Stay Connected with Your Trading Account Using ICQ and Expert Advisors

Background / Purpose of Usage

As traders, we know that sometimes we're away from our trading terminals, yet we need to keep tabs on our account balance, open positions, and other critical info. If you have an internet connection and ICQ on any device, you don't have to jump through hoops to get basic information. That's where the idea of using ICQ to pull data from your trading account comes into play.

How It Works

I decided to implement this idea by saving information in a txt file and setting up a system to send that information on request.

1. I developed a general-purpose MT advisor called exp_statusbot. This tool saves your account balance in status.txt and tracks changes in open positions in notify.txt.
2. To send this information from the txt files, I created a simple ICQ bot named mustwatcher. It processes requests and sends back the relevant data.

Installation Instructions

1. Download and compile exp_statusbot.mq4.
2. Open MetaTrader and add the advisor to any chart.
3. Download the ICQ bot mustwatcher_v1.16.zip.
4. Run the bot (make sure you have Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 installed).
5. Using the Add button, include the status.txt and notify.txt files (found in <metatrader_dir>\experts\files\statusbot) in the list.
6. Register for a UIN (Universal Identification Number, basically your ICQ number) at the official site: https://www.icq.com/register.
7. Enter the bot's UIN and password.
8. Input your name as the administrator.
9. Click Connect.

Once you're set up, simply send the command !status from your UIN to fetch the information you need from status.txt.

To activate automatic notifications for changes in notify.txt, send the command !spamon. After a change occurs, you’ll get the updates right away!

The administrator can add other users to the registry if they also need access to this information. This is just a starting point; you can create as many txt files as you want and retrieve their contents upon request.

The full list of available commands can be accessed by typing !help or can be found in the file <mustwatcher_dir>\data\help_admin.txt. The bot's interface is user-friendly, so you won’t get lost. In short, if you need it, you’ll figure it out!

Updates:

MustWatcher v1.05 - Added automatic connection when the program starts.

MustWatcher v1.06 - Introduced a checkbox for auto-launching the program with the operating system; it can be minimized to the tray.

MustWatcher v1.07 - Modified the list scheme for files requiring automatic notification. Now, you must add a file to the list using the Add button before you can access its content.

MustWatcher v1.08 - Introduced a feature that generates and sends detailed reports to a specified email address.

MustWatcher v1.10 - Bug fixes.

MustWatcher v1.16 - Optimization and error fixes.