Variables for Formulas

You can define variables and their default values, and then enter the variable names in formula definitions. In tables in stories, variable values are calculated and displayed.

In the modeler, the variables you enter are placeholders that you define with a default value. In stories, you can then select the variable values so that the formula can be used to operate with different numbers or different sets of data.

Select (Variables) to define variables. In this example, one variable has been defined:

You can then use the variable in a formula by referring to the Variable ID:

In tables in stories, you'll be prompted to set the variable values when you first add the model to the table, but at any other time, you can change a variable setting by selecting the (Edit Prompts) icon on the story toolbar, or the (Edit Table Prompts) icon on the table toolbar.

Restriction

Variables work only on booked data. For example, in an Account member that uses the Restrict formula, if you define a variable to point to a hierarchy member that doesn't have booked data, the values of that hierarchy member's child members don't aggregate into the chosen hierarchy member.