Model Parameters

Model Parameters specify model-wide settings. Some settings are different depending on whether the model is a Monthly Model or a Custom Calendar model.

  • Model Title - The name of the model. This can be changed at any time.
  • Annotation - Used for notes concerning the model as a whole, or for attaching documents.
  • Model Version - An optional notation for tracking model versions.
  • Calendar - Depending on whether the model is a Monthly Model or a Custom Calendar Model, the following settings apply.

 

Monthly Model

  • First Month of Fiscal Year - For a calendar fiscal year, January.
  • Start Year - The first full year of the model.
  • Button Convert to custom 12 period calendar- Converts the monthly model into a custom calendar model.

Note: If the model contains Data Stores, the calendar will be locked. To unlock the calendar, for each data store, clear the data from the model. Make the desired calendar changes. For each data store, re-import the data into the model.

 

Custom Calendar Model

 

Working with the Custom Calendar

Notice that at the bottom of the Custom Calendar there are three lines:

  1. Total days in fiscal year
  2. First day in fiscal year
  3. Last day in fiscal year*

These lines give you information on the results of the days in the month entered for each period. It is not necessary to have each year begin and end on January 1 (or some other date), but it is recommended if you plan to import date sensitive data.

Data can be exported from a model with one calendar and imported into a model with different calendar. The software will convert the data into daily values and proportionally spread the values to match the target model's calendar. For example, a model made up of 13 periods per year can transfer data to a model with 12 periods per year.

*If you want to see additional detail on the resulting dates associated with the number of days in a period, click on the plus sign next to "Last day in fiscal year".

 

  • Duration - The number of years in the model. This includes both historical/actual and plan periods.
  • Default Layer start period - The period of the model that Value Layers and Formula Layers will start by default. This can be useful when your model contains several years of historical/actual data and you want the default layer start to be after the historical/actual data.

Configuring the default layer start

Each time a Value Layer or a Formula Layer is added to your model, you will need to specify a starting period for it. This specifies the first period the layer will apply to.

 

The default layer start can be specified to be either relative or specific.

Example: For a Model with a Start Period of Jan and Start Year of 2011, a specific date of Jan, 2011 and a Relative date of First plan period are synonymous.

Configuring a Relative Date

Relative dates use variables rather than a specific Period A Period is used in a number of ways depending on context. In an Annual model, a period is 1 year. In a monthly model, a period is one month. When used as a start of a projection, it refers to the beginning of the period and when used as the end of a projection it is the end of the period. and year. They can also be offset plus or minus any number of Periods A unit of measure that specifies how many periods (months, quarters, years depending on the model) are in a range.

Period

The software includes several predefined variables:

  1. The period prior to the start of the model as defined inModel Parameters
  2. First plan period
  3. Last plan period

 

Further, any Period parameter included in a Case Dimension will also be available, in the format "<Case Dimension Title>:<Parameter Name>".

Offsets

The Start Period can be offset plus or minus any number of Periods A unit of measure that specifies how many periods (months, quarters, years depending on the model) are in a range.. To the right of the Period is a selection for +/- and an input box allowing you to specify how many periods to offset the period by. This value can be a constant (default), or can be converted to a variable.by clicking the + sign next to the constant box and then Expend to expression.

 

The software includes three predefined variables:

  1. Actuals # periods
  2. Plan periods
  3. Periods per Year
Switching between Relative and Specific dates

  1. If the date is configured as a specific date but you want to use a relative date, click the+ sign next to the date, and click Expand to expression
  2. If the date is configured as a relative date but you want to use a specific date, from the drop down list, select Remove and save the change. The relative date will change to a specific date.

 

 

  • Global Date Format - The date format to use in various areas in the model such as FO Parameters, FO Tables, Reports, Imports and Exports.
  • Display Not Applicable Date as - Various options for which to display a "Not Applicable Date" when used in FO Line Item Date Parameter. All dates beyond the year 9000 will be considered as a Not Applicable Date.
  • Default Scenario - If you want the model to default to a specific Scenario, select it here. If None is selected, the model will use the default Case An element of a Case Dimension. or Part An element of a Parts Dimension. for each Model Dimension. The case or part that is furthest to the left is the default.
  • Term Set - The set of Terms you want to use in this model. (Note: Term parameter will only show after your Terms have been created).
  • Default Input Box Width - Allows you to set the width of input boxes, including the Parameter Block and in Value Layers
  • Max FOs shown in a Group - Different browsers have different capacities in displaying large amounts of data. the software limits the number of children to be shown in a Group , after which the list is truncated. Increasing this value should be done both carefully and incrementally to see where the limits of your browser are.
  • Max Iterations (Iterative Calculator) - Specifies the maximum number of iterations for iterative calculations.
  • Rounding Method - Used for rounding computation numbers. Methods include:

 

Method
Examples
-1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5
Comments
Round ties away from zero
-2 -1 1 2
Method used by spreadsheets
Round ties to even number
-2 0 0 2
Method described by IEEE 754
Legacy rounding
       
First method used implicitly and second method used explicitly
  • Global Rounding Precision - the precision that numbers are rounded to before a rounding operation takes place. The intent of this is to insure that numbers such as a half are properly rounded to either 0 or 1 (see above table). Due to the nature of binary representation, it is not possible to represent certain numbers exactly. For example, 25*(.1) and 25*(1-.9) are both exactly 2.5, but the intermediate value of .1 cannot be represented exactly in binary and the value may be just a smidgen too high or too low and in some situations the final value is not exactly 2.5 and so it may be rounded in the "wrong" direction. If this is something that is of concern, it can be avoided by setting the global rounding precision to some value such as .000001 which will pre-round numbers to the closest millionth, and the above expressions would be pre-rounded to exactly 2.5, and then the rounding method will be used to determine whether that exact value should be rounded up or down.
  • Currency Symbol - The default is $, but it can be changed as you wish.
  • Error Symbol used in reports
  • No Details or No Sum Symbol used in reports
  • Zero Symbol used for zero values in reports
  • Max report cells shown in a report table - Similar to 'Max FOs shown in a group'. Reports can become arbitrarily large and can strain the browser. Adjust this parameter carefully.
  • Slider Size - Determines the size of Sliders used in Reports, Charts and FO Tables. Choices are Small (default), Medium, and Large.
  • Access - The permission granted. See Model Permissions.

 

Related Links:

Model

Scenarios

Terms

Value Layers

Formula Layers