Using Variables 

Use

You use variables for the characteristic value restriction in order to transfer, per reference to the variables, their centrally defined value for the current planning object.

Procedure

The way you use variables depends on the type of object that you want to use together with the variables.

Variables in the planning level

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       1.      Select the planning level in which you want to use variables for characteristic value restriction and choose Planning → Planning level →Change.

       2.      Switch to the tab page Selection.

       3.      Position the cursor in the From column of the characteristic whose characteristic value you want to restrict using a variable.

       4.      Choose  Switch variable on/off to activate variable replacement for the characteristic.

When the variable replacement is activated the system automatically hides the To column. If you require a value range as a selection, you can achieve this by defining the variable correspondingly.

       5.      In the From column of the characteristic, enter the technical name of the desired variable. With the input help pushbutton you can also request a list of all variables that are defined for the characteristic and transfer the desired ones.

       6.      For time characteristics there is a dialog box in which you can also enter an offset. This makes it easy to create a copy function, for example, copy from the previous period. 

Variables in Planning Functions (Except Formulas)

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       1.      Select a function that contains a characteristic in at least one of the lists for fields to be changed or for conditions that you want to restrict with a variable.

       2.      Choose a parameter group for this function.

       3.      Position the cursor in the From column of the characteristic whose characteristic value you want to restrict using a variable.

This step is valid for both characteristic to be changed and for characteristics from the list for condition fields.

       4.      Choose  Switch variable on/off, to activate variable replacement for the characteristic.

When the variable replacement is activated the system automatically hides the To column. If you require a value range as a selection, you can achieve this by defining the variable correspondingly.

       5.      In the From column of the characteristic, enter the technical name of the desired variable. With the input help pushbutton you can also request a list of all variables that are defined for the characteristic and transfer the desired ones.

Variables in Formulas

Proceed as follows when you want to access a variable defined in the planning area from a formula:

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       1.      In the formula editor, create a local variable, whose type refers to the characteristic to which the (global) variable belongs (for example DATA VCOMP TYPE 0COMPANY).

With global variables of the type number, you choose the predefined type F in the formula editor for the local variable.

       2.      Determine the value of the (global) variable using the language element VARV and allocate it to the local variable (for example  VCOMP = VARV('VCOMPANY')).

Variables in Manual Planning

Whether or not you are able to use variables in manual planning depends on the settings you have made in the planning level.

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       1.      Make sure that the characteristic value restriction by variables in the planning level was made so that it is suited to your planning layout. There are the following dependencies:

The system evaluates the settings in the planning level and automatically ensures that each characteristic can only be used in suitable areas of the planning layout.

The following steps only refer to characteristics with time base that are to be used in the data columns.

       2.      Position the cursor in the From column of the characteristic whose characteristic value you want to restrict using a variable.

       3.      Choose  Switch variable on/off, to edit the variable replacement for the characteristic.

The system displays a dialog box. Here, you can check the name of the variable that is used in the planning level for characteristic value restriction, enter an offset for the characteristic, or return to the entry of a fixed value.

       4.      Enter an offset with which the characteristic value, which results from variable replacement, should be marked up.

Since in the definition of an individual data column with characteristic reference you can also only assign one individual characteristic value to the column, the following special feature applies in manual planning: With a characteristic, whose value is restricted by variable replacement and should be used in the data column, only the smallest value of the selection is used as the characteristic value; all other values that are possibly contained in the selection are ignored.

You want to include the characteristic 0FISCPER in a data column with the key figure values being displayed for the prior, current, and subsequent period. Period is restricted in the planning level by a variable VPERI, which contains the value range 003...012 as selections.

For the first data column choose  Switch variable on/off to enter the offset –1 for the past period in the dialog box (since as a result of this you fall below the smallest allowed value of the selection, the system automatically converts the data columns into a comparison column). Repeat this step for the next column. Here you leave the field for the offset empty in order to transfer the current period. Finally for the third column you enter the offset 1 for the following period.

At the end of the period you can modify the selection of variable VPERI to the value range 004...012. The data columns of the planning layout then automatically adjust to the changed setting, without you having to edit the layout manually.

You can also use the characteristic value determined by the variable replacement as a pure character string in column headings. To do this simply add the variable name (if required under the entry of the desired offset) in the text of the column heading, for example “sales in period VPERI+2”. The system recognizes at runtime that it concerns a variable and replaces the variable names with the current value.