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IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: The Collect Feature in Planning Analytics Workspace

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Did you know that you can easily copy Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) components across sheets or books?

PAW allows you to use a feature called “Collect” that serves as the equivalent of copying. You can collect an item by selecting the item and then choosing the Collect option on the shortcut bar.

Learn about the collection feature in Planning Analytics Workspace

This option is available for views, visualizations, selectors, images, videos and other items on your PAW sheets.

Once collected, Planning Analytics will give you quick access to use the item again. You can view the items in your collection by selecting the collection button at the top, right corner of your screen and then choosing the option for Collection.

Understanding the collection feature in Planning Analytics Workspace

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!

Read more about Planning Analytics & Planning Analytics Workspace:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Hiding Dimensions in Planning Analytics Workspace

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Creating Selectors in Planning Analytics Workspace

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Video Demo – Hierarchies in Planning Analytics Workspace

Home » Planning & Reporting » Page 15

New Blog Series: FP&A Done Right

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I am an “FP&A guy.” I love this stuff. I love every part of it – from the last-minute changes to the long range planning sessions and everything in between. Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of global FP&A and want to share some of my insights and tips and tricks with you all. It has certainly not always gone as planned and I have had my share of missteps. At times, I was convinced that we simply swapped the “What Not to Do” page with the “What to Do” page! That of course, is one way to learn and I will definitely share some of those stories with you.

When colleagues or clients ask questions about best practices or want me to give them some advice on their processes, I have been fond of saying, “Well, FP&A done right is…” So, I thought I would pull together a series of blog posts to share with you several ways that you can do FP&A right. This will include stories from my past experiences, tips and tricks that you can use with your FP&A teams, thoughts on how to organize your department, ways to prepare for a new implementation and other miscellaneous topics.  It will focus primarily on People and Process, as I feel those should be the key areas of focus for every FP&A team.

Hopefully, my thoughts will strike a chord with you and you will find something that you can use immediately in your job or it will cause you to take pause and rethink your process to see if there are different actions you could take. As we move through the series, I would love to hear you about how you do FP&A right. What do you think are the keys to success for FP&A? What mistakes have you made that others should avoid?  What tips do you have that we could all learn from? If you have a question or a topic for my next blog, please reach out to me.

Read more about FP&A:

My Mission to Transform FP&A

Why Revelwood is Known as the FP&A Experts

Home » Planning & Reporting » Page 15

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Using Excel to get Client Information

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Did you know that you can now easily define your client version of Planning Analytics via an Excel formula?

There are many ways to determine your version of Planning Analytics. Some of these approaches include reviewing log files, right clicking on executable files, or simply clicking on a Help/About option. Planning Analytics version 2.0.0 introduces an easy approach get your client information via the use of an Excel formula.

The formula TM1INFO can be used to return information about your current TM1 client version.  The syntax of the formula is:

TM1INFO(parameter)

The formula allows for a series of parameters:

clientversion

Returns the full client version number.

clientversionmajor

Returns the major client version number.

clientversionminor

Returns the minor client version number.

clientversionpatch

Returns fix pack and hotfix number.

For example, the formula =TM1INFO(“clientversionmajor”) may give you a result of 11 whereas  =TM1INFO(“clientversion”) would give a more detailed result of 11.0.00200.

This new approach gives you an easy way to monitor your client version and help ensure consistency throughout your organization.

IBM Planning Analytics 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!

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks from the Revelwood team:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Writing Rules

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Recalculating Excel Worksheets

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Creating Dynamic Sets in the PAx Set Editor

Home » Planning & Reporting » Page 15

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Compatibility of Views and Subsets

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Did you know that your parameters for VIEWCREATE and SUBSCREATE must be in sync?

Earlier this year we wrote a blog post about a new parameter that can be used with both the VIEWCREATE function and the SUBSETCREATE function. This new parameter allows TurboIntegrator to create temporary components that are deleted when the script closes.

