Can some kind soul explain to me how I can link subtotal headings between modules? I've been trying, without success, for months now.
In one module, I have a category group which contains all labels for districts of a country (which are entered as assumptions.). There are 72 districts. These districts are grouped under subheadings of their three regions. I replace the autogenerated names (e.g. subtotal 3 name, subtotal 2 name.) with the names of the regions.
In a second module, I want to import the names of the districts, grouped into their regions, in an initial column. I then set up assumption rows in following columns to collect numbers of a certain activity type which will happen in each district.
To do so, I have created a separate category group in the new module to contain all labels for districts of the country. I have created a module link between the labels module and this module.
When I try to link the rows into the new module, I can link the district names. But when I try to link the region names, I receive a warning:
"The selected precedent module links contain at least one subtotal that has already had at least one of its categories linked into the selected category block, which may therefor result in double counting after linking
"Are you sure you want to link both categories and subtotals?"
If I do link them, then they are treated like categories, and not subtotal headings or subtotals.
Any suggestions on how I can link subtotal headings between modules without them being treated like categories?
Hi Winthrop,
I'm not 100% sure what you mean, but Modano only allows categories, subtotals and totals to be linked into dependent module category blocks - i.e. subtotal headings cannot be linked in.
The simplest workaround for this is to group the categories in both the precedent and dependent module into the same subtotals, and then manually enter formulas in the dependent module subtotal headings which reference their corresponding precedent subtotal headings. The subtotal style (Build tab, Assumptions menu, Sub-Total) is an assumptions style, so you can enter formulas into each subtotal heading separately - although this is not strictly best practice.
The only downside of this approach is that you will need to manually align and re-link subtotal if subtotals are added or removed from either module.
You may also be able to use a freeform formula as a workaround, but I'd need to see an example to give you more clarity on that. And freeform formulas do not survive when modules are reused, so they should generally be avoided unless you're not intending to reuse modules.
The inability to link subtotal headings between modules is something we're aware of, but we haven't prioritized changing this limitation because it's rarely a major issue and there's usually workarounds. Subtotals are really designed as an output presentation grouping tool rather than something that should permeate across modules.
If you can upload an example of your modules to this thread, I might be able to provide you with more information and even an example.
Dear Michael:
Thank you for your helpful and clear response.
I can understand the logic of designing subtotals as an output presentaton grouping tool. Ultimately, it makes the model more flexible, as you can adjust the groupings according to your needs at that point in the process.
While I've been able to use freeform formulas to acheive what I wanted, your explanation has given me the information I need to recognize that this may not be the best approach. I think I will rather create separate category groups which can be totalled at that level.
Regards,
Win
All good Winthrop.
As a further note on this, you can always have multiple category blocks in the same categories group within the same module with subtotal headings linked and auto-aligned. It's just between modules that this cannot be done.
I hope this makes sense.
Regarding the subtotal headings, is there way of keeping them when 'resetting' assumptions?
Hi Tarjei
As I'm sure you know, the Sub-Total style is an assumptions heading style, so the values in cells styled using this style will currently be reset when the Reset Assumptions tool is ran, as it resets the values in all assumptions cell blocks.
Having said that, it would be great to control what's reset by the Reset Assumptions tool, so we'll aim to include this capability in an upcoming upgrade.
Thanks, M.