Bloomberg Engine Operation

This section covers the following topics:

• Subscribe
• Quick Quote
• Quote Table
• Quote Wizard
• Chain
• RTW Functions
• Favorites
• Status Window Overview
• Interface Preferences
• Stop/Restart Engines
• Pause/Resume Data
• Updates
• Monitor Watch List
• Record Info

To subscribe and publish data in Microsoft Excel, RTW provides a COM Server (rts) that works in conjunction with Microsoft Excel’s RTD function (available only in Excel 2002 and higher; see the Microsoft Excel Help for more information on RTD and COM automation). The RTW COM Server can also be used with custom stand-alone applications. For more information about the RTW COM Server and the RTW COM Interface, see RTW COM Interface.

RTW offers three menu options that facilitate building an RTD formula for subscribing to data. These options are:

• Quote Wizard – Steps through the process of building an RTD formula
• Quote Table – Creates a table of RTD formulas referencing record and field names in a spreadsheet
• Quick Quote – Provides an easy way to automatically build a RTD formula

The generic syntax for Microsoft Excel RTD is as follows:

=RTD(ProgID, server, topic1, [topic2], …) 

When using RTW to subscribe to data, the RTD function uses the following arguments:

=RTD(ProgId, server, command, engine, servicename, recordname, fieldname1, […, fieldnameN]) 

The arguments have the following meaning:

Example of an RTD function for subscribing

The following formula subscribes to the Microsoft ASK price via the RTW Bloomberg engine with the TICKERX record type:

=RTD("Vistasource.RtdServer",,"rt","axbloom","TICKERX","MSFT US Equity", "ASK")

Example of an RTD function for subscribing to multiple fields

To retrieve multiple field values with one formula, the RTD function would need to return an array of data. However, RTD does not support this functionality (see Microsoft KB article 286258). To work around this limitation, the RTW wrapper function PARSE_DATA can be used. This function “parses” the string array of incoming data. The Quote dialogs will automatically use the PARSE_DATA function when creating array formulas. See section RTW Functions for more information about PARSE_DATA and other wrapper functions.

The following formula subscribes to the Microsoft ASK and BID prices in real-time via the RTW Bloomberg engine with the TICKERX record type:

=PARSE_DATA(RTD("vistasource.rtdserver",,"rt","axbloom","TICKERX","MSFT US Equity","ASK","BID"))

The Quote Wizard steps through the process of building an RTD formula and subscribing to data provided by the data distribution system.

Select Vistasource → Bloomberg→ Quote Wizard to start the Quote Wizard.

The Quote Wizard consists of a total of five screens. Each screen details the steps of building a formula, displaying the status of the formula as you build it.

By choosing multiple record and field names, the Quote Wizard also allows you to create, format, and determine the layout of a “quote table.”

This option provides an easy way to automatically build an RTD formula which subscribes to fields of a single record.

Select Vistasource → Bloomberg→ Quick Quote to create a subscribe quote. The Quick Quote dialog box provides an easy way to automatically build a RTD formula which subscribes to fields of a single record.

The RTW Bloomberg Quick Quote dialog box contains the following options:

Click OK to insert the formula in your workbook.

This option allows you to create a table of RTD formulas which reference record and field names in a spreadsheet.

Organize your spreadsheet with record names in a column and field names in an adjacent row. Select Vistasource → Bloomberg → Quote Table to display the RTW Bloomberg Quote Table dialog box.

The RTW Bloomberg Quote Table dialog box contains the following options:

Click OK to insert the RTD formulas in your workbook.

The RTW Bloomberg Chain dialog box allows you to subscribe to groups of records of related data. Records linked within the chain are placed in consecutive cells with RTD formulas. By specifying a chain record root, the name of each record in the chain is returned. For a list of valid chains, please refer to the appropriate Reuters Services guide.

To construct a chain of data select Vistasource → Bloomberg → Chain to display the RTW Bloomberg Chain dialog box.

The RTW Bloomberg Chain dialog box contains the following options:

Click OK to initiate the construction of the chain.

