Dynamic Planning: SpotlightXL User Guide: Summary

Overview

For installation information, see SpotlightXL Installation.

SpotlightXL is a Microsoft Excel front-end that provides functionality for all Dynamic Planning engine capabilities: Analyze, Report, Excel Report, Model, and Manage.

For a list of How To topics, see our list of How To Tasks.

Analyze

With Analyze, you can perform analysis activities, such as:

• Selecting a model and an associated view.

• Refreshing the data in the model.

• Zooming in and out of hierarchies in the view.

• Modifying and customizing the view.

See SpotlightXL Analyze Task for more information.

Report

With Report, you can:

• View static reports.

• Add headings, dates, extra rows and columns, and other common formatting options.

• Add Excel formulas.

• Share reports with users in your organization, for collaboration and review by operational employees and strategic approvers.

• Add charts and graphs to your reports. See Chart Types and Formatting for detailed information.

See SpotlightXL Report Task for more information.

Excel Report

With Excel Report, you can:

• Work with views and reports that have been converted to an Excel Report that contains live links to data in the model.

• Use the wide variety of Excel formatting and computing options to develop sophisticated reports.

• Publish finished reports to a central location for users to download.

See Excel Report for more information.

Model

With Model, you can:

• Select a model and run the views or reports associated with it (all users).

• View and edit the model's structure, such as dimensions and attributes (all users with access to the model and dimensions).

• View and edit calculations, formulas, and scopes are associated with the model (Power and Contributor users with access to the model).

• View and edit how data flows into and out of the model and the associated maps (Power and Contributor users with access to the model).

See SpotlightXL Model Task for more information.

Manage

With Manage, Power Users can:

• Add and edit users and groups.

• Set up security access to models, views, and reports.

• View statistics associated with your models.

• View an audit log of user activities.

• Backup and restore models and their data.

• Download metadata from Planful applications.

See SpotlightXL Manage Task for more information.

Accessing SpotlightXL

Complete the following steps to login to SpotlightXL:

1. Open Microsoft Excel.

2. Click the SpotlightXL tab.

   

3. Click Login .

4. Enter the URL to connect to your tenant (as given to you by Planful Support).

5. Enter your username and password and click Login. Optionally, click the Reset Password checkbox to change your password.

6. Enter a new password in the New Password and Confirm Password fields and click Login.

7. Optionally, select the Remember Me checkbox to retain your Username for future logins.

8. Click Login.

9. If requested to do so, select your application from the drop-down.

10. Click Select.

Username and Password Security

Only a valid email address can be used as a username.
The following password requirements have been implemented:

• A minimum of 8 characters (10 characters is recommended)

• A maximum of 128 characters

• At least 1 uppercase character is required (A‐Z)

• At least 1 lowercase character is required (a‐z)

• At least 1 digit is required (for example, 8, 1, 0)

• At least 1 special character is required (for example, *, &, #)

If you change your password and it does not meet the requirements listed above, a message is displayed, which is shown below.

Introduction to SpotlightXL

Once logged in to SpotlightXL, task, user, role and application information is displayed in the ribbon.

Click Select Task to view available tasks. SpotlightXL is comprised of five tasks: Analyze , Report , Excel Report , Model , and Manage . 

Available tasks are role dependent so you will only see the tasks for which you have access.

1. Analyze - Perform analysis activities such as selecting a model and an associated view, refreshing the data in the model, zooming in and out of models, keeping only certain aspects of a model or removing aspects of a model, and pivoting of models.

2. Report - View static reports, design formatted reports, and share reports with users in your organization for collaboration and review by operational employees and strategic approvers.

3. Excel Report - View and run reports designed with the full functionality of Excel and include links to data in the model. Publish and download reports in the cloud.

4. Model - Perform more intricate and granular tasks such as setting the type of model, setting permission, establishing dimension security, adding dimensions, changing aggregation values, calculation of the model, copying models, saving formulas, updating dimensions, and loading data.

5. Manage - Built for the power user, with this task you can perform metadata and data integrations, define settings, and create and perform user administration tasks.

Each task is identified within the workbook tab area. For example, there is a tab for Analyze (called Analyze), Report, Model, and Manage. A tab is created for each task you access. Only one tab is created per task (example below).

User Roles

There are three user roles available in Dynamic Planning: Power User , Contributor User , and Reviewer User. The tables below provide information on the task and subtask available to each user role:

Power Users

Contributor Users

Reviewer Users

* Includes the ability to view and run views and reports only.

User Roles, Access, and Security

Quick Summary of How to Assign or Restrict Access

The following table summarizes different ways to assign or restrict access to all aspects of models. Sometimes, there is more than one way to accomplish the same task, but one way may be more efficient than another. The table lists the more efficient methods above the less efficient methods. For example, you can assign access to a Model for a Group of users either with Model Permissions or Group Access. Model Permissions is a faster method.

Reminder :

• Roles : the predefined Dynamic Planning Roles are Power User, Contributor User, and Reviewer User. Power Users can see which user is assigned to which role with Manage, User Management or Manage, Navigation Access. The roles have defaults associated with their access to models, views, reports, and other artifacts. See those defaults in Manage, Navigation Access.

• Groups : groups are user-defined lists of users in your organization. They are defined with Manage, Group Management, User Group.

• Types : the predefined User Types are Business and External. User Types define whether someone can create or modify other user accounts. The Business user type is for all users within your organization that use Dynamic Planning. The External user type is for users outside of your organization who need to access your application for diagnostics, development, or debugging work, such as Planful Support or Partner Consultants.