Caution! | The Crystal Ball Enterprise Performance Management Connector submits data from Smart View directly to the underlying EPM application's database. The data is submitted from Smart View during each Crystal Ball EPM trial and is then restored at the end of the simulation. Working with a copy of your production data is highly recommended. Avoid running a simulation on data when other users could be modifying it. |
The following guidelines are important to follow as you work with the Crystal Ball Enterprise Performance Management Connector:
Crystal Ball EPM is integrated with other Oracle EPM products using a Smart View extension. If Enable Smart View integration is selected and you are unable to use integration features, or if you see a message about the Crystal Ball EPM Smart View extension being disabled, open the Options dialog within Smart View, select Extensions, and then confirm that the Crystal Ball EPM extension is enabled (the button label is Disable). If necessary, click Enable to use the extension.
The Crystal Ball Enterprise Performance Management Connector works on only one workbook at a time.
The connector supports Crystal Ball EPM forecasting with Predictor. However, tools under the More Tools ribbon group, such as Data Analysis and Batch Fit, are not currently supported.
Note: | The connector currently does not support Planning ad-hoc analysis mode except for forecasting with Predictor. Predictor can be used with either Planning ad-hoc or Essbase ad-hoc analysis. |
For best results, work in a scenario that contains an updated copy of the database. “What-if” scenarios are frequently created for this purpose. Avoid working directly with production data.
Always refresh the data source before all add, delete, and get commands in the Smart View Data Source Manager.
Understand how to save and reuse Crystal Ball EPM models.
Before attempting to add Crystal Ball data to a query or form, be sure you understand the view and what you are updating. You can test this manually. Change data and submit it manually. If you want to include a calculation script in the model, you can run it manually as well. When updates occur as expected, you can define Crystal Ball assumptions and forecasts in place of the manual updates.
Be sure you fully understand the functionality of any calculation scripts (that is, business rules) and are aware of how they may affect the ability to simulate editable values in the data view (Using Business Rules with Crystal Ball EPM).
You can pivot views and add to them. However, it is best to make changes before you add Crystal Ball data. By default, data synchronization occurs each time the Smart View grid is updated.
If two simulations run simultaneously against the same database, unexpected results can occur. Likewise, it is not acceptable to run one simulation using different EPM applications, for example Smart View and Strategic Finance.
If the view has duplicate members defined as assumptions—for example, you show data for January through March twice—only the values from the last occurrence will be submitted. Avoid defining duplicate data as Crystal Ball data cells.
Crystal Ball Enterprise Performance Management Connector supports the following Crystal Ball EPM commands: Define Assumption, Define Decision Variable, Define Forecast, and Simulation Start/Continue/Single Step. You can also perform a Reset (Running Simulations).
If you copy a Smart View sheet within the same workbook, Smart View objects, including Crystal Ball data cells (assumptions, decision variables, and forecasts) are no longer connected to their data sources. The worksheet must be manually reconnected.