Visual Panel Features

Panel Overview

The NFS Visual Panel is a professional interface that displays economic calendar events directly on your MT4/MT5 charts. It’s not just a data provider - it’s a complete news visualization system.

Key Features

🎯 Auto-Symbol Detection - Automatically filters news for the chart’s currency
📊 Vertical Lines - Visual markers at exact news release times
🖱️ Interactive Tooltips - Hover for instant event details
🌙 Light/Dark Modes - Customizable appearance
⏰ TimeZone Shift - Critical for accurate backtesting
📱 Compact Design - Minimal screen space usage

Panel Controls

Main Interface

╔═══════════════════════════════╗
║ NFS - News Filter System  🟢  ║
╠═══════════════════════════════╣
║ Next Event:                   ║
║ 📅 NFP (USD)                  ║
║ ⏰ In 2h 15m                  ║
║ 🔴 Impact: HIGH               ║
╠═══════════════════════════════╣
║ [☀️] [⚙️] [🔄] [📊]          ║
╚═══════════════════════════════╝

Button Functions

Button	Function	Description
☀️ / 🌙	Toggle Theme	Switch between Light and Dark mode
⚙️	Settings	Open configuration panel
🔄	Force Update	Manually trigger data sync (normally auto)
📊	Event List	Show upcoming events in a scrollable list

Auto-Symbol Detection

How It Works

NFS automatically detects the currency pair of your chart and filters relevant news:

Chart: EURUSD → Shows EUR and USD news
Chart: XAUUSD (Gold) → Shows USD news + Gold-specific events
Chart: BTCUSD → Shows Crypto news + USD news

Manual Symbol Lists

You can override auto-detection and specify custom symbols:

Click ⚙️ Settings
Toggle “Manual Mode”
Enter currencies: EUR,USD,GBP
Panel will now show news for these currencies regardless of chart

Vertical Lines on Chart

Visual News Markers

NFS draws vertical lines at the exact time of each news event:

Chart Timeline:
|-----------|--RED--|-----------|--YELLOW--|-----------|
09:00      10:30 NFP        12:00   14:00 FOMC     16:00

Colors:

🔴 Red = High-Impact (NFP, FOMC, CPI)
🟡 Yellow = Medium-Impact (PMI, Retail Sales)
🟢 Green = Low-Impact (Minor speeches)

Interactive Tooltips

Hover over any line to see:

╔═══════════════════════════════════╗
║ 📅 Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP)       ║
║ 🔴 Impact: HIGH                  ║
║ ⏰ Time: 13:30 UTC               ║
║ 💱 Currency: USD                 ║
║ 📊 Forecast: 200K                ║
║ 📈 Previous: 185K                ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════╝

Customizing Line Display

Settings → Visual Options:

Line Width: 1-5 pixels
Line Style: Solid, Dashed, Dotted
Show Labels: Display event names above lines
Hide Past Events: Automatically remove old lines

TimeZone Shift (Critical for Backtesting)

Why TimeZone Matters

Your broker’s time might not match UTC:

NFS Data: Always in UTC (universal standard)
Your Broker: Might use GMT+2, GMT+3, or local time
Mismatch Result: News lines appear at wrong times in backtest

How to Set TimeZone Shift

Find your broker’s offset:
- Right-click chart → Properties
- Check “Show date and time”
- Compare a known UTC event (e.g., NFP always at 13:30 UTC) to your chart time
Calculate the shift:
- If NFP shows at 15:30 on your chart → Shift = +2 hours
- If NFP shows at 16:30 on your chart → Shift = +3 hours
- If NFP shows at 08:30 on your chart → Shift = -5 hours (EST)
Apply in NFS:
- Click ⚙️ Settings
- Find “TimeZone Shift” field
- Enter: +2, +3, -5, etc.
- Click Save

Example Configurations

Broker Server Time	TimeZone Shift
GMT+0 (Winter)	`0`
GMT+1 (Summer)	`+1`
GMT+2 (Standard)	`+2`
GMT+3 (Dubai/Moscow)	`+3`
EST (US Eastern)	`-5`
Server Time = UTC	`0`

