Nifty Nifty Forecaster Input Options

This week finds me in Denver for some client trainings and our annual year end event on Friday.

So, just a quick little post on a feature of Forecaster that I think is pretty nifty. It is the ability to input by all segments. Let's say that your Forecaster installation has the following segments: DEPT (3 characters) and MAIN (4 characters). DEPT is the assignable segment and MAIN is the reversable segment.

In a "typical" input, the user would go to Data>>Input, select an Input Set, and be asked to specify a DEPT. Then the multi-row input will appear with the MAIN accounts listed as rows and periods as columns.

However, as an alternative, let's say that you would like to see both DEPT and MAIN as rows to allow you to display multiple DEPT and MAIN accounts on the same multi-row input? The answer is to use the All Segments feature.

A quick cheat sheet to enable and use the functionality...

1. Setup>>Budgets>>Input Set, select Input Set, select Options tab, mark "Allow All Segments in Lines"
2. Data>>Input: Select Input Set, then for "Rows are" select All Segments
3. In the input window, simply select the MAIN and DEPT values you wish to display on each line OR use the open icon to select segments including a rollup (which will then automatically explode to details on the input window with the individual MAIN and DEPT values).

A nice alternative for administrative users, and for troubleshooting or comparisons.

Happy holidays!
Christina