How to Create and Use Active Forms
How to Create and Use Active Forms
Active Forms are dynamic reports that automatically expand and collapse rows based on TM1 data. This page explains how to create them from Excel and from the cube view, how to write data back to TM1, and how to use the context menu.
Creating an Active Form from Excel
Open a new worksheet in Excel.
Right-click on a cell and select Slice context menu → Active Form → Insert Active Form.
Select the desired view (e.g. Data Template from the General Ledger cube) and click OK.
Creating an Active Form from the Cube View
In a new sheet, open the P&L by Account view from the General Ledger cube.
Choose to export it as an Active Form.
Use Toggle Format Area to show the format columns (C, D, E) and apply readable number formatting.
Enter a sample number to preview the format, then toggle the format area back to hidden.
Click Rebuild Sheet (
ALT+F9) to apply.
Writing Data Back to TM1 with Paste Range
To write data back to TM1 from DBRW/DBR formulas:
Manually type a value in a cell (e.g.
50in cell D21).Copy that cell.
Select the rest of the row.
Click Paste Range from the Slice Ribbon.
The values are sent to the TM1 server. After refreshing the sheet (SHIFT+F9), the cells will show the updated consolidated values while retaining their DBRW formulas.
Using the Context Menu on an Active Form
Right-clicking on the data area of an Active Form reveals the Slice context menu:
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Active Form | Insert a new Active Form into the workbook or sheet |
Trace Rules | Explore how a cell's value is calculated |
Drill Through | Drill through to a cube (requires administrator setup) |
Annotations | Write comments directly in the TM1 database for a given cell/data intersection |
Cell Audit | Displays the cube, dimension, hierarchy, and element that a cell refers to — useful for troubleshooting missing or incorrect values |
Adding Annotations
Right-click on a cell → Slice → Annotations.
Click Add, write your comment, then click Save.
Annotations are saved on the TM1 Server and are visible to all users. In Excel, a small flag in the top-right corner of a cell indicates an annotation is present.
Using Cell Audit to Troubleshoot Errors
Cell Audit is especially useful when a formula returns a #VALUE! error.
Right-click on the error cell → Slice → Cell Audit.
The audit window displays each element, the dimension it belongs to, and whether the intersection is valid.
Expand the cell reference to trace each individual formula component.
Example: If you type VarX in a dimension element cell (such as the Version field), all formulas in that column will return #VALUE!. Cell Audit will correctly identify that the Version dimension reference is invalid.