IBM Cognos TM1

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: New PAx Feature – Double Click

August 25, 2020 by Lee Lazarow Leave a Comment

IBM Planning Analytics for Excel (PAx) contains a task pane that shows the cubes within your model. Double clicking on a specific cube expands the information associated with the cube, including public views, private views, and the dimensions. Version 49 introduced a new feature to the double click … the ability to launch an exploration browser within your Excel environment.

When double clicking for the first time, you will be promoted to define what happens upon double click. There are two options to select from: Expand and Launch

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: PAx double click

Expand will show the nodes associated with the cube
Launch will open a view editor
Note: as of this writing, at least one view must be defined for the launch option to properly work. IBM is currently working to change this requirement.

After launching and modifying your view, you can then bring the results back to Excel by clicking on the Reports button and selecting the type of report that you want to convert your view into.

New IBM Planning Analytics PAx feature - double click

If you want to reset the action associated with double click, you can change it within the options dialog box.

New double click feature in IBM Planning Analytics for Excel

This feature allows you to quickly analyze data via a drag-and-drop approach and then bring the results back into a Planning Analytics for Excel worksheet.

IBM Planning Analytics, which TM1 is the engine for, is full of new features and functionality. Not sure where to start? Our team here at Revelwood can help. Contact us for more information at info@revelwood.com. And stay tuned for more Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks weekly in our Knowledge Center and in upcoming newsletters!

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Home Button

August 18, 2020 by Lee Lazarow Leave a Comment

IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) offers an easy to use navigation menu that will quickly allow you to navigate to any open book. This is done by clicking on the menu at the top, center of your screen. Here is a sample menu that shows three open workbooks.

But did you know that you can also go back to PAW’s opening screen via a single click? A “home” button exists at the top, left corner that takes you directly to the welcome page.

This approach will allow you to save time by quickly navigating back to the start via a single click.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Subset Control Dimension

August 11, 2020 by Dillon Rossman Leave a Comment

Did you know that dimensions exist within IBM Planning Analytics that display your model’s public subsets?

A dimension called }Subsets_<Dimension Name> is automatically created when a dimension is created. The elements of this new dimension are dynamically updated as permanent public subsets are created and destroyed (note: the creation of temporary subsets does not update this dimension).

These control dimensions allow for easy access to public subsets within TurboIntegrator processes. In addition, the subset control dimensions can be accessed via Architect and Planning Analytics for Excel (PAx).

To access subset control dimensions via Architect:

Make sure “Display Control Objects” is enabled

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Subset Control Dimension

2. Navigate to “Dimensions” and scroll down until you reach “}Subsets_<Dimension Name>”

IBM Planning Analytics Tips: Subset Control Dimension

To access via Planning Analytics for Excel:

On the task pane, make sure “Show Control Objects” and “Show Dimensions” are both enabled

IBM Planning Analytics Tricks: Subset Control Dimension

2. Navigate to “Dimensions” and scroll down until you reach “}Subsets_<Dimension Name>”

Subset control dimension in IBM Planning Analytics

This feature gives you an easy approach to see (and loop through) your public subsets without having to create scripts that reference Windows folders.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Change Connection used by Quick Report

July 28, 2020 by Thanh Chau Leave a Comment

When working with IBM Planning Analytics templates in Excel, there may be instances where you need to change the instance that the cube references to pull or send data. In Perspectives, updating the source was as simple as updating the first parameter of the DBRW or DBRA formulas. However, Quick Reports do not use formulas so there is a different approach to update the connection.

In the Quick Reports section of the Planning Analytics ribbon, click on the Properties icon.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Change Connection used by Quick Reports

In the top section of the resulting window, you will see the connection detail for the selected Quick Report. Click the Update button to make changes to the connection.

How to change connection used by quick reports in IBM Planning Analytics

In the next window, select the Admin Host from the dropdown menu at the top labeled “System”. Expand the instances to view the cubes available in that instance and select the cube you want to use as the new source. When you click OK, the source will be updated.

Learn how to change connection used by quick reports in IBM Planning Analytics

This approach offers an easy way to use the same files across multiple environments.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Edit Action Button

July 21, 2020 by Thanh Chau Leave a Comment

Action buttons in IBM Planning Analytics are a great utility that allow users to recalculate a sheet, navigate to another location, or run a TurboIntegrator process. As your models evolve, you may need to periodically revise your templates to maintain their functionality. This sometimes include the action buttons.

In Perspectives, updating an action button was as simple as right-clicking on it and selecting the Properties option. In Planning Analytics, the approach is a little different.

From the task pane, click on the tab labeled “Workbook.”

This section will show you all the different Planning Analytics objects that exist in your workbook. Expand the folder labeled “Action buttons.”

The name of each action button will be prefixed with the sheet name in which it is located. Find the action button that you’d like to edit, right-click it and select the “Edit” option.

