Lurker to Beginner/Soft4FX Trade Simulator

[PUMPSUMP]

Hi All

Before setting myself loose (again) in the markets I'm going to find a way to simulate first over the next few weekends, but I'm coming fairly cold to this so I'm asking all you good people for some guidance first.  I've got a bunch of questions, all rolled into the following, some of which will be obvious to experienced users - please forgive any simple Q's...

Soft4FX looks a strong simulator candidate, only on MT4 - which I'll be practicing on soon just to get a feel - as I've only ever used IG spreadbet platform so far (which I've been happy with)

Historical data is downloadable from a variety of sources but I'd like to use in conjunction with IG's MT4 platform and data, with a plan to switch over to that platform, using the weekend closed period to reinforce discipline with ongoing continued practice.

So, can I use IG MT4 with such a simulator with historical data in the way it is shown on the spreadbet/CFD or maybe even the demo platform?

I'm planning to swing trade one or two major indices, maybe a major currency pair and oil/gold, or at least monitor to get an overview of sentiment.

That's a lot in a first post, all pointers are genuinely appreciated

Pumpsump