Creating Data Locking Tasks

With data locking tasks you can make sure that model data is locked at the right time.

Context

You may want to gather data for different parts of your plan at different times, and at other times, you may want to prevent further changes. With data locking, users who are responsible for different regions (or data slices) of model data can lock or unlock them. To learn more, see Configuring Data Locking.

Data locking tasks in the calendar provide structure for your planning process. You'll decide what data is involved, whether to lock or unlock it, when to make the change, and who's responsible for changing the locks. Then, the assignees can quickly apply those changes by submitting the task.

Before you create a data locking task, you should get familiar with how data locking is set up for the model, and which users own the locks. They'll be your assignees for the task. Or if you need to, you can set up the task first and then edit the model to match it.

Procedure

Select (Main Menu) Calendar.
Choose (Add new) Data Locking Task.
Provide a Name.
Set the Start and Due dates and times.

These times set the window when the data locking owners should change the lock states.

Optional: If you need to create a recurring task, for example, to close your monthly forecasts, select Add Recurrence and then fill in the recurrence settings.

Option	Description
Recurrence Pattern	Set the task to recur every Hour, Day, or Week.
Every	Set the recurrence frequency. For tasks that occur every week, pick a specific weekday.
Start Date of First Occurrence	Set the start date and time for the first occurrence.
Due Date of First Occurrence	Set the due date and time for the first occurrence.
End Recurrence by	Set when the recurrence pattern ends: End Date: fill in the end date details. Repetitions: set the number of repetitions; this includes the first occurrence. No End

Optional: Choose Assign to me.
Choose OK.

The data locking task is added to the calendar and opened in the Details panel. If you created a recurring task, the Details panel will open with the Series tab selected instead of the Task tab.
In the title area, you can select a different style for the task or create a new style.
You can now choose to discontinue the task automatically on the due date. In the Time area, select Advanced Settings. Turn on Discontinue the task at due date automatically.
Select +Add Context to specify the data to lock or unlock.
1. In the Model field, select and choose a model.
  
  If data locking isn't set up for your model, you’ll see a message. You can still create the task, but remember to add data locking to the model afterwards.
2. Set filters if you want to lock or unlock a specific slice of the model data. Select Add Filter, choose the dimension and the members that you want to include, and repeat as needed. Remember that only driving dimensions will be selected for data locking.
  
  For example, if you’re creating a task to lock the forecast for Q4 2020, you'd set a filter on the version and time dimensions. Otherwise, the task will change the lock state for all the data that's set up for data locking.
3. When the context is set, select Close.
The context is added to the Data Locking section.
To view the data locking dialog of your model, you can click on the slice in the Data Locking section.

The Data Locking dialog appears, where you'll see the filters that you've previously set for the model. You can also view the data locking status here.
Select Update to see the current lock state.

If you don't have permissions for the model, or if data locking isn't enabled for any of the data, you won't see the current state.

Choose the target lock state that will be set when the assignees submit the task:

Lock state	Description
Open	The data will be unlocked and can be changed by any users who have permissions to enter values for the model.
Restricted	The data will be locked, but data locking owners can still change values.
Locked	The data will be locked, and only Admin users and the model creator can change values.

In the People section, add the relevant data locking owners as assignees for the task.

Make sure you include the right data locking owners. For example, if you want to lock the forecast for EMEA and you assign the task to the data locking owner for Germany, the assignee can only lock part of the data.

Select Assignee can see other assignees if you want the assignees to know who else is working on the task.

Tip

If you add an assignee and then decide to substitute someone else, select the name and then choose Change. In the Change User dialog, select the new assignee.
Decide whether to select Activate the task at start date automatically.

If you want to work on your tasks before sending them out to others, do not enable this option.

Note
You must have at least one assignee and a context defined before you can activate the task.
If you want other people to be able to see the task, add them to the Shared with list.
If there's an overall process for the task, such as the Q4 2020 Forecast, add the task to the process: In the Hierarchy section, you can choose a process you have edit rights for as parent process for your task.

Creating this structure helps you stay organized when the planning process involves unlocking, updating, and locking data at different times.
Provide additional information or reminders.
When you have finished filling in the details and are ready to send the task out, select Update below in the Details panel. Make sure to click the dropdown list next to the status and then select Activate & Notify.

If the task has already been activated, you can select Update and Notify to confirm your changes.

Results

Notifications are sent to the applicable people and the assignees can submit the task between the start date and the due date.

When a data locking owner submits the task, any data slices that they own within the context of the task are set to the target lock state.