Settings Panel Reference

General Settings

Setting	Options	Default	Description
Panel Position	Corner selection	Top-Left	Where the panel appears
Auto-Symbol Mode	On/Off	On	Detect currencies from chart
Manual Symbols	Text input	-	Custom currency list (e.g., EUR,USD,GBP)
TimeZone Shift	-12 to +14	0	Broker time offset from UTC

Visual Settings

Setting	Options	Default	Description
Theme	Light/Dark	Dark	Panel appearance
Show Vertical Lines	On/Off	On	Display news markers on chart
Line Color (High)	Color picker	Red	High-impact event color
Line Color (Medium)	Color picker	Yellow	Medium-impact color
Line Color (Low)	Color picker	Green	Low-impact color
Font Size	Small/Normal/Large	Normal	Panel text size

Filter Settings

Setting	Options	Default	Description
Show High Impact	✅ / ❌	✅	Display high-impact events
Show Medium Impact	✅ / ❌	✅	Display medium-impact events
Show Low Impact	✅ / ❌	❌	Display low-impact events
Time Buffer (Before)	0-120 min	15	Minutes before news to show warning
Time Buffer (After)	0-120 min	15	Minutes after news to show warning

Using the Event List

Click 📊 to open the scrollable event list:

╔════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║         Upcoming News Events               ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ 🔴 13:30 UTC - NFP (USD)                  ║
║    Non-Farm Employment Change              ║
║    Impact: HIGH | Forecast: 200K          ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ 🟡 15:00 UTC - ISM PMI (USD)              ║
║    Manufacturing PMI                       ║
║    Impact: MEDIUM | Forecast: 52.5        ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ 🟢 10:00 UTC - GDP (EUR)                  ║
║    Gross Domestic Product (Prelim)        ║
║    Impact: LOW | Forecast: 1.5%           ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Features:

Shows next 20 events
Scrollable list for long-term planning
Live countdown to each event
Tap any event to center chart at that time

Panel Hotkeys

Hotkey	Action
Alt+N	Toggle panel visibility
Alt+L	Toggle vertical lines
Alt+S	Open settings
Alt+U	Force manual update

Performance Optimization

Reducing CPU Usage

If you notice lag on weaker systems:

Disable Low-Impact Events (Settings → Filter)
Increase Update Interval (Settings → Advanced)
Hide Past Events (Settings → Visual)
Reduce Line Count (Settings → Display only next 5 events)

Memory Usage

NFS is highly optimized:

Panel: ~5MB RAM
Data File: 4.5MB on disk
Zero impact on trading speed or order execution

Backtest Mode vs Live Mode

Live Trading Mode

Shows current and future events
Auto-updates every 30 minutes
Displays real-time countdown

Backtest Mode (Strategy Tester)

Shows historical events only
No auto-updates (data is static for backtest consistency)
TimeZone Shift is critical here!

Advanced Features

Multi-Chart Synchronization

If you have multiple charts open:

All panels share the same data
Changing settings on one panel updates all (except chart-specific filters)
Only one update process runs (efficient)

News Impact Levels

NFS uses a 3-tier impact system:

Level	Events	Examples
High 🔴	Market-moving releases	NFP, FOMC, CPI, GDP
Medium 🟡	Moderate volatility	PMI, Retail Sales, Inflation
Low 🟢	Minor impact	Speeches, Minor data

You can customize which levels to display in Settings.

Troubleshooting Panel Issues

Panel not appearing

Check AutoTrading is enabled (green button in toolbar)
Restart MetaTrader
Verify license key is activated

Vertical lines not showing

Click Alt+L to toggle line visibility
Check Settings → Visual → “Show Vertical Lines” is enabled
Ensure your chart has enough history loaded (right-click chart → refresh)

Data not updating

DLL Mode:

Check internet connection
Verify DLL imports are allowed

No-DLL Mode:

MT4: Ensure NFS_Server.ex4 is running on a chart
MT5: Check Service Manager - NFS_Service should be running

Next Steps

💻 Developer Integration Guide - Integrate NFS into your EA
🎯 EA Integration Examples - Copy-paste ready code
💬 Support - Get help from our team

Questions? Contact us on Telegram: @NFS_Support_Bot