colours configurable, editable in-panel) plus a curved session VWAP. The displayed VWAP and the signal VWAP share the same session-anchored source, so the drawn line and the signal agree.

MA/VWAP tool with session moving averages and curved VWAP
Figure 8.4 — The MA / VWAP tool: session moving averages and the curved session VWAP.
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09 · Supporting Signal EnginesPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 09

Supporting Signal Engines

Beyond the core breakout, several secondary engines add context. All are visual/analytical layers.

Session

Session signal

Blends longer-term trend, session order flow and higher-timeframe alignment into a session bias label (Bullish / Bearish / Lean Bull / Lean Bear / Neutral), with a mini session chart in the header tracking the session's path at a glance.

Intraday

Intraday timeframe analysis

A path summary across intraday timeframes with a higher-timeframe alignment read and location commentary.

London

ORB London stats

Opening-range stats for the London session with a three-tier box snapshot and a median EMA. Display only — a reference overlay with no trading attached.

Divergence

RSI divergence

Detects regular bullish / bearish RSI divergence and overlays it on the chart.

Intraday analyst panel
Fig 9.1 — Intraday analyst: timeframe path & HTF alignment.
Higher-timeframe panel
Fig 9.2 — Higher-timeframe trend & key levels.
Fundamentals panel
Fig 9.3 — Fundamentals panel.
Market phase / regime panel
Fig 9.4 — Market phase / regime read.

Market structure & context

Additional overlays surface market-structure swing breaks, gaps and structural levels, plus a liquidity-sweep panel, a regime panel, and a market-context overlay. Together they answer “what kind of market is this right now?” around the breakout read.

Market structure CHoCH and BOS
Fig 9.5 — Market structure: CHoCH, BOS & structural levels.
RSI divergence overlay on the chart
Fig 9.6 — RSI divergence overlay.
Trendline tool drawn on the chart
Figure 9.7 — The trendline tool.

Header bias hierarchy

The header's Bullish / Bearish / Neutral session label blends multi-timeframe trend with longer-term moving-average and volume-weighted price context. A full Bullish/Bearish label requires broad agreement across those inputs; where the evidence is directional but not unanimous it shows Lean Bull / Lean Bear. The read is weighted toward the higher-timeframe trend, so it reflects the dominant bias rather than short-term noise.

ORB London session stats panel with three-tier box snapshot
Figure 9.8 — ORB London session stats with the three-tier box snapshot.
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10 · Trade Management & Order EntryPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 10

Trade Management & Order Entry

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This chapter can place real orders

Everything below uses live broker trade requests and can open, modify or close positions when explicitly used and when terminal trading permissions allow it. These paths are opt-in. If you only want analysis and alerts, simply don't use them. Always validate in the Strategy Tester and on demo first.

Note: if the spread guard is active, trades may not open while the spread is wider than the configured limit. This is a protection, not a fault — wait for the spread to normalise, or adjust the limit.

Analyst Trade Manager

Analyst Trade Manager panel with risk presets and profit/loss gauges
Fig 10.1 — The Analyst Trade Manager.

A management layer with risk presets, a partial-close calculator, R-monitor chips, age chips, and live directional colouring on the profit/loss gauges (positive progress in bull colour, negative in bear colour — including Daily Profit, Daily Loss and Total Loss). Risk sizing can follow the Analyst signal, or use the manual lot size. The panel keeps the active trade, its risk, and its running result in one place so you can manage a position without leaving the dashboard.

Custom Order tooling

Custom Order panel with target, stop loss and live profit/loss
Fig 10.2 — The Custom Order panel.

Drag-to-place position plans with a target and a stop loss, a preview overlay, a split-volume builder, and in-panel editing. You set the plan visually on the chart, preview the entry, target and stop, then execute — and the panel shows the live profit and loss as the trade runs. It is the quickest way to place a precise, fully-defined order straight from the chart.

Prop-firm guard KEY FEATURE

Trade statistics panel
Fig 10.3 — Trade statistics.

