Manage inserted rows & columns

Rows and columns inserted in the visual such as calculations, static rows, or data input columns can be managed using the Manage Rows and Manage Measures options respectively.

1. Manage Rows

Inserted rows such as static, calculated, etc. can be managed using the Manage Rows option highlighted below. A list of the inserted rows is displayed. The following operations can be performed:

a) Edit - Formulae or other properties can be modified.

b) Delete - The inserted row can be permanently deleted.

c) Show/hide row - Inserted rows can be hidden temporarily.

d) Show/hide row indicator - The pencil icon beside the inserted rows can be hidden.

Managing inserted rows

Some changes have been made - like the static row and the row indicator have been hidden and the calculated row has been deleted which are shown below.

Hiding row indicator, deleting and hiding rows

2. Manage Columns

Similar to the Manage Rows option, the Manage Measures option displays a list of inserted columns/measures with options to edit, delete, or hide them.

In addition, there is also an 'Insert New' option which lets you insert calculated columns or data input columns right from this panel.

Managing inserted columns

3. Settings

The Manage Measures side panel has a 'Settings' tab that lets you control and configure a few important settings concerning the rows and measures, such as user permissions, time interval mapping, and row ID mapping.

Settings

a) Data Input Access

Inforiver enterprise allows setting explicit read/write access for specific users on data input and forecast columns.

To set it, click Insert -> Manage Measures -> Settings -> Manage in the Data Input Access. You can add the required users in the pop-up window.

Data Input Access

Access control for all the columns can also be set through the Manage Columns dropdown as explained here. Specifically for the forecast columns, the user access can be configured here.

b) Row ID Mapping

Inforiver automatically assigns a dimension ID to each row dimension to uniquely identify them. This mapping helps to track and manage them, especially during operations like writeback. Visual components such as formatting, notes, comments, and data inputs added to the rows are also linked to the dimension IDs.

When row dimensions are renamed/changed, we might lose these visual elements added. To avoid this, Inforiver allows us to map the row dimensions to a constant dimension ID.

In the example below, we’ve applied formatting, added notes, and comments, and added data inputs to the products, Juices and Tea & Coffee.

Sample report with formatting, comments and data input columns

The visual elements were lost after the product names were renamed to Fruit Juices and Chai & Coffee respectively.

When the row dimension 'Product Name' is renamed

To avoid this, let us map the dimension IDs to a constant dimension, such as the Product ID instead of the Product Name. To do so, navigate to Insert -> Manage Measures -> Settings -> Row ID mapping -> Manage.

Manage Row ID Mapping

The image below shows the default row dimension ID mapping.

Default row ID mapping

Let us map the 'Product Name' to the constant dimension, 'Product ID' as shown below. Click Apply.

row dimesion ID mapped manually

Note that changing the mapping removes all the initial formatting and visual elements associated with it.

Any formatting, notes, comments, and data inputs added after mapping with the constant dimension ID are retained as shown below, including during the writeback.

After manually mapping row ID dimensions

Updates due to skipped row ID dimensions reflected in writeback data

After mapping the row IDs to a constant dimension, not only the visual formatting, data changes, notes, comments, etc., are retained in the report but also captured in the writeback data promptly.

The report below shows the default mapping, followed by the results of the writeback data.

Writeback data before the change

After manually mapping the row dimension to a constant ID like the Product ID, any changes made in the report are also effectively captured in the writeback. In the image below, you can see the updated records in the report that are also reflected in the writeback data.

Writeback data after row ID mapping and data changes