Download - Bloomberg LPAD Formulae
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Guide to using Formulae in Launchpad
Monitors 1) Intro &Getting There2
2) Column Formula VS. Cell Formula..3
3) The basics...4
4) IF/OR/AND/Nested IF...5
5) Mathematics & Other common formulae
Average/Min/Max7
6) Date and Times...8
7) Subtracting Dates..9
8) Manipulating Update Times11
9) NEW! Interval fields/Return/Historic values ....14
10) Creating a Matrix ....15
11) Ranking Tickers.....16
12) Resources & Sample Monitors.........................17
13) Colouring with a formula.19
14) THE END.20
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1) Intro & Getting There This is a guide on using the =f(x) formula mode in Launchpad Monitors, going from the
basics to more in-depth usage for those looking to get the most out of their
Launchpad experience.
Wherever you see a icon, it means you can click on it to load a sample
monitor in the Bloomberg Terminal.
Once its loaded, you can save a copy, and then go to monitor import to insert your
own custom list of securities. Lets get started!
This switches the monitor into a formula mode allowing you to create formulae just like you
would in Excel.
Once you click this, any sorting will be temporarily removed, and you will be able to see row
numbers and column letters allowing for easy cell referencing when writing your expressions.
Firstly, click on the =f(x) button in the
top right hand corner of your Launchpad
monitor.
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2) Column Formula VS. Cell Formula Next, if you havent already, right click on an existing column heading and
choose Insert Column, instead of typing a field name, hit enter, or
straight away to make this a blank column which we can now edit.
If you are looking to do a general formula for the
WHOLE COLUMN eg: Multiply everything in
column B by 2, then right click on the blank
column heading and choose Set Column
Formula.
If each formula in the column is going to be
different, then you can simply double click in a cell
to bring up the formula editor.
Now that you have the Formula Editor up, you can
start to type out your expression.
For a CELL FORMULA, you will need to write out
the corresponding row number, for example B1*2.
Column formula
Cell formula
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3) The basics
Once you have your Formula Editor box up
and ready, it acts just like Excel.
You can use regular cell referencing (B1) if
you are doing individual cell formulae, or
use a column letter to indicate that you
would like the formula to apply to a whole
column (B).
Space for you to write your
expression.
Search box to find what you are
looking to do. EG: Type MAX into
here to find out how to calculate the
maximum number of a column.
Categorised list of functions to choose
from.
Once you have typed out your
expression in the orange box, hit
update and watch your cells
automatically pull in data.
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4) IF/OR/AND/Nested IF Basic logical statements such as IF/OR/AND work exactly the same in Excel as in the Launchpad Monitor.
Below are some examples of what you can do, with a description of what the statement is saying. These can
be inserted into a blank column and used with column formulae, as described in part 2).
If the figure in column B is greater
than 100, then populate my blank
column with BUY. If this is not the
case, populate the cell with SELL.
If the figure in column B is greater
than 100, AND the figure in column C
is greater than 100, then populate my
corresponding cell with BUY. If this is
not the case, populate the cell with
SELL.
IF
AND
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If the figure in column B is greater
than 100, OR the figure in column C is
greater than 100, then populate my
corresponding cell with BUY. If this is
not the case, populate the cell with
SELL.
If the figure in column B is greater
than 100, then populate my
corresponding cell with BUY. If this is
not the case, then check to see if B is
less than 50 and populate my cell
with SELL if that is true. If neither of
these happen, populate my cell with
HOLD.
OR
NESTED IF
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INT(value) - returns the integer part of the value Eg: INT(5.69) returns 5 MID(text,start number, number of characters) - returns a specific number of characters from a text string, starting at the position you specify, based on the number of characters you specify Eg: =MID("bloomberg",3,2) returns oo LEN(cell) -returns the number of characters in that cell Eg: =LEN("bloomberg") returns 9 RIGHT(text,number of characters) LEFT (text,number of characters) -returns the first/(last) character or characters in a text string, and then x many other characters to the right/(left) Eg: =RIGHT("bloomberg",4) returns berg Eg: =LEFT("bloomberg",5) returns bloom MIN(range) - displays the smallest value in array Eg: =MIN(B2:B10) MAX(range) - displays the larger value in array Eg: =MAX(B2:B10) SUM(range) Eg: = SUM(B2:B10) AVERAGE(range) Eg: = AVERAGE(B2:B10)
5) Mathematics & Other common
formulae Average/Min/Max The following are commonly used and relatively simple methods of manipulating basic prices and text.
