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IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: PAW Pie Chart Total

January 23, 2024 by Lee Lazarow

Pie charts are a type of visualization known as composition. Composition charts are designed to show the parts of a whole. This is a great way to look at the pieces of total. For example, the branches in a region or the months in a year.

Here is an example of a pie chart that shows operating expenses for a year:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: PAW Pie Chart Total

The great thing about this chart is that you can easily see the numbers for each quarter. I can also quickly see comparative values such as Q1 being much larger than Q4. However, what I cannot see is the total for the year.

IBM Planning Analytics Workspace allows you to include a “donut hole” and include the total in the center of the pie. This is enabled within the chart area of the properties by defining the radius percent.

When combined with the option to “show inner label”, here is an example of the same chart with a donut hole of 50%:

This approach will help you expand your use of comparative pie charts.

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: Excel TEXT Function

January 9, 2024 by Ivan Cepero

Have you ever merged text and a calculated number into a cell and saw that the format of the number was hard to read? The TEXT function in Excel lets you convert the number into a more professional format.

The syntax of the TEXT function is:

=TEXT(value,format_text)

Value: the number to format
Format_text: the format to apply

The example below shows the basic use of TEXT where the text “Rent amount is” has been appended to the amount in C2. The use of “General” as the second parameter indicates no specific formatting has been applied.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Excel Text

To apply formatting, you can replace the second parameter with a specific format string.

The easiest way to find format strings is to get them from the Format Cells dialog box.

In Excel, press CTRL+1
Go to the Number tab
Select Custom in the Category pane
You can then copy the format string from the “Type” textbox

Top Three IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks Posts – 2023

December 19, 2023 by Revelwood

What were your favorite IBM Planning Analytics Tips and Tricks blog posts this year? We took a look at our website analytics and found the top three posts of 2023 are (drumroll, please!) …

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: DefineCalc

IBM Planning Analytics for Excel (PAfE) version 80 introduced a new function called “DefineCalc.” This function allows a user to create a custom calculation using TM1/Planning Analytics data via the use of MDX.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Expanding Sections of Stacked Dimensions

Have you ever been in a situation where you have stacked dimensions in your view and only want to expand one section of it? In legacy Perspectives, an expansion of one area equates to an expansion of all areas. IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW), version 87, introduced functionality that allows you to expand just one piece at a time.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks PAW Users and Groups

Do you know how to manage your users and groups in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW)? As of version 84, PAW now allows you to edit this information via a single click.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Using the Subset Editor in Planning Analytics Workspace

December 12, 2023 by Revelwood

In the past, manipulating subsets in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) involved a convoluted process of copying, creating new sets, and pasting elements. The subset editor solves this problem. The subset editor enables you to perform multiple tasks with a single click.

Watch this short IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks video to see Lee Lazarow, Revelwood’s IBM Planning Analytics practice leader, demonstrate how to easily grab an element, its children, siblings, parents and descendants.

Previously, manipulating subsets focused on the left side of navigation. Inserting elements or expanding to children or descendants was confined to this area, creating limitations in functionality. Planning Analytics, version 88, extended the subset editor’s manipulation functionality. Now users can easily expand or keep elements with a single click!

By right-clicking on an element, users can choose between options like “expand to” or “keep with.” This newfound flexibility allows for expanding to descendants, ancestors, parents, siblings, or any combination, all with a single click.

This new functionality makes the process of manipulating subsets more intuitive and efficient. You can easily work with children, siblings, parents, or any combination of them.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) Region Expansion

November 28, 2023 by Lee Lazarow

A while back I wrote a blog about regions within regions in IBM Planning Analytics. This approach allows you to make your rules easier to navigate and read when scrolling through many lines of code.

As you create regions, you can expand and contract lines of code by clicking the arrow next to the applicable lines. Here is an example of a contracted region (line 1) and an expanded region (line 6):

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But did you know that Planning Analytics Workspace allows you to expand or contract all regions at the same time? The workbench ribbon contains icons to expand (called “unfold”) and contract (called “Fold”) all regions with a single click.The left icon below is used for expansion and the right icon below is used for contraction.

