FXLData what's new in R1.3?

Since the last main release of FXL Data in July 2024, a number of changes and enhancements have been introduced. The changes address several issues identified by users including, to stablise the product, removing the difference between using the Legacy Mode features (these catered for users who used Microsoft Excel 2010-2019) and those using subsequent versions i.e., MS Office 365 and incorporating a number of great new features.

Some of these changes were made available via an optional Hot fixes but the Release of R1.3 brings all the changes together and includes a useful new feature as well as various bug fixes.

A summary of all the changes can be viewed in the Change Log Change Log which shows which changes were made in which Hotfix and which are new in R1.3. This page summarises all the main changes as at Version 1.3.

Remember - to use these changes the FXLData add-in must be installed, follow the installation instructions found here.

FXLData Tab

On opening Excel and enabling the latest version of the FX Data add-in, you will see several significant changes on the FXLData Tab within Excel.

Legacy Mode

The need for Legacy mode has been superseded by the removal of the Automatic Calculation facility. The Refresh button now works as expected and will perform an update on request.

As part of the change you will notice that the ampersand is inserted into the query shown in the formula bar.

Example:

@FXLData("https://demo.metadatatechnology.com/FusionRegistry","WB,WDI_POVERTY,1.0",".SI_DST_02ND_20+SI_DST_03RD_20+SI_DST_04TH_20.",100,,,,"id","TRUE","FALSE","TRUE","FALSE","")

Refresh

FXLData no longer uses the normal Excel calculations in Microsoft 365. As a result, if a change is made as described here Refresh article a manual refresh is necessary.

The Refresh option is no longer restricted to older versions of Excel, the options available are detailed here.

Note that if the formula itself is deleted, you will also need to delete any returned data.

Diagnostic Tool

This feature has been introduced to help Regnology diagnose any issues encountered when using FXL Data. By default, the feature is switched off. When required, two options are available which supply different levels of detail. When the tool is enabled a log file will be created.

FXLData Wizard

Dataflow Selection

A new selection box has been added to make it easier to select a dataflow.

Selecting Items

Rest Arguments

The Wizard (available from the FXL Data tab) now includes a button to select the Rest Arguments Builder. Which can be used to specify additional SDMX query arguments that are not available through other options in the User Interface, such as round=2 for rounding numeric values. It is intended for the advanced user who needs finer control over the query behaviour.

To use the Builder, select a dataflow and then click on the Builder button.

Click the button to access the builder.

Apply Button

When the Apply button is pressed in the REST Arguments Builder, it performs the following action:

• It populates the REST Args box on the main Wizard screen with the constructed query string based on the enabled and valid arguments.
• It does not execute the FXLData function or retrieve any data at this stage.
• To actually run the query and fetch data into Excel, the user must return to the Wizard screen and press its Apply button.

This separation ensures the user can review and finalize their full query setup before triggering data retrieval.

Interaction with the Wizard

Existing Arguments

If the wizard already contains rest arguments when the Builder is opened, it will attempt to interpret and reconstruct the existing argument as accurately as possible.

Arguments handled via the Wizard

• startperiod
• endperiod
• max
• time-format-frequency-id

Other point to note

Functions

The TimeFormatFrequencyID parameter is now available when using the Functions:

• FXLDataURL
• FXLDataURLV
• FXLDataURLFact

Refresh

FXLData no longer uses the normal Excel calculations in Microsoft 365. As a result, if a change is made as describe here Refresh article a manual refresh is necessary.

The Refresh option is no longer restricted to older versions of Excel, the options available are detailed here.

Note that if the formula itself is deleted, you will also need to delete any returned data.