Creating Functions Manually

In Excel 2003, functions can contain a maximum of 255 characters. See Microsoft documentation and support site for information about character and other Excel limitations.

To create a function manually:

In Excel, click the cell in which you want to enter the function.
Enter = (equal sign).
Enter the function name, HsSetValue, for example.
Enter parameters for the function according to rules described in Syntax Guidelines, using the information specific to each function in Function Descriptions.
To refresh the worksheet, from the Smart View menu, select Refresh.
Functions are validated only when you refresh them.

Syntax Guidelines

See Function Descriptions for the syntax of individual functions.

To work with a shared connection, you must add to the function the WSFN identifier, which specifies a workspace function, along with a connection string. The format is:
```
WSFN|ProviderType|Server|Application|Database
```
For example, in the HsGetValue function for a shared connection to an Essbase data source, the WSFN identifier and connection string is added to the function as follows:
```
=HsGetValue("WSFN|Essbase|myserver|Sample|Basic","Market#South")
```
For ProviderType, use one of the following case-sensitive strings:
- Essbase
- HFM (for Financial Management)
- HP (for Planning)
For Financial Management, the Database parameter can be omitted, or it can be the same as the Application parameter. For consistency, Oracle recommends entering the application name for the Database parameter.
Private connection parameters can have these values:
- Empty: the default connection
- HsActive: the active associated connection
- The user-defined name for a private connection
If you specify a private connection, it must precede the POV.
The POV is composed of dimension#member pairs, for example, Entity#Connecticut.
Parent-child relationships are designated by a period, for example, Entity#UnitedStates.Maine.
The connection and POV can be grouped as one parameter, for example “My_connection;Entity#UnitedStates”.
Alternatively, they can be split up into multiple function parameters, for example, “My_connection”, “Entity#UnitedStates”, “Account#Sales”.
If the connection and POV are in the same parameter, the connection and each dimension#member pair are separated by a semicolon (;), for example, “My_connection;Entity#UnitedStates;Account#Sales”.