Before you begin

Before you use IBM® Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel, ensure that you accomplish the following tasks.

Configure your anti-virus software

To run Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel, you must first configure your anti-virus software to allow connections from both Microsoft .NET Runtime and Microsoft Excel.

For more information, see Configure your anti-virus software in the Planning Analytics Local Installation and Configuration documentation.

Set up connections for TM1 Rest APIs

Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel uses Cognos® REST APIs from the IBM TM1 Server. An administrator needs to configure the HTTP port number in the IBM TM1 Server configuration files for each TM1 Server.

For more information, see Setting up connections for TM1 REST APIs in the Planning Analytics Local Installation and Configuration documentation.

Internet browser requirements

There are no required browser conformance points with Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel.

Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel requires a Windows operating system that supports the MSHTML engine, which is browser independent.

Upgrade existing workbooks

You need to update the original TM1 server connections to the Planning Analytics Workspace URI if you have workbooks from earlier versions of Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel. Update your connections by editing the connections in the Options screen.

For more information, see Update Connection URLs.

Use the Update connection utility to update Exploration View and Quick Report connections.

For more information, see Utilities.

Disable automatic hyperlinking

Microsoft Excel by default enables Internet and network paths with hyperlinks, an AutoCorrect setting which automatically turns text that represents Internet and network paths into hyperlinks. This setting may interfere with TM1RPTROW functions. Follow these steps to disable this setting:

  1. Open Microsoft Excel.
  2. Click File > Options > Proofing.
  3. Click AutoCorrect Options....
  4. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
  5. Uncheck Internet and network paths with hyperlinks under Replace as you type.
Note: For TM1RPTROW functions that were already converted into hyperlinks, remove the link and republish the report to remove the hyperlink from published reports:
  1. Right-click the TM1RPTROW function that contains the hyperlink.
  2. Click Edit hyperlink.
  3. Click Remove link.

Optimize for high DPI displays

For user interface elements to render properly on high DPI displays, you need to optimize Microsoft Office. You can optimize Microsoft Office by ensuring that the display setting in Microsoft Office is set to Optimize for compatibility.

If you do not see the Optimize for compatibility display setting, downgrade your version of Microsoft Office to version 1803.

For instructions and more on changing your display settings in Microsoft Office, see Office support for high definition displays (https://support.office.com/en-us/article/office-support-for-high-definition-displays-6720ca0e-be59-41f6-b629-1369f549279d?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US).