Built for funded and prop-firm traders, the prop-firm guard tracks your account against the rules that matter: a profit target, a daily loss limit, a daily profit target, and an overall total loss limit. An optional Prop Guard can trigger an account-wide close before a limit is breached, helping you stay within challenge or funded-account rules. A live trade-statistics read keeps your progress against those limits visible at all times.

InputRoleDefault
InpPropFirmStartingBalanceReference balance for prop calculations (0 = auto).0.0
InpPropFirmTargetPctProfit target %.10.0
InpPropFirmTotalLossPct / DailyLossPctMax total / daily loss limits %.10.0 / 5.0
InpPropGuardEnabledEnable the prop-guard safety close.false
InpPropGuardBufferPctSafety buffer before the guard acts.10.0
InpTradeManagerPartialCloseEnabledEnable the partial-close workflow.false
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Before enabling any live entry

Confirm the symbol, lot size, risk %, and stop distances are sensible for your account. Check the spread-warning threshold (InpTradeManagerSpreadWarnPoints). Test the full flow in the Strategy Tester, then on a demo account, before going live.

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11 · AlertsPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 11

Alerts

Three independent alert systems keep you informed without watching the screen.

1 · Signal entry alerts

Each new breakout signal fires once as a pop-up alert, with an optional sound and an optional push notification to your phone. Each signal alerts only once, so you never get repeats for the same print.

2 · SL / TP level alerts

Optional alerts when price reaches the stop or any target of the current signal. Each level alerts once per signal, so you are notified the moment a stop or target is touched.

3 · Manual price alert line

Open the Price Alert panel from the top strip to drop a draggable horizontal line on the chart. Arm it for an ABOVE or BELOW trigger; it fires once when price crosses.

Price Alert panel with a draggable horizontal alert line
Figure 11.1 — The Price Alert panel with its draggable ABOVE / BELOW line.
InputRoleDefault
InpSignalAlertsMaster enable for signal entry alerts.true
InpSignalStopLossAlertAlert when price hits the signal's SL.true
InpSignalTP1Alert / TP2 / TP3Alerts for each target level.true
InpSignalAlertSoundPlay a sound on signal alert.true
InpSignalSoundFileSound file to play.alert.wav
InpSignalNotifySend a push notification (requires MT5 MetaQuotes ID set up).false
Push notifications

For InpSignalNotify to deliver to your phone, set your MetaQuotes ID in Tools ▸ Options ▸ Notifications in MT5 and enable push notifications there.

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12 · Appearance — Themes, Skins & LayoutPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 12

Appearance — Themes, Skins & Layout

The look is deeply customisable — and, importantly, styling is fully separated from logic, so changing the appearance never changes a signal.

Three independent layers

LayerInputWhat it controls
ModeInpPanelThemeDark or light base mode for the whole dashboard.
Colour themeInpColorTheme29 directional palettes (bull/bear/accent tones) — Classic, Blue/Orange, Cyan/Magenta, Matrix Charcoal, Obsidian Gold Ash, Cyber Teal Graphite, and more.
Panel skinInpPanelSkin26 panel-surface skins restyling panel backgrounds, headers, borders, text and chart surfaces independently of the colour theme.

Because these combine, dark/light mode, colour theme and panel skin can be mixed freely and stay visually consistent across the header, trade panel and chart surfaces.

Responsive layout (resolution presets)

Layout-fit presets scale the whole dashboard to your display. Calculation and signal variables are isolated from display scaling, so resolution changes never touch logic.

Auto (fit to chart) 1080p · 1920×1080 1440p · 2560×1440 4K · 3840×2160 Ultrawide · 3440×1440 2560×1080 Custom

Set via InpLayoutFitPreset (default 1080p). For Custom, use InpCustomLayoutWidth / InpCustomLayoutHeight. In Auto mode the dashboard recreates itself when the chart is resized.

