Create a Model from Scratch

You can create and design a new model with no data, and then import data later.

Context

Procedure

  1. From the Modeler start page, select Model.
  2. Select whether you want to create a classic account model or a new model type. For more information on the differences between the two models, check out Get Started with the New Model Type.
  3. Select to set up some of the model's preferences.
    1. Planning features are enabled by default, but if you want to create an analytics model, select Planning, and then switch Planning Capabilities off.
      For information about planning and analytics models, see Learn About Models.
    2. For a planning model, the From and To dates to define the timeline for the data can be changed in the side panel when selecting the date dimension.
    3. If your business fiscal year isn't the same as the calendar year, select the Date Settings tab, switch Fiscal Year on, and then select the other parameters as follows:
      • Choose the starting month of your fiscal year.
      • Choose whether you denote your fiscal year by the calendar year when it starts, or the calendar year when it ends.
      • Choose whether to display fiscal periods or calendar months in stories. For example, quarterly reports cover a fiscal period of three months, while annual reports cover a fiscal period of one year.

      Model data in stories, including tables, charts, value driver trees, input controls, and filters, will display fiscal years instead of calendar years.

    4. Enable any other features you need, such as data auditing or locking, data access control, or currency conversion.
      Note
      Some settings cannot be changed after you've saved the model. For more information, see Set Up Model Preferences.
    5. Click OK to save the settings.
    6. For a planning model, in the Model Structure view, select the date dimension to acess the side panel and specify the From and To dates to define the timeline for the data.
  4. For an analytical model, the Date dimension is optional. You can remove the Date dimension by selecting it, and then clicking the Delete icon: .
  5. If you want to change the default settings for the Date dimension, you can do that now. Select the Date dimension, and then in the Dimension Settings panel, review these settings:
    1. Set the granularity of the model's timeline – that is, the time period that your data will be based on: year, quarter, month, week, or day.
      Note
      The week granularity is only available for the new model type, and must be enabled first under Date Settings in the model preferences.
    2. Choose the default date hierarchy. New story tiles will display this hierarchy by default.
  6. If you're creating a classic account model, add the mandatory account dimension. Add one to your model by selecting , and then either Add New Dimension to create a new one from scratch, or Add Existing Dimensions to add an account from a list of existing dimensions. If you're creating a new model type, the account dimension is optional. For more information on the configuration possibilities for the new model type, check out the Choosing a Model Configuration section in Get Started with the New Model Type.
    If you create a new account dimension, you can define it as a public dimension, if you want it to be reusable in other models.
  7. Optionally, you can add an organization dimension and also other generic dimensions to your model.
    See Learn About Dimensions and Measures for details of all dimension types.
  8. If you're creating a new model type, add one or multiple measures to your model. Click on the left in the Measures section to open the Measure Details panel, and fill in the different fields within the General, Data Type, Aggregations, Units & Currencies and Formatting sections to add a measure.
    Parameter Description
    Name Type a unique ID for the measure using letters and numbers only.
    Description Type a description for the measure to help your users identify it.
    Data Type

    Choose the data type for your measure. The data type restricts the values that the measure can hold:

    • Decimal: Up to seven decimal places and up to 15 digits total.

    • Integer: Between -2^31 to 2^31, without decimal places.

    Decimal Place If you selected Decimal, choose the number of decimal places supported, from one to seven. Keep in mind that a decimal value can only have a maximum of 15 digits including decimal places.
    Aggregation Type

    Select Sum.

    The aggregation type determines how the measure values are aggregated in hierarchical dimensions. For measures, only Sum is supported as the default, but you can specify other aggregation types for specific dimensions.

    Required Dimensions

    Select and choose the dimensions that you want to be required for the measure.

    If not all required dimensions are in the displayed with the measure, for example in a chart, table, or in the Explorer, users are notified that the measure values could be incorrect.

    Exception Aggregation Type

    Use exception aggregation when you want to aggregate non-cumulative quantities. For example, if you have the quantity Inventory Count, you might want to aggregate the inventory count across all products, but not across time periods, because it doesn't make sense to add up inventory counts from multiple time periods.

    In this case, you would choose the aggregation type SUM for Inventory Count, because you want to add up the inventory counts for all products. But if you don't specify an exception aggregation type, the inventory counts will also be summed across time. To prevent summing inventory counts across time periods, specify an exception aggregation type for the time periods.

    For example, you might want to choose just the most recent set of Inventory Count values. In this case, you would choose the exception aggregation type LAST, and the exception aggregation dimension Date.

    Exception aggregations relate to one or more dimensions. For example, for the AVG and LAST exception aggregations, a Date dimension is appropriate. If you select an exception aggregation type, you must also select an exception aggregation dimension.

    Exception Aggregation Dimension Select and choose the dimensions that will use the selected exception aggregation type.
    Units & Currencies Use these options to set the currencies for a monetary measure, or the unit displayed for a non-monetary measure.

    Unit Type: Select one of the following options:

    • Unit: Use this option for a non-monetary value where you want to display a fixed unit. Type the unit in Fixed Unit.
    • None: Select this option if you don’t need to include any units.
    • Currency: Use this option for all monetary values, then specify the currencies settings for the measure. For example, for a measure that shows only US dollars, set the Currency to Fixed and type USD.
    These settings don’t just change the units displayed; they also can change how the values are aggregated and which conversion rates apply to the measure.
    Scale

    To improve the presentation of numbers, and hide numbers that are not significant, you can set this attribute to show just integers plus the specified number of decimal places. The unit value is then shown by the appropriate word or by an abbreviation. You can select one of the following options:

    • Thousand (3 numerical places – abbreviation k)
    • Million (6 numerical places – abbreviation M)
    • Billion (9 numerical places – abbreviation G. Note that G is the international standard abbreviation for billion)
    • Percent (% 2)
    This feature is related to the setting of the Unit attribute that determines if the Scale word or just the abbreviated Scale letter is used (see also the example following this table):
    • If Unit is set to Currency, the word selected as the Scale value is used in the output.
    • If Unit is undefined (blank), the abbreviated Scale letter is used.
    Decimal Places

    This setting defines the number of digits displayed after the decimal point; select a value from 0–7.

    Values that have fewer decimal places will match this setting by adding zeros to the end of the value, for example 1.100.

  9. If you're creating a new model type, click in the toolbar to open the model preferences, and under Structure Priority, use the Prioritize properties and calculations from drop down to indicate whether account settings or measure settings should get the priority.
    If you decide to prioritize the account dimension, then all the aggregation definitions, formatting and unit handling are taken from the account dimension. But if you decide to prioritize the measures, everything is taken from the measures. For more information, check out Set Structure Priority and Create Custom Solve Order.
  10. Save the model.
    1. Select a location (for example, a private, public, or workspace folder).
    2. Provide a unique name for your model and an optional description.
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