Q. Datastream Request Table

If your use of Excel involves transferring and presenting large amounts of data from Datastream on a regular basis for the same series, you can use the Request Table to create batches of refreshable data requests. The request table is an Excel template with additional facilities for entering request parameters as individual Excel rows.

To create a new Request Table, Go to Refinitiv Datastream Excel Add-in and click on the New request Table in the Datastream ribbon.

The Request Table opens in a new Excel workbook. Click YES to save the worksheet. All you need to do is enter the request parameters.

You either can create your own tables or download a number of ready-to-use Request Tables, or tearsheets from the Datastream Extranet and edit them to suit your requirements.

You can also access tearsheets via Sample sheets on the Datstream Ribbon (utilities).

To add a time series request or a static request to the displayed table:

1. Choose your update option: which requests gets updated when you process the table (Select YES to refresh the request when the table is processed)

2. Enter the Request Type to populate the cell (TS= Time series request, S= Static request, TSL= Time series request for lists, L=List update, CH=Chart request for a series or index)

3. Click the Format button to define the request layout

4. Use the Series Lookup to find data series for the request

5. Use the Datastream Navigator to find the datatypes you want and select the mnemonic. If you now the datatypes you want, then type the codes in the Datatype box, separated by a comma (e.g. PI,RI)

6. Add the data period. You can add a fixed start date or use a relative start date to get historical information going back a certain period from the most recent refresh date. (e.g. type -2M in the date cell to retrieve data going back two months from the refresh date). If we want to retrieve the most recent data we will not specify an End date

7. Select a Frequency from the dropdown list (e.g. Daily data).

8. Specify where you want to insert the result of the data request. This can be a specific cell in a new worksheet in the open workbook or a cell located in a different workbook. By default, the request will open in a new worksheet.

Open a new worksheet and give it a name. Click inside the Data Destination cell, and then click data Destination.

When you see the Destination dialog, click on the worksheet, and then click on the cell where you want to display the results. Click the icon to confirm the destination and return to the request table.

You can create as many requests as you like in a single table, though bear in mind that the number of requests in a table can have an impact on the processing time

Tips:

• First results sheet, Sheet1, is created automatically. If you use the Data Destination column to put results on additional sheets, remember to create them
• Request table rows can be copied and edited so you can quickly build a table of related requests - remember to edit Data Destination to avoid overwriting results
• Remember that the Request Type is TS for time series request andTSL for time series list request
• You can have a list of values both in the Series and the Datatype columns
• Set Update to No to save time by not resubmitting requests every time.
• Selecting the Process Table button has no effect if Excel thinks you are currently editing a cell in the table. Try selecting the blank row at the foot of the table and clicking Process Table again.
• You may get a Visual Basic error when trying to open a request table on a PC without Datastream installed. Just ignore and you can still access the data.

One of the advantages of a Request Table is that it keeps a record of your Datastream requests (very useful if you want to revise and re-submit).