They will almost always be handled and laid out in the same way they would be in Excel.
Examples are shown for all here which you can copy and paste into a Launchpad monitor
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Now that we understand the different ways dates can be brought into a monitor, we can use special formulae
to make sure we are comparing apples with apples.
Or in this case, compare a date typed in manually 01/01/2011 (read as text) with one automatically brought
in with =TODAY() (read as a date).
Ultimately, we need to transform anything that is read as text into date format. This can be done
with the =DATEVALUE() expression. Take a look at the monitor above, this shows column B with a
list of manually input dates, and in column C =DATEVALUE(B) has been entered as a column formula.
It looks exactly the same, but this now enables the monitor to understand that it is a date
6) Dates and Times Subtracting dates from each other can be tricky, but the key is to
understand how the monitor is reading the date. I.E. Is it formatted
as mm/yy/dddd or as a number? Ultimately, this will be a result of
how that date was brought into the monitor.
Dates can be brought into your monitor in 3 ways:
1) Typing in the date manually with a formula eg: "01/01/2011"
2) Using a premade formula eg: =TODAY()
3) Using a date field from FLDS eg: DV036 Next estimated
Ex-Dividend Date
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Once we have our text inputs being
read as a date, we can use the =DAY()
function to subtract dates from each
other and calculate the number of
days between two set dates.
Very useful for anyone looking to get
an idea of how long until corporate
actions are occurring on stocks.
Fields from FLDS are also read
as text, so we will need to use
=DATEVALUE() to transform those as
well.
7) Subtracting Dates
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DISPLAYING TODAYS DATE
=If you are using =TODAY() or have
used DATEVALUE() to make your
monitor read text as a date, you can
edit how this is displayed.
Using =DATEFORMAT() around the
date will change how this is shown.
Simply use the following syntax:
=dateformat(TODAY(), "d1")
=dateformat(TODAY(), "d2")
=dateformat(TODAY(), "d3")
=dateformat(TODAY(), "d4")
And so on up until d20 to change the
display
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8) Manipulating Update Times
A common request is being able to show which tickers have been
updated in a monitor within the last few minutes.
Or more likely, which tickers havent updated for some time.
If you have the column RQ024 Time of Last Update then you can use
this in conjunction with some special formulae shown below to work
out what hasnt been updating
Again, once we understand the format of how the numbers are
treated, then we can change everything into integers and show in
number terms what hasnt been moving.
The key is to separate out the hours
and the minutes into numbers.
Once you have done this then you can
sum the two together with the
appropriate multiplication factors.
For example, if the time of update is
09:30 then this should be split into:
9 hours (using =LEFT())
30 minutes (using =RIGHT())
Now turn this into a number using
=VALUE()
Then to give the minutes an
appropriate value you can divide by
60. (60 minutes in an hour)
9+(30/60)
=9.5
Now we have an integer value for the
last update, we can bring in the
current hour and minute with:
=HOUR(NOW())
=MINUTE(NOW())
And repeat the multiplication process
above and then compare the
outcomes.
Above we are separating out the Time
of last update (column C in this case)
and applying the factor 60 to the
minutes.
The value is there so that the monitor
knows we are now going to be
manipulating the result as an integer
rather than a time.
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Here we do exactly the same, except
rather than transforming the time of
last update into an integer; we are
changing the current time into an
integer
Finally now that we have two integers to
compare, we can decide what sort of time
interval we want look over for an update.
Lets take 5 minutes in this case.
The last thing we need to do is give 5 minutes
its appropriate numerical value so we would
do:
5/60
=0.08
The final step is to use an IF statement and see
if the Time of last update + the interval 5
minutes is equal to or greater than the current
time.
If it is, then it has been updated in the last 5
minutes, if not then this is a stale price.
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Here is an image of the final monitor!
Field: Time of Last Update
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Click here to enter text.
9) NEW! Interval fields/
Return/Historic values
It is now possible to use Interval fields and Custom Total Return in a
Launchpad monitor. This allows users to calculate a single data point based
on an extended period of time, for example percent change over 2 years
historically.