Recommended display

For the best balance of detail and space, run POC Breakout Analyst at 1920×1080 (1080p) or higher. The dashboard is dense by design — lower resolutions leave less room for the panels and order-flow lanes.

Per-tool styling

Beyond global themes, many elements accept clrNONE to mean “use the theme colour,” or an explicit colour to override — e.g. session chart bull/bear, grid, zones, VP levels, MA/VWAP and POC. Set the font family, mono font and base size in the Font Settings group.

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13 · Complete Settings ReferencePOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 13

Complete Settings Reference

Every input, grouped exactly as it appears in the MT5 properties window. Defaults shown are the shipped values.

Global Theme · Fonts · Panel Layout

InputPurposeDefault
InpPanelThemeDark / Light base mode.PANEL_DARK
InpPanelSkinPanel-surface skin (26 options).DEFAULT
InpColorThemeColour theme (29 options).THEME_CLASSIC
InpFontName / InpFontMonoUI font and monospace font.Segoe UI / Consolas
InpFontSizeBase UI font size.15
InpFontColorOverride text colour (clrNONE = theme).clrNONE
InpPriceLadderFontSizePrice-ladder font size.11
InpPanelX / InpPanelYDashboard top-left position.10 / 10
InpPanelWidth / InpPanelHeightDashboard size (before layout scaling).1850 / 950

Display Resolution · Session Times

InputPurposeDefault
InpLayoutFitPresetResolution preset (Auto/1080/1440/4K/Ultrawide/2560×1080/Custom).1080
InpCustomLayoutWidth / HeightCustom layout size when preset = Custom.1920 / 1080
InpSessionStart / InpSessionEndMain session window (anchors VP, POC, VWAP, CD).00:00 / 23:59

Breakout Signals

Only the display toggles are documented here. Everything else in this group is part of the proprietary engine.

InputPurposeDefault
Breakout signals (on / off)Show / hide the breakout signals on the chart.true
InpShowSignalDeltaShow live candle delta near the price badge.true
!
Breakout Engine — advanced (leave at default)

The remaining inputs in this group fine-tune the proprietary breakout engine — its qualification model, sensitivity, history depth and signal behaviour. The shipped defaults are optimised and protect the engine's edge. Leave them unchanged unless instructed by support. Their internal meaning is intentionally not documented in this manual.

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13 · Complete Settings ReferencePOC Breakout Analyst

Chart · Candles · Price Ladder

InputPurposeDefault
InpHeatmapColumnsNumber of heatmap time columns.80
InpPriceLevels / InpExtraPriceLevelsVisible price rows and extra padding rows.60 / 30
InpTicksPerLevel  ★ criticalMust match the symbol you trade. Sets the chart price-bucket size. See Appendix A for the correct value per symbol — a wrong value can make the spread look too wide.5
InpColumnUpdateMsHeatmap column shift interval.500
InpShowGrid / InpGridColor / InpGridAlphaGrid visibility, colour, opacity.true / DimGray / 30
InpGridHPx / InpGridVPxGrid spacing (px).100 / 100
InpCandleCountCandles drawn.130
InpCandleRightGapPxRight-side gap before the ladder.350
InpCandleRangePaddingPctVertical range padding.10
InpChartZoomMin/Max/StepZoom range and increment.0.5 / 3.0 / 0.2
InpChartCompressMin/Max/StepCompression range and increment.0.5 / 2.5 / 0.1
InpChartPanStepPctManual pan step.10.0
InpPriceLadderStepPointsLadder price step.10
InpPriceLadderMinPxMinimum ladder row height.14
InpShowPriceBadgePipsShow pips in the current-price badge.false
!
Tick size is the one setting you must get right

InpTicksPerLevel must match the symbol you are trading. The correct value per recommended symbol is listed in Appendix A. If it is wrong, the chart buckets and DOM misalign and the displayed spread can look too wide.

