ObjectCreateAndSet – library MetaTrader 5

The attached *.mqh file contains functions for creating objects and changing object properties. It is particularly useful for me when I need to quickly write some test code which creates objects on a chart and/or changes the properties of existing objects.

The other file is a script with a usage example (creates a text label, gradually rotates it by 90 degrees changing the text and its color along the way).

I. Functions for creating objects:

The functions are based on standard functions described in MQL5 Reference. Major differences from the corresponding standard functions:

• added lines for setting tooltips and setting the visibility of objects on different timeframes;
• removed lines for creating functions without setting coordinates, prices, anchor points (except for VLineCreate(…) and EventCreate(…));
• based on functions for setting (changing) object properties implemented in this library, additional conditions have been added to check the success of setting the properties.

List of functions for creating objects:

Name	Brief description	Object type
VLineCreate	Create a vertical line	OBJ_VLINE
HLineCreate	Create a horizontal line	OBJ_HLINE
TrendCreate	Creates a trend line by given coordinates	OBJ_TREND
ArrowedLineCreate	Create an arrowed line by given coordinates	OBJ_ARROWED_LINE
ChannelCreate	Create an equidistant channel by given coordinates	OBJ_CHANNEL
RectangleCreate	Create a rectangle by given coordinates	OBJ_RECTANGLE
TriangleCreate	Create a triangle by given coordinates	OBJ_TRIANGLE
EllipseCreate	Create an ellipse by given coordinates	OBJ_ELLIPSE
ArrowCreate	Create OBJ_ARROW	OBJ_ARROW
TextCreate	Create a Text object	OBJ_TEXT
LabelCreate	Create a text label	OBJ_LABEL
ButtonCreate	Create a button	OBJ_BUTTON
BitmapCreate	Create a bitmap in the chart window	OBJ_BITMAP
BitmapLabelCreate	Create a Bitmap Label object	OBJ_BITMAP_LABEL
EditCreate	Create an Edit object	OBJ_EDIT
EventCreate	Create an Event object on the chart	OBJ_EVENT
RectLabelCreate	Create a rectangle label	OBJ_RECTANGLE_LABEL

 

II. Functions for setting object properties:

Using ObjectSetDouble(…), ObjectSetInteger(…) and ObjectSetString(…) without specifying a modifier:

	Function name	Enumeration	Property	Brief description	Property type
1.	ObSetDouble	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_DOUBLE	OBJPROP_SCALE	Scale (property of Gann objects and Fibonacci Arcs objects)	double
			OBJPROP_ANGLE	Angle. For objects with no angle specified, created from a program, the value is equal to EMPTY_VALUE	double
			OBJPROP_DEVIATION	Deviation of the standard deviation channel	double
2.	ObSetIntegerAlign	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_ALIGN	Horizontal text alignment in the Edit object (OBJ_EDIT)	ENUM_ALIGN_MODE
3.	ObSetIntegerAncorPoint	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_ANCHOR	Location of the anchor point for OBJ_LABEL, OBJ_BITMAP_LABEL and OBJ_TEXT objects	ENUM_ANCHOR_POINT
4.	ObSetIntegerArrowAncor	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_ANCHOR	Location of the anchor point for OBJ_ARROW objects	ENUM_ARROW_ANCHOR
5.	ObSetIntegerArrowCode	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_ARROWCODE	Arrow code for OBJ_ARROW	char
6.	ObSetIntegerBool	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_BACK	Object in the background	bool
			OBJPROP_FILL	Fill an object with color (for OBJ_RECTANGLE, OBJ_TRIANGLE, OBJ_ELLIPSE, OBJ_CHANNEL, OBJ_STDDEVCHANNEL,OBJ_REGRESSION)	bool
			OBJPROP_HIDDEN	Prohibit showing the name of a graphical object in the list of objects from the terminal menu “Charts” – “Objects” – “List of objects”. “true” hides an object from the list. By default, “true” is set to objects displaying calendar events, trading history and to objects created from MQL5 programs. To see such graphical objects and access their properties, click “All” button in the “List of objects” window.	bool
			OBJPROP_SELECTED	Object is selected	bool
			OBJPROP_READONLY	Ability to edit text in the Edit object	bool
			OBJPROP_SELECTABLE	Object availability	bool
			OBJPROP_RAY_LEFT	Ray goes to the left	bool
			OBJPROP_RAY_RIGHT	Ray goes to the right	bool
			OBJPROP_RAY	Vertical line goes through all windows of a chart	bool
			OBJPROP_ELLIPSE	Display the full ellipse of the Fibonacci Arc object (OBJ_FIBOARC)	bool
			OBJPROP_DRAWLINES	Display lines for Elliott wave marking	bool
			OBJPROP_STATE	Button state (pressed/released)	bool
			OBJPROP_DATE_SCALE	Time scale display flag for the Chart object	bool
			OBJPROP_PRICE_SCALE	Price scale display flag for the Chart object	bool
7.	ObSetIntegerBorderType	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_BORDER_TYPE	Border type for the Rectangle label object	ENUM_BORDER_TYPE
8.	ObSetIntegerColor	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_COLOR	Color (depending on the object type, controls the color of lines, text etc.)	color
			OBJPROP_BGCOLOR	Background color for OBJ_EDIT, OBJ_BUTTON, OBJ_RECTANGLE_LABEL	color
			OBJPROP_BORDER_COLOR	Border color for OBJ_EDIT and OBJ_BUTTON	color
9.	ObSetIntegerCorner	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_CORNER	Chart corner for attaching a graphical object	ENUM_BASE_CORNER
10.	ObSetIntegerInt	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_WIDTH	Line width	int
			OBJPROP_LEVELS	Number of levels	int
			OBJPROP_FONTSIZE	Font size	int
			OBJPROP_TIMEFRAMES	Visibility of an object on timeframes (a set of flags)	int
			OBJPROP_XDISTANCE	Distance in pixels along the X axis from the anchor corner (see note in MQL5 Reference)	int
			OBJPROP_YDISTANCE	Distance in pixels along the Y axis from the anchor corner (see note in MQL5 Reference)	int
			OBJPROP_XSIZE	Object width along the X axis in pixels. Specified for OBJ_LABEL (read only), OBJ_BUTTON, OBJ_CHART, OBJ_BITMAP, OBJ_BITMAP_LABEL, OBJ_EDIT, OBJ_RECTANGLE_LABEL	int
			OBJPROP_YSIZE	Object height along the Y axis in pixels. Specified for OBJ_LABEL (read only), OBJ_BUTTON, OBJ_CHART, OBJ_BITMAP, OBJ_BITMAP_LABEL, OBJ_EDIT, OBJ_RECTANGLE_LABEL	int
			OBJPROP_XOFFSET	The X coordinate of the upper left corner of the rectangular visible area in Bitmap Label and Bitmap graphical objects (OBJ_BITMAP_LABEL and OBJ_BITMAP). The value is set in pixels relative to the upper left corner of the original image	int
			OBJPROP_YOFFSET	The Y coordinate of the upper left corner of the rectangular visible area in Bitmap Label and Bitmap graphical objects (OBJ_BITMAP_LABEL and OBJ_BITMAP). The value is set in pixels relative to the upper left corner of the original image	int
			OBJPROP_CHART_SCALE	Scale for the Chart object (from 0 to 5)	int
11.	ObSetIntegerLineStyle	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_STYLE	Style	ENUM_LINE_STYLE
12.	ObSetIntegerLong	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_ZORDER	Priority of a graphical object for receiving the event of clicking on a chart (CHARTEVENT_CLICK). The default zero value is set when creating an object, but the priority can be increased if necessary. When applying objects one over another only one of them with the highest priority will receive the CHARTEVENT_CLICK event.	long
	ObSetString	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_STRING	OBJPROP_NAME	Object name	string
			OBJPROP_TEXT	Object description (text contained in the object)	string
			OBJPROP_TOOLTIP	Tooltip text. If the property is not set, then the automatically generated tooltip is shown. To disable the tooltip, set the value “\n” (newline) for it	string
			OBJPROP_FONT	Font	string
			OBJPROP_SYMBOL	Symbol for the Chart object	string

