Version control and datasource compatibility

Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel has a version control mechanism that shows you if the datasource you are connecting to is compatible with your version of Planning Analytics for Excel.

Administrators configure the version control mechanism by modifying the Evaluation Server and specifying the versions of Planning Analytics for Excel that can work with a particular TM1 datasource. When you connect to a datasource, the version control mechanism runs a compatibility check with the Evaluation Server and displays a compatibility status for that datasource.

If the datasource you are connecting to is not compatible with Planning Analytics for Excel, you cannot use that datasource until you update Planning Analytics for Excel.

By default, version control is on in Planning Analytics for Excel 2.0.73. You can turn it off by setting the r73_DisableStatusSignalSystem flag to true in tm1features.json. For more information, see Manually enabling features in the tm1features.json file.

Compatibility status types

The version control mechanism displays the following status types based on compatibility: Normal, Warning, and Blocked.

Note: If you do not see any status information in the IBM Planning Analytics ribbon, it might be because:

• Version control was not enabled by the administrator.
• Connection to the TM1 datasource was not established or it disconnected.
• Version control was not configured to display the Normal status.

Normal

A Normal status in the IBM Planning Analytics ribbon indicates that your version of Planning Analytics for Excel is compatible with the datasource, and an update is not needed.

Note: For a compatible connection, administrators can hide the Normal status from displaying in the ribbon.

Click the Normal status icon in the ribbon to see a status dialog box with more information.

Administrators can configure this dialog box to add a custom message and include following options to update the software:

• Update - Downloads a specific version of Planning Analytics for Excel.
• Select a different version of Planning Analytics for Excel - Directs you to a list of supported versions of Planning Analytics for Excel.

Warning

When a Warning status displays in the ribbon, the datasource you connected to will soon be incompatible with your version of Planning Analytics for Excel.

While you do not need to update Planning Analytics for Excel immediately, you can update the software to continue using the datasource without interruption.

To see additional information about the status, click the Warning status icon in the ribbon.

Administrators can configure this dialog box to add a custom message and include following options to update the software:

• Update - Downloads a specific version of Planning Analytics for Excel.
• Select a different version of Planning Analytics for Excel - Directs you to a list of supported versions of Planning Analytics for Excel.

Note: Unlike the Normal status, administrators cannot prevent the Warning status from displaying in the ribbon.

Blocked

If you try to connect to a datasource that is not compatible with your version of Planning Analytics for Excel, you cannot use that datasource until you update the software.

Administrators can configure version control to display more information about the Blocked status in the custom message area and include the following options to update the software:

• Update - Downloads a specific version of Planning Analytics for Excel.
• Select a different version of Planning Analytics for Excel - Directs you to a list of supported versions of Planning Analytics for Excel.

When you close the dialog box, your connection to the datasource ends and an Unavailable status displays in the ribbon.