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Bloomberg Excel Add-In Getting Started

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 7 7 8 9 11 11 13

EXCELADDINBASICS

DDEServer&TerminalLogin BloombergToolbar

AvailableToolbarOptions BloombergAddInHelp

SEARCHINGFORFIELDS

USINGTHEHISTORYWIZARD SelectingSecurities SelectingFields

SelectingTimeParameters SelectingGeneralParameters SelectingLayoutOptions

CREATINGUNLINKEDRESULTS

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INTRODUCTION
As mentioned in the Bloomberg TerminalGetting Started JMSB TechNote, using the Bloomberg Excel AddIn is an excellent method of extracting large quantities of data fromtheTerminal.WhiletheAddInallowsforseveraldifferenttypesofanalysis,the focus of this document is on the use of the History Wizard to support academic research. Please note that this document assumes basic familiarity with Microsoft Excel. In addition,ifyouarenotfamiliarwiththeprogramsPasteSpecialoption,pleaseseethe ExcelDataManipulationJMSBTechNoteformoreinformation.

EXCEL ADD-IN BASICS

DDE Server & Terminal Login The first step in using the Bloomberg Excel AddIn is to ensure that the DDE Server application is running. This application creates a realtime link between the Terminal andExcel.Figure1displaystheDDEServericonintheprogramslist:
FIGURE 1

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InadditiontohavingtheDDEServerapplicationrunning,youneedtobeloggedinto the Bloomberg Terminal (under any login) in order to use the AddIn. Please see the BloombergTerminalGettingStartedJMSBTechNoteformoreinformation. Bloomberg Toolbar After you have confirmed that the DDE server is running, the next step in using the AddInistolocatetheBloombergtoolbar.ThetoolbarisshowninFigure2:
FIGURE 2

In addition to the toolbar, note that there is also a Bloomberg option which has been addedtotheMenubar.

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Available Toolbar Options Figure3illustratesthedifferentoptionsavailableinthetoolbar:

FIGURE 3

YoumaynoticethatthelightningboltsymbolissimilartotheDDEServerIcon;clicking itwillinstructtheAddIntoceaseseekingupdatestocurrentfields.TheFieldsSearch option allows you to search for available fields, providing you with the name, mnemonic and category of the field. The Table Wizard is used to create a table of multiple current or static fields for a given security. The History Wizard is used to extract historical information, and will be explained in this document in detail. The IntraDay History Wizard is similar to the History Wizard but deals with IntraDay tradingdata. The BulkWizardis usedto extract information thatisnot individual or discrete, such as a cash flow schedule. The Fundamentals Wizard is used to extract fundamental (i.e., accounting) data, and the Fill Range option is used to fill existing dataorformulasoveragivenrangeofcells.

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Bloomberg Add-In Help One important option not immediately available in the toolbar is the AddIn Help Menu.ThisMenuisaccessiblethroughtheBloombergoptionintheExcelMenubar,as showninFigure4:
FIGURE 4

Notethatyoucanalsoaccessthetoolbaroptionsviathismenu.

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SEARCHING FOR FIELDS

Assume that you are interested in gathering historical Market Capitalization data for Exxon Mobil Corp. for the past five years (on a monthly basis). The first step in obtaining thisinformation is to conducta field searchin orderto determinethe name andcategoryoftheappropriatefield.Figure5illustratestheFieldsSearchwindow:
FIGURE 5

The checkbox options displayed in Figure 5 are worth noting. Be sure that the Historicalfieldsboxischeckedifyouarelookingforhistoricaldata. Typing market cap in the search field and clicking on Search gives us the results displayedinFigure6:

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FIGURE 6

We can see from the results that the first field listed is likely the one we need. While Current Market Cap seems out of place when searching for monthly historical information, the History Wizard compensates for this by extracting the Market Capitalizationasatthelastdayofthemonth. TheactualpurposeoftheFieldsSearchtoolistopastethemnemonicsofselectedfields into worksheet cells. However, in this case, we are only interested in the Category associated with the field (explained below). For now, note that all of the Market CapitalizationfieldsarelistedinacategoryentitledFundamentalsFinancialRatios, thenclickonClose.