RTW specific functions are added to Microsoft Excel upon installation. They can be accessed by selecting Formulas → Insert Functions → Select a Category → Vistasource RTW.

In versions prior to Microsoft Excel 2007, select Insert → Function in the menu bar to display the “Insert Function” dialog box. Select the Vistasource RTW category to display the RTW functions.

The following functions call the RTD function with the required default arguments, plus the given arguments. In this way, redundant arguments are hidden, exposing only the data that is important to you.

=RTS("axbloom","TICKERX", "MSFT US Equity", "ASK")

=RTS_BLOOM("TICKERX", "MSFT US Equity", "ASK")

The function PARSE_DATA facilitates some of the limitations of RTD when subscribing to multiple fields in the same RTD formula (see Microsoft KB article 286258)

{=PARSE_DATA(RTS_BLOOM("TICKERX","MSFT US Equity", "BID", "ASK"))}

The PACKAGE_DATA function can be used together with the PARSE_DATA function to pass an array of field names to the RTD function.

=PARSE_DATA(RTS_BLOOM("TICKERX", "MSFT US Equity", PACKAGE_DATA(A1:A2)))

The PARSE_BULK function allows parsing bulk data from the Bloomberg data distribution system that is retrieved via an RTD function. In Bloomberg, the bulk format data type is used to return multi-element or multi-dimensional data.

{=PARSE_BULK(RTD("vistasource.rtdserver",,"rt","axbloom","TICKERX","UKX Index","INDX_MEMBERS"))}

The RTW Bloomberg Records – Favorites List dialog box allows you to manage your favorites list.

This list displays previously added selections of records and fields. To delete a selection, mark the item and click Delete.

To modify an item, click Modify List to access the RTW Bloomberg Favorites List dialog box.

The RTW Bloomberg Favorites List dialog box allows you to add, delete, and update your list of favorite records or pages. To access this list, click View Favorites in the Quick Quote dialog box, or select the dialog box launcher in the Vistasource → Bloomberg group.

The RTW Bloomberg Favorites List dialog box contains the following fields:

The RTW Status Window displays messages about the RTW server, RTSHARE and any installed engine(s). The information is divided into the product components (RTW, RTSHARE or engine(s) ) and message types (errors, warnings, etc).

The top buttons of the window represent the components that have messages available. The RTW button represents the RTW server and is always displayed. When an engine is started or RTSHARE is used, a button for that component will be added to the toolbar. To view the messages for a component, click on its button.

For each component, there are tabs categorizing the different types of messages that the server or engine might send to the Status Window. For example, the tabs for the RTW component are: Information, Warnings, and Errors. Each engine and RTSHARE has its own message types. To switch between message types, click on the appropriate tab.

The Status Window will automatically switch to a component when either 1) initialization of the component has occurred or 2) an error occurred for that component.

Click on the RTW button to display the following tabs: Information, Warning, Errors.

Click on the Bloomberg button to display the following tabs: General, Requests, Status.

When information about a real-time value is not available, the cell displays #N/A. When an Excel spreadsheet file containing RTD formulas is opened, all real-time values display as #N/A until the data distribution system delivers the initial value and the cells are updated.

Similarly, when editing, copying or cutting/pasting a real-time formula, the cell displays #N/A until the value of the cell changes and the cell is updated. A cell which references a cell with a #N/A status message also displays #N/A.

If a cell displays #VALUE!, the formula is incorrect. For instance, if an invalid field name is entered, the cell displays #VALUE! and the status window displays information from the data distribution system about the incorrect field name. A cell also displays #VALUE! if it references another cell which contains #VALUE! or #N/A or no data.

You can show or hide the RTW Status Window by selecting Vistasource → Info → Show/Hide Status Window.

By default, the status window first appears when a real-time RTW request is made. Real-time requests are made with the “rt” and “rtinsert” commands in the RTD function or in the RTW COM server.