Session VP · TPO · Supply/Demand

InputPurposeDefault
InpShowSessionVPShow the session volume profile.true
InpSessionVPWidthVP panel width.180
InpSessionVPValueAreaPctValue-area percentage.70
InpSessionVPModeTotal / Delta / Buy-Sell split.VP_BUYSELL
InpSessionTPOSlotMinutesTPO slot size (minutes).30
InpShowPOCLine / InpPOCColorPOC line visibility / colour.true / Yellow
InpShowZones / InpMaxZonesSupply/demand zones and max count.true / 4
InpZoneOpacity / InpZoneVolumeLookbackZone opacity / volume lookback.40 / 20
Zone ATR length / Zone widthSupply/demand zone sizing.50 / 4.0

MA / VWAP Tool · Indicators · Cumulative Delta

InputPurposeDefault
InpToolMA1/2/3PeriodMA-tool periods (editable in-panel).9 / 21 / 50
InpToolMA1/2/3Color / InpToolVWAPColorMA and VWAP colours.Blue/Orange/Magenta/Gold
InpMAPeriod / InpRSIPeriodHeader indicator MA / RSI periods.50 / 14
InpMACDFast/Slow/SignalMACD parameters.12 / 26 / 9
InpCCIPeriod / InpATRPeriodCCI / ATR periods.14 / 14
InpSuperTrendPeriod / InpSuperTrendMultIndicator-suite Supertrend params.10 / 3.0
InpCumDeltaSessionStart / InpCumDeltaResetTimeCumulative-delta window.00:00 / 23:59
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13 · Complete Settings ReferencePOC Breakout Analyst

DOM · Time & Sales · Order Flow · Big Orders

InputPurposeDefault
InpDOMWidth / InpDOMLevelsDOM width / depth levels.280 / 30
InpDOMTicksPerLevelDOM-only tick size (0 = chart ticks).0
InpDOMFlashDurationTraded-level flash duration (ms).500
InpShowTimeSalesShow the Time & Sales tape.true
InpShowInfoPanelShow the info-panel row.true
InpTimeSalesWidth / InpTimeSalesRowsTape width / row count.180 / 30
InpOrderflowPulseBucketPointsOrderflow-pulse bucket step.5
InpShowBigOrderText / InpBigOrderThresholdBig-order labels and threshold size.true / 100
InpBigOrderFlashSizeFlash trigger size.100
InpBigOrderBubbleMinSize / MaxBubble marker size range.7 / 20
InpShowBidLine / InpShowAskLine / InpLineThicknessBid/ask lines and thickness.true / false / 2

Analyst · Trade Manager 2 · Alerts

InputPurposeDefault
InpAnalystLotSize / InpAnalystRiskPercentAnalyst lot size / account risk %.0.10 / 0.0
InpPropFirmStartingBalanceProp reference balance (0 = auto).0.0
InpPropFirmTargetPctProp profit target %.10.0
InpPropFirmTotalLossPct / DailyLossPct / DailyProfitPctProp loss / profit limits %.10 / 5 / 2
InpTradeManagerPartialCloseEnabledEnable partial close.false
InpPropGuardEnabled / InpPropGuardBufferPctProp-guard close and buffer.false / 10.0
InpTradeManagerSpreadWarnPointsSpread-warning threshold (points).25
InpSignalAlertsSignal entry alerts.true
InpSignalStopLossAlert / TP1/TP2/TP3SL/TP level alerts.true
InpSignalAlertSound / InpSignalSoundFileAlert sound and file.true / alert.wav
InpSignalNotifyPush notification on signal.false

ORB London · Performance · Misc

InputPurposeDefault
InpOrbLondonEnabledShow the ORB London stats overlay.false
InpOrbLondonStart/End / SessionEndORB session windows for the box.06:00 / 09:14 / 04:30
InpOrbLondonTP1/TP3/TP5Factor / SLFactorProjection levels drawn on the ORB box.1.0 / 2.618 / 4.236 / 1.0
InpPerfDiagnostics / InpPerfReportSecondsOptional [PERF] profiling (off by default).false / 10
InpAutoScroll / InpScrollMarginAuto-scroll and margin.true / 10

Note: the ORB London group also contains box-sizing inputs that shape the three-tier stats box. The ORB is a display / stats overlay only — it does not place trades.

