Spring20 Release Notes

Enhancements to Application Behavior

Reports

• We have removed the Absolute option from the Negative Number drop-down list in Static Report Sets. You can use the Negative to Positive option available in the Reverse Sign drop-down list instead of the Absolute option.

• The Indentation formatting applied in Static Report Sets with OLAP aware options enabled on the Report Set lines carries forward from parent to children in Dynamic Report.

• The Generated On date in Report Collections Excel file displays Date in user locale format. Previously, the date was displayed in the server date format. Report Collection output to PDF and Google Sheet will still display the server date format.

• With the enhancements to Dynamic Reports Pick List Dimension Security, Report Collection, or Financial Package will run for the first accessible hierarchy member from the Dynamic Report Pick List instead of the first hierarchy member selected on the Pick List. Previously, reports were not generated if the user did not have access to the first selected member on the Pick List.

Dashboards

• The Global Filters now displays the corresponding Reporting Area on the tooltips in addition to the existing Dimension and hierarchy selections.

Structured Planning: Workforce Planning User Interface Redesign (Preview)

We are releasing this feature for Preview only! It will be available in the Sandbox environment. Admin users can configure this feature directly from the Planful application (refer to the Enable Workforce Planning UI section).

We suggest that you test this feature and familiarize yourself with the functionality. Our goal is to release this functionality in production as part of the Summer20 release.

After this feature is released in production, Admin users will have the option to enable this functionality whenever they are ready to roll it out to users.

With the Spring20 release, we have made some enhancements in Workforce Planning to improve the overall experience of using the application. To this regard, we have reduced the number of clicks while performing actions on the Employees page in Workforce Planning. This page is more user-friendly, and you can now directly make selections without having to navigate to different pages.

Overview of WFP User Interface

• Added Roster view

• Ability to select multiple entities

• Improved search bar

• Improved scenario selection

• Enhanced navigation to edit existing employees and add new employees

• Enhanced employee profile duplication functionality

For detailed information on these enhancements, refer to the Detailed Workforce Planning Enhancements (Employees page) section.

Improvements made to Workforce Planning (Employees page)

All major functionalities will work exactly the same in Workforce Planning; we have just enhanced the overall user experience. The following table explains all the areas that have been improved.

There are a few existing features in the current UI that will not be available in the Workforce Planning UI as part of the Spring20 release. We plan to release these items with the Summer20 release.

The list of these items is as follows:

• Add a filter that filters the data within the columns of the roster view.

• Modify the roster view by introducing the personalization feature that enables users to personalize the roster view.

• Extend the ability to sort data in all columns of the roster view. Currently, the sort feature is available in only 10 columns of the rooster view.

Enable Workforce Planning UI

We have made it extremely convenient for Admin users to enable the UI. Only Admins can enable the Workforce Planning UI for all users by following these steps:

1. Go to Maintenance > Workforce Planning module > Employees page.

2. Turn ON the Enable New UIoption to enable the enhanced Workforce Planning version, as shown in the following image.

   A confirmation message is displayed.

   

3. Click Ok.

The Workforce Planning UI is enabled for all end users.

Detailed Workforce Planning Enhancements (Employees page)

Improved Workforce Planning User Interface

• We have enhanced the Employees page to make it more user friendly. The following image illustrates the Roster view of the Employees page.

  

Enhanced Scenario Selection

• We have added a Scenario selection list box. You can use this list to select a scenario directly from the roster view.

  

Enhanced Budget Entity Selection

• We have added a Budget Entity selection list box. You can use this list to directly select one or more budget entities.

  

You can select multiple roll-up entities and multiple leaf entities for single or multiple roll ups.

Enhanced Search Functionality

• We have introduced the search functionality to make it easier for you to search for the required employee from the roster view.

• Type an employee name, employee number, or position description in the Search employees box and then press Enter. The Search feature displays the most relevant search results.

  

Improved More Menu

• We have moved all the options from the More menu to a menu as shown in the following image. This modification improves the user experience and showcases better visibility on the page.

  

For example, consider that you have selected the 2021 scenario that consists of multiple employees, where you have selected Louis Jones with the Head Engineer position for deletion. Louis Jones has multiple positions (Head Engineer, Assistant to the CEO, and Excec Assistant II).

When you click the Delete Employee option, the selected employee and his respective position (Head Engineer) are deleted from the scenario. In addition, all other positions associated with Louis Jones are also removed from the scenario.

Update Employee Data

• You can double-click any field in the roster view to modify the selected field, as highlighted in the following image.

