Dynamic Planning Spotlight User Guide Report Task

Overview

With Report, you can view static reports and share reports with users in your organization for collaboration and review by operational employees and strategic approvers. For the Report task, the only subtask available in Spotlight is Run. Run a report by selecting the Report task and the Run subtask. Select a report from the Report list box.

Additional Information:

• To design a report, use SpotlightXL (Excel) for more extensive options.

• Reports that include Excel formulas are supported.

• Reports that include Suppress Empty Rows or Columns are supported.

• The limit on cells in the reports is 100K.

• Basic cell editing features such as Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and drag and drop are supported.

Ribbon Options Available for Spotlight Web Reporting

When you run a report, different menu options are available based on the report. In the example below, Refresh, Save Data and Breakback options are available.

A description of all ribbon options is provided below.

Refresh

This action updates data in the report after selections are made. For example, after selecting a different dimension member from a POV drop-down, click Refresh to display the data for that dimension member.

Save Data

If you do not see this icon on the menu, then the report does not have Save enabled. See Enabling Menu Items in Views and Reports: Save Data and Breakback.

Saves modified data back to the model. You must have write access to the model and dimensionality for the cells you have modified on the report in order for the data to be saved. If you do not have access or if you have tried to save data for a rollup member, you can submit changes, but they will not be saved.

Breakback

If you do not see the Breakback icon on the menu, then the report does not have Save enabled. See Enabling Menu Items in Views and Reports: Save Data and Breakback.

This action opens the Breakback box where you can select a spreading method and allocate changes in numeric data from the top down.

For details, see Breakback from View or Report.

Export

You can export and print reports containing charts using the Export icon.

The following ;options are available:

• Export to PDF - Allows you to download a report in PDF format.

• Print - Allows you to print a report in the PDF format. All charts are printed at the end of the PDF file. Only one chart per page is displayed.

• Print Setup - Allows you to customize print settings. You can select the required options based on your requirement and print the report. The selected print settings are applicable only to the corresponding report. Additionally, the settings are retained when you export the report to PDF.

Substitution Variables

If you do not see this icon on the menu, then the report does not have substitution variables defined in the report.

This action opens the Substitution Variables box, where users can select a value for a variable. For example, a report may show data for a certain month or department. Using Substitution Variables, the user can select a different month or different department to view.

Drill Through

If you do not see this icon on the menu, then the report does not have drill-through data available.

When you perform a drill through from a model view, you can interact with the resulting Drill Through report in the following ways:

• Drag and drop a single column, a range of columns, or multiple columns to reorder them

• Adjust the width of a single column, a range of columns, or multiple columns

• Turn filters on or off

• Sort column data in ascending or descending order

• Select the code, name and label display for members

For information on Doc Ref, Lines, and Sublines, see Dynamic Reports: Enhanced Drilling on Dynamic Report Output

Charts Supported in Spotlight Web Reporting

Charts are supported in both Excel and the Web. See Supported Chart Types and Formatting for a list of supported chart formats.

Formula Support in Spotlight Web Reporting

The user interface includes a formula bar above each report, which will display the formula for the selected cell.

You can view both excel type formulas and custom formulas in the bar.

For long formulas, the formula bar is expandable.

The following example shows a report design in SpotlightXL (Excel) with formulas in column F.

Here is the same report when rendered in Spotlight Web Reporting:

Suppress Rows and Columns Support in Spotlight Web Reporting

When designing a report in SpotlightXL, you can set report properties to suppress rows or columns that have only zeros, blanks, or either zeros or blanks.

Here is a look at a report without suppression.

Now the properties are set and saved.

When viewing the report in Spotlight Web Reporting, these properties are honored; blank rows are omitted.

Support for Multiple POV Selections in Spotlight for Direct Connect Models

You can select multiple members of page filters for views and reports built on Direct Connect Models. A Direct Connect model is one created with Direct Access to PCR enabled.

For detailed information on Direct Connect models, click here.

This feature is available for all main, alternate, attribute and attribute hierarchies added to page filters. There is no restriction on the level or number or combination of members selected on each dimension.

If you decide to move the dimensions from the page to a row or column, the dimension tree is updated intuitively to display the dimensions.

Once you move the dimensions selected from the page to a row or column, you can save the view as a report and run it.

Cell Limitation in Spotlight Web Reporting

The limit on cells in the reports is 100K. If the report has more than 100K cells, then you will see an alert message. We recommend to design the report with less than 100K cells. If you need more than 100K cells, please contact Planful Support.

Cell Editing in Spotlight Web Reporting

In reports enabled with Save, you can copy and paste the contents of data cells using Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. A dotted box appears around the copied cell.

You can copy and paste within the formula bar, and drag and drop within the formula bar.

You can drag one cell to another location by selecting a cell and dragging the border to move the cell.

Multiple Tabs Support in Spotlight Web Reporting

You can run multiple reports in Spotlight by adding tabs. You can easily switch back and forth between tabs to compare and analyze data from different reports simultaneously. You can run up to 10 reports at a time.

Click + to add a new tab, then select a report from the toolbar to open it.

To close the report, right-click on the tab and select Close Tab.

You can also drag and drop to re-order the tabs, and use the arrow buttons to navigate through the tabs.

You can close all other tabs except for the one that is active in Spotlight reports at once.

Standardized Font in Spotlight Web Reporting

The font used to display Spotlight Web Reports is standardized as Arial 9-point. However, you can modify the font of headings and other text items in your report designs and save them.

