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Combined Grids is now live!
Author: Calvin Magondo is the Product Manager, Enterprise Experience at Anaplan.
Combined Grids and multi-module reporting
We are excited to announce the much anticipated enhancement to the Anaplan User Experience (UX): Combined Grids. This powerful new feature and platform capability will address one of the most common challenges for planners and model builders today by allowing you to bring data from multiple modules into a single, unified grid. We’ve already seen customers finding real value in this enhancement from, streamlining UX by reducing unnecessary white space from multiple grids on page, to unlocking more intuitive planning experiences for end users and enabling more efficient model building whilst removing inefficient workarounds.
We developed Combined Grids based on direct feedback from our user community to solve a common challenge: viewing and interacting with related data from different sources in one place. Let's explore what it does and, more importantly, see how early access customers are already using it.
Combined Grids demo
https://play.vidyard.com/jE6fAyopzvibJjUvJ8vyUk
The Challenge: building complex, multi-module views
As Anaplan models grow in sophistication, so do the demands on the UX. Page builders often need to present data from different modules side-by-side. For example, you might want to show product attributes next to monthly sales data, or compare a driver-based forecast with the final plan numbers. While this has always been possible using multiple grid cards, it presented a few common hurdles:
* Synchronizing data: Keeping separate grids aligned when scrolling or filtering required careful setup and could sometimes lead to a disconnected user experience.
* User-driven analysis: Applying a single sort or filter across multiple, separate grids wasn't possible, limiting a user's ability to analyze the data holistically.
* Model building workarounds: To create the ideal view, model builders often had to create "helper" modules or duplicate data, increasing model size and maintenance. This could also mean straying from best-practice modeling principles like DISCO.
* Exporting data: To analyze data from different grids together, users frequently had to export multiple files and combine them manually in an external tool.
Combined Grids was designed to address these challenges directly.
The solution: a single, unified grid with data from multiple modules
At its core, Combined Grids allows a page builder to merge up to five modules into a single grid on a UX page. The key requirement is that the modules share a common row axis. This enhancement unlocks several benefits:
* A unified view of data: All your data is presented in one grid, which saves screen space and provides a more intuitive user experience.
* Powerful end-user interaction: Users can apply a single sort or filter across all the data in the combined grid.
* Simpler model design: It reduces the need for those complex workarounds, allowing for cleaner, more efficient models that adhere more closely to best practices like DISCO. An early access customer said: "Combined grid allows us to avoid creating redundant line items... and more strictly adhere to DISCO and 'create once reference multiple times."
How customers are using Combined Grids
The best way to understand the feature's impact is to see how it's being used in real-world scenarios. Our early access customers have already found creative and powerful ways to put Combined Grids to work.
Streamlining budgeting and reporting at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)
For their marketing budget, JLR needed to plan values across multiple time periods and for lines with many different attributes.
Before: This required two separate modules — one for the attributes and one for the budget values. On the UX page, users had to input data on two separate grids and perform two separate exports to get a complete picture. Filtering was complex and had to be pre-coded by their model builders.
UX page before Combined Grids:
With Combined Grids: JLR now combine the attributes and budget modules into a single view. Users can input data on one grid and run a single export. Most importantly, users can now apply their own filters and sort by value, giving them far more flexibility for analysis with less upfront work for model builders.
UX page now with Combined Grids:
No back-end filters required, JLR now simply make use of Anaplan’s native filtering for end users.
Creating comprehensive forecasting views at Unilever
Unilever has a large-scale forecasting process with over 800 users globally. Their challenge was to display all material attributes (like Group, Subgroup, Classification) and reference numbers alongside the forecast data in a single view.
Before Combined Grids: This information was spread across multiple grids, making it difficult for users to see the full context at once.
With Combined Grids: Unilever now present all attributes and reference data together in a unified grid. This gives their forecasters a complete and contextual view, helping them make more informed decisions quicker.
Getting started with Combined Grids
Creating a combined grid is straightforward:
* Add a Grid to a page: Add or edit a grid card onto your UX page.
* Select primary module: Choose the grid you want to appear first on your combined grid. Note: The order of modules cannot be changed after creation, so plan accordingly.
* Combine Grids: In "View designer" mode, click on the ‘Add Grid Sections’ button located above the main grid. A right-hand panel will appear allowing you to select up to four additional modules to combine to your primary module. Remember, for grids to be combined, they must have a common row axis so, all dimensions in rows must be present in the additional modules you wish to add.
* Apply customizations and publish: Apply any additional customizations, like conditional formatting or any filters, and when ready, click update and publish the page.
Tip: End users can make use of the existing ‘Freeze rows/columns’ functionality and Freeze the columns in the first module (for example attributes) so they are always visible when looking at your combined grid.
