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What's coming next in IBM Planning Analytics Workspace 2.0.101 SC

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Abstract

The following updates are available in release 2.0.101 of Planning Analytics Workspace.

Content

What's new in books and reporting
The following new and changed features in books and reporting are available in Planning Analytics Workspace 2.0.101.
 

Use AI to generate cell explanations

Use the new Explain cell feature to get an explanation of the underlying values that contribute to a specific cell value. Cell values can be a result of complex calculations, several consolidations, or rules. The Explain cell feature uses generative AI to summarize the cell intersection, underlying logic of the cell value, and source type.

The initial release of the Explain cell feature is available only in Planning Analytics Workspace Cloud and in English only.

Important: The Explain cell feature is part of the Planning Analytics AI assistant add-on, which requires a separate license purchase; it is not included in a standard Planning Analytics Workspace license. To purchase a license, contact your IBM® sales representative or go directly to your IBM account.

To get a cell explanation, right-click a cell in an exploration, then click Explain cell [AI] to generate the explanation.

The generated explanation includes a table and an AI-generated summary:

A cell explanation featuring an AI-generated summary

Cell Cell identifies the original cell by its coordinates in the cube, by using a comma-separated list of member names. If there are members that contribute to the original value, you can drill down to view those members, their values, and source.
Value Displays the value of the original cell or member that contributes to the value of the original cell. If the value is over 10,000, the value that is displayed is truncated to an integer, otherwise the value shows two decimal places. You can hover over the displayed value to view the actual raw value as it exists in the TM1 database. To view the actual values for all data, enable Display unrounded values.
Source Identifies the source of the value: Consolidation, Input (a leaf cell that is not rule calculated), or rule. If the source is a rule, the entire rule is displayed. If the rule is too long to appear in its entirety within the confines of the column, click Expand row to reveal the full rule. You can also click the AI icon in each source row to generate an explanation for that specific cell.

The Explain cell feature uses granite-3-8b-instruct from the Granite family of IBM foundation models to generate a descriptive summarization of the cell intersections.

After you generate a cell explanation, you can add the summary to the related cell as a comment.

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Use the Planning Analytics AI assistant to generate chart insights or impact analysis

The Planning Analytics AI assistant now accepts commands to generate chart insights for a visualization or impact analysis for an exploration.

To generate chart insights, select a visualization in a book and then open the Planning Analytics AI assistant. Enter a command such as Show insights or Explain visualization to display AI-generated insights in the form of text summaries and key points to help you interpret the data in the visualization.

To generate impact analysis, select an exploration in a book and then open the Planning Analytics AI assistant. Enter a command such as Impact analysis, Analyze view, or simply Analyze to view an AI-generated analysis that explains the interaction of data fields in the exploration. The analysis also identifies and quantifies relationships across data in the exploration.

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New design for Action Button configuration

You can now find all Action Button configurations (Run Process, Run AI Job, and Navigation) on the new Configure tab under Properties. Previously, each configuration had its own tab under Properties.

Simply expand each configuration section to see the available options.

Action button configuration

The General tab still contains the Appearance and Layout options for action buttons.

Click inside an Action Button in Edit mode to view the Text details tab under Properties.

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Advanced Action Button configuration for TurboIntegrator processes and navigation

Planning Analytics Workspace now supports advanced configurations of TurboIntegrator processes and navigation between books or tabs in a book. You can run a process, an AI job, or both from an Action Button, and navigate immediately or navigate after the process completes.

You can configure these settings from the properties of an Action Button (Properties > Configure). Enable any process to see the available settings.

Advance configuration options for Action Button

You can configure each process and navigation to run on its own or in any combination with each other. For example, you can configure:

  • one or more processes to run and navigate at the same time
  • a process to run and then navigate
  • an AI job to run after a process completes successfully
  • an AI job to run and navigate immediately
  • a process to run and after successful completion, run an AI job and navigation at the same time
  • a process and an AI job to run and then navigate after their successful completion

If you want to navigate after a process completes, you can even specify where you want to navigate to if the process fails.

To navigate immediately upon clicking the Action Button, choose Immediately and select the destination.

  1. To go to a tab in the current book, click Tab, then select the tab that you want to open from the list of available tabs.
  2. To go to a tab in a different book, click Book and select a book, and the tab you want to open. Click Pass context to pass context for any items that have synchronization that is enabled in both the current tab and the destination tab.