  

Edit Employee Profile

• We have added a hyperlink to the Employee Number field. To edit an employee’s profile, click the employee number link of the required employee.

  

  

Add a New Employee

• We have introduced the Add button to help you quickly create an employee profile.

  

• We have also made minor enhancements to the Add Employee functionality to make it more user-friendly.

• All mandatory fields have asterisks marked next to the field names.

• The initial letter of an employee's first name is displayed on the left pane of the Add Employee window.

  

• We have also introduced the Customize Compensation list box. You can select compensation items from this list.

  

Delete Multiple Employee Positions

• We have improved the employee-deletion process. After you have selected one or more employees, click the Delete icon to delete the selected employee position as shown in the following image.

  

For example, consider that you have selected the 2021 scenario that consists of multiple employees, where you have selected Louis Jones with the Head Engineer position for deletion. Louis Jones has multiple positions (Head Engineer, Assistant to the CEO, and Excec Assistant II).

When you click the Delete icon, only the selected position (Head Engineer) of the employee is deleted from the scenario. However, all other positions associated with Louis Jones will still continue to remain in the scenario.

Improved Duplicate Functionality

• We have made the employee profile-duplication process better for your benefit. After you have selected one employee, click the Duplicate icon and specify the number of copies that you require. You can use the + and - buttons to increase or decrease the number of employee profile copies that you want to create. Then, click Duplicate to create one or more duplicate employee profiles.

• By default, the number of duplicate profiles to be created is set as 2.

  

Process Multiple Budget Entities

• We have improved the employee-processing functionality to automatically process multiple employees across multiple budget entities.

• Earlier, you could process only one budget entity at a time. Now, however, you can process multiple budget entities simultaneously.

  You can do so by clicking the Process list box > Current Budget Entities section, and then selecting either the All Employees or Unprocessed Employees option.

Reports: Reverse Sign on Report Set

Reverse Sign functionality allows you to change the value of the data. For example, you have an account you want to change from positive to negative or negative to positive. With this release, we have added Reverse Sign functionality to Static Report Sets (both Modern and Classic types).

This functionality is useful, for example, when you need to balance accounts in reports. If you create a Balance Sheet report and you have an Asset account with a credit balance rather than its normal debit balance, you can quickly and easily reverse the sign of the Asset account.

The following options are available:

• Reverse Sign - Changes the value to positive or negative based on the actual sign.

• Negative to Positive - Changes negative values to positive values.

• Positive to Negative - Changes positive values to negative values.

• None - Retains the value without changing its sign. This is the default value.

In Practice: How to Access and Apply the Reverse Sign Functionality

Open a Report Set and navigate to the Reverse Sign column available in the grid. By default, the Reverse Sign column is enabled in the Report Set.

Alternatively, you can navigate to Format > Data > Number Format > Reverse Sign and select the required option.

If you select an option from the Reverse Sign column, the same option is displayed as selected in the Reverse Sign drop-down list.

The image below shows the Reverse Sign option in a Report Set.

You can hide or change the position of the Reverse Sign column in a Report Set based on your requirement.

In Practice

To show, hide, or rearrange the Reverse Sign column in a Report Set grid:

Click Settings on the Report Set toolbar and perform the required action for the Reverse Sign column in the Show/Hide/Re-arrange Columns pane as shown in the image below.

You can select multiple rows and reverse the sign of all numbers simultaneously. When you Save, Save As, Copy, or Export a Report Set, the option selected from the Reverse Sign drop-down list is retained.

In a Dynamic Report, when you use a Static Report Set with different combinations of dimensions or other Static or Dynamic Report Sets, the option selected from the Reverse Sign drop-down list is retained while applying the most appropriate Precedence for Report Sets. Cell level formatting applied to a Dynamic Report has precedence over the Report Set formatting. For example, if the Negative Number format is applied from the Dynamic Report on a cell and you apply the Negative to Positive option in a Report Set on the same cell, it will not convert the cell value from negative to positive as cell level formatting on Dynamic Report takes precedence. To learn more about Precedence for Report Sets, refer to Report Sets.

When you use Option Settings in Report Sets, Drill Through or Drill Down in a Dynamic Report, the option selected from the Reverse Sign drop-down list is retained. The image below shows the Reverse Sign setting in Drill down.

Removed the Absolute Option

With this release, we have removed the Absolute option from the Negative Number drop-down list in a Report Set. You can use the Negative to Positive option available in the Reverse Sign drop-down list instead of the Absolute option.

