Configure general settings for writeback

In Writeback Settings, the General tab lets you configure writeback behavior for a planning sheet. These settings control how data is structured, filtered, and written to the destination.

Writeback Type

Use Writeback Type to define the table structure.

There are four supported types:

• Long is the default writeback type. This setting stores each cell in a measure as a key-value pair. Only Long supports writing back comments and notes.

  

• Wide stores measures as columns. As additional measures are added, the writeback table automatically adds corresponding columns. Totals and subtotals aren't written back in Wide format.

  

• Long with changes uses delta writeback. Only modified values are written back. The original values are stored in PreviousValue, and new values are stored in Value. The system also sets IsLatest = 1 to identify the latest row. Delta writeback works for both numeric and text data type adjustments.

  

• Wide with changes uses delta writeback, but each measure is stored in a separate column. It maintains change history and uses IsLatest to identify the active record.

  

After the first writeback, changing the Writeback Type displays a warning before existing tables are deselected in Settings > Destinations. The table can be reselected for writeback; however, the system checks for conflicts between the existing table type and the selected Writeback type. If a conflict is detected, the system prompts to drop and write back the table. When in doubt, create a new table and run writeback instead of dropping an existing table.

Changing row or column dimensions displays a warning before it drops and writes back the table.

Filter Type

Use filters to control which data gets written back to the destination. Select from predefined options or apply custom filters.

The options are:

• None: Writes back the entire report or scenario without applying any filter.

• Data with Comments only: Writes back the cells that contain comments. This option only works with the Long writeback type.

• Calculated rows only: Writes back only calculated rows, including any notes added to those rows.

Date Key configuration

Select Add Date Key to add a date key column to the writeback table. For high-level planning scenarios such as revenue by year or month, planning appends a representative date to the date dimension. The system uses the first day of the year, month or quarter. For example, when the column dimensions are year–month, planning writes 01-01-2025 for January 2025.

In this example, the planning is done at month level. The record date column in the writeback table captures the date key for each month.

Decimal Precision

Use Decimal Precision to define the number of digits after the decimal point. This is a one-time setting that applies to all destinations configured for a planning sheet. Set the precision when you configure the first writeback destination.

The configured precision is displayed in the Decimal Precision section under writeback settings.

Text Length

Use Text Length to control the number of characters written back for text fields. The default limit is 512 characters. When you add the first destination, you can either keep the default limit or allow writeback up to the maximum supported by the backend. This is also a one-time setting for all database destinations on that report page.

The Text Length section in writeback settings shows the set text length as follows.

After setting this option, writeback fails if the actual text length exceeds the configured limit.