Design an Allocation Rule

An allocation rule is a Calculation Manager object that consists of calculations. The calculations are grouped into components. A rule can contain one or more components.

You create an allocation rule for an Essbase application. The rule is represented graphically in a flow chart into which you can drag and drop components to design the rule.

Scenario

To design an allocation rule:

1. Navigate to the Journals work area and click the Create Allocations Rules task from the Tasks pane.

2. Click Navigate > Administration > Calculation Manager.

3. In the System View, perform one of these tasks:

   • Click File > New > Rule. Expand the Essbase Application Type, the Application, and the Calculation Type, Plan Type, or Database.

   • Right-click Rules and select New.

4. In New Rule, enter the rule's name, the Application Type Essbase, and the Application Name. The application name must be a valid Essbase application.

5. Select the Database.

6. OK.

   Note: If you right-click Rules and select New to create a new allocation rule, the New Rule dialog is populated with the Application Type, the Application, and the Calculation, Plan Type, or Database you are working in within the System View.

7. To design the allocation rule, from the Rule Palette, drag new and existing objects, and drop them into the flow chart within the Rule Designer.

   Note: You can also create objects such as formulas and scripts independently of the rule, and add them to the rule later.

8. From New Objects, drag and drop these components to insert a new component into the rule's flow chart:

   • Point of Views:

   • Allocations:

   • Formulas:

9. On Properties, enter properties for the rule.

   Note: The number and contents of the tabs change as you add components to the rule and move along the rule's components in the flow chart. To enter properties and other information for the rule's components, select the component in the flow chart. You can optionally:

   • Edit the name by entering a new one of up to 50 characters. The name defaults from the New Rule dialog.

   • Enter a description of up to 255 characters for the rule.

   • Enter a caption for the rule. The caption displays in the flow chart.

   • Enter comments for the rule. For example, you may want to tell the users how to use the rule.

10. For Essbase: On Global Range, specify what dimensions are common to all of the components in the rule by selecting values, for example, members, variables, and functions for each dimension. The values you select for the dimensions are the values that are calculated when the rule is launched.

    1. Select values for a dimension by clicking its row in the Select Value column.

    2. When the Actions icon is displayed, click the icon, and select one of these:

       • Variable

       • Member

       • Function

11. For Essbase: On Variables, select Merge Variables to merge all instances of the same variable used in the allocation rule so only the first instance of each variable is displayed when the rule is launched. If you don't select this check box, all instances of each variable are displayed.

    Note: If you select Merge Variables, the first value that the user enters for the runtime prompt is used for all subsequent occurrences of that runtime prompt during validation and launch.

12. On the Usages tab, you view which allocation rules and rule sets use the rule, if any. You cannot edit any of the information about this tab. The following information is displayed for the allocation rules and rule sets using the allocation rule:

    • Names

    • Application Name

    • Deployment Status

    • Validation Status

    • Description

    Note: By default, an allocation rule is not used by any allocation rules or rule sets when create.

13. Repeat these steps for each component you want to add to the allocation rule.

    Note: As you add components to an allocation rule, you can increase or decrease the size of the component icons and the amount of detail that is displayed in the flow chart. You can use the zoom bar to zoom in and out within the flow chart. You can select a component to view its properties and edit a component on the Properties tab.

14. Select File, Save.

15. After you design and save the rule, you can do any of these tasks:

    • Print it.

    • Validate it.

    • Deploy it.

    • Generate it from within Oracle General Ledger by navigating to the Journals work area and clicking Generate General Ledger Allocations from the Tasks pane.