Written by Mike Bernaiche, December 16th, 2022

IBM released Planning Analytics Workspace 82 on November 17, 2022.  While this isn’t a large update compared to some of the previous updates, there are still several enhancements and changes to be discussed.  Below, I will discuss the changes and provide some helpful links to fixes and other enhancements to Planning Analytics for Excel and Planning Analytics in general.

Books and Reporting

New in books and reporting in Planning Analytics Workspace 82 is:

• Automatically remove duplicate members from current set in the set editor - You can now automatically remove duplicate members from the Current set in the set editor by clicking Remove duplicated members.  This is a quick way to remove any duplicates when you are creating a dynamic or static set, especially if the set includes a large number of members.

• Improved error handling when a visualization has a missing mapped member - Prior to IBM Planning Analytics Workspace 82, when a visualization did not find a mapped member, an error displayed, and the application showed a blank visualization.  This error could occur if a mapped member was removed from the data because of a change in the set, zero suppression, or calculation removal, or even if the user had insufficient TM1 permissions.  In Planning Analytics Workspace 82, when a visualization cannot find a mapped member, the first member in the current set is now automatically reassigned to the field slot and the visualization displays.

• Text fill color property added to single cell widget - To access this feature, select the single cell visualization and go to the Properties tab.  Under the General tab, click Appearance to see the Fill color options.

Applications and Plans

Over the last few updates, applications and plans have received a ton of new features.  You can see that list here  and here.

 In this update:

• Add attachments to applications and plans - You can now add attachments to applications and plans.  Attachments can be added to the application or plan overview, as well as to individual tasks or sections and to announcements.  Supported file types for attachments are .pdf, .docx, .xlsx, .csv, and .pptx.  To add attachments that are accessible from the application or plan overview, use the Upload files option on the application or plan Details page.

Modeling

If you haven’t upgraded recently then you are now using the power of the new modeling workbench in Planning Analytics.  To read more about the modeling workbench please click here. 

• New dimension editor available on workbench – There is a lot to unpack on the dimension editor and you can find all the details here.
  

Depreciation Notice

The classic dimension editor will be removed from the modeling workbench in version 84.  Version 84 will be released sometime in early 2023.

Fixes

IBM has a great site to track all fixes included in each component of Planning Analytics.  That link can be found here.  Simply click on the component you are looking for and you can click on each link to see what was fixed in what version. 

Summary

While this update wasn’t huge, there are still some useful enhancements provides in Planning Analytics Workspace 82.  If you are considering an upgrade or want a demo of the latest features, please reach out to us at services@lodestarsolutions.com to schedule that call.  We are offering upgrade bundles that can save you money and give you peace of mind when researching an upgrade.  The next update to Planning Analytics Workspace should drop in the next couple of weeks and I will be here to provide all the details.