Getting Started with the Bloomberg
There are three Bloomberg terminals on campus, all located in the Business and Economics Library, Room 101 of the Main Library Building (BEL). To reserve a Bloomberg time slot, you *MUST* sign up in the blue binder located at the BEL reference desk. Reservations by telephone will not be accepted.
Log in to the terminal using your netid and active directory password (in the UIUC domain). When the login screen for Bloomberg appears, ask a BEL Staff member to log you in.
Instructions for Using the Bloomberg
The green MENU key (on the keypad on the right side of the keyboard) can be used to go to the prior screen (like a back arrow on a web browser).
The green "Pg Up (BACK)" and "Pg Dn (FWD)" keys (also on the keypad on the right side of the keyboard) are used to "scroll" through screens. For example, if you see "Page 1/10" in the upper right corner of the screen, you can use "Pg Dn (FWD)" to get to screen "Page 2/10."
Anytime you see a number with a ) next to it, that usually indicates a "link" you can click on for additional information and analysis. If clicking on the number doesn't work, then type the number in the blinking blue box in the upper left corner of the screen and hit GO.
Anything in a gold/amber-colored box can be changed. Sometimes there are drop-down menus of pre-set options; other times, you can type into the boxes to enter numbers and dates. Hit the GO key to update the page.
To capture information from the Bloomberg, you can either:
- Type GRAB and hit the green GO key to email a screenshot to yourself, OR
- Use the following instructions to print:
**Select gray EXPORT button at the top of the screen and select UPLOAD SCREEN TO PFM from the drop down menu
**When prompted, give the screen shot a name
**Wait…a message will appear when the upload is successful
**Type PFM and hit the green GO key
**In the PFM screen, left click on the file name and select VIEW. Another window will open up with the screen shot
**Go to FILE then PRINT and select the printer (BW 10 cents/page)
When you GRAB a screenshot or hit PRINT, you are only emailing or printing the current screen shown. If your information spans multiple pages, you must GRAB/PRINT each screen individually.