The Bloomberg Excel add-in (API) allows you to pull data from Bloomberg through Excel rather than from the regular Bloomberg terminal interface. This is very helpful for pulling large sets of data or comparing companies on a variety of factors. Mar 08, 2021 Bloomberg Excel Add-In. Bloomberg Excel Add-In is a powerful tool that allows you to deliver Bloomberg data into MS Excel spreadsheet for analysis and calculations. The Data Wizard is a handy feature to retreive various types of data from Bloomberg. Click the Real-Time/Historical icon to open the Data Wizard.

Bloomberg Excel Add-In

Bloomberg Excel Add-In is a powerful tool that allows you to deliver Bloomberg data into MS Excel spreadsheet for analysis and calculations. The Data Wizard is a handy feature to retreive various types of data from Bloomberg.

Data Wizard

Bloomberg Anywhere Excel Add In Download

Click the Real-Time/Historical icon to open the Data Wizard.

Download Excel Add In Bloomberg

• Market, Reference, Analytical, Data Sets
  - allows you to retrieve the most recent data from over 500 data fields
  
• Historical End of Day
  - end of day market, fundamental and analytical data for a specified time period
  
• Historical Intraday Bars
  - intraday market data for defined time interval (e.g. 1 min, 2 min, etc), based on bid, ask or trade events.
  
• Historical Intraday Ticks
  - intraday market ticks for time increment, based on bid, ask, or trade events.

API Download Limit

If you have 'N/A Limit' on your Excel spreadsheet when extracting data on Bloomberg, it means that you have reached the API download limit on that machine (learn more about other error codes). Generally speaking, there are 3 types of API download limits:

1. Daily Limit: 500,000 hits per day where five fields with ten securities would count as 50 hits for example. (Error code for usage exceeding daily limit: #N/A Daily)
2. Monthly Limit: 5000-7000 unique identifiers per month. (Error code for usage exceeding monthly limit: #N/A Review)
3. Real-time Limit: 3500 consecutive real time requests at any one time.

If we have surpassed the monthly API download limit, you will have to wait until the start of the next month for the limit to be reinstated, so use the API quota wisely. There are also other ways to export Bloomberg data without using the quota.

1. Historical Closing Price

If you want to get a time series of closing price for a stock (e.g. Cheung Kong Holdings; BBG Ticker: 1 HK <EQUITY>)

• On Bloomberg screen, type 1 HK <EQUITY> GPO, then hit <GO>.
• Select Edit on the toolbar, and choose Copy Data to Clipboard.
• Paste your selection onto the spreadsheet.

2. Balance Sheet/Income Statement Items

To extract accounting items for a company (e.g. Cheung Kong Holdings; BBG Ticker: 1 HK <EQUITY>) from Bloomberg, you can

• On Bloomberg screen, type 1 HK <EQUITY> FA, then hit <GO>.
• Select Output > Excel on the toolbar, click Save As and select your save location.

Data accessed through the Bloomberg terminals, including the Excel API, is subject to daily and monthly download limits. The limits are associated with each terminal, not your personal account, and cannot be reset. Be judicious when downloading so as to avoid reaching the limits, especially during busy times of year when Bloomberg assignments are due.

How do I tell if a terminal has reached its data limit?

There is no direct way to view how much of the data limit has been used at a terminal. When a terminal's data limit has been reached, you will receive error messages in Excel or no results. In some cases, an API query may come back incomplete. In the terminal software, data in spreadsheets may also not display.

How do I report when the data limit has been reached?

Alert our staff by emailing us by using the Ask A Librarian Form and selecting 'Business' as your subject. We will place a sign on the terminal.

When does the data limit reset?

The daily data limit resets at midnight and the monthly data limit resets at midnight on the last day of the month. These limits are controlled by Bloomberg: library staff cannot reset the limit and Bloomberg staff will not reset the limit under any circumstances.

How can I reduce or optimize my data consumption to prevent reaching the limit?

Download Bloomberg Excel Add-in

Bloomberg Excel Add-in - Getting Started With Bloomberg ...

• Carefully build API queries to only download what you need. The Equity Screener command (EQS) is particularly useful for this task.
• Use Bloomberg Query Language (BQL), which helps reduce data consumption.
• Perform very large queries on the last few days of the month to reduce the impact of reaching data limits on other users.
• Perform very large API queries during slower times of year (summer, breaks) as opposed to when classes are in session.
• Consider using alternative financial data sources that allow very large queries: Datastream, WRDS.

This terminal is maxed out and I still need to do my Bloomberg assignment. What should I do?

• The only solution is to move to another terminal whose data limit has not yet been reached.
• Consult the strategies above when making new API queries.
• If you have an assignment due that requires Bloomberg data, but all the Bobst terminals are exhausted, we can contact your instructor: reach out to the library staff by emailing us by using the Ask A Librarian Form and selecting 'Business' as your subject.