Using the Bloomberg Excel Add-in
12/11/2018
In an earlier post we explained how to install the Bloomberg Office add-in which allows data to be exported from the Bloomberg terminal to Excel.
Within Excel, the Bloomberg add-in toolbar has various tools you can use to draw data from the Bloomberg terminal directly into Excel.
One of the tools, the Template library, provides predefined templates covering different financial areas to allow you to pull relevant data from Bloomberg. Highlight any template name to get a description of what it covers.
Another useful tool is the Import Data option. This uses a Bloomberg Data Wizard to guide you through several steps where you specify the security, the data you need and the dates you need it for. This is the easiest way to extract data from Bloomberg as it writes the Bloomberg API formulas for you.
However if you need more flexibility than the wizards allow, you can write your own formulas.
The detailed help function <HELP DAPI> guides you through this:
When creating a formula, you need to specify the security (ticker, market sector), e.g. IBM US Equity; and the field (datatype), e.g. PX_LAST and a field. You can use the Field search tool (<FLDS>) on the Bloomberg tab to find the field mnemonic by category or keyword.
Depending on the type of data you want to download, you can use one of the following:
BDP (Bloomberg Data Point) – This returns data to a single cell. It contains only one ticker and one field.
= BDP (Security, Field) e.g. =BDP(“IBM US Equity”, “Px_Last”) retrieves the price of the last trade on IBM stock.
BDH (Bloomberg Data History) – This formula returns the historical data for a selected security.
=BDH (Security, Field, Start Date, End Date) e.g. =BDH (“IBM US Equity”, “Px_Last”,”01/01/01″, “12/31/01”) retrieves the closing prices for IBM from the first to the last day of 2001.
BDS (Bloomberg Data Set) – This formula returns multi-cell descriptive data.
=BDS(Security, Field) e.g. =BDS (“IBM US Equity”, “CIE_DES_BULK”) retrieves IBM’s company business description.
As always, if you need any assistance with Bloomberg, please contact the MIRC team.
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
From Cranfield to CEO: an Emirati innovator’s lean journey
From the sands of Abu Dhabi to the lecture rooms of Cranfield University, one Emirati graduate has carved a remarkable path, blending academic rigour with entrepreneurial spirit. This is the story ...
Cranfield alumni hits 2 million views milestone with accessible archaeology YouTube channel
Cranfield alumni Rosie Crawford’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. While pursuing her undergraduate studies, Rosie created 'JustALittleRoo,' a free online access and outreach platform across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok to share her experience as ...
From lean principles to lasting love: A Cranfield PhD journey
From the bustling streets of Turkey to Cranfield University, one graduate’s journey embodies the power of academic pursuit, industry connection, and unexpected life events. This is the story of Zehra Canan, ...
Finding economic data on Passport
One of the quickest and easiest ways to find global economic statistical data from a range of authoritative sources is to use Passport. Passport, a Euromonitor product, has both quarterly and annual historical data going ...
Level 7 apprenticeships support social mobility and address skills gaps
A recent article in The Times painted a misleading picture of Level 7 apprenticeships, accusing companies of sending senior executives on management courses, and diverting levy funding away from entry-level apprenticeships. The story fails ...
Want to improve your reading skills?
Are you starting to read through the mountains of journals, books or articles for your project or on your course reading list? Let’s start with a few myths about the reading process: You need to ...