Adventures in Groovy – Part 17: Force Cell Comments

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Challenge Accepted

When I asked visitors to try to come up with a situation that Groovy Calculation might be able to solve, this was a good one.  One visitor asked if they could require a cell comment if certain parameters were not met.  It is actually relatively easy.

The following requirement exist in this example.  If any month holds more than 30% of the full year, that cell requires the user to enter a cell comment.  If no comment exists, the user won’t be able to save the form.

The User Experience

If any month is more than 30% of the full year, and the user doesn’t add a comment to a cell, the form will not save.  The following shows what happens when the above fails, and what happens after the user enters a comment into the cell.

The Code

def backErrColor = 16755370 //Red
def caseTotal = 0
def accountName = ""

// Loop through the months
operation.grid.dataCellIterator('Jan','Feb','Mar','Apr','May','Jun','Jul','Aug','Sep','Oct','Nov','Dec').each { 
  // Get a total for all 12 months every time the row changes
  if(it.getAccountName() != accountName) {
    accountName = it.getAccountName();
    caseTotal = it.data + it.crossDimCell('Feb').data + it.crossDimCell('Mar').data + it.crossDimCell('Apr').data + it.crossDimCell('May').data + it.crossDimCell('Jun').data + it.crossDimCell('Jul').data + it.crossDimCell('Aug').data + it.crossDimCell('Sep').data + it.crossDimCell('Oct').data + it.crossDimCell('Nov').data + it.crossDimCell('Dec').data 
  }
  // If the value is greater than 30% of the total and the cell does NOT have a cell comment, interrupt the form save
  if(it.data > 0 && it.data / caseTotal > 0.3 && !it.hasCellNote() ) {
    it.addValidationError(backErrColor, "Cases for a single month can't be more than 30% of the total year without an assumption.", false) 
  }
}

Conclusion

Challenge accepted.  This one goes in the win column for Groovy Calculations!

 
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Adventures in Groovy – Part 16: Ignore Form Save When No Data Has Been Edited

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Introduction

I know you can argue this is a user issue and a training issue, but the fact is, sometimes people will save a form without editing any data.  There are at least three negative issues as a result.  One, the business rules and smart pushes execute, consuming unnecessary resources.  Two, users may think they made changes and expect changes in the results.  Three, if the processes are time consuming (like applying allocations or currency rates globally), the user will have to wait to correct the issue.  There is a very simple way to stop all the processes from executing and inform the user that they haven’t made any changes. Read more

 
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Adventures in Groovy – Part 15: Returning Errors (RTP Edition)

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Introduction

One of the huge benefits that available in Groovy Calculations is the ability to interact with a user, validate data, and act on the validation.  Now, we can interrupt form saves, stop Run Time Prompts from continuing, and communicate information back to the user.

This may sound repetitive if you have read part 13 and part 14, and you can skip to the code example to learn more about run time prompt validation.  If not, you must have an understanding of the validation functions and the components of the messageBundle. Read more

 
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Adventures in Groovy – Part 13: Returning Errors (Data Forms)

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Introduction

One of the huge benefits that available in Groovy Calculations is the ability to interact with a user, validate data, and act on the validation.  Now, we can interrupt form saves, stop Run Time Prompts from continuing, and communicate information back to the user. Read more

 
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Adventures in Groovy – Part 12: Learning and Testing Groovy Outside of PBCS

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Introduction

For people that are new to Groovy/Java, testing functions that Groovy provides can be a tedious and time consuming process.  Learning anything is.  Trying to do this with the wrong tools compounds it.  I have seen some people give up and walk away from trying to improve applications because they struggle with the Groovy Calculations and the complexity it introduces to go beyond some of the basics, just because they are using a hammer when they need a screwdriver. Read more

 
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Adventures In Groovy – Part 11: Accessing Metadata Properties

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Introduction

Groovy opens up a lot of things above and beyond performance improvements and improving the user experience.  One example is the possibility to interact with the metadata.  Dimensions and members can be queried for all types of things which can be useful in many situations.  Read more

 
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Adventures in Groovy – Part 10: Validating Form Data

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Introduction

One of the huge frustrations I have with Planning is the fact that you haven’t been able to stop a user from saving data that didn’t validate since Smart View was released and Data Forms could be opened in Excel.  Prior to that, the forms could be customized with JavaScript and the form save could be interrupted and cells flagged.  Well, thanks to Groovy Calculations, it is back, and every bit as flexible. Read more

 
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Groovy, Game Changing Technology at Breakthru Beverage Group – Webinar Invitation

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Join Us On March 22, 2018

On March 22, 2018, I am hosting a webinar featuring the work delivered at Breakthru Beverage Group in Chicago, Illinois.  Breakthru had the traditional challenges, but it had some additional obstacles other don’t.  With requirements of entering budget at any level, complex allocation and seeding logic, and the need for consolidated reporting in real time, we had to get creative.  Welcome, Groovy Calculations!  Read more

 
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Exporting Data in PBCS With Business Rules

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Introduction

If your environment is a cloud product, whether it be PBCS or ePBCS, one thing that is critical to understand is the backups produced in the Migration area, may not be what you think.  Learning this after the fact may have negative consequences on your ability to restore data.  Read more

 
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Adventures in Groovy – Part 9: Ohio Valley OAUG Presentation

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I was lucky enough to be invited to talk about the new Groovy Calculation in PBCS and ePBCS at the Ohio Valley OAUG meeting today.  If you have read the Groovy series, you know how strongly I feel about the advancements in Hyperion Planning with the addition of Groovy Calculations.  I want to share the presentation with a wider audience.  This is a functional overview for those who are new to the concepts.  This also introduces readers how to develop their first Groovy Calculation, and provides some examples. Read more

 
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