Adding a Copy Step

In SAP Analytics Cloud, copy steps allow you to copy data from one set of members to another, specifying options for filters and aggregation.

Context

For example, copy steps can be used in the following cases:

  • Quickly filling out future data for the model by copying data from the current time period to several future periods.

  • Copying data for a product in one region to another product in multiple regions.

Create a data action before adding a copy step to it.

Note

When choosing members or measures for the copy step settings, you can use a parameter. Parameters let you create prompts, or update several values in your data action from one place. Hover over or select Parameter in the member selector to see which ones are available. To learn how to create parameters, see Add Parameters to Your Data Actions and Multi Actions.

Currency conversion is not supported for copy steps and all values are copied without currency conversion.

Procedure

  1. In the data action page, select (Add Copy Step).
  2. Type a Name and Description for the step.
  3. Filter the data that will be copied as required.
    1. Select Add Filter and choose the structure (that is, the dimension or measure) to filter.
    2. Select the members or measures whose data you want to include, or select Parameters and choose a parameter. Select OK.
      Note

      • The version dimension is only available in the Filters section of a copy step. You can filter it to set a fixed source version, for example, if you want to copy data from the forecast version to the target version. If you do not filter the version dimension, data will be copied within the target version only. (The TargetVersion parameter sets this version.)

      • If you add a filter to an account dimension with multiple hierarchies, you will need to use the same hierarchy for source members in copy rules using that account.

    3. Continue adding filters on other structures as required. To remove a filter, select the icon beside it.
  4. In the Aggregate To area, add any dimension where you want to override the default disaggregation behavior.

    For dimensions that are not included in the Aggregate To area, the copied data will match the distribution of the source data by default. This behavior is similar to copying and pasting a cell with the Paste underlying values option enabled. For more information, see Copying and Pasting Cell Values.

    For example, if you want to remove the distribution of data to different customers for privacy reasons, you can aggregate to the unassigned member of the customer dimension. In this case, all of the copied data is booked to the unassigned member.

    1. Select Add Dimension and choose a dimension from the list.
      Note
      The dimensions that you add to this list cannot be added in the Filters or Copy Rule sections of the step.
    2. Choose a single leaf member for this dimension that will receive the value copied during this data action step, or select Parameter and choose a parameter. Select OK.
    3. Repeat these steps to add aggregation members for other dimensions as necessary.
  5. Add copy rules to specify source and target members or measures for the copy step.

    Depending on the Filter and Aggregate To settings, you may not need to add copy rules. For example, if you want to copy the 2018 forecast to a target version, you only need to filter the step to the forecast version and 2018. If you want to copy the 2018 forecast to 2018 and 2019 in the target version, a copy rule is required.

    1. Select Add Copy Rule.
    2. For the new rule, choose a dimension or select Measures from the Measures/Dimension list.

      (For data actions based on classic account models, this list is called Dimension.)

    3. In the From column, select or start typing directly in the text field.
    4. Choose a source member or measure from the list, or select Parameter and choose a parameter. Select OK.

      This source data, filtered according to your settings, will be copied to the targets that you specify.

      You can select measures and accounts that are calculated or that use exception aggregation, but there are some restrictions for these types of source values. See Copy Steps with Calculations and Exception Aggregation for more information.

      If your account dimension has multiple hierarchies, copy rules must use the same hierarchy for the source member of the account dimension. You can use different hierarchies for the target members.

    5. In the To column, select or start typing directly in the text field.
    6. Choose one or more leaf members or measures from the list, or select Parameter and choose a parameter. Select OK.

      The source value will be copied to each of these members.

      Note

      • If you're copying across measures, keep in mind the value range and number of decimal places for your source and target measures. If you're using a measure parameter for the source or target, it's recommended to specify the data types where possible. For details, see Limits on Value Ranges and Decimal Places for Measures.

      • For copy rules based on the date dimension, you can select one or more non-leaf members at the same hierarchy level as the source member (for example, Q1 to Q2, or 2018 to 2018 and 2019).

      For accounts that use exception aggregation, copying data along the exception aggregation dimension is supported.

    7. Select (Finish Editing) to complete the rule.

      If there are any problems with the rule, a warning icon appears next to it. Hover over the icon to see more information.

    8. To edit the rule, select (Edit). To delete it, select (Delete).
    9. Continue to add copy rules as required, by selecting Add Copy Rule, or by selecting (Duplicate) next to an existing copy rule.
  6. To switch between appending or overwriting data, select next to Options and choose a setting from the Write Mode list:
    • Append (default): The copied data will be added to any existing data for the target members.
    • Overwrite: Existing data for the target members will be overwritten by the copied data.
  7. Choose an Auto-Generation Mode. The auto-generation mode determines how copy rules are applied to target members based on time dimensions:

    • Detect Automatically chooses the most suitable mode automatically.

    • Day Granularity applies the copy rule based on the different number of days between members and takes into account leap years.

    • Week Granularity applies the copy rule based on the different number of days between members, but does not take into account leap years. Weeks are always calculated as being seven days apart.

    • Month/Year Granularity applies the copy rule based on the different number of months between members.

  8. Select Save Data Action.

Results

The copy step is added to the data action. You can continue to add, manage, and reorder steps as required.