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14 · Strategy TesterPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 14

Strategy Tester

The full dashboard runs in MT5's Strategy Tester visual mode, so you can inspect breakout behaviour on historical data.

What changes in the tester

ConcernLive modeStrategy Tester
Render timingTimer-driven at 50 ms.Tick/new-bar driven with redraw throttling.
DOMBroker market book.Simulated from current price and tick activity.
Time & SalesLive tick processing / inference.Generated from historical bars and tester ticks.
IndicatorsCreated normally.Mostly skipped; some values computed manually.
ADXEnabled.Disabled by a mode helper.
SignalsLocked on print.Also locked on print, including visual mode.
  1. Open the tester View ▸ Strategy Tester, choose POC Breakout, your symbol and timeframe.
  2. Pick visual mode Enable Visual mode so the dashboard renders during the run.
  3. Set the date range Make sure price history is fully downloaded and use the most recent dates. Allow enough lead-in for the profile, signal history and higher-timeframe trends to build before the period you want to study.
  4. Run & inspect Use the tester's speed control to step through. Watch signals print, the profile build, and the Analyst grade each breakout.
i
Hardware & performance

POC Breakout Analyst draws a dense, full-screen dashboard and continuously processes ticks, depth and volume, so it benefits from decent hardware. For a smooth experience, run it on a modern multi-core CPU with adequate free RAM and a capable GPU, and avoid loading many heavy charts or other resource-hungry EAs on the same terminal at once. On older or heavily loaded machines you may notice slower redraws, especially in the Strategy Tester's visual mode at high speed. A wired internet connection and a stable VPS are recommended if you intend to run it for long live sessions.

If you need to profile performance, temporarily enable InpPerfDiagnostics and watch the Experts log for throttled [PERF] summaries, then disable it again for normal use — it is off by default and never affects visuals or signals.

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15 · Troubleshooting & FAQPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 15

Troubleshooting & FAQ

!
Reconnect & recalculate — this is a must

If you lose your internet connection, or you shut down / restart your PC or laptop, you must re-attach the EA to the chart so it rebuilds and recalculates from fresh data. The dashboard does not silently resume a broken session — always reload it after any disconnection or restart. This is essential.

The dashboard is blank or not updating.

Make sure Algo Trading is enabled (toolbar button green). In live mode the 50 ms render timer needs it. Give the EA a few ticks/bars to build the profile, signal history and trends.

No signals are printing.

Signals only evaluate on completed bars and must clear the engine's qualification stages. In quiet, ranging or conflicted multi-timeframe conditions, fewer setups qualify — that is by design, to keep signal quality high. Overall frequency is governed by the advanced engine settings, which are best left at their optimised defaults.

The POC / VAH / VAL levels look “stuck.”

That's by design — the structural levels use completed bars only, so they update when a new bar completes or the session changes, not on every tick. This prevents flicker. Confirm your session window is correct.

The VP Analyst panel says “Press SCAN.”

The heavy profile/auction model only rebuilds on demand. Click SCAN to populate it; it then renders from the cached snapshot until you scan again.

A printed signal disappeared after I changed timeframe.

It shouldn't — locked signals are saved to chart-scoped runtime state and restored on reinit for the same chart. If you see otherwise, reload the EA so MT5 uses the latest deployed build.

Cumulative delta looks wrong / stuck.

CD anchors to the main session window and is rebuilt from tick history at session start, then updated per tick. Confirm InpSessionStart/End are correct; CD follows the main session, not a separate clock.

Push notifications don't arrive.

Set your MetaQuotes ID in Tools ▸ Options ▸ Notifications and enable push there, then turn on InpSignalNotify.

The layout doesn't fit my screen.

Set InpLayoutFitPreset to match your resolution (or Auto), or use Custom with explicit width/height. Logic is unaffected by layout scaling.