There is, however, an important rule about the compatibility of the settings:

Temporary subsets cannot be assigned to permanent views.

Since a temporary subset is never saved, TM1 will not recognize it as an existing subset. If you attempt to insert a temporary subset into a permanent view then you will receive an error. The error will state that the subset is not found within the dimension and your process will fail.

The new parameter adds value by helping to clean-up your code and by potentially improving performance, but it’s important to ensure the compatibility of each component.

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!

Learn more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: New Parameters for TurboIntegrator

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Three Reserved Local Variables in TurboIntegrator

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: TurboIntegrator Logging

Home » Planning & Reporting » Page 15

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Creating Buttons in Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW)

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This is a guest post from Revelwood’s Shane Bethea.

Did you know there’s an easy way to create buttons that allow your users to switch sheets in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW)? For example, you’ve created multiple sheets in a PAW book and want to give your users the ability to switch back and forth between the different sheets. One simple way to do this is to create buttons on each sheet that point to other sheets.

To do this, click on the ‘create new button’ option at the top of your PAW window. This creates a new button on the sheet.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Creating Buttons in PAW

Now you can use the Button properties menu at the top right of the PAW window to customize the button.

Learn how to create buttons in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace

You can edit the General style, such as the fill and border colors of the button.

How to create buttons in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace

You can edit Text properties, such as font style, size, and color.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Learn how to create buttons in PAW

You can then edit the Button target, which will take the user to a sheet in the same book, a different book, or a hyperlink, such as your company’s intranet or some other website.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Understanding how to create buttons in PAW

And finally, you can edit the Button text.

Creating buttons in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace

You now have a button on your sheet that points to another sheet in the same book. This approach can be used to easily link multiple sheets and to create easy-to-use navigation throughout your PAW environment.

IBM Planning Analytics 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!

Get more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Creating Selectors in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW)

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Customizing PAW Directory Server on Windows 2016

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Hiding Dimensions in Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW)

Home » Planning & Reporting » Page 15

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Setting Default Members

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Did you know IBM Planning Analytics has a new function called “Default Members?” This is different from default subsets. Default members are what is used if you were to simply drag a dimension into a Planning Analytics for Excel (PAx) sheet or a Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) book. Below is what it looks like when dragged into PAx:

Setting default members in Planning Analytics

The default members isn’t as simple as saving a subset, however. It is maintained in a Planning Analytics control cube called “}HierarchyProperties.” You simply pick the dimension that you wish to update, and update the “DefaultMember” for it.

Learn how to set default members in Planning Analytics
IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Setting default members

However, if you immediately try to go back and refresh your PAx sheet, what you’ll see is the following:

Understanding default members in Planning Analytics

Nothing changed! There’s an additional step that is required to update the default member of a dimension. You can either:

  1. Restart the server
  2. Run a TI process with the new function called “REFRESHMDXHIERARCHY”

REFRESHMDXHIERARCHY can either be ran for a single dimension, as shown below, or can be run for all dimensions by simply not specifying a dimension.

IBM Planning Analytics: Setting default members

After running this TI process, you can then go back and update your PAx sheet or PAW book and receive the expected results.

Planning Analytics: Setting default members

IBM Planning Analytics 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!

Read more blog posts on IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: String Feeders

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Using Attributes

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Conditional Feeders

Home » Planning & Reporting » Page 15

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Changes to Eight Planning Analytics Server Configuration Parameters

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This is a guest post from Revelwood’s Jay Apwah.

Did you know that since IBM Planning Analytics was released on the cloud, there have been changes to IBM Planning Analytics server configuration parameters? New parameters have been introduced, existing ones have had their default values changed, and the behavior upon changing has changed for some others. This blog post briefly describes the eight changes.

