Beyond the Market Watch: How to Really Show All Symbols in MT5

You’ve been there. You fire up MetaTrader 5, ready to check on a specific forex pair or a commodity you’ve been eyeing, and it’s just… not there. The Market Watch window is showing the usual suspects—EURUSD, GBPUSD, maybe a couple of majors. But the symbol you need is nowhere to be seen.

Your first instinct? Right-click. Look for the option that says “Show All.”

And that works—sort of. The Market Watch window will suddenly populate with every instrument your broker offers. But here’s the catch: as any experienced trader knows, that’s just the beginning of the story.

The "Show All" Illusion

According to common MT5 tutorials, the solution is straightforward: right-click in the Market Watch window and select “Show All” . This action displays every available symbol that your broker supports . And it’s true—you’ll see the full list of forex pairs, indices, and commodities that your broker provides .

But “showing all symbols” in MT5 is actually a two-step process. The “Show All” command is like opening a massive filing cabinet. It reveals what’s possible to view, but it doesn’t organize them for efficient monitoring.

The real challenge starts after you click “Show All.” Now you’re staring at a long, cluttered list of symbols. Scrolling through dozens—sometimes hundreds—of instruments just to find the one you care about? Not exactly efficient. Traders often find themselves using the Symbol menu (Ctrl+U) to manually search and tick boxes for their preferred instruments .

What "Show All" Actually Means

Here’s what most guides don’t emphasize: the “Show All” command shows you available instruments, but it doesn’t automatically make them actively monitored in the way you might want. You’ll need to right-click and select “Symbols” to see the full browser, where you can pick and choose which ones to add .

Even then, you’re still anchored to MT5’s interface. Every time you want a quick price check, you’re either unlocking your screen, bringing the entire MT5 window back to the front, or getting distracted by the rest of the platform.

A Better Way to Watch the Market

This is where the daily workflow of trading can be improved. You’ve already gone through the trouble of setting up your symbols. Maybe you even showed all of them to make sure you didn’t miss an opportunity. But do you really need the entire terminal window open just to check a couple of prices?

The actual need here isn’t just to “show all symbols.” It’s to be able to quickly glance at a shortlist of instruments that matter to you, without having to keep MT5 taking up space on your screen or distracting you from other tasks.

That’s the rationale behind a tool that turns MT5 into a tray application. With a tool like Camovia Tray, your platform moves to the system tray. The key benefit isn’t about replacing the “Show All” function—it’s about what you do after. You can choose a few core symbols to monitor, and their live quotes appear simply by hovering over the tray icon. No need to open the terminal, no need to scroll through a full list, no need to get pulled away from your current focus .

You can even manage positions or hide the main window entirely, keeping your trading activity private and discrete . The data stays on your machine, so you can check your chosen symbols quickly and securely.

So yes, learn how to show all symbols in MT5. But then, consider how you’ll actually watch them.