This article covers how to clone data in Metrics from one Item in a list to another, providing use cases and examples.
How cloning Metric data can help you
Cloning Metric data can help in the following situations:
- You are launching a new product line and want to base its sales forecast on your existing product.
- You are entering a new geography and want to initialize a country's data based on existing data.
- You are initializing a new forecast and want to base it on a previous version of data.
Before you begin
Important
Members must have Import Data permission to use the Clone data in Metrics functionality.
️ Warning
Cloning Metric data is irreversible. Once data has been transferred from the Metrics of one Item to another, it can’t be reversed and any data that was in the target Item is overwritten.
You may need to create a blank target Item beforehand and you must check all the affected Metrics in the Clone data dialog before confirming the cloning of data.
How it works
The Clone data in Metrics feature works with any List Item of your Application and in no more than a few clicks. There are some considerations to know first:
-
Data is cloned from one Item (called the source Item) to another. This means that you need to create an Item before copying data onto it.
-
Data is cloned for each eligible Metric you choose. During the process (see below) you select from all Metrics that:
-
use the Dimension;
-
do not contain a formula, or that have formula overrides enabled in the Metric settings.
-
-
If Scenarios are enabled in the Application, data is cloned only for the Default Scenario.
-
Data is cloned inside the Application where the clone is triggered. This means that even if a Dimension is shared, no data is cloned in Metrics outside the Application.
- Data is cloned based upon the access rights and permissions of the Member initiating it. The data copy is only applied to the cells of the Metrics that you have access rights for. This means data is cloned only where you have:
- Read access on the cells of all Metrics from which you want to clone data (the source Items)
- Write access on the cells of all Metrics to which you want to clone data (the target Items)
- A summary of the Metrics and values cloned is shown in the History after a clone action is executed.
How to access Clone Metric data
You can bring up the Clone Metric data functionality from:
- the Block Explorer
- a Dimension
- a Metric
- a Table
From the Block Explorer
-
In your Application, select All Blocks or any folder from the sidebar.
-
Select More in the top right of the main pane.
-
Select Clone data in Metrics.
From a Dimension
-
Right-select the Dimension Item you wish to copy.
-
Select Clone data in Metrics.
-
The Clone data in Metrics dialog opens with the Item pre-populated.
From a Metric or Table: on a Board or in Blocks
-
From the Dimension Items displayed in the Metric's rows and columns, right-select the one you wish to clone from.
-
Select Clone data from Item.
-
The Clone data in Metrics dialog opens with the Item pre-populated.
The Clone data in Metrics dialog
Imagine you want to copy data from last year's Budget to a new Forecast, but only for specific Departments, leaving some Departments out of your clone. For this customization, the Clone data in Metrics dialog steps you through four fields (see image below):
-
Dimension List
-
Source and Target Items
-
Select Metrics
-
Define data to clone
The Dimension List field
- This field provides a dropdown containing every Dimension in your Application.
- Select the Dimension containing the Metric you wish to clone from.
The Source and Target Items field
- In this field, specify which of the Dimension Items from the Dimension selected above is to be the source, and which to be the target.
The Select Metrics field
- This field allows you to exclude certain Metrics from the clone.
- If you leave all the checkboxes selected, data in all those Metrics is cloned.
The Define data to clone field
- In this field, add conditions to clone specific ranges of data.
- Choose ‘Is in’ to only copy the specified range.
- Choose ‘Is not in’ to copy everything but the specified range.
ImportantAs specified by the “And any other data between source and target Items”, for Metrics that are not defined on a Dimension specified in the conditions, the data is still cloned from the source to the target Item.
For example, if you have a Metric defined only on Version but not on Department, but you have Department in the conditions, the data is still copied over.