Creating Data Entry Forms

About creating data entry forms

You create data entry forms on an Administrator workstation in the Windows client interface.

Data entry form content

Data entry forms can include the following:

• One or more financial data items. Optionally, a solve definition can be associated with a financial data item.

• Stored financial data items and formula financial data items.

• Numeric financial data items and text financial data items.

Data Entry Form menu

When you create a new data entry form or open an existing one on an Administrator workstation, the Data Entry Form menu becomes available on the menu bar.

The following table describes the options on the Data Entry Form menu.

Menu item	Function
Form Options	Specify elements that will display in a data entry form. You can: Show or hide text elements such as titles, subtitles, and footnotes Enter annotations Specify how NA values will be displayed
Data Options	Use the Number Format submenu to specify the number format (positive, negative, decimal) for a financial data item. Use the Calculations submenu to associate a solve definition with a financial data item.
Dimension Labels	Specify the text that will be used for row, column, and page labels.
Auto Redisplay	When this option is turned on, a data entry form is automatically redisplayed after a change in layout or dimension selections.
Asymmetric Format	Join the values of two objects and create a custom asymmetric arrangement of their values.

Process for creating a data entry form

Follow these steps to create a new data entry form.

1. From the File menu, choose New.

   Result: A list of document types appears.

2. From the list of document types, choose Data Entry Form and click OK.

3. Using the Selector, select financial data items, dimensions and dimension values for the form. For more information about selecting dimension values, see Chapter 7.

   Note: You can select text financial data items as well as numeric financial data items.

4. Arrange the layout of the dimensions by moving and swapping dimension tiles in the row, column, or page positions.

5. You can associate a solve definition with a financial data item in the form. For more information, see "Example: Associating a solve definition with a financial data item".

6. You can apply positive, negative, and decimal formats to a financial data item. For more information, see "Example: Specifying data formats for financial data items".

7. You can specify column width, row height, and certain display elements such as title, subtitle, and footnote. For a list of options, see "Specifying display elements and formatting".

8. You can combine the values of two dimensions, or the values of a dimension and a financial data item to create an asymmetric combination. For more information, see "Including asymmetric formatting in a data entry form".

9. You can lock specific data cells so that users cannot overwrite data. For more information, see "Preventing users from overwriting data".

Example: Data entry form on Administrator workstation

The following illustration shows how a data entry form might look after an administrator creates the form on an Administrator workstation.

Including a solve definition in a data entry form

You can associate a solve definition with a financial data item in a data entry form. When a user submits data to the shared database, changes the page, or clicks the Recalculate button, the solve definition calculates new data values.

The solve determines the minimum tree need to recalculate the data. Therefore, calculations are limited to the data that is included in the form.

Note: If the solve definition has a model, place the model definition in the row or column position. Recalculation will not occur if it is in the page position. If the solve has a hierarchy, you can place it any position.

Procedure: Associating a solve definition with a financial data item

To associate a solve definition with a financial data item in a data entry form, choose Data Options from the Data Entry Form menu and then choose Calculations from the submenu. This opens the Calculations dialog box, where you can select a financial data item and associate it with a solve.

Example: Associating a solve definition with a financial data item

The following example shows the Calculations dialog box. In the example, the Actuals solve definition is associated with the Actuals financial data item.

Specifying data formats for financial data items

You can specify numeric formats for financial data items in a data entry form. To do this, choose Data Options from the Data Entry Form menu and then choose Number Format from the submenu. This opens the Number Format dialog box, where you can select a financial data item and specify a format for representing positive, negative, and decimal numbers.

Example: Specifying data formats for financial data items

The following illustration shows the Number format dialog box. In this example, format information has been entered for three financial data items.

Specifying display elements and formatting

You can specify elements such as a title, subtitle, footnote and an annotation to include in a data entry form. You can also specify the type of row, column, and page labels that will appear in the form.

Specifying form options

Choose Form Options from the Data Entry Form menu to specify the following types of information:

• How NA data is displayed in the form.

• Whether the form displays title, subtitle, and footnote.

• Annotation. You might use this feature to provide instructions for using the form. You can enter a text annotation or provide a URL link.

Specifying label options

Choose Dimension Labels from the Data Entry Form menu to specify the type of labels that will display for the dimensions in the form. For each dimension, you can choose one of the following label types:

• Automatic -- Displays the most appropriate label, based on the amount of space

• Description -- Displays the name of the dimension value

• Row label -- Displays the row label text for the dimension value

• Column label -- Displays the column label text for the dimension value

Other options

In addition to the options that are available from the Data Entry Form menu, you can perform other tasks as follows:

• You can use the Edit bar to edit the text for the title, the subtitle, and the dimension label text.

• You can choose Column width from the Format menu to modify the width of columns in the form. This is for viewing purposes only; the modification will not be reflected in the Web interface.

• You can choose Row height from the Format menu to modify the height of rows in the form. This is for viewing purposes only; the modification will not be reflected in the Web interface.

Including asymmetric formatting in a data entry form

You can combine the values of two dimensions, or the values of a dimension and a financial data item that are part of a data entry form to create an asymmetric combination. The asymmetric combination gives you access to all of the values of both dimensions and provides flexibility for positioning the values along the rows, columns, or pages of the form.

To create an asymmetric data entry form, choose Asymmetric Format from the Data Entry Form menu. This opens the Create Asymmetric Combination dialog box, where you can set up the asymmetric combination.

Note: You create an asymmetric data entry form in the same way that you create an asymmetric report. Refer to the topic "Creating Asymmetric Reports" for details on implementing asymmetric formatting.

Preventing users from overwriting data

Data that is entered into a data entry form and submitted to the shared database can overwrite existing data. You can prevent users from overwriting data to which they should not have access by locking data at the financial data item level. For example, you might want to lock cells that are associated with data from a previous time period.

To lock cells, you must define a write access profile that specifically denies user access to the data that is contained in these cells. Refer to the topic "Creating Write Access Profiles" for information about denying write access.

When a user views the data entry form through the Web interface, locked cells will be displayed in gray.

Related information

For more information about creating data entry forms on an Administrator workstation, search for the following topics in the Financial Analyzer Help system:

"Creating a Data Entry Form"

"Choosing a Format for Numbers in a Data Entry Form"

"Displaying Dimension Labels in a Data Entry Form"

"Including a Footnote in a Data Entry Form"

"Including a Subtitle in a Data Entry Form"

"Including a Title in a Data Entry Form"

"Including Annotations in a Data Entry Form"

"Including Asymmetric Formatting in a Data Entry Form"

"Including a Solve Definitions in a Data Entry Form"

"Creating a Write Access Profile"