Release 11i
Part Number A96138-01
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| Oracle Financial Analyzer User's Guide Release 11i Part Number A96138-01 |
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This chapter describes how to create and maintain data entry forms.
Read this chapter if you are an administrator who is responsible for creating and maintaining data entry forms.
This chapter includes the following topics:
Data entry forms support Web-based data collection. An authorized user who has a browser can use a data entry form to accomplish the following tasks:
Data entry forms are designed for controlled data collection. Although users can enter data and run predefined calculations, they cannot use the forms to develop budgets, forecasts, and what-if analyses.
An administrator creates a data entry form on an Administrator workstation in the Windows client and distributes the forms to the appropriate users. The administrator can distribute data entry forms to any type of user: administrator, budget, analyst, and external.
A user accesses the data entry form through the Web interface. He or she opens the form and enters or modifies data.
When data entry is complete, the user submits the data to the shared database. If a solve definition has been associated with one or more financial data items in the form, the data is recalculated.
You create data entry forms on an Administrator workstation in the Windows client interface.
Data entry forms can include the following:
When you create a new data entry form or open an existing data entry form 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.
Follow these steps to create a new data entry form:
Result: A list of document types appears.
You can select text financial data items as well as numeric financial data items.
The following illustration shows how a data entry form might look after an administrator creates the form on an Administrator workstation.
For more information, search for the topic "Creating a Data Entry Form" in the Financial Analyzer Help system.
You can specify the following display options for a data entry form:
To specify display elements for a data entry form, follow these steps:
Result: The Form Options dialog box appears, showing the current settings.
You can apply a row filtering attribute to a data entry form. The attribute will filter the rows that are displayed to the end user by the dimension in the page position, thereby limiting the user's view to relevant dimension values based on the defined attribute relation.
Before you select a row filtering attribute, arrange the dimension tiles in the form so that the base dimension for the attribute is the only dimension in the row (down) position, and the grouping or aggregate dimension is on the page edge. The list of attributes from which you can select will be limited to those that apply to the base and grouping dimensions.
Note: If you select an attribute and then change the dimension in the row position, the attribute will be removed. If you swap the dimension in the page position, the attribute will not apply.
The following example shows the Data Entry Form Options dialog box.
For more information, search for the following topics the Financial Analyzer Help system:
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 will calculate new data values.
The solve determines the minimum tree needed to recalculate the data. Therefore, calculations are limited to the data that is included in the form.
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.
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.
The following example shows the Calculations dialog box. In the example, the Actuals solve definition is associated with the Actuals financial data item.
For more information, search for the topic" Including a Solve Definition in a Data Entry Form" in the Financial Analyzer Help system.
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.
The number formats will be displayed when users open the data entry form in the Web interface.
The following illustration shows the Number format dialog box. In this example, format information has been entered for three financial data items.
For more information, search for the topic "Choosing a Format for Numbers in a Data Entry Form" in the Financial Analyzer Help system.
You can select the type of labels that will display for dimensions in a data entry form. To do this, choose Dimension Labels from the Data Entry Form menu. This opens the Dimension Label Setup dialog box.
For each dimension, you can choose one of the following label types:
The following example shows the Dimension Label Setup dialog box.
For more information, search for the topic "Displaying Dimension Labels" in the Financial Analyzer Help system.
You can apply colors and styles to data cells and labels in a data entry form. You can also apply colors and styles to the title, subtitle, and footnote.
You can specify the size of rows and columns in the data entry form. Note that row and column sizing is for viewing purposes only; size specifications will not apply when the data entry form is opened in the Web interface.
To apply colors and styles to a data entry form, follow these steps:
Text description of the illustration U_02c013.gif
or choose Choose Font from the Format menu.
Result: The Font dialog box appears.
You can set column width and row height for a data entry form. Note that these settings are viewing purposes only; your settings will not display in the Web interface.
To set the width of a column in the data entry form, select the dimension label of the column to be adjusted and choose Column Width from the Format menu. This opens the Column Width dialog box, where you can type in a new value for the width.
To set the height of a row in the data entry form, select dimension label of the row to be adjusted and choose Row Height from the Format menu. This opens the Row Height dialog box, where you can type a new value for the height.
For more information, search for the following topics in the Financial Analyzer Help system.
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.
You create an asymmetric data entry form the same way that you create an asymmetric report. Refer to he topic "Creating Asymmetric Reports for examples.
For more information, search for the topic "Including Asymmetric Formatting in a Data Entry Form" in the Financial Analyzer Help system.
Data that is entered into a data entry form and submitted to the shared database might 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.
When a user views the data entry form through the Web interface, locked cells will be displayed in gray.
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. Also search for the topic "Write Access Profile" in the Financial Analyzer Help system.
After you create a data entry form, you can save it in your personal database.
When you save a new data entry form, you enter a unique name for the form. Optionally, you can enter one or more keywords that can be used to access the form in the Windows client environment. You also have the option to replace your default data entry form template with the current data entry form.
Choose Save or Save As from the File menu to save a new data entry form.
When you save changes to an existing data entry form, you can overwrite the original form, or you can save the modified form under a new name and preserve the original.
Choose Save to overwrite the original form and Save As to save your changes as a new form with a unique name.
For more information about saving data entry forms on an Administrator workstation, search for the following topics in the Financial Analyzer Help system:
You can print a data entry form to preview its contents. Choose Print from the File menu to print the form.
Note that certain elements might not appear on the form when you print it. For example, if you have entered an annotation, the annotation text will not be displayed. Also, you cannot distinguish cells that have been locked from those that have not been locked. In order to see exactly how the form will appear to Web users, you must distribute the data entry form and view it in the Financial Analyzer Web interface.
When you open the data entry form in the Financial Analyzer Web interface, you can see all parts of the form, including annotations and locked cells. If necessary, you might want to go back to the workstation and modify the form.
The following illustration shows how a data entry form might appear in the Financial Analyzer Web interface.
For information about working with data entry forms in the Web interface, see Chapter 20.
You must distribute a data entry form to all users who will use the form to enter data. You can distribute data entry forms to any type of user: administrator, budget, analyst, or external.
When you distribute a data entry form, its dimension values, hierarchies, attributes, and model must also be explicitly distributed. If only a subset of the dimension values are distributed, then only that subset will appear when the form is viewed in the Web interface.
If the data entry form includes a solve definition, the solve is automatically distributed with the form. However, if the solve includes a model, you must also distribute the models or hierarchies associated with the solve.
If you have added the form to a folder, you must distribute the folder.
To distribute a data entry form, select Distribution, Distribute Structures from the Manage menu. Then choose Data Entry Form as the structure to distribute.
You can open a saved data entry form and modify the data selections, layout, calculations, and formats. You can also choose Delete from the File menu to delete the form, and Rename option from the File menu to rename the form. As you modify data entry forms, you distribute the modified versions to your users.
You can organize data entry forms within folders so that users can locate them quickly and easily. Choose Maintain Folders from the Tools menu to add your data entry forms to one or more folders. Alternatively, you can open the data entry form, and choose Add to Folder from the File menu. You will be prompted to select a folder.
For more information about managing data entry forms on an Administrator workstation, search for the following topics in the Financial Analyzer Help system:
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