To add your interval field use the following steps from your monitor: click
view --> manage columns --> search for the interval field you would like to
use --> (interval percent change/interval high/interval max/min) add
selected. You can then edit the date range and currency overrides via -->
edit overrides.
You can also do this directly by double clicking on the column headings until
it turns amber. There you can enter the field mnemonic or keywords for the
interval field and hit to add. Finally, right click on the column and
choose Edit column overrides.
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10) CREATING A MATRIX
This column formula will look at each
cell in column F and then works out
where it ranks in the whole F column
from cell 2 to the bottom.
If it is the highest figure in F, then it
will return the number 1.
Notice here the use of # - this tells
the monitor to use a range going
from F2 down to the bottom cell in
the F column, so you dont have to
worry about entering the number of
the bottom row
Here is a useful application of using the cell formula
where the formula in every cell is going to be
different a matrix
The only tricky thing here is making
sure you lock the cells correctly by
using the $ key.
Once you go into the =f(x) mode,
double click in the first cell of each
column and put in the formulae
shown above.
Note: In this monitor there are two
hidden columns.
Column B: Current Price
Column C: Change on day
All the other columns are blank
columns for you to put formulae
into
Now that you have these formulae in
all the top cells of each column, you
can right click on each one and
choose filldown formula
Finally, you can right click on each of
the column headings and rename
them to the country list on the left
hand side
The tickers that have been entered in the monitor below are just
government 10 year bond tickers.
EG: GDBR10 Index for Germany
Then you can right click on the ticker - Security Options
Rename securities to give them the names of the countries they
represent
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11) RANKING TICKERS
Rather than sorting a column, you may want to RANK the numbers in a
column and see where tickers lie in a range without having to change the
order they are entered in.
Here is a column formula that does
just that.
By using =RANK() we can specify that
we are ranking the figure we see in
each C cell as we go down within the
range C2 to C#.
C# is a useful command that tells the
monitor that the range ends at the
last row where there is data, so you
dont have to specify this yourself.
Perfect if you are adding or taking
tickers away from your monitor.
Here is the finished monitor You can
see the column Rank showing
where a stock is ranked among others
in terms of its % change on day
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12) RESOURCES
Go to your Launchpad
toolbar and type Sample
Monitors in Enter
Keywords. This will load
up the sample monitors
component showing a list
of commonly used
monitors broken down by
asset class.
Those with 3 stars indicate
that they are commonly
requested by users. Simply
search for a keyword, check
out the preview, and if you
like it, choose Launch
Monitor to put it on your
current Launchpad View
New enhancements are made visible
through the light bulb in the top right
of the monitor.
Click here to see some of the latest
developments
And finally, you can always choose
HELP on the Launchpad toolbar to
access a general Launchpad guide
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SAMPLE MONITOR LINKS
Real-time Portfolio Monitor
This sample monitor allows you to link
your portfolio or multiple portfolios
pulling PRT Fields such as P&L, Market
Value, Weight, and more.
Market Buzz
Catch Unusual and Significant Activity or
Market Buzz in stocks before they fly!
DOCS 2061962
Global Monitor
Global Market Monitor covering a broad
range of products
Equity Visual Trading Monitor
Gain visual insight on intra-day
movements on a list of securities.
Supporting document: DOCS 2063567
Technical Strategy
Technical Strategy allows users to
identify price support and resistance
levels determining an indication for
bullish or bearish trend.
All of these monitors have Column Formulae this means that you can go to Monitor
Import Securities at the top left of the monitor to run the same monitor on your custom
list of securities!
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13) COLOURING WITH A FORMULA
Now that you have got your monitor bringing in all the
data you need, we need to make it visual!
This time we dont have to go into the =f(X) formula
mode, but can right click on a column heading when we
are in the standard monitor view.
After right clicking, choose the option Column
Formatting
With the Column Formatting window open, you can choose from the
tabs at the bottom depending on how you want to color in your data.
Colors enables you to color in the values in the monitor via simple
logical rules.
If you are looking to go a little more complex and make use of
IF/AND/OR statements for example, choose Advanced Colors and
follow the examples on the left hand side
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ENJOY
THE
POSSIBILITIES
ARE
ENDLESS..