Every EA has inputs — lot size, grid step, take-profit, filters. A .set file is simply those inputs written to a small text file so they can be applied in one click instead of retyped. Sellers ship them, traders swap them, and half the "the EA isn't doing what the video showed" messages come down to a set file that was never loaded.
Where set files live
- MT5: File → Open Data Folder → MQL5 → Presets. Files used by the Strategy Tester are saved under MQL5 → Profiles → Tester.
- MT4: File → Open Data Folder → MQL4 → Presets, and tester sets under tester → sets (older builds).
- You can load a .set from anywhere on disk; the Presets folder is just the default location the dialog opens.
Loading a set file on a chart
- Attach the EA to the chart (or press F7 on a chart that already has it) to open the inputs dialog.
- Inputs tab → Load → pick the .set → OK. The values populate instantly; check two or three against the seller's screenshot to be sure the right file loaded.
- Click OK on the dialog. Loading a set does not restart the EA's open positions — they are managed with the new inputs from the next tick.
Loading a set in the Strategy Tester
In the tester's Inputs tab, right-click anywhere in the inputs list → Load. The same .set format works for the tester and the chart. Save a copy after every optimisation you keep — the tester overwrites its own last-used settings.
Saving and naming your own
Inputs tab → Save. Name files so the future you understands them: EAName_Symbol_Broker_Deposit_Date.set — for example SmartGrid_XAUUSD_CXM_5k_2026-09.set. One file per broker and deposit size, because the next section explains why they are not interchangeable.
Why a set file from one broker can misbehave on another
- Point size: some brokers quote Gold to two decimals, some to three. A grid step of 300 points is $3 on one and $0.30 on the other. Good EAs adapt to the symbol's digits; not all do.
- Symbol suffixes inside the file (XAUUSDm vs XAUUSD) for multi-symbol EAs.
- Lot sizes tuned for a cent account applied to a standard account — a hundred times the exposure.
- Spread filters set for a raw account that block every trade on a standard account.
The seller's default set
For most robots the defaults are the inputs the seller actually runs — for Quantora products they are the settings on the public Myfxbook accounts, which is the whole point of publishing them. Start there, run it unchanged for a few weeks, and only then change one input at a time. A "better" set file from a forum is a set file someone optimised on their broker's past data; treat it like any other backtest claim.