When you use functions such as Sum, Average, Minimum, or Maximum, then the data on the status bar will be displayed as empty, if:

• The selected range has an actual negative number

• The first cell in the selection is an actual positive value but converted to negative using the Reverse Sign option.

The image below shows the status bar.

Reports: Automatic Data Refresh Available in Production

Automatic Data Refresh functionality is now available for release to your Production environment if you opt in. Contact the Support team to enable this feature in Production. To learn all about Automatic Data Refresh, refer to Report Administration Guide.

Reports: Half Year To Date Custom Member

Now, you can use a Half Year To Date (HYTD) Custom Member to calculate a cumulative sum of values for months by dividing a year into two halves. For example, if your fiscal starts on July 1, 2020 and ends on June 30, 2021 then you can calculate a cumulative sum for July through December and another cumulative sum for January through June.

This Custom Member is added for the Measures dimension in the Financial Reporting Area to provide ease of use and quicker setup and deployment and is available for all the applications.

The following image shows the HYTD Custom Member for the Measures dimension in the Financial Reporting area.

In Practice: HYTD Custom Member Calculations

If a report contains monthly data from January 2019 to December 2019 with each Month to Date (MTD) value as 1000. The HYTD Custom Member cumulatively adds the values for the first 6 months. For the remaining six months, the HYTD Custom Member restarts the calculation from the seventh month onward using the MTD value of the seventh month as the base.

The calculations from January 2019 to December 2019 using the HYTD Custom Member is as follows:

HYTD Jan 2019 = 1000

HYTD Feb 2019 = 2000

HYTD Mar 2019 = 3000

HYTD Apr 2019 = 4000

HYTD May 2019 = 5000

HYTD Jun 2019 = 6000

HYTD Jul 2019 = 1000

HYTD Aug 2019 = 2000

HYTD Sep 2019 = 3000

HYTD Oct 2019 = 4000

HYTD Nov 2019 = 5000

HYTD Dec 2019 = 6000

In Practice: How to Access the Custom Members Page

To access the Custom Members page, navigate to Maintenance > Reports > Cube Settings. Click the Custom Members tab.

Reports: Dimension Security on Pick List in Dynamic Reports

Now, when you run a Dynamic Report with the Show Pick List check box selected for dimensions on the Page axis, only the members for which the user has access to (as defined in Dimension Security) are displayed.

For example, if you select the Balance Sheet and Income Statement on the Pick List for the Account dimension (as shown in the image below), these members will be displayed in the report if the user has dimension security access to them.

This functionality is applicable to only the Financial Reporting Area.

Pick List Dimension Security applies to Report Collections and Financial Packages containing the corresponding Dynamic Reports.

When you select the Show Pick List check box:

• By default, the first member in the list is selected and the report is run for the selected member.

• The report is run for the default member if you do not select any member from the Pick List.

• The report will not show any data if you do not have access to the default member.

When you share a report with another user, and you have selected members in the Pick List:

• The report is run for the same selected members only if the other user also has access to the selected members.

• The report is run for the first member available in the Pick List when the other user does not have access to at least one of the selected members.

When Point of View (POV) is defined on a dimension:

• If you run a Dynamic Report with POV defined on the same dimension for which the Pick List is configured, then the Dynamic Report is run only for the members that are configured in the POV.

Reports: Enhancements Dynamic Commentary

The Dynamic Commentary functionality is now available in Dynamic Reports for all the applications. This functionality is available for Spotlight only if you are a unified user with access to all product areas (Structured Planning, Consolidation, Reports, and Dynamic Planning). If you want to opt in, contact Planful Support to enable the Unified User functionality. To know more about Dynamic Commentary, click Reports and the File Cabinet.

Ability to Mark Task as Complete in Comments Pop-up Window

Prior to this release, you had to navigate to the Task Manager page to change the status of any task assigned to you. Now, you can change the status of any of your assigned tasks to Completed directly from the Comments pop-up window. This feature provides flexibility to mark tasks as Completed on the fly and saves time by reducing the number of clicks.

The Mark as Completed toggle is added to the Comments pop-up window to change the status of any assigned task. Only Assignee, Reporter, or Administrator can mark the status Completed using the Mark as Completed toggle. The Mark as Completed toggle is available in Dynamic Reports, Spotlight Web - Analyze and Reports, SpotlightXL - Analyze, Reports, and Excel Based Reports. The following image shows the status of a task marked as completed using the toggle.

 Previously, you had to navigate to the Task Manager page to change the status of a task as shown below.