    If you configure an Action Button to navigate to a tab in another book, you can rename the target book and/or sheet without having to update the button properties. The button automatically resolves any name changes to target tabs or books.

  3. To open a URL, click Hyperlink, then enter a fully qualified URL.

To navigate after a process completes, select After process completes and select where you want to navigate to when the process completes successfully and when the process completes with errors.

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Implement custom notifications for a TurboIntegrator process that runs from an Action Button

You can now configure custom notifications to display when a TurboIntegrator process is run from an Action Button to display its status. Create a notification to display when a process completes successfully, completes with a warning, or fails.

You can also choose the amount of time the notification displays on the screen or if the notification should display until the user closes it manually.

Notification customization

To configure custom notifications for TurboIntegrator processes, follow these steps:

  1. In Edit mode, select the Action Button that runs the process for which you want to customize notifications.
  2. Go to Properties > Configure > Run Process and click Customize notifications.
  3. By default, all notification types are enabled. You can turn off the notifications, which you don't want to display.
  4. Expand the notification type that you want to customize. The Running notification message can't be customized. However, you can turn it off if you don't want this notification to display.
  5. Enter the notification message and select the amount of time it displays on the screen. Select Until close for Time on screen if you want the user to close the notification manually.
  6. Click OK to save your settings.

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Add cell values as parameters in TurboIntegrator processes that are run from an Action Button

You can now pass cell values as parameters in processes that run from an Action Button. You can configure the Action Button to refer to a specific cell value, that is string or numeric, by selecting a cube and the members that determine the intersection.

To add cell values as process parameters:

  1. In edit mode, select the button you want to configure.
  2. Go to Properties, enable Run Process, and select the database and process.
  3. Click Set parameters and specify the prompt.
  4. Select Cell as the Control type.
  5. Click Edit and select a cube and the member for the cell value intersection. The parameter type and the cell value type must match. For example, if the parameter type is numeric, the specified cell must also be a numeric value.Editing control details to include a cube and members at the cell value intersection.

If you change the cell value in a cube viewer or through a single cell widget, the updated cell value reflects in the process parameters.

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Customize Action Button parameter title and description

You can now customize the Action Button parameter title and add a description for a process that requires parameter values. When the process is run, the prompt dialog displays the title and description you created. Use this new feature to provide contextual information about the process or instructions for setting parameters.

To customize the parameter title and add a description for an Action Button process, follow these steps:

  1. In Edit mode, select the Action Button which runs the process that requires parameter values.
  2. Go to Properties > Configure > Run Process and click Set parameters.
  3. Enter the prompt title and a description and click Done.

When you run the process now, the prompt dialog displays the new title and description.

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Customize cell color based on data state

The Color cells by data state property for views was enhanced to allow customization of cell color in an exploration based on its data state. You can pick a custom background color for rule-derived cells and read-only cells, and even customize the color of sandbox values. Additionally, the Color cells by data state property has moved and can now be found in the Format manager, under Data area.

The Color cells by data state property overrides any other background color set for the cell.

To enable the Color cells by data state property for a view and customize the background color of cells, follow these steps:

  1. Select a view and click Format manager in the toolbar.
  2. Go to the Data area on the View tab.
  3. Under Table styles, select Color cells by data state and choose the colors you want for Rule-derived background, Read-only background, and Sandbox font.
  4. Click Apply.

Note: Rule-derived cells include cells with rule-derived values, calculations, and set consolidations. The Color cells by data state property does not apply to consolidated members.

Previously, when the Color cells by data state property was enabled, read-only cells displayed in gray, calculated and rule-derived cells displayed in green, and sandbox values in blue font. These were the default settings and could not be changed.

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New sorting options for views and sets in the Database tree

A new folder structure in the database tree now lets you sort views and sets into public and private folders. This feature is available in books and the modeling workbench.

To display the public and private folders in the Database tree, enable Split objects into Private and Public folders in the database tree settings.
  1. In the Personal menu, click Profile and settings.
  2. Click Settings and under Database tree, select Split objects into Private and Public folders.
  3. Click Save.

You can now see the private and public folders in the Database tree and sort views and sets into these folders.

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Change the search scope in the set editor

The set editor now includes options to configure search so that it either returns only the current set members, or returns the current set members and their descendants.