New Parameters:

There are a handful of new parameters that have been introduced. Here is one:

UseExcelSerialDate

Setting this parameter to T causes Planning Analytics functions to use Jan 1, 1900 as the initial serial date instead of Jan 1, 1960. Jan 1, 1900 is also the initial serial date that Microsoft Excel uses. The default value for this parameter is F. Set UseExcelSerialDate = T for Planning Analytics functions to use the Excel serial date scheme.

Changes to default value:

MTQ

In previous releases, the default value was F. The default value is now ALL. This parameter allows Planning Analytics to take advantage of multiple processor cores in order to split calculations into multiple parallel threads.

MDXSelectCalculatedMemberInputs

In previous releases, the default value was F. The default value is now T.  This parameter protects against unintended suppression of calculated members when the calculation components are not requested in the query results.

Changed from static to dynamic:

Some parameters are now dynamic, which means parameter values can be edited while the Planning Analytics server is running. It takes 60 seconds for the changed parameter value to take effect.

AuditLogOn

This is an optional parameter that enables and disables audit logging. To enable, set AuditLogOn = T

IntegratedSecurityMode

Although this parameter is dynamic, each user must be logged out of all Planning Analytics components it to take effect.

UseLocalCopiesforPublicDynamicSubsets

This parameter improves performance of public dynamic subsets by using local copies of the public subset instead of the public subset itself.

No longer used:

AuditLogMaxTempFileSize

A similar parameter still exists: AuditLogMaxFileSize. Use it to indicate the maximum audit log file size before a new one is created.

ParallelInteraction

This parameter was used for allowing read/write concurrency on the same cube object.

IBM Planning Analytics 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!

Read additional blog posts on IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

Top 5 IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Using Attributes

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Upgrading from TM1

Home » Planning & Reporting » Page 15

New Performance Tune-Up Service for TM1 & IBM Planning Analytics Users

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In response to customer requests, we’ve been expanding our Customer Care program. The newest option is a Performance Tune-Up. Proper maintenance of your TM1/Planning Analytics environment is the key to overall good health and performance. Think of our team as your “mechanics” for your solution. You take your car to the auto shop for regular tune-ups. Why not do the same for TM1/Planning Analytics?

We’ve designed this service to make sure your system is running at its best. It is a recurring, scheduled maintenance program consisting of annual tune-ups and quarterly tune-ups. We’ll conduct interviews with your users and detailed technical reviews of your cube models, reports, business processes and the overall environment.

The Performance Tune-Up accomplishes many things, including:

  • Verifying that your TM1/Planning Analytics solution is maintaining peak performance levels and meeting your business and technical requirements
  • Confirming you are up-to-date with the latest IBM technology and leveraging new features and capabilities
  • Ensuring a positive end-user experience

We also offer other services for customer care. These include a subscription-based dedicated TM1/Planning Analytics Help Desk and a System Administration as a Service (SAaaS) offering. Our dedicated TM1 Planning Analytics Help Desk helps you diagnose, troubleshoot and resolve bugs and other issues related to your entire TM1/Planning Analytics environment – including all of your customizations and configurations. Our SAaaS solution is designed to free up your team from the labors of TM1 administration and comes in two options: fully out-sourced coverage and backup/supplemental coverage.

Let our expert team at Revelwood free up your time by taking advantage of our Customer Care program today!

Home » Planning & Reporting » Page 15

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Synchronizing Selectors with Planning Analytics Workspace

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Did you know that you can easily synchronize your selectors with your IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) components?

PAW allows you to synchronize your widgets to a selector or set of selectors. This ensures that a change in your selected elements impacts all of the widgets on your page. Synchronization is defined by clicking on the dashboard properties and selecting the option for “Synchronization scope.”

Synchronizing selectors in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace

You will be given the option to synchronize items for the selected sheet or throughout the entire book.

How to synchronize selectors in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace

Once selected, you can now define the dimensions you want to synchronize throughout the sheet or the book. This approach allows you to create powerful dashboards with live data that can be changed via a single selector.

IBM Planning Analytics 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!

Home » Planning & Reporting » Page 15