Deriving the current Month

We are using the line item 'Month' in one of the module, and the objective is to derive the current month so that we can capture the purchase trend of our hardwares.When I try to use the formula as Month= ITEM(Time), I am getting the error message as shown in the screenshot. I have also attached the settings of the Model calendar.

Also, we want the Month to display the month dynamically, i.e. In Dec '20 , it should show Dec-20 and Jan-21 in Jan'21 .

Any idea how to to achieve this functionality?

Thanks

Regards

Prabakaran

Screen_Shot_2021-01-03_at_5_94383.png

Screen_Shot_2021-01-03_at_4_94383.png

Accepted answers

All comments

Noward

Hi Prabakaran,

Can you check the module (line item) that you intend to use the Time function with has got Model Calendar applied to it? [The screenshot you shared does not show that part to the right]. The Item formula returns items from the applies to dimensions. In your case it searches for Time ... most likely there is no time applied there.

That would be my step 1.

Next ... if you want the Current Period selected from time settings to drive the line item I would recommend using Currentperiodstart formula (link )

If you combine it with the start(item(time)) it will return a boolean in the month that is set as current one. [currentperiodstart() = start(item(time))) ]

From there you can do some magic and apply some extra conditions f.e. if you only want to look at 12month view ... or +/- 6months [lots of options there].

It is also recommended to have the time settings in a different module, so create one that will do what you want it to do.

If you are only interested in 1 cell saying that this is September 20 (Sep20), then you still can use the period(currentperiodstart()).

Have a play with it 🙂

ChrisAHeathcote

@praba71

ITEM function is used to retrieve a list item which is contained within the module as a dimension in the applies to or a time dimension.

The error message indicates that your module is not dimensioned by time.

However, what you are trying to achieve does not require the module to be dimensioned by time.

As the current period is a setting that can be used across you model I would create a system module where you can hold this data centrally and then reference it from any point in the model. This is best practice and saves having to recreate the formula multiple times.

Use the formula as suggested by @Noward but contain it within a centrallised systems module containing no dimensions but simply line items.

Reference this directly in your target to pull the data across.

You can also use this centralised systems module to pull through current year, current version, next year, next month etc.

This will make you model more efficient.

Good luck,

Chris

rob_marshall

@Noward

Very small correction, you don't need to add item(time) as a parameter within your Start() function. Just do start() and it will default to the current period of that line item.

Rob

praba71

Thanks @ChrisAHeathcote @rob_marshall @Noward for the tips. Let me try out.

Thanks

Regards

Prabakaran

Quick Links

Can you help?

Unanswered questions

Create a Filter to show all the elements of that level based on selection in hierarchy
Hello Community members, Requirement Details: I have 5 levels of composite hierarchy list (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5). I have published a module in UX, Now the requirement is If user select a list member from A4 level in the context selector or Custom Filter I have to display all the list members under that A4 level. How can I…
import monthly data with months in columns
is there a way to import data with months in columns (usual excel table view)? I have to transform the data so there are rows to cover each period in the upload data form, but I am wondering if there is a better way to just import the data as is with the months in the columns. please let me know what you think. thank you,
Cloudworks Big Query Integration Fail
Hello, I am receiving an 'Anaplan Upload Failed' Status Description when testing my integration with a Big Query dataset. The integration imports data from BQ to our Anaplan model. No other details given in the error log. I suspect that Cloudworks is not even picking up the file but am not sure what we did wrong on the set…