Unlinking categories in mirrored workbook

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Tarjei Kirkesaether A+ 58
TK
Unlinking categories in mirrored workbook

My model contains 5 modules, one is for 'global' assumptions (Global), and the other 4 are mirrored and calculates business unit specific capex forecasts (BU modules). I have created a category block in the 'global' assumptions sheet which contains all capex categories and I link the required categories in to each of the mirrored modules. 

Now I need to add a further mirrored 'BU' module and move two of the categories from one unit to another. I therefore unlink the two categories I need to move from the original BU module and link them into the new BU module. The problem arises when I then go back to the original BU model and try to delete the now redundant "spare" categories because it also deletes the categories on the 'Global Assumption' category block and also in the new BU module! 

What am I doing wrong? I would have thought that the 'unlinking' bit should have avoided this

Jun Yan A+ 124

Hey Tarjei,

It sounds like this is arising because of the mirrored modules that share the module link.

When you unlink the module that's fine, but as soon as you try and delete the redundant categories, you are deleting the same categories across the mirrored modules. Since your mirrored modules are linked by the precedent "global" assumptions sheet, it is removing those categories also.

Hope that helps.

Michael Hutchens A+ 189

Hi Guys,

The management of links within Modano is designed to be recursive - i.e. flow throughout the model and keep link relationships alive when adding/deleting categories, etc.

If you want to link some, but not all, categories in a precedent module into a dependent module, you really need to manually manage the links using the Precedent Links Pane to ensure that the link flows throughout the entire model are clean before adding/deleting categories.

If you find that deleting categories from one module results in categories being deleted from another module, it means that the categories you're deleting are somehow (either via precedent and/or dependent modules) flowing into the module categories that are also being deleted. So you need to remove ALL links into, and out of, these categories and any related categories (i.e. other categories within other category blocks within the same categories group) BEFORE deleting the categories.

Links between categories can flow backwards (via links in from precedent modules) and forwards (via links into dependent modules) and can even be circular if you've managed to link into modules which then directly or indirectly link back into the active module, so you really need to trace the module link structures you've created any understand the flows before adding/deleting categories within links in/out. The easy thing to overlook is links in/out of related categories, as I've mentioned above.

I hope this makes sense, it can be easy to get tied up in knots when creating advanced module linking structures...