Number

Numeric data can be entered and formatted in a variety of ways. You can insert a new empty series, copy from another series, perform an advanced copy, or import from a file.

If you are using Inforiver Writeback Matrix, you need to sign in to start inserting a number column.

1. Create a column

Select the Number option in the Data Input dropdown. You will see four different options to create a column: Insert a new empty series, Copy from another series, Advanced copy, Import from file, and Import from Infobridge(Writeback Matrix only). Let's go through each of these methods.

Inforiver Writeback Matrix has been used below to demonstrate the four ways of creating a data input column.

Insert number options

1.1. Insert a new empty series

If you select this option, a visual measure gets inserted as shown below. Use the options in the Data Input side pane, such as aggregation type, min/max value, etc to customize the data input field.

Inserting a blank data input number field

Change the title and let's stick with the default settings for the other properties. Click Create.

Blank numeric data input measure inserted

To learn to enter a value in an empty numeric column in the Enter a value section.

1.2. Copy from another series

Selecting this option opens a sub-menu listing all measures and forecasts in the report. Choose a series to create a numeric column populated with values copied from the selected series. These values are used only as initial defaults. Any subsequent changes to the source measure are not reflected in the data input field.

Option to copy from another series

A visual measure gets inserted as shown below. For now, let's change the title and go with the default settings for the other properties. Click Create.

Change the title and click 'Create'

The newly created numeric measure will be pre-populated with the data of the chosen series.

In the image, a numeric measure is created by copying data from Sales, and the new measure is populated with the copied data.

Inserting a data input numeric field by copying the values from another field in your report

1.3. Advanced Copy

When you select this option, a pop-up window opens where you can create measures for multiple time frames and populate them with various series and configurations.

You can also choose this option to fill in the blank forecast measures if you have already inserted them in your report.

Advanced copy

The image below demonstrates the possible configurations (copy methods) you can set for each time frame of the measure. Let us look at the options available in detail.

Different Copy Methods

Column: Define the end period for the column here. You will be provided with the +Add new option beside the Column Selection if the end period chosen is not the last one in the report. You can create multiple columns by selecting different end periods for each column.

Source Series: This dropdown lists the available native /data input /forecast series from which you can choose the required one to be copied. Choose 'Blank' to leave the measures empty.

Copy Method: Here, you can select the copy method based on which the column is populated.

• Period Range: Copies the data from a range of periods to the column, period-wise.

• Single Period: A single period's data is copied to all the periods of the column.

• Average of Period Range: The average of the data range is calculated and spread to the column periods.

Column Selection: This option lets you select a single period or a range of periods from the source series, based on the copy method chosen.

After setting up all the details, click Create. The image below is a screengrab of the result of the above configuration.

Advanced Copy - example

1.4. Import from file

You can also upload the data for the input columns by importing it through a .csv file. Choose Import from file.

Import from file

Download the template, save it, and enter your data in the file.

Download the template

After entering and saving the data, click Browse and select the saved file.

Select the saved file

Click Preview.

Click 'Preview'

The measures are inserted as shown below. You can make any changes if necessary and then click Create.

Measures inserted

1.5. Import from Infobridge

With Infobridge, you can import measures from another Inforiver report. Let's say we have a Sales report and we need to import the Margin measure from a margin report. In scenarios where we need to consolidate data across Inforiver reports, we can publish the report to Infobridge and import measures into another report. Learn more about Infobridge.

Coming back to the sales report example, click on the Import from Infobridge option. Create a mapping in the Infobridge Measure side pane to import the Margin field.

Create a mapping to pull a measure from Infobridge

After you click Create, notice how the Margin field has been inserted. Learn more about inserting Infobridge measures.

Measure inserted from Infobridge

2. Enter a value

To enter a value, double-click a cell and type in the formula bar that opens at the top. You can double-click to enter values in any cell.

The entered value is captured and automatically rolled up to the parent and, where applicable, distributed to the child nodes.

Entering data in numeric data input fields

3. Properties

You can modify the properties of a previously created data input column in the side panel. To open it, click on Manage Measures and the edit icon as highlighted.

Manage inserted data input column

We have already discussed an overview of the properties in the introduction. In this section, we'll look at properties that are specific to numeric data inputs.

3.1. Row aggregation type

Row aggregation type defines the aggregation method to be applied for the total and sub-total rows. By default, the subtotal and total rows are calculated as the sum of the child rows, as can be seen in the image.

Default row aggregation is 'Sum'

To change the aggregation method, click the Row aggregation type dropdown in the side panel. Choose one from the types available and click Update.

Available row aggregation types

To understand the different aggregations, you can refer to this section.

In the image, Maximum has been chosen. The highlighted cells, which are the row subtotals, get updated.

Aggregation type - Maximum

3.2. Column aggregation type

When you enable totals and subtotals, the child column values are summed up to populate the parent values. In this example, the budget for each month is summed up to populate the quarterly subtotal and overall budget. The column aggregation is set to sum by default for numeric data inputs.

Column aggregation is set to sum for numeric data inputs

You'll see the column totals and subtotals change based on the selected column aggregation type. A few examples are shown here.

Average column aggregation

Maximum column aggregation

Learn more about managing aggregation.

3.3. Distribute parent value to children

When a value is entered in a subtotal or total row, the value can be distributed to the child rows.

In the image below, 220m entered in the subtotal has been distributed equally to the subregions.

Value in subtotal distributed to child rows

There are several other ways to distribute values which are covered in Budgeting & allocations.

Sum and Weighted Average are the only row aggregation methods that allow allocations/distributions from total cells to child rows.

This distribution can be disabled if not required for certain scenarios. Uncheck the Distribute parent value to children checkbox.

Disabling distribution

3.3. Min and max range

When you need to define a range for the data input values, you can use the fields highlighted in the below image.

Defining minimum and maximum value range

In the dropdown, you can see the two ways of defining ranges. Select Static.The input field gets enabled. Enter a value as shown.

Entering a value

Let's define a maximum value using a measure. Select Measure and 2022 Actuals from the dropdown list. Click Update.

Using a measure as the maximum value range

Let's see this in action by entering a value that is not within the defined range. Double-click on a cell and type in the formula bar. Click Enter.

Entering a value out of the defined range

You will see an error message that shows the allowed range for this particular cell. The maximum is 82m, as that is the value of 2022 Actuals.

Error message

Values within the defined range are captured as shown in the below image.

Value within range captured

3.4. Default Value

When you create an empty series or column, the user has to enter the values manually. Instead of having those cells blank, you can display a default value. The default value can be selected from any native or formula measure as shown in the image below. If the underlying native or formula measure is updated, the default value will reflect the latest value.

Default Value

4. Auto-populate visual measures for new categories

When you add new categories to your dataset, Inforiver automatically fills the data in the measure based on the default value configured while creating the measure. Let us look at an example where the default value is configured as a dimension from the dataset.

The report below has data for three regions – Central, East and West.

Sample report

Now when you add data for ‘South’ region, the report automatically fills up the Sales measure based on the default values you have configured (Sum of Sales dimension). You can seamlessly add new categories to your report and Inforiver will take care of populating the data. Note that this is only applicable for visual measures and not the visual columns.

Default values added for newly added categories