Here is an example of 15 lines of code with the use of regions.

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This approach will allow you to reduce your screen footprint and make it even easier to quickly navigate through your code.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: How to Determine when Users Logged in to Planning Analytics Workspace

November 14, 2023 by Revelwood

Have you ever wanted to learn when a user last logged in to IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW)? Or to generate a list of dates and times when users logged in?

IBM Planning Analytics version 87 includes a feature to easily figure out the last login time of your PAW users.

Watch this short video from Lee Lazarow, Revelwood’s Planning Analytics practice lead. You’ll see Lee demonstrate how to:

Find ‘Users and Groups’, which contains the date and time of logins.
Download that information into a CSV file you can save
Learn the roles, dates and times of logins

This approach gives us the ability to quickly create a list of all of our users and for each one of our users, a date and time associated with the last login.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Excel Substitute Function

October 31, 2023 by Ivan Cepero

Are you familiar with the SUBSTITUTE function in Excel? The SUBSTITUTE function in Excel replaces one value with another. This is similar to the REPLACE function, but SUBSTITUTE provides more flexibility.

The syntax of the SUBSTITUTE function is:

=SUBSTITUTE(text,old_text,new_text,instance_num)

Text: This is the text to be evaluated and changed
Old_text: This is the subtext to be replaced.
New_text: This will be used as the replacement.
Instance_num (optional): This defines which occurrence of old_text to replace. If this value is blank then all occurrences of old_text will be replaced.

Here are two examples of the substitute function:

Example 1:

This formula removes the second dash from the account string.

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Example 2:

To count the number of dashes in a cell, this formula subtracts the length of the cell without dashes from the original length of the cell.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Cell Security in Planning Analytics Workspace

October 17, 2023 by Revelwood

In our latest IBM Planning Analytics tips & tricks video, Lee Lazarow, Revelwood’s IBM Planning Analytics practice lead, explains and demonstrates cell security in IBM Planning Analytics (PAW). Cell security is a critical aspect of data management, providing control access to specific data points within PAW cubes.

Watch this video and learn how to:

Determine the cube you want to add security to
Choose the dimensions
Create the cell security
Define security manually
Automate security with rules
Save and apply rules
Make modifications

In conclusion, cell security in IBM Planning Analytics is a powerful tool for managing data access. By following these steps, you can efficiently define and implement security measures that align with your specific needs. PAW offers a versatile platform for ensuring data integrity, whether through manual adjustments or automated rules.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips and Tricks: Trusting the Directory where the Planning Analytics for Excel xll file resides

October 3, 2023 by Marc Assenza

Have you ever received a notification from Excel stating that it was having an issue trusting the Planning Analytics for Excel (PAfe) Add-In? If so, you are not alone!

From time to time, it seems Excel needs to be reminded that the .xll file is a trusted file. To do this you will need to take the following steps:

Open Microsoft Excel and click on File, Options.

When the next screen appears, select “Trust Center” on the left-hand side pane and then “Trust Center Settings” on the right-hand side.

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Next, click on the link that reads “Trusted Locations.”

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On the bottom right of the screen, click the button that says “Add new location.”

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Browse to the drive and folder where your PAX xll file is located and define this as your path. Within the same window, also click the checkbox that allows subfolders to also be trusted.

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Once complete, your Planning Analytics for Excel .xll file will be trusted.

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: PAW Pie Chart Total

Read more about visualizations in IBM Planning Analytics:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Excel TEXT Function

Read more Excel Tips & Tricks:

Top Three IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks Posts – 2023

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Using the Subset Editor in Planning Analytics Workspace

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) Region Expansion

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: How to Determine when Users Logged in to Planning Analytics Workspace

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Excel Substitute Function

Example 1:

Example 2:

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks: Cell Security in Planning Analytics Workspace

Watch this video and learn how to:

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

IBM Planning Analytics Tips and Tricks: Trusting the Directory where the Planning Analytics for Excel xll file resides

Read more IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks:

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