RTD function

This article describes the formula syntax and usage of the RTD function in Microsoft Excel.

Description

Retrieves real-time data from a program that supports COM automation.

Syntax

RTD(ProgID, server, topic1, [topic2], ...)

The RTD function syntax has the following arguments:

• ProgID    Required. The name of the ProgID of a registered COM automation add-in that has been installed on the local computer. Enclose the name in quotation marks.

• server    Required. Name of the server where the add-in should be run. If there is no server, and the program is run locally, leave the argument blank. Otherwise, enter quotation marks ("") around the server name. When using RTD within Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), double quotation marks or the VBA NullString property are required for the server, even if the server is running locally.

• Topic1, topic2, ...    Topic1 is required, subsequent topics are optional. 1 to 253 parameters that together represent a unique piece of real-time data.

Remarks

• The RTD COM automation add-in must be created and registered on a local computer. If you haven't installed a real-time data server, you will get an error message in a cell when you try to use the RTD function.

• When the server has been programmed to continually update results, unlike other functions, RTD formulas will change when Microsoft Excel is in automatic calculation mode.

Example

Copy the example data in the following table, and paste it in cell A1 of a new Excel worksheet. For formulas to show results, select them, press F2, and then press Enter. If you need to, you can adjust the column widths to see all the data.

Formula	Description (Result)	R esult
=RTD("mycomaddin.progid",,"Server_name","Price")	Real-time data retrieved from a program that supports COM automation.	#NAME?
Note
The RTD COM automation add-in must be created and registered on a local computer. If you haven't installed a real-time data server, the RTD function returns the #NAME? error message in a cell when you try to use the RTD function.