Reporting on Results with Workbooks – Slope Software

Workbooks are Slope's reporting tool used to view model results from Slope and create data visualizations. A workbook is a collection of saved queries and visualizations and can contain multiple worksheets (tabs at the bottom of the screen).

The benefits of the new Workbooks module include:

Easier to build reports and visualizations with fewer clicks and common formulas
Seamless reporting on data from different datasets (formerly explores) and projections with better joining and union capabilities
The ability to pivot, calculate, filter, and sort through your data in real time with ease

Getting Started:

To support our clients, we have created a Training Workbook which provides guidance on working with Slope data in Workbooks. To access the Slope training workbook, click the folder icon found in the lower left hand corner and click on Workspaces.

Under the system folder, you'll find a Training Workbook which will prompt you to "Save As" and "Edit" so you can practice working with Slope data.

How to edit a workbook:

To edit one of the system workbooks, begin by clicking the 'Save As' button in the lower right hand corner (shown below).

Give your workbook a name and select either the 'My Documents' folder, create a new folder or select your account workspace and click 'Save'.

Clicking the Edit button in the lower right corner will allow you to edit and add to the workbook. The diagram below shows the various components of a workbook when in edit mode.

Editor Panel: Organizes data (axis, pivot rows and columns etc)
Column List: Lists the columns included in the element
Datasource: Shows columns in the element and additional columns in the datasource that are not included in the element.
Formula Bar: Calculates data
Data Element Window: Display area for tables, pivot tables, visualizations etc.

How to create a new workbook:

To create a new workbook click the folder icon in the lower left corner of any workbook, select 'Workspaces' > 'System' > 'Blank Workbook'. From here you can Save As, Edit and remove the explainer text by clicking the three dots of the element and 'Delete'

To add desired data elements to the blank workbook, click the + icon in the top left corner of the workbook. Select the element you wish to add and then the desired data source for the element. For example, to add a table with Product Variable results, select the 'Product Variable Aggregate' dataset.

Right clicking on the columns will allow you to rename, hide or delete and format your data columns.

Once you have finished your workbook, click publish.

How to rename, move, copy (save as) or delete my workbook:

When looking at a workbook that is saved in one of your personal folders (under 'My Documents') or in your account workspace, you may click the folder icon in the lower left corner. Here you can take several actions including renaming your workbook, moving it to a different folder, copying (via 'Save As') deleting it and sending a pdf copy of the workbook via email.

How to add conditional formatting to a table:

When in Edit mode, click the table you wish to add conditional formatting to, select the paint brush found in the far left panel and click 'Conditional Formatting'.

Click + Add rule found near the top of the panel on the left hand side. Select the columns you want to apply the formatting to, the desired rule and styling when the cell satisfies the condition. Below is an example of conditional formatting to turn negative values red.

How to Debug results from a workbook:

Currently, links to the debug view can be found on the default Projection Run Summary workbook when the needed filter values and are provided and fields included in the table. When a result is in orange font, that means there is a link to the debug view for this calculation.

Below is a summary of the required information to access the debug view from the Model Point, Portfolio and Company results tables.

How to export the data from a workbook:

Click on the 3 dot icon in the top right corner of the element you wish to export. Select 'Download' and then choose your desired format.

You can also email a PDF, CSV, Excel or Image file of a data element using the Send Now functionality found under the folder icon in the lower left corner of the workbook. Make sure you select the desired element from the attachment drop down.

How to add filters to a workbook:

System dashboards contain built-in filters such as Projection ID. It is important that all of your workbooks contain at least one Projection ID filter. Some workbooks that are comparing projections will use multiple Projection IDs.

To add a filter, click the + icon in the top left corner, scroll down on the left hand panel to the 'Control Elements' section and select the desired control (Note: In most cases the List Values control is most appropriate).

Select the Control Element (for Projection ID, Product Name, Portfolio, etc you will choose Include Values) and then the Value Source. You will see that Projection ID is available on all Data Sources. Once you have selected the source of your values, you can choose the filter's source column. The source column is where the values are coming from. Select desired filter settings and a label for your filter.

Finally, you will want to specify the targets or that is the datasources and elements in your workbook that you want this filter to impact. For Projection ID(s), you should make sure that you are targeting all of your sources and elements by this control so that the data is filtered down to the desired Projection ID. Click '+ Add target' for each data source and element you want this filter to control. Note: If you target a data source, all elements using that datasource will be filtered by the control. If you want to be more selective, you can target specific data elements instead.

New elements, including filters, are automatically added to the bottom of a workbook so you may want to use the grab bar next to the three dots icon on the element to move the filter to the top of you workbook.

For help with data calculation and visualization, check out this article.

Slope System Dashboard Migration Status:

Ultimately, Workbooks will replace our Dashboards module (powered by Looker). The Dashboards module is scheduled to be sunset at the end of 2022 and will not be available beginning in 2023. Below is the current status and migration plan for the existing system dashboards.

Current System Dashboard Name	Migration Plan	Status
Company Duration/Convexity Portfolio Duration/Convexity ALM	These three dashboards will be combined into a single ALM workbook.	Available Now
Run Summary Company Variable Results Portfolio Variable Results Product Variable Results Grouped Product Results Model Point Details Model Point Force Recalc Results Error Report	These dashboards have been combined into the Projection Run Summary Workbook which loads by default upon selecting the Workbooks module in Execute and Analyze. Each dashboard has their own tab within the workbook.	Available Now
GAAP Income Statement/Balance Sheet	This dashboard will be available in a workbook with additional Balance Sheet and Income Statement comparison tabs like those that are available for US Stat.	Available Now
US Statutory Income Statement/Balance Sheet Statutory Balance Sheet Comparison Statutory Income Statement Comparison	These dashboards will be available in a single workbook with a tab for each of the dashboards.	Available Now
Structured Asset	This dashboard will be available as a workbook.	In Progress
Asset Product Summary Liability Product Summary	These dashboards will be available as separate tabs within a Product Summary workbook.	Available Now
Portfolio Summary	This dashboard will be available as a workbook.	Available Now
Product Account Value	This dashboard will not be migrated.	N/A
Statutory IS/BS	This dashboard will not be migrated as it is a legacy format for the IS/BS.	N/A
Projection Summary	This dashboard will not be migrated.	N/A
Scenario Summary	This dashboard will not be migrated.	N/A

Once the system dashboards have been migrated, we will continue to expand our workbook library to provide enhanced data visualization and reporting.