EPM Tech Tips · Planning · 01
A gray cell in an Oracle EPM Planning form is the most common ticket a Planning admin gets. The cell is read-only for one of a handful of reasons, and checking them in a fixed order solves most cases in minutes instead of hours. This guide gives you that order.
Before you start
Reproduce the problem with the user's own login, or ask for the exact form, POV and cell. Admins see more than users do, so a cell that is open for you may be closed for them.
Pick your route. If the whole form is gray, check the POV and page members first: a parent there (step 3) or a member the user can only read (step 2) locks every cell. Then go to step 4 (approvals) and step 6 (the form itself). If only some cells are gray, go through steps 1, 2, 3 and 5 in order.
Step 1 · Is the intersection valid?
What happens. Valid intersection rules limit which member combinations can hold data, for example a product that is only sold by certain entities. Invalid combinations are shown as read-only in the form.
How to check.
Go to Navigator › Create and Manage › Valid Intersections.
Look for rule groups that include the dimensions in the cell, such as Entity and Product.
Check the anchor dimension and whether the non-anchor dimensions are marked as Required. If a non-anchor dimension is marked Required, any member not selected for it is invalid for that anchor member. If it is not Required, unselected members stay valid.
Fix. Add the combination to the rule, or confirm with the business that the combination should not accept data.
Step 2 · Does the user have write access on every dimension?
What happens. For each dimension with security enabled, the user needs write access to the member in that cell. Write on Entity is not enough if Account or Product is also secured and the user only has read there.
How to check.
Open the dimension in the Dimension Editor and confirm which dimensions have Apply Security turned on.
For each secured dimension, check the cell's member under Assign Permissions, including access inherited from parents and from groups.
Confirm the user also has write access to the form itself.
If cell-level security is defined (Navigator › Create and Manage › Cell-Level Security), check whether a rule denies write on this intersection.
Fix. Grant write at the right level, preferably through a group. If one group gives read and another gives write, check how your application resolves the conflict before you change anything. A permission granted to a group applies to every user in it, so confirm the group's membership before you widen its access.
Step 3 · Is it a level-0 member?
What happens. Members stored as Dynamic Calc or Label Only cannot take input. Parents are calculated from their children, so even when a stored parent accepts a value, the next aggregation will overwrite it. Bottom-up versions only allow input at level 0.
How to check.
Look at the cell's members on every dimension, not only the rows and columns. A parent in the POV makes the whole form read-only.
In the Dimension Editor, check each member's Data Storage property.
Check the version type: bottom-up or target.
For Account members, check that the Source Plan Type is the cube the form uses. An account sourced from another cube is read-only in this form.
Fix. Point the form at level-0 members, or use a target version if the business plans at a parent level. For an account sourced from another cube, enter the data in a form built on the source cube.
Step 4 · Is the scenario, version and approval unit open?
What happens. Each scenario has a start and end year and period. Cells outside that range are read-only. If approvals are enabled, only the current owner of the approval unit can write, and a unit that has been promoted or approved locks out everyone else.
How to check.
In the Dimension Editor, open the scenario and check its start and end year and period.
In the Dimension Editor, check that the scenario and version members are enabled for the cube the form uses (the Valid for Cubes setting).
Open Approvals and look at the status and current owner of the approval unit for that entity, scenario and version.
Fix. Extend the scenario range, reassign or reject the approval unit, or ask the current owner to make the change.
Step 5 · Is a Groovy rule locking the cells?
What happens. In Planning on EPM Enterprise, a Groovy rule set to Run After Load can force cells to read-only, for example to lock actuals or closed periods. The cells look like any other gray cell, so this is easy to miss.
How to check.
Open the form definition and go to its Business Rules tab.
Look for Groovy rules set to Run After Load.
Open each one in Calculation Manager and search for setForceReadOnly.
Fix. Adjust the condition in the rule, or confirm with its owner that the lock is intended.
Step 6 · Is the form itself read-only?
What happens. A row, column or member can be set as read-only in the form layout, and a whole form can be read-only for some users. Cells with Supporting Detail or a member formula are also read-only, and so is every cell for a user with the Ad Hoc - Read Only User role. Separately, a rule set to run after save can overwrite what the user typed, so the value seems to disappear.
How to check.
Go to Navigator › Create and Manage › Forms and open the form definition.
On the Layout tab, check the read-only setting on each row and column, and on the members in the cell.
Check whether the cell has Supporting Detail or the member has a formula.
Check whether the user has the Ad Hoc - Read Only User role.
On the Business Rules tab, look for rules set to Run After Save.
Fix. Clear the read-only setting in the layout, or move the input to a member without a formula or Supporting Detail. If the cause is the role, change it only after you confirm with the security owner, because a role change affects every form the user can open.
Quick checklist
Valid intersection · Valid Intersections
Write on every secured dimension · Assign Permissions
Level-0 and stored member · Dimension Editor › Data Storage
Scenario range, cube and approval unit · Dimension Editor and Approvals
Groovy rule forcing read-only · Form › Business Rules › Run After Load
Read-only in the layout, formula, Supporting Detail or role · Form definition and user roles
Pedro San Martín · Founder & Principal, Asher & Company
