EPM Tech Tips · EDM · 04
In Oracle Enterprise Data Management, a change to a Planning dimension can fail at two points: when you submit the request, or when you export the dimension to Planning. Both come from the same source: EDM checks your changes against the rules Planning enforces and stops the change when one is broken. This guide gives you a fixed order to check them.
Before you start
Reproduce the problem. Open the draft request and run Validate yourself, or run the export again and expand its row in the History section. Note the exact message and the node it points to.
Pick your route. If the request will not submit, go through steps 1 to 4. If the request was committed but the export or the Planning import fails, start with step 5 and step 6, then come back to steps 2 to 4 for the nodes the export flags.
Step 1 · What does the validation result say?
What happens. EDM validates a request automatically when you submit it. Each failing request item gets an error or a warning. Errors block the submit. Warnings let you continue after you confirm. The message names the failed validation, which points you to the right step below.
How to check.
Open the draft request and click Requests to open the request panel.
Click the ellipsis next to All Items and select Validate. You can also validate one request item from its own ellipsis.
Select a node in the validation results. EDM moves to that node in the viewpoint and outlines the invalid properties in red in the property pane.
For many issues, click Download Validation Results to get the list in a file.
Fix. Correct each node with a request action: update the property, change the parent, or remove the node. A node used in several places can appear more than once, so resolve each instance.
Step 2 · Is the name or alias legal for Planning?
What happens. Planning has strict naming rules, and EDM applies them when the application is registered. Names and aliases have a maximum of 80 characters. Some characters are not allowed anywhere, such as quotation marks, brackets, backslash and slash. Others are not allowed as the first character, such as @, &, the hyphen, the period and the underscore. Names cannot start or end with a space.
EDM also enforces uniqueness. Name Uniqueness fails when a member name is already used by another node anywhere in the application, not only in the same dimension. Member Name Conflicts fails when a member has the same name as a dimension, a cube or an attribute dimension. Alias Uniqueness fails when two sibling nodes have the same alias.
How to check.
Read the property flagged in red. Core.Name points to the member name. Alias points to the alias for that alias table.
Search the application's other dimensions for the same name.
If the name is new, check whether another open request adds the same name. EDM can check names against other in-flight requests if the Duplicate Name Check Against Inflight Requests validation is enabled.
Fix. Rename the node or its alias. If your naming standard needs a character EDM rejects, change the standard, since Planning would reject it anyway.
Step 3 · Do Data Storage and Plan Type settings agree?
What happens. Several validations compare properties on the same node or with its parent:
Cube Data Storage and Data Storage: the default Data Storage is Shared or Label Only, but the cube-level Data Storage is something else.
Plan Types: a node is enabled for a cube, but its parent is not.
Source Plan Type: the source cube is not one of the cubes the member is enabled for.
Formula Allowed: the node has a formula, but its Data Storage is not Dynamic Calc or Dynamic Calc and Store.
Smart List Required: the Data Type is Smart List, but no Smart List is assigned.
Variance Reporting: the setting does not match the Account Type, for example an Expense account that is not set to Expense.
How to check.
Select the node and review its Planning properties in the property pane, both the default value and the value for each cube.
For a Plan Types error, walk up the hierarchy and check the cube flag on each ancestor.
Check whether the value is set on the node or inherited from an ancestor, and fix it where it is defined.
Fix. Make the cube-level value consistent with the default, enable the cube on the parent first, or change the Data Storage before you add the formula.
Step 4 · Are the shared members placed correctly?
What happens. Planning needs the base member to come before its shared members in the outline. Shared Member before Base Member fails when a shared node appears above the base node in the hierarchy. Shared Members fails when a shared member points to a member in another dimension.
How to check.
Find the base node and each shared instance in the viewpoint.
Compare their positions in the hierarchy, including the custom order of siblings.
Fix. Move the shared node below its base, or reorder the alternate hierarchy so it comes after the primary one. With alphanumeric sorting, renaming a node can change the order.
Step 5 · Did the export validate the right viewpoint?
What happens. A request can commit cleanly and the export still fail. The export starts from the top node of the dimension's node set and runs the validations set by the Validate Before Export option. That option has three values: Disabled (the default), Alert on Error, and Discontinue on Error. With Alert on Error, the export runs even when validations fail, and Planning then receives a file it may reject.
How to check.
Go to Applications, click the ellipsis on the Planning application and select Export. Select the dimension.
Click the dimension name in the Summary section to open the inspector, then check Validate Before Export on the Import/Export tab.
In the History section, expand the row for the failed export to see the validation errors and the number of records exported.
Confirm the dimension is Active and that you have at least Data Manager permission.
Inspect the dimension and open the Validations tab, Predefined sub tab. Check whether a validation was disabled or set to Warning or Ignore, which keeps it from running before export.
Fix. Set Validate Before Export to Discontinue on Error, so a broken export stops in EDM instead of in Planning. Click the viewpoint name in the export screen to resolve the errors, then click Back to Export.
Step 6 · Did the Planning import reject the file?
Exporting to a connection only drops the file in the Planning inbox, and EDM validations do not cover everything the Planning import checks. The import does not run on its own. Run a saved Import Metadata job in Planning (Application › Overview › Dimensions › Import) or epmautomate importMetadata, then open the import job in the Jobs console and read the error file for rejected records. Fix the node in EDM through a request, not in Planning, or the next export will overwrite your change. Then refresh the database so the cubes pick up the new metadata.
Quick checklist
Read the validation result · Request panel › All Items › Validate
Legal, unique name and alias · Core.Name and Alias properties
Data Storage and Plan Type agree · Property pane, default and cube values
Base member before shared member · Viewpoint hierarchy order
Validate Before Export setting · Export › dimension inspector, History
Planning import errors · Planning Import Metadata job and its error file
Pedro San Martín · Founder & Principal, Asher & Company
