Volume Profile Order Flow Indicator for MT5
The complete volume profile machine: two bell curves of buy and sell volume beside your chart, POC, Value Area, an overlap coefficient (OVL) that tells you if the market is balanced or directional, and a footprint table at the current price. Free ex5 download.
The Indicator on GBPJPY (H4)
What It Measures
| Feature | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
| Buy / Sell profile bells | Where the period's buying and selling volume actually traded, as two bell curves beside price |
| POC (Point of Control) | The price where the most volume changed hands — the market's magnet |
| VAH / VAL (Value Area) | The band holding your chosen % of traded volume (70% default) — the accepted price zone |
| OVL (Overlap) | 0-1 score of how much buy and sell volume happened at the SAME prices. Near 1 = balanced/rotating; far from 1 = directional |
| Balance Tilt | Which side carried more volume, in % points of the period's total |
| Footprint table | Bid/ask volume per price row around the current price, with POC/VAH/VAL/imbalance markers |
| Residual PPM check | Built-in math health check: EXACT = profile drawing is faithful to the data; DRIFT = do not trade off it |
Input Parameters — How to Set Them
| Input | What It Does | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Volume source: Geometric (Gaussian split by close position), Intrabar (lower-timeframe up/down), Footprint (real tape where broker provides it) | Geometric (works everywhere) |
| Intrabar Timeframe | Lower timeframe the Intrabar engine reads from | M1 |
| Ticks Per Row | Row height of the footprint table in ticks (1 = finest) | 1 for forex, 10+ for gold |
| Window Bars | How many recent candles the footprint table shows | 5 |
| Ticks Above/Below | Rows shown around the current price (the altimeter frame) | 5-10 |
| Volume Concentration | How tightly volume gathers around bar centers (lower = spread out) | 3.0 |
| Profile Period | How many bars feed the profile bells | 23 for H4 session view |
| Fill Opacity % | Bell body transparency; overlaps blend automatically | 15 |
| POC / Value Area scope | Where POC/VA are marked: Dashboard, Chart, or Both | Both |
| Value Area % | % of traded volume the VA band must contain | 70 (classical) |
| Imbalance % | Diagonal ratio for imbalance marks in the table | 300 |
| Balance Tilt % | Min tilt before the OVL label names a side | 5 |
| Residual Tolerance PPM | Drift limit before EXACT flips to DRIFT | 1.0 |
How to Use It
- Balanced market (OVL ≥ 0.75): fade the edges — buy VAL, sell VAH, target POC.
- Directional market (OVL low + tilt names a side): follow — buy pullbacks above POC, sell rallies below it.
- Pair it with our Volume Footprint indicator for entry timing — this one gives the bias, that one gives the trigger.
- If the label ever reads DRIFT, the profile math is out of tolerance — stand aside until it returns to EXACT.
Full strategy breakdown: read the volume profile guide and the 25 confluence setups article.
FAQ
Is the volume profile indicator free?
Yes — the ex5 is a free download. The source code is available on request through the contact page.
What is OVL on a volume profile?
The overlap coefficient: how much buy and sell volume happened at the same prices, from 0 to 1. Near 1 = balanced rotation; far from 1 = directional market with one side in control.
Which engine should I choose?
Geometric works on every broker and is the safe default. Intrabar reads real up/down volume from a lower timeframe. Footprint uses real trade tape only where the broker provides it.
What timeframes does it work on?
All of them. The profile is most meaningful on H1-H4-D1; the footprint table works on any intraday chart.
Does it work on gold?
Yes — for XAUUSD raise Ticks Per Row to 10 or more so rows match gold's larger tick structure.
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