When you mark any task Completed from the Comments pop-up window, the same status is automatically updated for the corresponding task in the Task Manager page.

Email Notifications for Dynamic Commentary

Now, you can configure email notifications for the Dynamic Commentary functionality from the My Setting page. This functionality helps you track actions in the Dynamic Commentary functionality and keeps you up to date by providing email notifications for the selected action based on your requirement. You will receive email notifications with hyperlinks to directly navigate to the respective product area. This helps you access reports and tasks quickly from emails.

The email hyperlink redirects you to the corresponding artifact (for example, a Dynamic Report, a SpotlightXL View, or a SpotlightXL Report) from which the comment was posted and also opens the corresponding Comment pop-up window.

If the email notification is regarding an assigned task, the email hyperlink redirects you to the corresponding task in the Task Manager page.

The image below displays an email notification for Dynamic Commentary.

An Enable Email Notification for Dynamic Commentary section is added to the General tab of My Settings page. The following actions are available for which you can enable email notifications:

• All Actions - Select this check box to enable email notifications for all actions available in Dynamic Commentary. By default, this check box is selected.

• Replied to My Comment - Select this check box if you want to receive email notification only when someone replies to your comment.

• Mentioned on Comment - Select this check box if you want to receive email notification only when someone mentioned you in any comment.

• Assigned Task - Select this check box if you want to receive email notification only when someone assigned you any task.

In Practice

To configure email notifications for Dynamic Commentary, click your Profile Name, navigate to My Settings > General tab and then select or deselect the required check box under the Enable Email Notification for the Dynamic Commentary section.

The following image shows actions available for which you can enable email notifications.

Select the All Actions check box or any other check box based on your requirement and receive email notifications for the relevant action of Dynamic Commentary. You will receive email notifications only for the selected actions. By default, all check boxes are selected.

Ability to Retain User Selection in Selection Criteria of the Comments Manager page

With this release, we have enhanced the Selection Criteria pane in Comments Manager to improve usability. You do not have to select values from the fields in the Selection Criteria pane every time you open the Comments Manager page.

Now, the Selection Criteria pane retains your selection when you navigate away from the Comments Manager page or sign out of the application.

For example, if you select All from the User Name drop-down list and click Apply in the Selection Criteria pane and navigate away from the Comments Manager page, the selection will still be displayed in the Selection Criteria pane the next time you open the Comments Manager page as shown in the image below.

In Practice: How to Access Comments Manager

Navigate to Maintenance > Admin > Comments Manager.

To learn all about Comments Manager, click here.

Dashboards: Ability to Retain User Selection in Chart Filter

With this release, we continue to focus on Dashboards usability. You do not have to select the member from the Chart Filter Pick list every time you open the dashboard.

Now, the Chart Filter retains your member selection when you navigate away from the dashboard or sign out of the application.

For example, if you select GL Data and Adjustments in the Pick List and navigate away from the dashboard, the GL Data and Adjustments selection will still be displayed in the chart the next time you open the dashboard as shown in the image below.

When multiple members are selected in the Chart Filter, the members that were selected will be displayed in the Pick List. This behavior is different if you select Dynamic Planning Charts or dimensions (such as Scenario and Measure) in Reporting. For Dynamic Planning Charts and Scenario and Measure dimensions, only a single member can be selected at once as shown in the image below.

Sharing a Dashboard

When a dashboard is shared between two users:

• If the first user configured multiple members in the Pick List and the second user opens the shared chart, then the chart shows all the members selected by the first user. If the second user deselects a few members and navigates away from the dashboard, then the next time the second user opens the dashboard, the same selection is displayed.

• If the second user does not have dimension security access to the selected member on the Page axis, the chart is run for the next available members in Pick List.

Consolidation: Ability to Delete Multiple Standard Journals and Recurring Journals at Once

When multiple Standard or Recurring journals are selected in the Consolidation Control Panel, you can opt to delete them all at once versus one-by-one. In the image below, 6 Recurring journals are selected and available for deletion.

Journals with the following status cannot be deleted:

• Pending Review (After forward)

• Posted

• Approved (Auto-Reversing)

In Practice

1. Open the Consolidation Control Panel.

2. Select the Standard Journals or Recurring Journals process.

3. Select multiple journals (up to 50 at a time).

4. Click the Delete icon.

Consolidation: Update to Standard Eliminations for Flow Dimension Enabled Applications

Improved Standard Intercompany Eliminations functionality is now available for Flow Dimension enabled applications. For information on what Flow Dimension functionality is and how it can be beneficial, click here.