Quick Math Functions Support in Spotlight Web Reporting

The Web Reporting window includes quick functions such as Sum, Average, Count, Min, and Max. When you select a range of cells, the values in the quick functions update automatically.

Grouping Functionality in Spotlight Web Reporting

Rows and columns can be grouped and saved for a report from SpotlightXL. When the reports defined in SpotlightXL are accessed from Spotlight (web version), the grouping defined on the report in SpotlightXL is retained. This functionality is available for all reports created for any models.

In Practice

1. Access SpotlightXL.

2. Access a report (Report > Run) that you want to add a group to.

3. Select Design (under Run).

4. Highlight the rows or columns you want to group as shown below.

5. Click the Data tab and select Group.

6. Return to the SpotlightXL tab.

7. Save the report.

8. Run the report. Notice the grouping is applied.

9. Login to Spotlight. When you run the same report, the grouping is applied.

   

Dynamic Commentary

What Is It and How Does It Work

Dynamic Commentary allows you to collaborate within Dynamic Reports, Spotlight Web (Views and Reports), and SpotlightXL (Views and Reports), and Excel Based Reports.

You can perform the following:

• Add cell level comments.

• Edit, Delete, Highlight, 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 a 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.

• Post comments on cells containing data from Alternative hierarchy.

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.

How to Enable Dynamic Commentary and Post a Comment

You must enable Dynamic Commentary in SpotlightXL for it to be available in Spotlight. In the Design View for a specific View, click the Properties action. Select Yes in the Enable Comments drop-down list. The default is set to No in all existing and new views. This functionality is available in all views across all models.

When Enable Comments is set to Yes , the Comments option is visible on the right-click menu for Spotlight (Web) and on the toolbar for SpotlightXL. A visual indicator is displayed if a comment already exists on a cell.

When you select the Comments option from the toolbar, the Comment(s) pane is displayed on the right-hand side of the screen.

When Enable Comments is set to No , the Comment option and visual indicators for comments are removed. The setting is retained when you Save or Copy.

The Enable Comments option is saved on a View and retained on Save, Copy. The Analyze Properties as updated from Web are retained in XL and vice versa.

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.

How to Edit a Comment

1. Click the icon on the right-hand side of the comments pop-up window and select Edit from the menu list.

2. Make the required changes and click Save.

   

You can only edit the comments posted by you. The administrator can update comments posted by any user. You can edit comments from anywhere (Dynamic Reports, Spotlight Web (Analyze and Report), and SpotlightXL (Analyze and Report), and Excel Based Reports) within the application irrespective of where you posted the comment.

How to Highlight a Comment

Click the icon on the right-hand side of the comments pop-up window and select Highlight from the menu list. The Highlight icon is displayed next to the comment.

The image below displays the Highlight option in Spotlight.

How to Delete a Comment

1. Click the icon on the right-hand side of the comments pop-up window and select Delete Thread from the menu list. A confirmation message appears.

2. Click Confirm to delete the thread.

   

You can only delete the comments posted by you. The administrator can delete comments posted by any user. You can delete comments from anywhere (Dynamic Reports, Spotlight Web (Analyze and Report), and SpotlightXL (Analyze and Report), and Excel Based Reports) within the application irrespective of where you posted the comment.

How to Resolve a Comment

You can resolve a comment thread by clicking Resolve visible in the first comment of the thread. Resolved comments are not displayed in the reports or when the report is exported. Once you resolve a comment, the visual indicator is not displayed on the cells.

You can resolve the comments from anywhere (Dynamic Reports, Spotlight Web (Analyze and Report), and SpotlightXL (Analyze and Report), and Excel Based Reports) within the application irrespective of where you posted the comment.

You can view the resolved comments from the Comments Manager page. An icon is displayed next to resolved comments as shown in the image below.

Use the Filter icon to filter resolved comments in the grid. Also, you can delete resolved comments using the More option. The image below shows the filter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Once a comment is resolved, you cannot reopen, edit, reply, or highlight that comment. However, a new thread can be started for the same cell.

How to Assign a Task

1. Right-click in the required cell and select Comment . The pop-up window appears.

2. Enter + and type the user name.

3. Select Assign.

4. Enter the following details:

   • Add task title

   • Due On - Select the required to date.

   • Priority - Select any of the following:

     • Low

     • Medium

     • High

5. Click Comment. A notification is sent to the mentioned user.

   

The assignees and admin will have access to the assigned tasks. You can view the task details from Task Manager.

Mark Task as Completed in Comments Pop-up Window

You can change the status of any of your assigned tasks to Completed directly from the Comments pop-up window using the Mark as Completed toggle.

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.

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.

How to Email Notifications for Dynamic Commentary

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.

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 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.

You will receive email notifications only for the selected actions. By default, all check boxes are selected.

How to Edit a Task in Task Manager

The tasks created from a comment are editable from Task Manager. This is applicable to the information mentioned in the Comment pop-up window. If you edit any of the task information from Task Manager, the updated information will be reflected in the Comments pop-up window.

If a task is completed, then a tick mark is visible on the Comments pop-up window against the respective task name.

If you change the assignee from Task Manager, the assignee details in the Comment pop-up window is not updated. If a task is deleted from Task Manager, it is removed from the Comment pop-up window, however, the user mentioned in the comment is retained.