You painstakingly applied 5 indicators to your EUR/USD chart, set custom colours, drew support and resistance lines, then opened a new GBP/USD chart — and lost everything. Templates and profiles fix this by saving your work in a single click.

This guide covers MT4 templates (single-chart layouts), profiles (multi-chart workspaces), and how to make your favourite setup the default for every new chart you open.

Templates vs Profiles — What’s the Difference?

Table of Contents

Concept	What it saves	File type	Where it lives
Template	One chart’s layout: indicators, colours, drawing objects, properties	`.tpl`	`[MT4]/templates/`
Profile	Entire MT4 workspace: every open chart, their templates, window arrangement	`.pfl`	`[MT4]/profiles/<name>/`

Use templates to save individual chart setups (e.g. “EURUSD with my 9/21 EMA strategy”). Use profiles to save your full multi-chart trading desk (e.g. “Morning London session — EUR/USD H1, GBP/USD H1, USD/JPY H4, DXY D1, all arranged in a 2×2 grid”).

How to Save a Template

After arranging a chart with indicators, drawing tools, and your preferred colours:

Right-click the chart → Template > Save Template.
Pick a meaningful name (e.g. mtf-trend-v2 or scalping-setup).
Click Save.

MT4 stores the file as <name>.tpl in the templates folder. Templates are portable — you can copy .tpl files between MT4 installations and they’ll work as long as the same indicators are installed at the destination.

Tip: name templates by strategy purpose rather than symbol. A “scalping-setup.tpl” is reusable across all pairs; “EURUSD-1.tpl” is not.

—

How to Load a Template Onto a Chart

Three methods:

Right-click chart → Template > Load Template → pick the saved .tpl file.
Toolbar button — there’s a Templates icon on the standard toolbar that opens the same menu.
Drag and drop — drag the .tpl file from Windows Explorer onto an MT4 chart window.

The chart instantly transforms to match the saved template — same indicators, colours, drawings, and properties.

Set a Default Template

This is the single most useful template feature: every new chart you open inherits your default template automatically.

Build your perfect chart layout (indicators, colours, drawings).
Right-click → Template > Save Template.
Save with the exact name default.tpl (overwrites the existing default).

Now every new chart — whether opened via Market Watch, by drag-and-drop, or by File > New Chart — comes pre-loaded with your indicators and styling.

If you want to revert to MT4’s stock default, delete default.tpl from the templates folder. MT4 falls back to a built-in default.

—

Profiles for Multi-Chart Workspaces

A profile snapshots every chart you have open along with their templates and the window layout (positions, sizes, tab order).

To save a profile:

Arrange your charts the way you want (e.g. EUR/USD top-left, GBP/USD top-right, USD/JPY bottom-left, DXY bottom-right).
Click File > Profiles > Save As.
Name the profile (e.g. London-session or news-trading).

To load a profile:

File > Profiles → click the profile name. MT4 closes existing charts and opens the saved arrangement.

Profiles are powerful for traders with multiple strategies. Switching from your “London scalping” workspace to your “swing trading dashboard” takes one click.

—

Sharing and Backing Up Templates / Profiles

Both templates and profiles are stored as plain files. To share or back them up:

Templates:
– File location: [MT4 Data Folder]/templates/
– To find it: in MT4 click File > Open Data Folder → open templates
– Each .tpl is one template — copy / share / backup individual files

Profiles:
– File location: [MT4 Data Folder]/profiles/<profile-name>/
– Each profile is a folder containing chart files, settings, and references to templates

Backup workflow: zip the entire templates folder and the profiles folder. Restoring is unzip-and-overwrite. Useful before reinstalling MT4 or migrating to a new computer.

Common Template Use Cases

Scalping template: stripped-down chart with one fast EMA, ATR for volatility, no clutter
Swing trading template: 50 / 200 EMAs, weekly pivots, support/resistance horizontal lines
News trading template: economic calendar visible, ATR widened SLs, tight TP zones marked
Multi-timeframe template: H1 chart with Multi-Timeframe Trend Indicator showing alignment across M5, M15, H1, H4, D1
Backtest template: chart cleaned of all drawings to keep visual mode runs uncluttered

Save each as a separate .tpl and switch between them in two clicks.

Pro Tips

Save your workspace before MT4 updates. Major MT4 updates occasionally reset templates. Back up templates/ and profiles/ before applying any platform update.
Keep templates lightweight. A template referencing 12 indicators slows chart load. Aim for 4-6 indicators max — fewer = faster + cleaner.
Use descriptive filenames. breakout-h1-eurusd.tpl is clearer than template1.tpl six months later.
Combine profiles with keyboard shortcuts for ultra-fast workspace switching during news events.
Don’t forget colour schemes. Templates save the chart background, candle colours, and grid colour — set these once on your default template and you’ll never adjust them again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are MT4 templates stored?

In the templates folder of your MT4 Data Folder. To get there: in MT4 click File > Open Data Folder, then double-click the templates folder. Each .tpl file is one template.

What’s the difference between a template and a profile?

A template saves one chart’s setup (indicators, colours, drawings) — typically .tpl. A profile saves your entire MT4 workspace: every open chart, each chart’s template, and the window arrangement — stored as a folder under profiles/.

Can I share my templates with another trader?

Yes. The .tpl file is portable. Copy it to the recipient’s templates/ folder and they can load it in MT4 instantly. Note: if the template references custom indicators not installed on the recipient’s MT4, those indicators will be missing from the loaded chart.

Why does my default template not auto-load on new charts?

The file must be named exactly default.tpl (lowercase, no spaces, no other suffix). Confirm the filename in your templates folder. If it’s named Default.tpl or default-v2.tpl, MT4 ignores it.

Can I have multiple default templates per symbol?

No, MT4 only supports one global default.tpl. As a workaround, save symbol-specific templates (e.g. eurusd-default.tpl) and load them manually when you open that symbol. Some traders use scripts to auto-apply per-symbol templates.

How do I export my full MT4 setup to another computer?

Copy two folders from the source MT4 Data Folder to the destination: templates/ and profiles/. After restart, all your saved templates and workspaces appear in the menus. Custom indicators (in MQL4/Indicators/) need to be copied separately.

MT4 Templates & Profiles Guide: Save Charts in Seconds