FactSet Quick Start Guide: Workstation Access

What is FactSet?

FactSet is a research database that monitors world market trends and provides extensive company and industry data, analytic tools, and data feeds. It is used by finance industry professionals around the world. FactSet is specialized software that has been licensed by the FLC and requires accounts to access; it cannot be accessed through the public FactSet.com website.

Accessing FactSet

FactSet can be accessed on all 44 workstations within the FLC.

To access FactSet:

  • Log in to the workstation using your UTORid credentials
  • From the Start Menu, navigate to the 1-LKCFLC Applications folder, and select FactSet

Screen shot of FLC workstation start menu with a folder circled and a second screenshot of a list of software with FactSet cirlced

Each FLC workstation uses a generic FactSet account, so there is no need to log in to FactSet on the workstation. FactSet will open to the Learning Portal tab, which will open a web browser to a login page - you can simply close the browser and continue using FactSet.

FactSet's Excel plug-in is also available to use on all FLC workstations. To access the Excel plug-in, launch 'Load FactSet Excel Add-In' from the 1-LKCFLC Applications folder in the Start Menu. You will see a FactSet button on the menu at the top of the screen.

Screen shot of the Excel menu for FactSet with an arrow pointing to the FactSet tab

Accessing FactSet on a Personal Device

Students, staff, and faculty with a valid University of Toronto email can request an account for use on a personal device. A personal FactSet account is required in order to access FactSet Learning, FactSet's e-learning platform. FactSet Essentials, FactSet's certification program can be accessed through FactSet Learning.

Please see the FLC's FactSet Personal Device Quick Start Guide for more information on requesting a personal account and downloading FactSet to a personal device, and the Certifications Quick Start Guide for more information about FactSet Essentials.

Need More Help?

FactSet offers extensive online and in-person help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For context-sensitive help with an active screen or function, look for the blue '?' icon at the top left in FactSet Workstation, and select 'Online Assistant' from the pull down menu.

screenshot of FactSet options with an arrow pointing to the help icon

Note: Your FactSet account will deactivate after 90 days if you do not use it. Contact FactSet Support at support@factset.com for help reactivating your account. Your account will expire once you graduate from the University.

For more general help, and to access video tutorials and other help content, visit the FactSet Learning website at https://learning.factset.com. Access to the FactSet Learning website requires a personal FactSet account.

For live help, look for the '?' icon and select ‘Contact Us’ from the pull-down menu to locate a toll-free 1-800 number and email address for FactSet’s Support Desk.

Screenshot of FactSet Help icon expanded to show options with Contact Us highlightedlist of FactSet phone numbers with an arrow pointing to the North America line

Workshops

The FLC hosts the FLC Tools Workshop series, which include two FactSet-focused workshops: FactSet Basics and FactSet Intermediate. Attendees can earn one Management PSDP point AND one Library 101 certification credit for each workshop attended. Visit https://library.utm.utoronto.ca/flc/workshops to learn more and register.