Update current period action

As a workspace administrator, you can create an update current period action. This enables you to update the current period via a line item with the Time period format.

A workspace administrator can always update the current period for an individual model via the Model calendar, but this may not always be convenient or time effective. The Update current period action enables you to:

• Set the current period from a dashboard in your model
• Import the current period from a file
• Update the current period as part of a process
• Publish a process that updates the current period to a dashboard or add the process to a page in the User Experience
• Use a data hub to update multiple models to the same current period
• Schedule updates for the current period via Anaplan Connect

The Update current period action updates the current period with data from a Time period format line item in a systems module. The systems module can include other dimensions, but the line item must not have any dimensions applied to it.

If you publish the action and the Time period format line item to a dashboard, you can update the current period from there. Just select the new current period in the line item, then run the action.

You can use an import to update the line item that the Update current period action uses, and then run the action to update the current period.

Once you've set up the update current period action and a data import, you can combine these in a process.

You can publish a process to a dashboard to run both actions from a single button. You can also add the process to a page in the User Experience. This enables you to update the current period without even entering your model.

It's good practice to use a data hub model as a central place to set and update model settings for multiple models. The models you update via a data hub are known as spokes.

Create the systems module with a Time period format line item in both your data hub and spoke models. Then, in the spoke models, set up an Update current period action that references the Time period line item.

When you want to update the current period, change the time period in the line item in the data hub. You can then import the Time period line item data into your spoke models and run the Update current period action.

To maximize efficiency, create a process to import the line item data and run the Update current period action. You can then publish the process to a dashboard or add it to a page in the User Experience. 

You can use Anaplan Connect to schedule imports, actions, and processes. Once you've set up your import, update current period action, and process, you can schedule updates to the current period to run automatically every time a new period starts. You just need to enter a new current period in the source file or model before the process is scheduled to run.