The Flex Grid Object has Data Entry capabilities with spreadsheet-like features such as:
data entry on Pivot Mode with expand and collapse interactions on rows and columns.
data entry in combination with Object filters/sorting and selections.
data entry in vertical alignment
About Flex Grid Data Entry
The Data Entry option allows data entry on the selected Data Block. The default settings display cells that accept Data Entry actions with a yellow background.
Data entry can be enabled on Blocks and Algorithms populated with:
A Cube. In this case, a Data Entry action saves a value (numerical, text, a date) or a file in the specified Cube.
Data Entry actions on BLOB Cubes must be performed at physical level, i.e. the Cube dimensions must be present in the "BY ROW" fields in the axis area or using By Column.
An Entity Block. In this case, a Data Entry action allows the assignment or change of a hierarchical relationship.
As in a Data View Object, only "direct" relationships can be edited via this configuration.
Activating this option alone is not sufficient to enable Data Entry. The following additional Data Entry conditions must be met:
The user must have an appropriate Board license and the necessary security privileges to perform write-back actions.
For text, date, and BLOB Cubes, Data Entry is supported only at the physical level, not on aggregate views.
Time functions (such as Previous Year, Yearly Cumulated Valued, etc.) and reference functions (such as Refer to, Detail by, etc.) cannot be activated if the Data Entry option is enabled.
If the Layout view is an aggregate view on the Data Entry Cube, the Data Split & Splat (logical data-entry) feature must be enabled (Split & Splat is automatically enabled by default when Data Entry is enabled).
In conjunction with the Data Entry, it is possible to enable Split & Splat on the same Data Block.
How to design Data Entry on a Flex Grid
To perform data entry on a Flex Grid, you must first configure a Flex Grid Object. The Object must be configured with at least one Cube or Entity. For Cubes, data entry can only be performed at the physical level, meaning, all the Entities that configure a Cube must be added by Row in the Flex Grid.
Data entry can be performed at logical level if the split & splat option is enabled.
In Design Mode, configure a Flex Grid and enable Data Entry in the Block Settings area; for text, date, and BLOB Cubes, configure to show data at a physical level.
Configure the Flex Grid in Flat Mode and Pivot Mode with the elements in the right panel to expose the yellow data entry cells.
Click SAVE
How Planners perform Data Entry
Enter data and click enter. The new data will display in the color red by default and will not be automatically saved.
To save the data entry, click the checkmark in the Object Toolbar.
It is possible to perform Data Entry on Unbalanced Entities when Tree View enabled.
Data Entry Restrictions
Data entry cannot be performed on:
Drillable Blocks
RDB Cubes
Blocks configured with a "Refer to" (instead, Data Entry is possible with Object Selection active)
Multiple Unbalanced Entities set by row
Reverse Rules
Pattern based Data Entry
Totals with Summary Algorithms different from SUM
When more than 100k rows are displayed and row grouping is enabled, copy and paste is available only on visible data (1000 rows).
When an aggregated formula is written as an algorithm on a Block configured with “Column by” and Data Entry enabled, the calculation order for Data Entry on a Calculated Total column in a Flex Grid starts from the row aggregation instead of the column total. This gives an accurate redistribution of data.
Locking Cells
You can generally lock cells by Block with a specified condition like a Data View with a few differences outlined below:
Lock in Configuration
You can configure cells to be locked directly within your setup with two available methods to apply this configuration:
Cells Locked by Block. A Data Entry Block can be locked by the values of another Block, same as in Data View.
Lock via Data Model Security. A Data Entry Block can be locked by other Cubes in the Data Model using the configuration in the "Cubes Visibility" section of the Data Model security area.
Lock Cells Manually
You can lock cells manually and perform multiple data entries, via the toolbar, before unlocking, unlike a Data View.
Lock Restrictions
Some restrictions on locking cells are the following:
Locking totals to perform redistribution is not supported.
The "Lock physical cells where" and "Pattern-based allocation" functionalities are not available.
Lock & Spread functionalities except of "Manual Lock" are not available.