The pre-built Flow Dimension Hierarchy is shown below and will be referenced in the description of this functionality (provided below the image).

How It Works

The information below not only describes how this functionality works, but provides information on considerations, recommendations, and best practices.

Description of Functionality

When this functionality is enabled, Intercompany Transactions for Income Statement Accounts are posted to the Default member of the Flow Dimension. The Intercompany Transactions for Balance Sheet Accounts are posted to the respective Activity Member of the Flow Dimension under the Subtotal Activity rollup.

Reversal Entries for all Intercompany Transactions and the Plug Account (also called Out-of-Balance) values are calculated using the balances in the Consolidated LC (Local Currency) member of the Reporting Dimension and calculated in CC (Common Currency), IC (Interim Currency), and RC (Reporting Currency). We recommend that you review documentation on Flow Dimension functionality provided here.

You cannot add one account in two Elimination Sets. This ensures that the differences in Intercompany Transactions are posted to only one account.

Eliminations can be posted using two methods:

1. By selecting Eliminations as part of Consolidation Process.
2. By navigating to the Elimination Process, individually selecting Eliminations Sets, and clicking Post.
   • In both the cases the Plug account is always cleared and re-posted. It is recommended that you either map one plug account per Elimination Set or post Eliminations using the Consolidation Process to ensure the correct out of balance amounts in the Plug Accounts. If you use option 2, Eliminations are posted in Common Currency only. If you use option 1, Eliminations are posted to Interim and Reporting currencies based on the selection.

When leaf companies represent Elimination companies, the Currency Code field in Hierarchy Management is disabled.

Leaf companies with existing data cannot be Elimination companies. When a leaf company is set as an Elimination company, the system checks for data and results in an application error message if found.

Alternate Hierarchies are supported. However, different Elimination companies will have to be used in the Alternate Hierarchy for this purpose.

Eliminations can be based on varying rollup paths in the Company dimension.

Eliminations, like the Consolidation Process, must be processed in chronological order to produce appropriate results. So, it is a Best Practice to process Eliminations as part of the Consolidation Process.

Recommendations / Considerations / Best Practices

• Separate Elimination Sets to be created for Income Statement Intercompany Transactions and Balance Sheet Intercompany Transactions. Within the Elimination company, Net Income is posted to the Retained Earnings Current Year account. Retained Earnings is rolled forward across years.

• Process Eliminations as part of the Consolidation Process.

• For all Elimination Sets, ensure Retain Source Segments is always selected as shown in the image below.

  

• Intercompany Out-of-Balance Accounts belong in the same area in the financial statement in which the intercompany activity originated in. This approach avoids problems with the various financial statements and common metrics getting distorted by Intercompany Plug amounts. It also avoids issues with the Plug Accounts being translated at different rates or methods than the related intercompany activity.

• Planful does support the out-of-balance arising out of net income intercompany transactions to be posted to a Plug Account in the Balance Sheet. In such cases, ensure that the appropriate Flow Dimension member is selected in the Elimination Set for the out-of-balance ‘default values for other segments'. This will ensure that the Plug Accounts also reflect in the Cash Flow Statements, in the appropriate section of Operating, Investing, or Financing in which the related Balance Sheet (or P&L) activity resides.

Dynamic Planning: Update to the SpotlightXL Add-In

If you have automated installation for SpotlightXL, then there is nothing you need to do as the update will be done automatically.

If you manually install SpotlightXL and related updates, then you must access the Installation Guide and download the latest update.

Dynamic Planning: Ability to Automatically Add Members When Writing Data Back From Dynamic Planning to Structured Planning, Consolidation, and Reporting

This feature is available upon request. Please contact Planful Support to enable.

You now have the ability to automatically add dimension members to hierarchies when writing back data from Dynamic Planning to Structured Planning, Reporting, and Consolidation. For example, you add new vendors in Dynamic Planning via an External Source Model. Then you send the data from Dynamic Planning to Structured Planning, Consolidation, and Reporting via a Model Map executed via a Calculation (in the Dynamic Planning module) and a Data Load Rule (in the Structured Planning module). Or, you add products in Dynamic Planning and write the additional products back to Structured Planning. Prior to this release you could not submit the Map in the Dynamic Planning module because the added dimension members did not exist in Structured Planning, Consolidation, and Reporting.

Prerequisites:

• Contact Planful Support to enable this feature.

• Configure Web Services in Structured Planning. For information on how to do so click here.

