MT5 history period: show all history or a custom date range

Why the History tab seems to lose trades, where the period setting is, and how to review the right window.

The most common reason a trader thinks MetaTrader 5 has lost their trades is not a bug. The History tab simply shows a limited period, and the trades they want are outside it. Changing the period takes a few seconds once you know where the setting lives, but the menu is easy to overlook and the choices behave in ways that can confuse you. This page explains how the History tab decides what to show, how to choose a custom date range, and what to check when old trades still do not appear.

Where the period setting lives

Open the Toolbox window of the terminal (the panel at the bottom, usually opened with Ctrl+T) and click the History tab. Right-click anywhere in the list. The context menu normally offers a block of period choices, for example today, last week, last month, last three months, all history and a custom period. The exact wording and the exact presets differ between builds and brokers, so check your own terminal rather than trusting a screenshot from a forum. The step-by-step walk-through for newcomers is on the page about opening the trade history in MetaTrader 5.

The same right-click menu also lets you switch between the Positions, Orders and Deals views, and it lets you choose which columns are visible. If the list looks empty, the period is only one of three things that can hide rows. The other two are the view you picked and the account you are logged in to. A fresh terminal that is logged in to a new account has a new, separate history.

Choosing a custom period

Pick the custom period entry and the terminal asks for a start date and an end date. Enter the first day you care about and the last day, then confirm. The list refreshes to show only rows inside that range. The range is applied to the time of the record on the broker’s server clock, not on your computer’s clock, which matters around midnight. The reasons are explained in MT5 server time explained.

Use a wide range first. Set the start date far in the past and the end date to tomorrow, then narrow down.
Remember that the end date is a calendar day. A trade closed late in that day on the server clock may be right at the edge.
After you change the range, check the totals line at the bottom of the tab. It sums only the rows currently shown.
If you switch between Positions and Deals, re-check the range; it can look like it was reset.

Why totals change when you change the period

The summary line at the bottom of the History tab adds up profit, commission and swap for the visible rows only. Choose last week and you get one number; choose all history and you get another. Neither is wrong, and neither is your account’s lifetime result unless the range truly covers everything. Deposits and withdrawals are balance rows and they count in the Deals view totals if they fall inside the range. That is one reason a total in the History tab rarely matches a profit figure you computed from closed trades alone. The row types are listed in non-trade rows in MT5 history.

What you see	Likely cause	What to try
Empty list	Period is too short, or the wrong view is selected	Set all history, then switch to Deals
Trades from last month missing	A preset such as last week is active	Choose custom period and widen it
Totals look too small	The range excludes older rows	Widen the range before comparing
Profit does not match your records	Balance rows or swap and commission are included	Compare the Profit, Commission and Swap columns separately
Still empty on a new login	The account has no closed trades yet	Check you are on the right login

When all history is still not enough

Selecting all history shows what the broker’s server is willing to send. Some brokers keep the full account history for as long as the account exists. Others may archive or trim very old records, or move records when an account is migrated to a new server or login. If a period you know you traded is missing even with all history selected, the page on trade history not showing walks through the checks, and the page on the History Center versus the account history covers the price-data side, which is a different thing from your trade records.

Do not clear or delete anything while you investigate. If you are tempted to reset the terminal, read what clearing the trade history really does first. Records live on the broker’s server; the terminal only shows them.

How a journal app avoids the period problem

A journal that reads the account itself does not depend on the period you left selected in the History tab. AI Trading Journal, a Windows app for MetaTrader 5 only, reads the whole account history the first time it runs, then a scheduled task adds new closed trades every 5 minutes. It creates one entry per closed position, with partial closes combined and the entry dated by the last exit on the broker’s server clock. The result of each entry is profit plus commission plus swap. The journal itself is a file in Documents\AI Trading Journal on your own PC, so the old trades stay in your file even if you later change what the History tab displays. The app is read-only: it never places, modifies or closes a trade.

That does not mean it can show trades the server no longer provides. If the broker has trimmed old records, the app can only read what is still there, so back up your own copy while the history is complete. Backup options are described in how to back up a trading journal.

A worked example (hypothetical)

A trader opens the History tab on Monday morning to prepare a monthly review. The list shows only six rows and the totals line says a small gain. The trader remembers about forty trades last month. Right-clicking shows that the period is set to last week. Choosing custom period, with a start date at the first of the previous month and an end date of today, the list grows to forty-one rows. The totals line now shows a small loss, because last week was a good week inside a weaker month. The numbers are invented, but the pattern is real: the headline total depends on the window, so the review must state its window.

A short routine before any review

Select the Deals view and a custom period that matches your review window exactly.
Write the start and end dates at the top of your notes so the figures can be reproduced.
Compare the row count with the number of trades you expect.
Read the totals line, then note whether balance rows are inside the window.
Only then compare against your journal or an exported report.

For the statistics side of a review, see MT5 trading statistics, which explains what each figure measures.

Limits and cautions

Menu names and presets vary by terminal build and broker; check your own terminal.
The History tab shows what the server provides; the app cannot recover records the server no longer holds.
Each login has its own history; the app keeps a separate journal per connected account.
Nothing here is trading advice.

Frequently asked questions

Why does MT5 show no trades in the History tab?

Usually the period is too short, the wrong view is selected, or you are logged in to a different account. Right-click the tab and widen the period.

How do I pick a custom date range?

Right-click the History tab and choose the custom period option, then enter a start and end date. Menu wording can differ by build.

Do the totals at the bottom cover my whole account?

Only the rows currently shown, so they change with the period and may include balance rows.

Does the journal app depend on the History tab period?

No. It reads the account history itself, the whole history on the first run and new closed trades every 5 minutes after that.

Can the app recover trades my broker deleted?

No. It can only read what the server still provides, so keep your own backup.

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