Just the beginning…
We are incredibly proud to deliver Combined Grids, an enhancement that we know many of you have been eagerly anticipating. Our team has worked hard to bring this powerful capability to life, and we see it as just the start of the journey. We are already working on what comes next. In upcoming releases, you can look forward to more flexibility, including the ability to reorder the Grid Sections within your combined grid and better, more clear labelling of Grid Sections when making customizations to your view.
Looking further ahead, we will continue to explore ways to provide even more freedom, investigating how we might allow you to combine more modules, even without a perfectly common axis. We cannot wait to see the transformations, efficiency gains, and time savings you will achieve with this new feature. Your feedback is what drives our innovation, and we look forward to hearing about the incredible solutions you build.
Additional resources
* Combined Grids Webinar with testimonials from JLR and Unilever
* Anapedia documentation on Combined Grids
* Anapedia training on Combined Grids
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Calculating levels in a hierarchy for dashboard filtering
Summary
This article describes the technique to dynamically filter specific levels of a hierarchy on a dashboard, and provides a method to select and visualize hierarchies on a dashboard.
Details
This article explains how to configure the calculation of the level of a list in a hierarchy in order to apply specific calculations (custom summary) or filters by level on a dashboard.
In this example, we have an organized hierarchy of 4 levels (Org L1 to Org L4). For each item in the hierarchy, we want to calculate a module value that returns the associated level that is to be displayed on a dashboard.
Notes and platform context
* The technique addresses a specific limitation within dashboards where a composite hierarchy's list level cannot be selected if the list is synchronized to module objects on the dashboard.
* The technique uses a static module based on the levels of the composite structure used for filtering of the object on a dashboard.
* The technique is based on utilizing the Summary Method "Ratio" on line items corresponding to the list levels of the composite hierarchy to define the values of the filtering line items. Note that this method is not a formula calculation, but rather a use of the Summary Method Ratio on each line item applied to the composite hierarchy.
Example list
In this example, a four-level list composite hierarchy list is used. The hierarchy in this example has asymmetrical leaf items per parent:
Defining the level of each list
In order to calculate the level of each item in each of the lists L1 - L4, we need to create a module that calculates the associated level of each member by this technique:
1) Create as many line items as levels of hierarchy, plus one technical line item
2) Configure the settings in the blueprint of the line items of this filtering module, per this example and table:
Line Item
Formula
Applies to
Summary
Summary method Setting Ratio
Technical line item*
1
(empty)
Formula
Level or L4 (lowest level)
4
Org L4
Ratio*
L3 / Technical
L3
3
Org L3
Ratio
L2 / Technical
L2
2
Org L2
Ratio
L1 / Technical
L1
1
Org L1
Ratio
L1 / Technical
When applying these settings, the filtering module looks like this:
*Note the Technical line item Summary method is using Formula. Alternatively, The Minimum Summary Method can be used but will return an error when a level of the hierarchy does not have any children and the level calculated is blank.
The filtering module with Summary method applied results:
Use the line item at the lowest level—Level (or L4) (LOWEST)—as the basis of filters or calculations.
Applying a filter on specific levels in case of synchronization
When synchronization is enabled, the option “Select levels to show” is not available. Instead, a filter based on the level calculated can be used to show only specific levels.
In the example, we apply a filter which matches any of the level 4 and 1:
The following filtered dashboard result is achieved by using the composite hierarchy as a page selector:
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Enable Filtered Page Selectors on Reporting Pages
Problem or Experience Related to Your Idea:
The issue revolves around replicating a filtered page selector capability from a scoring model board page to a reporting page. While the filter functionality works seamlessly on the board page, it is missing from the reporting page, limiting the ease of filtering the content. Attempts to apply the filter have been unsuccessful, and guidance is needed to achieve this or escalate the feature request to Anaplan.
Context and Specific Examples:
The scoring model board page includes a filter in the page selector, making navigation and content filtering more efficient. However, in the reporting page, this functionality is absent. For example:
* On the board page, the filter allows users to limit selections based on specific criteria.
* On the reporting page, users face challenges in narrowing down content without a filter in the page selector. This affects workflow consistency and usability.
Frequency of Impact:
This issue impacts users frequently, particularly those dealing with large volumes of data or detailed reporting tasks.
Who Is This Impacting?
The absence of this functionality affects:
* Model builders
* Solution architects
* Business users
* Integration experts
It also restricts high-level executive decision-making due to the lack of filtered reporting capabilities.
Ideal Solution:
The ideal solution would be to enable filtered page selectors on the reporting page, replicating the functionality available on the board page. This enhancement would streamline data navigation, improve reporting accuracy, and ensure a consistent experience across pages.