The debug level and display rules for the RTW Status Window can be changed in the Status Window section of the Generic tab of the Rtconfig Editor. See section Generic Configuration Options for detailed information about the different methods of editing the RTW configuration options.

The Interface Preferences are used to customize the behavior of the RTW user interface as well as setting default values for the RTW Bloomberg engine dialog boxes.

Select Vistasource → Settings → Interface Preferences to display the RTW Preferences dialog box.

This dialog box contains a generic preference and a Bloomberg tab. On these tabs, defaults can be selected for the user interface dialogs such as Quick Quote.

On the Generic tab, you can select the options Build Formulas as Arrays and Don’t show splash screen on startup.

When this option is on, all Quote dialog boxes will create array formulas by default.

Turn this option on to suppress the Vistasource RTW splash screen when you launch Microsoft Excel. The option is off by default.

The Bloomberg tab contains the following options.

Sets the default subscribe service for the RTW Bloomberg engine. The selected subscribe service will automatically be the default service in the Quote dialog boxes. For Bloomberg, it would be the record type, such as TICKERX.

Sets the field name display option for dialog boxes. Choose Mnemonics first to show short field names first, e.g. ASK (Ask Price). Choose Description first to show long field names first, e.g. Ask Price (ASK).

Select Vistasource → Stop/Restart Engines to close the connection to the data distribution system without exiting your spreadsheet. If you choose to stop an engine while the spreadsheet contains active real-time cells, the engine will restart automatically. You can choose to stop and restart a specific engine or all real-time engines.

Select the RTW Pause Data button to pause the flow of real-time data. You cannot manually update real-time values in this mode. This option lets you work in your spreadsheet without interruption from data updates. When Pause Data is selected, the menu option Refresh Data Now, which initiates a manual update, is not available and the Updates submenu is disabled (grayed out).

Select the RTW Resume Data button to resume the flow of real-time data.

Select Vistasource → Updates to display the various update options which let you alter the flow of real-time data without closing the engine. You can pause and resume your data flow, and set the update rate according to your needs. You can choose to have the data updated as it changes, manually update your data, or select various intervals including custom intervals for automatic updates. Internally, this sets the Excel application option RTD.ThrottleInterval.

Select Vistasource → Updates → Manual Updates Only to suspend automatic updates of data. Any cells containing real-time formulas display the value that was current when you chose this option, but the values no longer continue to update automatically. If you want to restart automatic updates, choose one of the other update rate options such as As Data Changes.

By selecting Vistasource → Refresh Data Now you initiate a manual update of the real-time cells.

Select Vistasource → Refresh Data Now to force a manual update when Vistasource → Updates → Manual Updates Only is selected, or when the Update Rate is 5 seconds or more. Otherwise, the option is unavailable (grayed out).

When data is paused by selecting Vistasource → Pause Data, the option Refresh Data Now is not available. Select Vistasource → Resume Data to resume the flow of real-time data once paused.

This option allows the setting of the rate in which data gets updated. It contains the following settings:

Select Vistasource → Updates → Rate → As Data Changes to have the engine update your data as the values change.

Select Vistasource → Updates → Rate → n Second Interval to update real-time values at preset intervals. n represents the number of seconds between updates. Available settings are 1, 5, 10, 30, 60 seconds.

Select Vistasource → Updates → Rate → Custom Interval to define a custom interval between updates. Custom intervals are measured in seconds.

Select Vistasource → Info → Monitor Watch List to display the RTW Monitor Watch List dialog box. This dialog shows the records and fields you are currently subscribed to.

The RTW Monitor Watch List dialog box contains the following fields:

Select Close to return to the work sheet.

Items from the Watch List will automatically unsubscribe when you remove the RTD formula. To flush all records, select Vistasource → Stop/Restart Engines.

Select Vistasource → Info → Record Info to view the current values of all valid fields (FIDs) for a given record (RIC) from any available DDS (Data Distribution Server) such as Bloomberg. In case several engines are installed, you can access all available engines from a single Record Information dialog box.

The RTW Record Information dialog box contains the following fields:

Select Close to return to the work sheet.