Force Index Smoothed
Elder's Force Index (Trading for a Living, 1993) starts from a simple idea - a price move only means as much as the volume behind it. The raw 1-bar value is (Close - Close[1]) * Volume: a big move on thin volume and a small move on heavy volume both get scored honestly, instead of a pure price-change indicator treating them the same. The raw series is jagged, so Elder's book smooths it with an EMA before reading it - and uses two different periods for two different jobs. A short 2-period EMA reacts fast enough to time individual entries against a pullback. A longer 13-period EMA is slow enough to confirm whether the underlying trend itself is gaining or losing force. Both are plotted here rather than forcing a choice between them. Notes and limitations - Non-repainting: every value depends only on closed bars up to and including its own bar. - Uses tick volume (long tick_volume[]), since MetaTrader forex symbols carry no genuine traded volume on either MQL4 or MQL5 - this matches what every other volume-based tool in this catalogue does, but it means the indicator measures tick activity, not real traded size. - Recomputes the full visible history from bar 0 on every call rather than incrementally updating from prev_calculated, because both EMA recursions depend on their entire prior history; this is deliberate, matching the other chained-EMA indicators in this catalogue. - The very first (oldest) bar in the loaded history has no prior close to difference against, so its raw Force value is defined as 0.0 rather than left undefined.
Indicator · MT4 · v1.0 · Free
About Force Index Smoothed
Force Index Smoothed is an indicator for MetaTrader 4. It has 2 settings, such as Fast period and Slow period. MQL source code included.
Files in the download: ForceIndexSmoothed.ex4, ForceIndexSmoothed.mq4, ForceIndexSmoothed.txt.
Settings
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Fast period | 2 | EMA period for the short-term Force Index (entry timing) |
| Slow period | 13 | EMA period for the longer-term Force Index (trend confirmation) |
How to install
- Download the ZIP from your PolyMaria library and unzip it.
- In MetaTrader 4 open File → Open Data Folder, then go to MQL4 → Indicators.
- Copy the .mq4 file(s) there. Put any .mqh files in MQL4 → Include.
- Open the .mq4 file in MetaEditor and press Compile (F7) if MetaTrader does not show it.
- Drag the indicator from the Navigator onto a chart and adjust the settings.
Tags: Moving Average · Volume · Trend · MT4 Indicator · MQL4 Source Code