FAQ

What is CBI Focus Planner? #

CBI Focus Planner is a custom visual for Power BI that provides advanced matrix visualization and extends Power BI with planning capabilities by adding writeback functionalities.

What are the requirements for cBI Focus Planner? #

You need an Azure SQL database (more to come!) with a data model following the star schema.

Where do I get cBI Focus Planner? #

You can download cBI Focus Planner from the Microsoft AppSource.

Which data sources are supported for writeback? #

Currently, focusing on Azure SQL Server. Many more to come!

Which authentication methods does cBI Focus Planner support? #

cBI Focus Planner supports SQL Server Authentication. Windows Authentication is not supported.

The Power BI service can’t connect to my Azure SQL Database. What is wrong? #

You need to allow Azure services and resources to access your Azure SQL Server by configuring the firewall settings in the Azure Portal.

Alternatively, you can whitelist the IP addresses of our backend service and of the Power BI service in the firewall rules of the Azure SQL server. You can use our whitelisting bash script for that. Download it from the download section.

Which browser does CBI Focus Planner support? #

We have tested CBI Focus Planner in the Power BI service running in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Safari.

Can I format elements in the cBI Focus Planner? #

Yes, you can format elements such as grid, font, cell background colors, and text colors. For more details download the user manual in the download section below.

Which planning methods does cBI Focus Planner support? #

cBI Focus Planner supports:

• Bottom-up Calculation: This method dynamically updates node values by summing up the values of leaf nodes after each change.
• Top-down Calculation: This method allows for distributing values from top nodes to leaf nodes using different splashing methods including:
  • Equally Weighted Distribution: Distributes values equally among nodes.
  • Same Value Distribution: Assigns the same value to each node.
  • Per Quota Distribution: Distributes values based on the ratio of a selected column.

I am getting errors during the validity check. What should I do? #

This message means that in the modeling of the CBI Focus Planner, no corresponding dimension tables could be found for the listed key columns of the fact table. This can happen if:

• No column from the corresponding dimension table has been included in the modeling so far.
• A column from the corresponding dimension table has been included, but the names of the key column pairs differ (see this section).
• The fact table contains a synthetic key (surrogate key) (see this section).

This message indicates that there is ambiguity for the listed dimension tables. Consequently, a unique key for this dimension cannot be determined, which is essential for the writeback. To resolve this issue, columns from the dimension table must be added to the modeling.

Example:
The table for the time dimension D_Time contains the year and the month. However, in the modeling of the CBI Focus Planner, only the month has been included so far, which means multiple items (months from different years) from the time dimension are possible. Therefore, the year must also be added to the modeling.

Primary keys of the fact table are not displayed in the Dropdowns under “Primary Key (PK) Relationships.” #

Ensure that you have set up a valid connection under “Writeback Service Settings,” as this information is queried from the database. You can then refresh the items in the dropdown using the “Refresh list” option.

Values are missing in the Dropdown for the Default Values of the Value Filters. #

First, check that no report filters or slicers are active that restrict the value range of the report. Once this is confirmed, use the “Refresh list” option in the Dropdown to update the items.

The column cannot be edited. What should I do? #

Go to the “Measures” setting option in the “Formatting Pane” and check if the measure is set to “Writable.” For details, see the section on defining editable columns (Writable/Non-Writable Cells).

If you need further assistance, please contact our support team. Contact options can be found on our homepage.