This will open the properties window where you can make changes to the action button.

This approach will allow you to quickly edit all of your action buttons at the same time instead of having to navigate through your workbook and search for each button.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Comparing Sandboxes

July 14, 2020 by Lee Lazarow Leave a Comment

Many of you know that you can create personal what-if scenarios in IBM Planning Analytics via the sandbox feature. This approach allows you quickly replicate an entire environment which includes all of the data, rules, input templates, and reports from your existing models. But did you know that you can also easily compare data from the various sandboxes? This is done by creating a virtual dimension that contains your sandbox elements.

Creating the virtual dimension is as simple as adding a setting into your Planning Analytics configuration called EnableSandboxDimension and setting the value to true. By default, this parameter is set to false. This is a dynamic parameter, so a server restart is not required to enable this setting.

Once enabled, your cube will now show a new dimension called “Sandboxes.”

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Comparing Sandboxes

You can add this dimension to your PAW books as a selector widget. Once added, you can synchronize your views and reports to the sandbox selector.

Comparing sandboxes in IBM Planning Analytics

This approach offers an easy way to check your data before submitting a sandbox entry back into the base model.

Technical Bulletin: Earlier Security Change Impacting MDX Reverted

July 10, 2020 by Lee Lazarow Leave a Comment

IBM is undoing a recent security change in the next release of IBM Planning Analytics.

In late June we issued a technical bulletin about version 2.0.9 of Planning Analytics that changed the way MDX expressions are generated for dimensions that have security defined.

IBM received feedback from Planning Analytics customers and recognizes this change has broader implications than originally expected. As a result, IBM is going to undo the change impacting MDX expressions in the next release of Planning Analytics.

Version 2.0.9.2 of Planning Analytics will revert changes in the way MDX expressions are generated for dimensions that have security defined. This version of Planning Analytics is expected to be released by the end of July 2020. [Update: this version of Planning Analytics was released on July 27, 2020.]

Recommended Next Steps for Planning Analytics Users

If you recently upgraded your local environment to version 2.0.9 or 2.0.9.1 and have experienced a negative impact on your model, Revelwood recommends upgrading to version 2.0.9.2 as soon as it is available.

If you are using Planning Analytics on the cloud, your system will be updated automatically and there are no further steps you need to take.

If you are unsure about how the change impacted your model, you can run a test on your model. Revelwood has created a TurboIntegrator script that will help you assess potential conflicts by analyzing combinations of element security and dynamic subsets. You can download the script for free at https://revelwood.com/ti-processes/. You do not need to be an existing Revelwood customer to download this script.

Please contact John Pra Sisto at jprasisto@revelwood.com if you have any questions regarding this bulletin or the TurboIntegrator script.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Merge an Icon and a Button, Part 2

July 7, 2020 by Lee Lazarow Leave a Comment

In an earlier post, I showed how to merge a button onto an image in IBM Planning Analytics to create an easy-to-navigate user experience. However, as a developer I may forget which images are just images and which images contain buttons.

To get around this, I sometimes add small reminders to my images to let me know there are two things merged into a single image. In the previous post, I recommended changing the text to a blank value. This result gives you the house image below.

However, if you change the text into something small (such as a period) then you can easily make it fit into part of the image.

To the end user, the house now looks like it has a door. But as a developer, I now know that there are two components … an image and a button.

Hiding “dots” in your image is an easy way for you to remember the components in your PAW pages.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Merge an Icon and a Button, Part 1

June 30, 2020 by Lee Lazarow Leave a Comment

User experience is an important factor when designing any system. One of the most important aspects of the experience is the ease in which users can navigate from one page to another.

In situations where an IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) book has multiple sheets, the navigation is as easy as clicking on the applicable sheet at the top of the page (just like you would do in Excel). However, in situations where there are multiple books, the navigation may require the use of a button.

Buttons are easy to create via the icon at the top of the screen.

The resulting button appears as a rectangle and can be formatted to change things such as the text, the color and the border.

But did you know that you can make your own button by merging an image with a button? For example, maybe you want a “home” button that looks like a house. You can do this by using an image from the shapes icon and formatting it to your desired color and size.

You can then drag a button on top of the image.

By changing the text to a blank value, the button becomes “invisible.” Users will then be able to click on the house to navigate back to the home page.

This approach offers an easy way to create an good user experience for navigation throughout your PAW books.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: New PAx Feature – Double Click

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Home Button

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IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Subset Control Dimension

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IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Change Connection used by Quick Report

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Edit Action Button

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IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Comparing Sandboxes

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

Technical Bulletin: Earlier Security Change Impacting MDX Reverted

Recommended Next Steps for Planning Analytics Users

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Merge an Icon and a Button, Part 2

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Merge an Icon and a Button, Part 1

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

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