Is the EA placing trades I didn't ask for?

No. Order entry is opt-in and only acts when you explicitly use the Analyst or Custom Order tools. Leave those unused to run purely as analysis/alerts.

After any update

Reload the EA on the chart so MT5 picks up the latest deployed .ex5, then visually confirm the POC levels, timeline strip, floating panels and theme/skin combinations all render correctly.

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16 · GlossaryPOC Breakout Analyst
Chapter 16

Glossary

TermMeaning
POCPoint of Control — the price with the most traded volume in the session; the market's current fair value.
VAH / VALValue Area High / Low — the upper and lower bounds of the value area (default 70% of session volume).
Value AreaThe price range containing the chosen percentage of session volume around the POC.
HVN / LVNHigh / Low Volume Node — accepted-volume magnet vs. low-volume rejection / fast-travel gate.
TPOTime Price Opportunity — a market-profile view of how much time price spent at each level.
DOMDepth of Market — the ladder of resting bid/ask orders at each price.
Time & SalesThe tape of executed trades, classified as buy or sell.
Cumulative Delta (CD)Running total of buy volume minus sell volume over the session.
DeltaBuy volume minus sell volume for a bar or period.
ATRAverage True Range — a standard measure of market volatility.
ConfluenceThe alignment of several independent market conditions at once. The engine requires sufficient confluence before printing a signal; the exact model is proprietary.
BOSBreak of Structure — price closing through a recent swing high or low.
R / 1ROne unit of risk — the distance from entry to stop. Targets are multiples (1R/2R/3R).
VWAPVolume-Weighted Average Price — a session-anchored fair-value reference.
ORBOpening Range Breakout — a breakout from the high/low of a session's opening range.
AbsorptionLarge resting orders soaking up aggressive flow without price moving — a potential reversal tell.
ExhaustionAggressive flow failing to move price further — momentum running out.
P / b / B / D shapeProfile shapes: P (short covering/support), b (long liquidation/resistance), B (double distribution), D (balanced auction).
HTFHigher Time Frame — here M15, H1, H4, D1, weighted for trend alignment.
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APPENDIX A · Recommended MarketsPOC Breakout Analyst
Appendix A

Recommended Markets & Tick Sizes

POC Breakout Analyst is optimised for fast intraday trading. The lists below are the markets it is built for, the timeframes to run it on, and the tick size to set for each symbol via InpTicksPerLevel.

!
Always set the tick size

The Tick Size column is the value to enter in InpTicksPerLevel for that symbol. Setting it correctly keeps the chart buckets, DOM and spread accurate. Symbol names can vary slightly between brokers — match by instrument, not just the exact ticker.

★ Most recommended

SymbolAsset classTimeframeTick size
XAUUSDMetals5 min5
NAS100Indices5 min25
SP500Indices5 min1
DE40Indices5 min1
WTIEnergies5 min1

Also recommended

SymbolAsset classTimeframeTick size
UK100Indices5 min1
US30Indices5 min1
AUDCADCurrency5 min1
AUDCHFCurrency5 min1
AUDUSDCurrency5 min1
AUDJPYCurrency5 min1
CADJPYCurrency5 min1
EURUSDCurrency5 min1
GBPUSDCurrency5 min1
GBPJPYCurrency5 min1
USDJPYCurrency5 min1
BTCUSDCrypto5 min500
Recommended take-profit — TP1

On all recommended pairs, the suggested exit is TP1 (the first target, 1R). Banking the move at TP1 keeps the win rate high on these fast intraday charts. TP2 and TP3 stay drawn on the signal if you prefer to run a portion of the position further.

Getting started

New to the tool? Begin with one of the ★ most recommended markets on the 5-minute timeframe, set the matching tick size, and run in visual/alert mode until you are comfortable reading the signals, the volume profile and the order flow.


— End of manual —
POC Breakout Analyst · v20.72 · © AJ Trading Tools. For educational use only. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.

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