Tme Scale Dlist - Automatic updation

[kavitha.l]

Hi All,

While doing automatic updation of timescale dlist(that is by creating macro for dlist update) , how to automate the updation of length, start date , end date items in the time scale tab which is available in Dlist->options->TimeScale.

More Information :  It is a weekly timescale dlist, length won't get change.  But start date and enddate of the week will change.

Thanks in advance

[branko]

Well, a difficult question & i am afraid i am not able to give you one clear answer - but maybe some speculations & considerations could help.

First of all As far as i know - it is not possible to import length, start date, end date... but to automate this informations in a timescale - i would prefer using "quite regular timescales with english names" - e.g. months like Jan 07, Feb 07, ... or 07Q1, 07Q2,.... or 2007, 2008, 2009 - such kind of a timescale - when once marked "used as timescale" updated in the future - will automatically have the right time interwals specified..

Other two good thinks to realize (when working with timescale) could be :

- 1st - you can use one timescale as a combination of several items lets say months, & years (12+1, 24+2..) or you can handle them as a separate dimensions lets say months (12) years (1, 2) having the same size of a d-cube

- 2nd - for for are the "exact dates in a timescale" ? ... Sure, in some specific cases & calculations - these can be used but do you really need the exact dates ? (e.g. Week1 of 2007 begining not the same date as Week1 2008..). In a common manner you use things like time avg. for d-list items, Bifs using length of this period but the calucation is mostly base on the "duration" of time period... for week (7 days) or working week 5 days..

Taking into account all the above - maybe i would try to build 2 separete timescales (one with Week 1 to Week 52 & a Total) - not updated, fixed, each period defined as a length 7 period always begining from 1.1. an a 2nd timescale containint years : 2009, 2010, 2011 - this can be updated automatically (analyst will recognise...).

This approach I would choose when concentrating on "automatization" of everything. On the other side - you still have the possibility to consider manual adjustments and administration of this dimensions... - from my experiences.. users do not always want to have (and should have) everything automated - if they know what they are expected to do & know how to do it - they could be fine with updateting and administering the timescale manually... (Just - do not be afraid to tell them :-)...

[kavitha.l]

Thanks Branko!!!!

Apologize for replaying delay.

Actually that dlist was already there which is having import link from dcube.  That dcube contains length, from and to timescale info. The information , i want to know is whether any provision to import those informations. Because sometimes after running dlist update macro, I am able to see the updated timescale information for the newly added data items in a dlist, sometimes it didn't get updated for new items.

Hope I am not confusing :)

[branko]

Well, to tell the truth :-)... i thought these timescale information can not be imported (length, from and to info.). So I wonder if & how it works...

If it is so, then i am afraid i am not able to help. Instead of helping :-) i would appreciate more information about that - if that really works. Which version of planning do you use ? (maybe some really new features of planning ?)

[lav4you]

Hi Kavitha,

there is no way to import time scale information for dimension..

about random auto update this happens coz Cognos Planning itself tries to relate the dimension item name with the timescale info.. sometime it works, some time it takes the wrong info.. and most of the time it leaves that blank... there are no rule of thumb for it.. and generally it considers two digit number as a year or months.. but u can not rely on that...

I suggest try to keep this as a part of manual admin activities