• Create a Data Load Rule in Structured Planning to load data from Dynamic Planning to Structured Planning. For information on how to do so click here.

• Configure the Planful Financial Model in Dynamic Planning. For information on how to do so click here.

• Create a Map in Dynamic Planning. For information on how to do so click here.

In Practice: Append Missing Dimension Members in a Model Map - Step 1

Enabling Write Back With Automatic Member Addition in Maps requires that you select Yes for the Append Missing Dimension Members option available only for Model Maps that are linked to the HACPM_Financial model. Follow the steps below.

1. In SpotlightXL, navigate to Model > Map.

2. Select the HACPM_Financial Model and the Map you created to write data back to Structure Planning. Verify the Map contains the Write Back Id for the Data Load Rule.

3. For Append Missing Dimension Members, select Yes as shown below.

   

4. Save.

In Practice: Run the Calculation for the HACPM_Finanical Model - Step 2

The Calculation must include the Map where Append Missing Dimension Members is set to Yes.

1. In SpotlightXL navigate to Model > Calculation.

2. Select the HACPM_Financial Model and the Map you’ve created to write data back to Structured Planning as shown in the image below.

3. Click Run.

   

4. Verify the Calculation completed successfully as shown below.

   

In Practice: Verifying the Dimension Members Were Appended in Structured Planning - Step 3

You will receive a detailed email indicating the segment updates to Structure Planning. Here is an example:

It is a Best Practice to login to Structured Planning to verify the additional segments/dimensions added to the hierarchy via Hierarchy Management or the Planning Control Panel. New members added to Dynamic Planning and written back to Structured Planning are added to the DI-AutoCreated rollup shown below.

In Practice: Adding Appended Dimension Members to a Dynamic Report - Step 4

1. In Reports, access a Dynamic Report.

2. In this case, product members were added from Dynamic Planning to Structured Planning. Click the Product Dimension Member (in this case it is on the row axis).

3. Locate the DI-AutoCreated members in the hierarchy.

4. Select them to include in the Dynamic Report and Save.

   In the image below, the newly added members are used in a Dynamic Report on the Row axis.

   

Dynamic Planning: Support for Multiple Tabs for Model Subtasks in SpotlightXL

Now, you can display multiple tabs in SpotlightXL for a selected Model Subtask. Prior to this release, multiple tab functionality was available for Reports and Views, but not for Model Subtasks. This feature is beneficial as it provides the ability to view and work with several features at once; saving time and adding convenience. For example, you can open a Calculation and run it while also working with a Formula. Prior to this release, if you were on the Model Setup page (for example) and navigated to Model > Map, the Model Setup page was overridden by the Model Map page.

You can have one tab open for each Model Subtask unless you open a second Excel instance. Instructions on how to open another Excel instance are provided here.

Model Subtasks include all subtasks available when the Model task is selected, as shown below.

The image below shows 3 Model subtasks each open in a separate tab.

In Practice: How to Display Multiple Tabs for A Model Subtask

This example uses the Map Subtask.

1. Navigate to Model > Map.

2. Click to add a new sheet.

3. Navigate to Model > Calculation.

   Now, you can toggle between the tabs to view each map selected on each.

In Practice: How to Enable Multiple Tabs for A Model Subtask

The ability to have multiple tabs for a model subtask is not enabled by default. Follow the steps below to enable this functionality.

1. Navigate to Manage > Application Administration > Application Settings.

2. Scroll down to the Model Property portion of the screen.

3. For Enabled SpotlightXL Multi-Tab, select Yes as the Default Value as shown below.

   

4. Click Save.

In Practice: How to Open a Second SpotlightXL Instance

1. Right-click on Microsoft Excel and select the Excel option while holding down the Alt key. A message is displayed as shown below asking if you want to start a new instance of Excel.

2. Click Yes. At this point you can log in to the same SpotlightXL application or choose a different one. The SpotlightXL application shown in the first instance is shown by default in the second instance.

   

Dynamic Planning: Quick Access to Calculation in Views and Reports

The Calculation option, now available under the More menu in the Properties screen for a View or a Report, navigates you to the associated Calculation. This option provides a quick way to adjust underlying Calculations and associated Formulas to achieve desired results whether in Report/View Design or Run mode. For example, let's say you have a View where you forecast units and multiply the price to result in sales. Now, you can quickly change a Calculation and associated Formula to recalculate forecasted sales to provide another sales scenario by clicking the More > Calculation option.