 

Using ObjectSetDouble(…), ObjectSetInteger(…) and ObjectSetString(…) with specifying a modifier:

	Name	Enumeration	Property	Brief description	Property type
1.	ObSetDoubleMod	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_DOUBLE	OBJPROP_PRICE	Price coordinate – double, modifier=anchor point number	double
			OBJPROP_LEVELVALUE	Level value – double, modifier=level number	double
2.	ObSetIntegerLevelColorMod	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_LEVELCOLOR	Level line color – color, modifier=level number	color
3.	ObSetIntegerLevelStyleMod	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_LEVELSTYLE	Level line style ENUM_LINE_STYLE, modifier=level number	ENUM_LINE_STYLE
4.	ObSetIntegerLevelWidthMod	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_LEVELWIDTH	Level line width – int, modifier=level number	int
5.	ObSetIntegerTimeMod	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_INTEGER	OBJPROP_TIME	Time coordinate – datetime, modifier=anchor point number	datetime
6.	ObSetStringMod	ENUM_OBJECT_PROPERTY_STRING	OBJPROP_LEVELTEXT	Level description – string, modifier=level number	string
			OBJPROP_BMPFILE	BMP file name for the Bitmap Level object – string. See also Resources in the Reference. Modifier: 0-ON state, 1-OFF state	string

 

Additional functions:

bool ObDelete (long chart_ID,string name)	Delete a single object with specified name

 

III. Usage:

You can use it as an include file or you can just copy certain functions from it to your source code.

If you choose the second way, I think it’s better to first use it as an include file. Once you implement all necessary function calls you can remove the include directive (#include…).

Then, the compiler will point out which functions you need to copy from the include file.

Use as an include file:

1. Save the attached file ObjectCreateAndSet.mqh to “Include” folder. To do so, you can use the Navigator window in MetaEditor. In the Navigator window, right-click the “Include” folder and choose “Open Folder“.
   
2. To use the library in your code, copy the #include… line from the beginning of the file and paste it to your source code:
   

   #include <ObjectCreateAndSet.mqh>

   The attached script provides an example of including the library.
   
3. After that, compile your code. It will allow to see the tooltips for included functions when you start entering their names:

Fig.1. Full name of a function in a tooltip after entering its first few letters

Fig.2. Parameters of a function in a tooltip

By the way, you can you use the functions list button on the MetaEditor toolbar to quickly view the list of functions used in the current file:

Fig.3. Button for showing the list of functions used in a file

When you press the button, a drop-down list appears. To go to a particular function, click its name in the list.

Fig.4. Pressing the button opens the list of functions in a file (useful to quickly move to a certain function)

Updates:

• 2015.09.14: In the ObDelete() function, added output of object’s name to the Experts tab if there is an error when deleting the object. It facilitates finding errors in the code.