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USING THE HISTORY WIZARD

Selecting Securities Clicking on the History Wizard button in the Bloomberg toolbar opens the Select Securitieswindow,asshowninFigure7:
FIGURE 7

In this case, we know from our example in the Bloomberg Terminal Getting Started JMSB TechNote that the Bloomberg ticker for Exxon Mobil Corp is XOM US. Typing XOM US, clicking on the Equity sector button, and then clicking Add will include Exxoninthesecuritylist.Aswell,ontheleftofthescreenyouwillnoticeapreviewof howthedatawillbestructuredinExcel. If you are unsure of the appropriate ticker, clicking on the LookUp tool button (binoculars icon next to the Add button) will allow you to conduct a ticker search. Alternatively,youcanusetheBloombergTerminaltosearchfortheticker.

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Selecting Fields ClickingonNextbringsustotheSelectingFieldswindow,asshowninFigure8:

FIGURE 8

Asyoucansee,thereareover16,000availablefieldstochoosefrom,groupedintomany different categories. It is for this reason that we conducted a Fields Search prior to openingtheHistoryWizard.Notethat theseventhcategoryfromthetop ofthelistis entitled Fundamentals Financial Ratios which is the category that we noted previously.Openingthatcategoryfolderandscrollingdowneventuallyleadsustothe Current Market Cap field. Right clicking on any fieldallows you to read Bloombergs definitionoftheitemandcalculationmethodologyforthefield.Checkingtheboxtothe leftofthefieldbringsustoFigure9:

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FIGURE 9

Notethatthefieldhasbeenaddedtothelistontheright,andthatithasbeenincluded intheExcelworksheetpreviewontheleft. Selecting Time Parameters Clicking on Next brings us to the next step of the History Wizard, the Select Time Parameters window. Since we want the past five years of data, we select the Specific startandenddatesoption,asshowninFigure10:

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FIGURE 10

ClickingonNextpromptsustoselectthestartandenddates,asshowninFigure11.
FIGURE 11

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PleasenotethatselectingJanuary1st,2002asthestartdateformonthlydataimpliesthat thefirstdataitemwillbeExxonsMarketCapitalizationasattheendofthatmonth(i.e., January31st,2002). Selecting General Parameters Clicking on Next brings us to the General Parameters window, where the periodicity, time ordering and currency are selected (see Figure 12). Best practice is to select the currencythatmatchesthecountryoftheexchangewheretheselectedsecuritytrades,in thiscasetheUnitedStates.Sinceyoucanretrieveinformationonmultiplesecuritiesat thesametime,youmayconsidergroupingmultiplesecuritiesbysimilarcountriesand runningseparateHistoryWizardqueriesforeachcountryscurrency.
FIGURE 12

Selecting Monthly periodicity and clicking Next brings us to the final window of the HistoryWizard. Selecting Layout Options The Layout Options window allows you to choose the worksheet orientation, the worksheetlinktype,andwhetheryouwishtohaveasinglesecurityperworksheet(see Figure13).

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FIGURE 13

For a query involving a single security, the default options are adequate. Clicking on FinishclosestheWizardandupdatestheExcelworksheet,asshowninFigure14:
FIGURE 14

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CREATING UNLINKED RESULTS

An important feature worth noting is that the data created in Excel is linked to the Bloomberg Terminal by way of a function. This is advantageous because the ticker symbolcanbemanuallychangedintheworksheet(cellA1inFigure14)andthedata willautomaticallyupdatetoreflectthenewsecurity. However,therealtimelinkisdisadvantageousbecauseitwillonlyworkwhenrunning from a Bloomberg Terminal. Opening the file from another computer will generate a prompt to update, and even selecting Dont Update can occasionally cause problems withthedata.UsingtheStopRealTimeUpdatesoptionintheBloombergtoolbarwill severthislink;however,itwilldosoforallworksheetsintheworkbook. If you are interested in maintaining a linkfree version of a worksheet but wish to simultaneouslypreservethelinks,dothefollowing: 1) Create a copy of the relevant worksheet by rightclicking the worksheet tab, selectingMoveorCopy,andthenCreateacopy. 2) Renamethenewworksheettowhateverlabelisappropriate. 3) Highlight the data in the new worksheet and press CtrlC to copy the data. SelectEdit>PasteSpecial>ValuesandthenclickOk. The above steps will clear the formulas in the newly created worksheet but will preserve the values. The workbook can be opened from a computer other than the BloombergTerminalwithoutanyriskofdataloss.

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Last modified: 11 May 2007