Added Value:
Implementing this solution would:
* Save time for users navigating data-heavy models.
* Enhance reporting precision and usability.
* Provide a seamless experience across different pages within the model.
It would also align the reporting page functionality with user expectations and business requirements.
Images:
Screenshots illustrate the issue:
* Board Page: The filter in the page selector is highlighted.
2. Reporting Page: The absence of a filter is shown, alongside the Slide Context panel with business case details.
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New UX - Share My pages with other users
Being a Business User, I would like to be able to share My Pages with colleagues.
Currently, I can only share App page via a link. However, if I prepare some modifications on My Page copy, I want to be able to share it.
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October 2025 platform releases and what’s next
Check out the latest Anaplan feature updates and enhancements in our October 2025 official release notes. The information below offers supplemental information to that post.
Planning experience
* Combined Grids
This new capability gives page builders the ability to combine multiple modules into a single, unified grid on a UX page. This functionality reduces manual effort and empowers faster decision-making by presenting related information side-by-side. For more information, check out this Community article: Combined Grids is now live!
* Custom button styling
Page builders can now add custom images for buttons, offering greater flexibility to elevate the design and user experience of pages.
* Anaplan XL Reporting (version 2510) - Freeform reports
Enhancements to freeform reports include more options for selecting members and navigating within a hierarchy, the ability to see the query text used to refresh a Freeform report, a confirmation message when all data cells or the first column of a freeform report are deleted to prevent unintentional data loss, and the ability to disable all formatting from the Freeform properties window.
* Anaplan XL Reporting (version 2510) - Anaplan data source
Only updated or new values will now be sent to Anaplan, increasing efficiency with how writes are handled. Additionally, custom calculations are now supported when selective access is used.
Security & Administration
* IP allowlist enhancement
Tenant security administrators can now import or export IP address policies using a CSV file.
What's next?
We don’t have any new updates to share for next month. In the meantime, you can catch up on our latest updates from last month here.
Recording available from our recent platform release event
If you missed our platform release event on October 29, watch the recording to hear about recent feature releases and how to take advantage of these in your environment. During the session, our experts covered the latest features so you can optimize your Anaplan experience. Topics covered include:
* Enhanced planning experience: See features in action that streamline the user experience and improve planning efficiency.
* Improved page management: Explore enhancements that make page management faster and easier, including UX page dependency which shows model builders which UX pages are linked to each module.
* Polaris functions: Check out functions now available in Polaris, including two Polaris-only functions.
* Anaplan Data Orchestrator: See how you can now export inventory pages and datasets to CSV.
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UX - Set Default Column Widths in Edit Card/Page View
In the new UX, when you drop a grid into the Page, being able to set a 'default' column width, when using a custom view made using the UX. Setting the column width would be helpful, which would make it so you do not cut off line items or can widen columns with content that is greater then the default sizes.
Edit: Readability.
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Creat a grid spanning multiple modules
I want to merge together two modules with a shared axis to create one grid.
Business reason for wanting the request:
So that I don't need to put multiple grids next to each other to create the tabular view I want.
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Remove "reset" from top right corner of UX PDF board exports
When exporting a board as a PDF if a page selector has been used to drill down into a certain area, for example, the reset icon exports as well! It makes what would have been professional looking outputs look amateur. Please can this be fixed?
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New UX: Dependent Dropdowns on Create Forms
We are in the midst of creating a PoC for a client to update their current planning process from classic to the new user experience, and want to take advantage of the create form, where we can add a project to their projects list in a specific subset, and make line item selections for the new project added.
Currently, any line item value that you add does not follow the dependent dropdown selections made from other line items. Is there a known workaround other than having fields published to a card on the dashboard after an item has been created?
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Register for our October 29 platform release webinar!
Anaplan's next quarterly platform release webinar will be held October 29, 2025 at 8 a.m. Pacific Time. During this session, we will explore the latest features so you can optimize your Anaplan experience.
Our expert-led session will equip you with a practical guide and live demonstrations to help you get the most out of new features and innovations. Get your questions answered live during Q&A.
Features to be demo'd:
* Enhanced planning experience: See features in action that streamline the user experience and improve planning efficiency
* Improved page management: Explore enhancements that make page management faster and easier, including UX page dependency which shows model builders which UX pages are linked to each module
* Polaris functions: Check out functions now available in Polaris, including two Polaris-only functions
* Anaplan Data Orchestrator: See how you can now export inventory pages and datasets to CSV
Can't make it? Register for the event and a recording will be sent to all who register. A recap and recording will also be posted on Community.
Register here.