Bloomberg Excel Add-in, formally known as Bloomberg API (Applications Program Interface), is a powerful tool that allows you to extract Bloomberg data directly to Excel spreadsheets.
Use the Excel Add-in when you want to customize your datasets or when you want to request for time-series data on multiple securities with multiple fields at one go.
Tip: The downloaded data may contain Bloomberg formulas. If you want to view the data on your own computer, try the Excel Copy and Paste Special as Values functions to copy the data to another worksheet.
If you are using the Excel plugin for the first time, you will have to do a one-time installation.
To install Bloomberg Excel plugin, close all Excel spreadsheets and follow this path: Start > All Programs > Bloomberg > Install Excel Add-In.
Once installed, the Bloomberg tab will appear in the Excel ribbon.
Alternatively, look for the folder 'Bloomberg Tools' from the desktop. Open the folder and click the filename titled 'Install Excel Add-In'.
If there is an error in installation, run Start > All Programs > Bloomberg > Bloomberg API Diagnostics > Start & Repair, and try to install the add-in again.
Bloomberg has various pre-built templates to help users retrieve data.
To see a list of templates, use the command XLTP <GO>