Prior to this release, you would have had to navigate to Model > Calculation (versus selecting the More menu item) and would only have the option to view the Calculation or Formula associated and not both at the same time.

In Practice: Accessing and Adjusting a Calculation for a View

1. Navigate to Analyze > Data. In the example below, the Detailed Revenue model and BB Demo View (shown in the first screenshot below) is associated with the Calculate Sales Calculation (shown in the second screenshot below).

2. Click More and select Calculation.

   

   

3. From the Model > Calculation page, click a Formula hyperlink to navigate directly to that Formula. In this example, the Calculate Sales Formula is selected as shown below.

4. Change the Formula as desired to reflect in the BB Demo View.

   

Dynamic Planning: Hyper-linking in SpotlightXL

With the availability of Multiple tabs for Model Subtasks comes the ability to open Model subtasks from a hyperlink versus having to navigate through the menu; eliminating additional clicks and improving user experience. For example, using the image of the Calculation below, you can click the hyperlink for the Calculate Sales Formula and you will automatically navigate to the Model Formula page and the Calculate Sales Formula will be displayed.

Dynamic Planning: Dynamic Commentary in SpotlightXL Excel Based Reports

Now, you can use the Dynamic Commentary functionality in the SpotlightXL Excel Based Reports. You can collaborate within Dynamic Reports, Spotlight Web (Analyze and Report), and SpotlightXL (Analyze and Report), and Excel Based Reports using the Dynamic Commentary functionality.

You can perform the following in the SpotlightXL Excel Based Reports:

• Add cell level comments.

• Edit, Delete, or Resolve comments.

• Post comments for a combination of dimensions at leaf level, rollup level, and calculated members.

• Add users, text, #tags, and hyperlinks in the comments.

• Assign tasks and track their status from Task Manager.

• Mark Task as Complete in the Comment(s) pane

• View all comments in the application and perform actions such as Delete and Highlight in Comments Manager.

Comment On and Comments Off Option

A Comments On/ Comments Off option has been added to the More drop-down menu in the SpotlightXL tab. By default, the Comments On option is displayed in all the SpotlightXL Excel Based Reports.

When you click the Comments On option, a Comments section with the Comments option is displayed in the SpotlightXL tab. You can use this option to perform any action on comments. For example, post comments, update or delete comments, assign tasks, view comments, and so on. When you click the Comments option, a Comment(s) pane is displayed on the right-hand side of the report where you can add the required comment for the selected cell. A visual indicator is displayed against all cells containing comments.

When you click the Comments Off option, the Comments section in the SpotlightXL tab and visual indicators in the cells are not displayed.

The Comments On or Comment Off option is retained when you Save or Copy a Spotlight Based Excel Report. The Comments On or Comment Off option applied on Analyze is carried over to the Report created as well.

In Practice: How to Post Comments

1. Navigate to the More drop-down menu in the SpotlightXL tab and click the Comments On option. A Comments section with the Comments option is displayed in the SpotlightXL tab.

2. Select the required cell and click Comments. The Comment(s) pane is displayed.

3. Enter the required text and click Comment. The comment is saved and displayed in the Comment(s) pane.

   

You can view an indicator wherever a comment is posted in the report. You can include the following in a comment:

• Add a user - Type + and select the required username to tag the user in a comment. When you type +, username suggestions are provided automatically for the ease of selection. A notification is sent to the tagged user. You can turn off the notifications if required.

• Add # tags - Type # to find the most used tags in a comment.

• Add URLs in a comment.

You can perform the following actions on the comments:

• Add Comments

• Edit Comments

• Delete Comments

• Resolve Comments

• Assign Tasks

For more information about this functionality, refer to Using Dynamic Commentary in Excel Reports.

You can view all comments posted or updated in the SpotlightXL Excel Based Reports on the Comments Manager page. To learn all about Comments Manager, click here.

The comments from Excel Based Reports are included in the Audit Log.

Dynamic Planning: Extract Comments with the Dynamic Commentary Option in SpotlightXL

Now, you can extract comments from a range of cells in an Excel Based Report and save them in a new cell. This allows you to view comments from multiple selected cells in one place.

A Dynamic Commentary option has been added to the More drop-down menu in the SpotlightXL tab (as shown in the image below). When you click this option, the Dynamic Commentary pop-up window is displayed where you can select the required cells in the Select Cells field to extract comments.

The Dynamic Commentary pop-up window provides the following three check boxes to define additional configuration settings:

• Display only Highlighted Comments - Display only the highlighted comments in the Dynamic Commentary cell. By default, this check box is not selected.