To support this new search behavior, the Search with descendants and Search current set only options were added to the set editor.

Search descendents

The new search settings affect both the search and filter results in sets that include consolidated members. Search and filter in the Available members and Current set panels are affected in the same way.

To include the descendants of members when searching or filtering, select the Search with descendants option.

To search or filter only the current set members, select the Search current set only option. This is the default option.

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Expand and collapse levels in the set editor

The set editor now includes a button that allows you to expand or collapse all consolidations at once, up to the selected level.

The new Expand and collapse levels button Expand to level icon is available in the Available members and Current set panels..

Expand levels in the set editor

For example, you can use this button to collapse all members and then expand only a specific consolidation to examine the consolidation path.

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Export options in books

The export options for a cube and cube view, and for a dimension and dimension hierarchy, are now available from a book in the same way as they are available from the modeling workbench. The exported .csv file is saved to your local Downloads directory.

Export cube or view data from a book


To export data from a cube, right-click the cube in a book Databases tree, and then click Export data.

To export data from a view, right-click the view in a book Databases tree, and then click Import/Export > Export data.

When you export data, you can set options that determine:

  • The set and/or members to include in the export
  • A range of numeric or string values to include in the export
  • Whether consolidated, rule-derived, or zero value items are included in the export

For more information, see Export data from a cube or view.

Export a dimension or hierarchy from a book


To export from a dimension in a book, right-click a dimension or hierarchy in the Databases tree, and then click Export members. You can also click the Export members icon Export dimension icon on the dimension editor to export a dimension.

When you export a dimension or hierarchy, the resulting .csv file includes the following information about each member:

  • Name
  • Parent-child relationship
  • Type
  • Weight
  • Defined attribute names and values

    Attribute names are prefixed with either ATTR_N or ATTR_S when they are exported, depending on the attribute type (numeric or string, respectively).

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Create filters based on string values

The Filter by value filter in the cube viewer now supports string values, in addition to the previously supported numeric values.

To use the new filter option, right-click a row or column header, select Filter, and then select Filter by value. From the drop-down menu, select String.

The following operators are available for string-based filters:

  • Is (equal to)
  • Is not (is not equal to)
  • Contains
  • Starts with
  • Ends with

You can create filters with mixed numeric and string data, as shown in the following example:

Example of filter by value

The filter icon Filter icon is applied to a row or column in a view when a filer is applied.

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Manage data entry and data spreading in consolidated cells

You can now allow or prevent data spreading when values are entered in consolidated cells in an exploration.

When you type data directly into a consolidated cell, a proportional data spread is performed by the Planning Analytics database. To prevent this type of spreading from happening accidentally, an option to allow or prevent the ability to enter values directly in consolidated cells is now available. This option is set as a property of an individual exploration; if a book contains multiple explorations, the property can be set independently for each exploration.

To manage the ability to enter data directly in consolidated cells of an exploration:

  1. Open the book containing the exploration in Edit mode.
  2. Click the exploration.
  3. Click Properties.
  4. Click the Custom tab.
  5. Expand Exploration features.
  6. Toggle the Allow consolidation type in option.

    When the option is enabled, users can enter a value directly in a consolidated cell, initiating a proportional data spread.

    When the option is disabled, users cannot enter values in consolidated cells.

    Allow consolidation type in option

Regardless of the Allow consolidation type in setting, you can right-click any consolidated cell in an exploration and then click Spread data options to apply data spreading.

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Support for parameters in the Planning Analytics Workspace MDX editor

You can now parametrize MDX queries in Planning Analytics Workspace.

The default MDX generation uses a query state, which consists of the sets for each hierarchy, member selections for hierarchies on titles, and any applied operations (for example, expand, collapse, sort, etc). The query state generates an MDX query to retrieve the corresponding axis and cell data from the TM1 database.

A parameterized MDX involves the use of an MDX template. MDX templates allow you to override how the query state is used to generate the MDX. An MDX template contains the following:
  • Variables that can be substituted during MDX generation.
  • Variable declarations which define the members or sets in the query state which are substituted for the variables in the MDX template.

Supporting parameters allows for more control over the MDX, while allowing the view to respond to the specified member and set synchronization events based on how the template is defined.

