How to export your MT5 optimization results to XML
To analyze an optimization outside MetaTrader 5 — in Excel or in Orometra — you need its results as a file. MT5 does it in a few clicks, but there are details that, if you miss them, ruin the analysis.
1. Before optimizing: turn on Forward
In the Strategy Tester (Ctrl+R), in the settings tab, the Forward option makes MT5 keep the last part of your period aside: it optimizes on the first part (in-sample) and then tests the best passes on the rest (forward). A quarter or a third of the period is a common choice. Without forward you only have in-sample results, and no analysis can tell a robust configuration from a lucky one with confidence.
2. Export the optimization results
When the optimization finishes, open the optimization results tab and make sure you see the table, not the graph. Right-click anywhere in the table and choose Export to XML (the exact wording depends on your MT5 language). Save it with a clear name, for example EURUSD-H1-in-sample.xml.
3. Export the forward results
If you turned on Forward, there is a second tab with the forward results. Export it the same way, for example as EURUSD-H1-forward.xml. This file has the forward result and the result of the same pass in the optimization period side by side; that is how Orometra recognizes it, whatever box you drop it in.
4. Optional: the .set with your ranges
In the inputs tab of the tester you can save the parameter set, with the start, step and stop you asked MT5 to optimize, as a .set file. It is not required, but with it Orometra can tell you how much of that range was actually tested — useful above all with genetic optimization, which skips combinations.
The mistakes that ruin the analysis
- Using the .opt file. MT5 keeps its own cache of results in the tester folder, but it is an internal format: always export to XML.
- Mixing files from different optimizations. The in-sample and the forward must come from the same run: same EA version, symbol, timeframe and ranges. If not, the passes do not match (Orometra checks it and warns you).
- Very large files. If the XML is huge (tens of megabytes), narrow the ranges or the number of parameters and optimize again: besides being slow, so many combinations make it easier for something to look good by pure chance.
Next step
Drop both files into Orometra. In seconds you get the configuration that actually holds up, how much evidence backs it and a .set ready for MT5. Everything runs in your browser: your files never leave your computer.