Shared Layers

Shared Layers allow you to apply a single layer,(Value Layer or Formula Layer) to any number of Line Items. The line items are defined by any Line Item Set you have defined. The most common use is with a formula layer that starts with the result of the previous active overlay and modifies it with a second (or more) step.

For example, you might want to increase all expenses of a certain type by a percentage.

To do so:

Go to Model Infrastructure/Shared Layers (this is the only place that Shared Layers and Java Functions can be created)
Right-click the Group and select Add Shared Layer.
Select the Line Item Set you want to apply the shared layers to.
From the Shared Layer's Add Layer button, select Value Layer or Formula Layer.
Be sure to place the layer in an overlay that will not create a conflict with other layers in the line items that will use it. For most purposes, a shared layer will only need a single formula layer. But it may have multiple formula and data layers.

A shared layer will be shown in every FO Instance An FO Instance inherits all parameters and any logic(formulas) contained in the FO. Any change in the FO is immediately updated in all instances. that uses it as a read only layer. To edit it, you must do so in the shared layer.

Different Case Dimensions may turn on different combinations of layers.

For example, let's say you want to model different cases for reducing certain set of expenses. You create a shared layer and select the Line Item Set making up that set of expenses. You might create one formula layer that reduces the expenses for 8 months by 50% and then create a second formula layer (in a different overlay) that reduces the expenses by 90% for 4 months.

It is also possible to create a shared layer that, when applied to an arbitrary line items, applies to the line items rather than the shared layer. You can use this capability to apply a growth rate to many line items at once.