Make action to export data based on view dynamic

Mathias.Beckers
Mathias.Beckers
in Integrations and extensibility

Hi all,

 

We currently have a dashboard showing a view that is updated automatically based on selections and filters on top (e.g. if you select a certain country or brand, only the relevant SKUs are shown).

 

Next to this view we want to offer export and import actions so the user can create an offline CSV, work on those numbers and then re-upload that CSV to get the data back in Anaplan. 

 

Is there a way to make the view used to export dynamic, i.e. it takes over the selection of brand and country and the filter on relevant SKUs to export?

 

Thanks,

Mathias.

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Answers

  • PaulRitner
    PaulRitner

    I think the answer is no, because:

     

    1.  If the selectors are module dimensions or lists that have been published to the dashboard as selectors, then there is no way to reference that in an export.

    2.  If the selectors are user-level hard-coded values (from a selector module), then that could be used as a filter, but the underlying data view would not be editable... so this approach would not work as the selectors in the edit dashboard itself....  Of course, this could be used in a separate capacity to allow each user to export on the data they need, in the requisite upload format.. but it would be slightly separate.

     

    Another approach might be to allow the users to export the current view (won't be a button, but native navigation... but that might not be in an uploadable format, depends on the lists).

     

    I like Option 2:  In the editing dashboard, allow the users to use the module/list based selectors to filter their view.  Then, if they want to export, give them some selectors that hard-code values to a user-level filter and apply that filter to the filtered export view (that generates the required upload format)... that would work well... but they'd have to (effectively) make the selections a second time in order to export.  (shouldn't be a big deal though).  Remember to adjust the upload button's parameters to only update the intersections being upload.

  • andrewtye
    andrewtye

    Hi Mathias

     

    Am glad someone else also has this same issue - I wonder if using the excel add-ins might get around the exporting element (we're currently battling to get those installed!), and could therefore help with the uploading too maybe...

    Not really an answer I know but at least you're not alone.

     

    Andrew

  • Mathias.Beckers
    Mathias.Beckers

    Hi,

     

    Thanks for your thoughts and reflections, glad to see they go the same direction as we had been thinking of as well. Must say, we haven't thought of the parameters and selectors to customize the export and basically redo what they did on the view ... even though it is indeed repeating what they already did, it could be a nice way of dealing with this.

     

    Thanks!

  • Mathias.Beckers
    Mathias.Beckers

    Hi Andrew,

     

    We've experimented with the Excel Add-in in the past as well, could indeed be an option as long as things remain pretty static in my opinion. But as soon as you have updates in your lists (in our case it waz very likely that new SKUs where added along the way), we encountered issues with the Excel views, especially if then also users where referencing data from different files and or sheets to make it dynamic.

     

    Did see a glimpse of the new XLS add-in that's coming out soon at the HUB in London, might be worth reconsidering depending on how that one will work!

     

     

  • andrewtye
    andrewtye

    Hi Mathias

     

    Yes did see the new excel add-in... will be interesting to see if that improves the situation.

    Fortunately the dimensions that would be used for filtering are relatively static - shop / website as example with just the actual rows being the thing that changes.

     

    Andrew

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