The following variables can be defined in an MDX template:

Set variables

Set variables define a reference to a set for a hierarchy defined in the query state.

For example:
{
      "Name": "<0>",
      "HierarchyID": "[plan_time].[plan_time]",
      "Type": "SetVariable"
    }

Slicer member variables

Slicer member variables define a reference to the selected member for the query state.

For example:
{
      "Name": "<2>",
      "HierarchyID": "[plan_version].[plan_version]",
      "Type": "SlicerVariable"
    }

Set member variables

Set member variables define references to members of a set at a specified index.

For example:
{
      "Name": "<1>",
      "HierarchyID": "[plan_chart_of_accounts].[plan_chart_of_accounts]",
      "Type": "SetMemberVariable",
      "Index": 0
    }
MDX template example
The following is an example of a complete MDX template:
{
  "MdxTemplate": "SELECT {<0>} ON 0, {<1>} ON 1 FROM [plan_BudgetPlan] WHERE (<2>, [plan_business_unit].[plan_business_unit].[10110])",
  "Variables": [
    {
      "Name": "<0>",
      "HierarchyID": "[plan_time].[plan_time]",
      "Type": "SetVariable"
    },
    {
      "Name": "<1>",
      "HierarchyID": "[plan_chart_of_accounts].[plan_chart_of_accounts]",
      "Type": "SetMemberVariable",
      "Index": 0
    },
    {
      "Name": "<2>",
      "HierarchyID": "[plan_version].[plan_version]",
      "Type": "SlicerVariable"
    }
  ]
}


How to parametrize an MDX query

To parametrize an MDX query, complete the following steps:
  1. In the cube viewer, click the edit MDX icon [Alt:Edit MDX icon] to access the MDX.
  2. Click the MDX template variables icon [Alt:MDX template variables icon]. The MDX parameters dialog box opens.
  3. To add a parameter, click the Add parameter button and set the following options:
    • Name: The parameter id. The name can only consist of numeric values.
    • Dimension: The dimension to define in the parameter.
    • Hierarchy: The hierarchy to define in the parameter.
    • Type: The type of variable to define in the parameter. You can choose a Set, Set member, or Slicer variable.
    • Index
  4. To add the current parameter to the list and create another parameter, click Add. To add the current parameter to the MDX and close the MDX parameters dialog box, click Add and close.
  5. Click Done.

Known limitations

There are a few current known limitations with MDX templates:
 
  • Apart from the defined variables, MDX template views are read-only. They do not respond to events that change the structure of the query (for example, pivoting, expand, collapse, sort, etc).
  • MDX template views only respond to member and set synchronization events they are parameterized to respond to.
  • Metadata change recovery is only applied to sets and members referenced by variables.

What's new in plans and applications
The following new and changed features in plans and applications are available in Planning Analytics Workspace 2.0.101.

Summary pages in plans and applications

Sections in applications and tasks in plans now have a summary page.

The summary pages provide a compact view of the assets that the section or task contains.

To view the summary for an application, on the Application sections tab, expand the section, and click the Summary link. A page similar to the following example is displayed.

Application summary

To view the summary for a plan, on the Tasks tab, expand the task, and click the Summary link. A page similar to the following example is displayed.

Plan summary

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Custom color picker for tags

When you create color-coded tags in application sections and plan tasks, you can use the color picker to apply a custom color to your tag.

In previous product versions, only a limited number of colors were available for tags.

To apply a custom color when creating a tag, click Custom color picker on the Create new tag dialog box, .

Custom color picker

The color picker that is specific to your browser is displayed.

In the color picker, specify the color that you want to use. The custom color is applied to the tag in your application or plan.


What's new in modeling
The following new and changed modeling features are available in Planning Analytics Workspace 2.0.101.

Copy menu added to the modeling workbench

Copy menu has been added to the context menus for objects in the Databases tree.

The Copy menu allows you to copy different parts of member and hierarchy scripts to the clipboard, which helps you to more easily edit the MDX, rules, and TurboIntegrator processes.

To access the Copy menu, right-click on a member or hierarchy in the tree, click Copy, then select one of the following options:

  • Unique name: Copies the unique name. This is used in the MDX.
  • Member only: Copies the member. This is used in rules and TurboIntegrator processes.
  • Member as a rule reference: Copies the member as a rule reference. This is used in rules.

