Linking to external Data
How to link Assumptions to external Data points
Overview
Models includes an application for managing commonly used Data, leveraging the power of Units and Tags.
Model Assumptions can link to this Data, which provides benefits over entering the data manually within the Model:
Values stored in Data are linked to a Data Source (a document or URL), which can be instantly opened from Models to quickly understand where values originate
Values stored in Data can be reused across multiple Models
External Data Step
From the Assumptions wizard, you can select and create new Data from which to take values.
The External Data page presents you with a list of Data in available Namespaces and an Item Status control.
In the Item Status control, you can:
See whether Data is available for your Assumptions - a green background indicates that one or more Data points are available
See when Data is selected - a
tick indicates whether an item has been selectedFilter the list of Data to matching Units - a
filter symbol indicates when an Assumption is an active filter - click on any cell or heading in the table to change the active filters (by default, all cells are active filters)
If no matching Data is present, you can create new Data in the Data list, which will bring up a new Data wizard. Read more about the Data wizard here. The wizard will be configured according to the filters set in the Item Status control.
For instance, in the example screenshot above, if all three cells are set as active filters, creating new Data will open a dialog with the correct Unit and Dimensions pre-populated for the three
Monthly Price per Memberassumptions.
On closing the Data wizard, new Data will have been added to the list and selected.
When creating new Data, it is often faster to enter local values first, then convert them to Data, as described in the section below
Converting Local Values to Data
In the Assumptions list, If you select one or more Assumptions with local values, you will see a button (highlighted in the screenshot above) to convert the selected local values to Data.
Pressing the button will open a new wizard in which you can:
Select which Scenarios you would like to convert to Data (only shown if more than one Scenario contains local Data)
Select a Data Source to apply to the Data
Completing the wizard will create the new Data and reference it from your Assumptions.
Converting Data to Local Values
The converse operation is also possible, converting Assumptions that reference external Data to local values.
If you select one or more Assumptions that reference external Data (as indicated by the 
arrow next to the value (1) ), you will see a button (2) to convert the Data to local values.
Pressing the button will open a new wizard which will prompt you to select whether or not to delete the Data after converting.
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