Locking an Unbalanced Entity will not lock all of its descendants like in a Data View.
Total cells which are both row and column totals cannot be manually locked.
Nexel write-back is not supported as Nexel is not available in Flex Grid Objects.
Data Entry on By Column totals
Data Entry on the By Column total of the calculated Data Block redistributes vertically, updating leaf cells first before redistributing row aggregation. This applies when all the following conditions are active on a Flex Grid:
By Column
Data Entry
and an aggregation formula calculated on a Data Block algorithm
How Data Entry on By Column behaves:
Board applies the redistribution on the Calculated (Total) column
Then, pushes the values down to the leaf cells of the reference Data Blocks
Last, recalculates the row aggregation of the Data Block algorithm.
When a calculated formula is used in a regular column, the Data Block algorithm on a group row behaves the same as on a leaf row. Board evaluates the algorithm directly on the group row instead of aggregating the values from child rows.
For row totals, the behavior differs:
On a group row, the calculated value is computed from the row totals of the referenced Blocks.
On leaf rows, the row total does not follow that logic: the row total on leaf rows is always and only the sum of the columns within the same By Column group.
Flex Grid Data Entry on Row Headers
It is possible to apply Data Entry on Row Headers from a Flex Grid Object to quickly adjust large amounts of data.
How to Apply Data Entry to a Row Header
To apply Data Entry to a Row Header, you must meet the requirements, configure the Flex Grid Layout appropriately, and setup the Object from the Screen in Design Mode. These are explained below:
In the case of Unbalanced Hierarchies, Data Entry on a Row Header is not available for parent Members.
Requirements
Add a Block and enable it with Data Entry (Block settings of Layout).
Add Entities to the Layout. Below the "By Row" section in the Axes area, select an Entity under "Data Entry on Row Headers".
Configure the Flex Grid with the same Entity selected in #2 in "Row Groups" (configured from the Fields panel).
Layout setup
Enable Data Entry on Block.
In the Axes area of the Layout, under "Data Entry on Row Headers", select the desired Data Entry Entities, of which will be placed into Row Groups.
Object Setup
Add the desired Data Entry Entities into Row Groups.
Applying Data Entry on Row Headers in a Flex Grid
Double-click the member in the Row Groups column and a dropdown menu appears with all the members associated with the same Entity.
Select one of the members. The name changes to the chosen member name and turns red to indicate unsaved data entry. The member name chosen that already exists in the column will also turn red to indicate that it also will change.
To save the data entry, press the checkmark in the Object Toolbar.
Substitution formulas cannot be used in the Block header of a Flex Grid Object
When used in Block headers, these functions have both additional features and several known limitations as compared to their use elsewhere.
Data Entry in Vertical Alignment
Data Entry is supported with Vertical Block Alignment. All Data Entry logic and parameters stay the same and carry over to a vertical alignment. Data Entry on all Block types is supported. All locking features currently supported in a Flex Grid are also supported in vertical alignment. Data Entry can be saved and interacted with by Planners.
Data Entry in vertical alignment is supported on the following totals:
Row groups
Column labels when collapsed
Unbalanced nodes
Other supported features
Data Entry on reverse algorithms are supported.
Both Docked and Range Charts are supported.
Other unsupported features
Row header Data Entry not supported. If configured in the non-vertical alignment, it will be disabled in vertical alignment.
Hidden Blocks are disabled.
Export is not supported in vertical alignment.
Data Entry Restrictions
Data entry restrictions are the same as for a non-vertical Flex Grid with a few more restrictions. The full list is below.
Data entry on vertical alignment cannot be performed on:
Tree View
Row headers
Drillable Blocks
RDB Cubes
Blocks configured with a "Refer to" (instead, Data Entry is possible with Object Selection active)
Multiple Unbalanced Entities set by row
Reverse Rules
Pattern-based Data Entry
Totals with Summary Algorithms different from SUM
When more than 100k rows are displayed and row grouping is enabled, copy and paste is available only on visible data (1000 rows).