Good file management helps you get the most out of Anaplan XL and keep your workbooks safe and running smoothly.

Recommendations

Follow these practices to keep your Anaplan XL Reporting workbooks safe, consistent, and easy to manage.

  1. Turn off Auto-Save on Anaplan XL files: Turn off autosave on every Anaplan XL file you can access. This prevents accidental saves that could corrupt the file structure.
  2. Work from your local drive: Save and open Anaplan XL files from your local drive — not from SharePoint or OneDrive. Shared cloud locations can cause version conflicts and accidental overwrites. Always use a Windows desktop version of Excel. Excel for the Web and Excel for Mac aren't supported.
  3. Create a golden copy template: Pick one master workbook as your official starting point — your golden copy. Store it in a central location, but keep it read-only. Everyone should download a fresh copy to their local drive before starting work. This keeps things consistent and gives you a reliable backup. If your local file gets corrupted, grab a new copy of the golden copy.
  4. Use Check-in/Check-out for template edits: When your team shares a master template on SharePoint, use the built-in check-in/check-out feature. This ensures only one person can make structural changes at a time — protecting the template before it reaches end users.
  5. Set files to read-only: Turn on Excel's read-only setting on shared Anaplan XL workbooks. This stops accidental edits.
  6. Align Anaplan XL versions to maintain workbook compatibility: All users must run the same version of the Anaplan XL add-in. Anaplan XL only supports upward compatibility — a workbook built with a newer version can break on an older version. Sync versions across your team, especially after a new release.
  7. Manage your connection: Anaplan session time-out is 35 minutes. You can’t change this setting. To avoid losing your session:
    • While working: Interacting with slicers keeps your connection active. For a full refresh, select Refresh Grids, Formulae, or Connections on the Anaplan XL ribbon.
    • When stepping away: Close the workbook. When you return, reopen it to start a fresh session.

Troubleshoot grids that won't refresh

If your grids stop updating, follow these steps in order:

  1. Check activation: See if the workbook needs manual activation. If the workbook opened in a disabled state, select Activate Workbook on the Anaplan XL ribbon.
  2. Refresh connections: Select Refresh Connections on the Anaplan XL ribbon to reconnect to the model.
  3. Reset the session: Close the workbook without saving, then reopen it. This starts a completely fresh session.
  4. Use the backup template:  If none of the above work, replace your workbook with a fresh copy of the golden copy (see step 3 Create a golden copy template)