• Display Username and Date - Display the username and date for each comment in the Dynamic Commentary cell. The date and time are converted to the user’s timezone. By default, this check box is not selected.

• Wrap Text - Wrap or enclose the selected cell’s content if the text in the cell overflows the cell boundary.

You can select a range of cells from multiple rows and columns, and extract comments in single or multiple cells. You can add multiple Dynamic Commentary cells in a report. The #tags, hyperlinks, and the tagged username are displayed as plain text in the Dynamic Commentary cell.

In Practice: How to Extract Comments to a Dynamic Commentary Cell

1. Select the cell where you want to extract comments.

2. Navigate to the More drop-down menu in the SpotlightXL tab and click the Dynamic Commentary option. The Dynamic Commentary pop-up window is displayed.

   

3. Select the following check boxes based on your requirement:

   1. Display only Highlighted Comments

   2. Display Username and Date

   3. Wrap Text

4. Select the required cells in the Select Cells field. The SpotlightXL pop-up window is displayed.

   

   Note:

   You can only select up to 78 cells.

5. Select the required cells and click OK. The Dynamic Commentary pop-up window is displayed.

6. Click Create, and then click Refresh. The comments are extracted in the selected cell.

   

If you select a row and extract all comments to the Dynamic Commentary cell, then you can quickly extract all comments in the adjacent rows by dragging down the Dynamic Commentary cell.

Follow these steps to drag the Dynamic Commentary cell:

1. Select the Dynamic Commentary cell.

2. Rest your cursor in the lower-right corner so that it turns into a plus sign (+).

3. Drag the fill handle down the cells that you want to fill as shown in the image below.

   

Dynamic Planning: Ability to Add Comments for Multiple Dynamic Planning: Member Selection on the Page Axis of Spotlight Analyze and Report

Now, you can add comments on a Direct Access to PCR (DAP) model in Spotlight Analyze and Report (Web and XL) with multiple members on the Page axis. Members can include Dimensions and Substitution Variables. You can view comments from the Comments Manager page.

The image below displays comments added to a report created using multiple members on the Page axis.

Platform: Data Load Audit Log Renamed to Data Load History

The Data Load Audit Log page is renamed to Data Load History to improve clarity by reflecting the actions that can be performed on this page. The page now provides enhanced User Interface labels for better usability. Now, you can view the end-to-end details of the Data Load Rule process on this page. For example, Start Date, End Date, Status, Description, and so on. The Data Load Rule process details are also displayed in the Detailed Report and Detail View page.

Enhancements in Data Load History

New Columns in the Grid

The following columns have been added to the grid to provide additional information about the selected Data Load Rule:

• Start Time - Displays the time at which the Data Load Rule process started.

• Description - Displays details about the execution of the Data Load Rule process.

• Record Count - Displays the number of records loaded in the Data Load Rule.

• Run Id - Displays a unique key associated with the Data Load Rule. You can use the Run Id when you contact the Support team for Data Load Rule related issues.

• End Time - Displays the time at which the Data Load Rule process was completed. With this release, the Loaded Date column is renamed to End Time.

The image below displays the updated columns in the Data Load History page.

In Practice: How to View Details in Data Load History and Detailed Report

1. Navigate to Maintenance and click Data Load History. The Data Load History page appears.

2. In the Select Criteria tab, select the required fields and click View History. The Data Load Rule details are displayed on the grid.

3. Click the Detailed Report tab to view additional information. The detailed report is displayed as shown in the image below.

   

You can also view the additional information about the Data Load Rule in the Detail View page.

In Practice: How to View Details in the Detail View Page

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Admin > Cloud Scheduler > Job Manager.

2. Select the required Data Load Rule and click Detailed Log. The Detail View page is displayed.

3. Click more under the More Details column. The More Details pop-up window is displayed as shown in the image below.

   

Renamed View Log to View History

The View Log button has been renamed to View History. You can use this button to view the history of the selected Data Load Rule process.

The image below displays the Data Load History page and the View History button.

Removed the Status Message Column

The Status Message column will no longer be available in the grid as the Data Load Rule field under the Select Criteria tab displays the same information. The Status Message column has been removed from the grid to avoid data redundancy.

However, the Status Message column will be available in the exported or printed Data Load History report.

The image below displays the Status Message column.

Platform: Heads Up! The existing application URLs will be modified to Planful.com URLs in upcoming releases to reflect the latest branding changes

For example, the existing URL- https://epm01.hostanalytics.com might change to https://na01.planful.com.