Period References

How to reference Periods from Calculations

Overview

If you need to use a date from your Model's Timings in a Calculation, you can do this using a Period Reference Calculation Part.

When you reference a period of the Model, the value returned is a representation of the number of days since 1st January 1900 at the end of the period, as explained in the Data Types documentation, equivalent to the treatment of dates in Excel.

For instance, if you want to calculate the number of days in a period of the Model, you would use the Calculation Periods - Period [-1]. This subtracts the date value at the end of the previous period from the date value at the end of the current period.

Creating Period References

There are 3 ways of creating a Period Reference:

1. Use the AutoComplete dropdown in the Formula Entry Bar (type "Periods" and select the Periods item as indicated by the clocksymbol)

2. Add a new Calculation Part, and select Period from the part type options

3. Use the Periods shortcut button which can be found at the bottom of the Calculation Part list

Editing Period References

Periods References can reference single or multiple time periods, and reference offset periods, similarly to Variable References.

See the Variable References documentation for details of how to edit these.