Launch the Analytic Administration Services Administration Console by selecting Start > Programs > Hyperion > Administration Services > Start Administration Services Console.
To access Business Rules, in the left frame of the Analytic Administration Services window, expand the Enterprise View node, the Business Rules node, and the Repository View node.
Right-click Global Variables, and select New Variable.
In the right frame of the Analytic Administration Services window, the tabs for creating a global variable are displayed.
In the Variable tab, enter a name and a description for the variable.
In the Type text box, enter one of the following to define the type of variable:
String as number - a text string (This is only available if you selected a Planning outline.)
Date as number - a date (This is only available is you selected a Planning outline.
Select the Smart List check box if you want to use a Smart List as the variable type. (See the Hyperion Planning - System 9 Administrator’s Guide for this release.) For example, you can set up an integer Smart List for a reporting cycle that has values 1-5, for Yearly (1), Quarterly (2), Monthly (3), Daily (4), and Hourly (5). A user can select “Monthly” and the number three is stored in the database. This prevents users from having to remember the numbers.
You can also set up a string of text or a date as the value for the Smart List.
In the Smart List text box, enter the name of the Smart List or use the Lookup button to search for a Smart List name. See Selecting Smart Lists.
In the Dimension text box, if you selected Member or Members in step 5, and you are creating a runtime prompt variable, select the dimension from which you want to choose a member or members for the runtime prompt to run against.
In the Limits text box, do one of the following:
If you specified Member or Members in step 5, enter the names of the members in the text box, or use the lookup button to search for and select a range of members against which users can validate the variable. To make selecting members easier, you can use the Member drop-down list and the Exclude text box to refine your member selection by specifying a group of members (and excluding others) based on their relationship to the member you selected from the outline.
If you specified Real #, Integer, or Percent in step 5, enter minimum and maximum values in the Limits text box.
If you specified a Smart List as the variable type in step 6, enter limits for the Smart List or use the lookup button to select limits. The limits you select for the Smart List display as names (rather than as the numbers associated with the names) in the Limits text box.
Select the Allow #Missing check box to enable users to specify #Missing or blank as the default value for the variable.
Blank and #Missing mean that a cell has no data value. #Missing is different from zero. Zero is a data value, and #Missing indicates lack of a data value for the cell. #Missing decreases the size of the database and positively impacts system performance.
In the Default Value text box, if you are creating a variable of the runtime prompt type, and if you want to provide a default value for the user, click the Search button, and do one of the following:
If you selected Member in step 5, in the Single Select dialog box, select a member. If you want to use aliases for the members names, select an alias table from the Alias Tables drop-down list, then select the Use Alias Names check box. Click OK.
If you selected Members in step 5, in the Multiple Select dialog box, use the right, left, up, and down arrows to select and exclude members. To make selecting members easier, you can use the Member drop-down list and the Exclude text box to refine your member selection by specifying a group of members (and excluding others) based on their relationship to the member you selected from the outline. For more information on selecting multiple members, see Selecting Members.
If you selected the Smart List check box, you must enter a default value for the Smart List in this text box.
In the Usage type text box, enter one of the following types of variables:
Use by Value – At design time, you can use this variable type to design your business rule so that when a use by value variable is inserted into the business rule, the variable is substituted with a value.
Saved Selection – At runtime, the value specified for the variable is used. This lets you use the same variable in a rule while allowing you to change the variable value without prompting. (This is the default selection.)
Runtime Prompt – At runtime, the user is asked to supply one member, multiple member, number, string, or dimension for the variable. Runtime prompts enable you to enter variables in a business rule that resolve when a user launches the rule.
In the Prompt string text box, if you are creating a runtime prompt, enter the text of the prompt to be displayed when the business rule is launched by a user.
For example, if you want users to receive a runtime prompt that asks them to enter a range of members from a dimension, you might enter the following text, “Select members from the Product dimension.”
If you selected runtime prompt as the usage type for the variable, select the “Do not save value entered during validation and launch as the default value” check box if you want the value that you enter in the Default Value text box to be used as the default value for the runtime prompt. If you do not select this check box, the last value that the user enters for the runtime prompt during validation and launch is used as the default value for the next runtime prompt.
On the Usages tab, you can see which business rules and macros use this variable. If you are creating the variable, the tab is empty until you begin using the variable in business rules and macros.
On the Properties tab, you can enter the name of the variable owner, specify whether or not the variable should be locked to prevent users from opening it for editing, and view other information about the variable.
On the Access Privileges tab, if you are an administrator, you can grant and/or delete access to this variable. If you are the owner, or you were granted modify access to the variable, you can assign users edit/no edit privileges for the variable. See Adding or Editing Access Privileges for a Variable and Deleting Access Privileges for a Variable.
Click Save to save the new variable.