When an option is selected, the corresponding text is copied to the clipboard.

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Generate pick lists for selected cells in the cube viewer

You can now create pick lists in the cube viewer by selecting one or more cells and transforming them into a pick list. This is a simpler way of setting up pick lists comparing to the previously used (and still supported) ways.

The users are guided to create the pick list. The type of pick list that the user can generate is specific to the type of cell that the pick list is created in. For numeric cells, the pick list is typically a range of numbers that the user can select from. For string cells, the pick list is a static list and the user can quickly enter and edit the list of items. For hierarchies and subsets, the user can select from an existing dimension and hierarchy.

Follow these steps to create a pick list:

  1. In the cube viewer, select a single cell or multiple cells of the same type (string or numeric).

    Right-click the cell, and in the menu locate the Set picklist option.

    If this option is not active, the cell cannot be used to create a pick list. A pick list cannot be created for the following types of cells: rule-based calculations, consolidations, read-only cells, or when the cells are of different types (in a multi-selection).
  2. Click the Set picklist option.
    In the dialog box that appears, select the type of a pick list to create:
    • None - clear the pick list if it already exists for the selected cell
    • Static - specify pick list values
    • Hierarchy - use all hierarchy members, or a subset of members, as pick list values
  3. If you select the Static type, the dialog box that is displayed depends on the cell data type.

    The following dialog box is displayed for string cells. Click Add value to specify the pick list values.
    Static picklist string cell

    The following dialog box is displayed for numeric cells. In this case, you can click Add value to type the pick list values, or click Add range to specify value ranges.
    Static picklist numeric cell

  4. If you select the Hierarchy type, the following dialog box is displayed. 
    Static picklist hierarchy
    Select a dimension first, and then a hierarchy. The dimension type has two options, Dimension and Control dimension. The Set option is just a case of the hierarchy option. In this case, the pick list is tied to a subset.

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Open process error logs directly from the server log

The Planning Analytics server log contains information about process execution. When a process encounters an error and generates a process error log, you can now open the process error log directly from the server log.

To open the process error log, click the log filename in the server log. Process error logs use the file naming convention TM1ProcessError_timestamp_processname.log.

Process error log shown in the server log

The process error log opens in a new message box. You can review the error log and download a copy of the log.

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Increase the flexibility of baseline forecasts by allowing users to override default sets

And administrator or modeler can now set an option that enables users to override default forecast members and specify a custom scope when running a baseline forecast.

This makes baseline forecasts more flexible for users and simplifies maintenance for baseline forecast creators, who no longer need to create and maintain multiple forecasts with similar but varying scopes.

To enable users to override default forecast members and specify a custom scope, enable the Allow override option when you define the scope of a baseline forecast.

Baseline override option

When a user runs a baseline forecast with the Allow override option enable, they can use the Override Forecast members option to pick an existing set or level for the forecast or open the set editor and define a new set.

End user override option

Though the user specifies a set or level that differs from the default defined in the baseline forecast, the forecast definition remains unchanged. The custom selection is applied only at run time.

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Control logging levels (TM1 Database 12 only)

You can now specify logging levels for individual loggers in Planning Analytics Administration on TM1 Database 12.

The available logging levels are:

  • Off - No logging.
  • Debug - Detailed, technical messages that are useful when customer support or engineering needs to debug the database.
  • Info - Informational messages that highlight the progress of the database and report normal actions within the database. This is the default logging level.
  • Error - An error condition of which you should be aware. Action should be taken to fix or report the issue to customer support.

To set logging levels:

  1. Open Planning Analytics Administration.
  2. Click the database for which you want to set logging levels.
  3. Click the Logging tab.Individual loggers
  4. To set the level for a logger, click the Level menu and select the desired logging level.
    The available loggers are listed alphabetically and hierarchically. For example, the TM1 logger is the parent of all other available loggers. Similarly, the TM1.Event logger is the parent of the TM1.Event.Process and TM1.Event.Process loggers.

    If you set a logging level for a parent logger before setting a logging level for any child loggers, all child loggers initially inherit the same level, but can be modified independent of the parent. If you set a logging level for a child prior to setting a logging level for a parent logger, the child logging level remains unchanged when you set the parent level.

  5. Click Apply after you've set all desired logging levels.


 

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Document Information

Modified date:
10 February 2025

UID

ibm17182486