Metric-to-Metric Import

Metric-to-Metric import is a type of Block-to-Block import. It allows you to import from one Metric to another Metric with the same Dimensions and data type. These imports can be saved and triggered by an Action widget or set as a scheduled import. This article discusses use cases and how to configure Metric-to-Metric imports.

Before you begin

Metric-to-Metric importing uses data from one Metric (Block) as the source for another. It works only when the source and target Metrics have the same Dimensions and data type. You can use it to import data between Scenarios within the same Metric or between different Metrics. You can save these imports and then schedule them or trigger them using a button.

By default, only populated source values are imported, so blank source cells do not overwrite existing target values. If Clear values prior to import is enabled, values within the selected clearing scope are removed before the populated source values are imported.

Source Metric values, including formula values and overrides, are imported into the target Metric as hardcoded inputs. This differs from Clone data to, which copies only input and overridden data, not formula values.

Access and Permissions

Consider the following permissions required for Metric-to-Metric imports:

Members must have Configure Imports permission to set up this import or Run Imports permission to trigger an existing saved configuration. For more information, see About Roles, Permissions and Access Rights.
Members also need at least partial Read access on the Source Metric. The import will include only the data they have access to, based on their access rights.

⚠️ Important
Configure Imports and Run Imports are independent permissions. Holding one permission does not automatically grant the other.

ℹ️ Note
Imports must match Metrics in terms of both Dimensions and data type. However, you can choose different Scenarios as sources or targets for importing.

When to use Metric-to-Metric imports

There are several different ways you can use Metric-to-Metric importing. The key thing to remember is that your Dimensions and data type must match. If a Metric does not have the same Dimensions and data type, it will not appear in the Source dropdown.

Use scheduled Metric imports to reduce recalculations

Metric-to-Metric import configurations can be saved and scheduled to run at different intervals. This allows you to disconnect Metrics that do not need to be updated in real time and rather can be updated, daily or weekly for example. The main benefit of disconnecting parts of your model is that your model will not need to recalculate as much and therefore will perform better.

ℹ️ Note
To schedule a saved import, you need both the Configure Imports and Run Imports permissions. To trigger it manually with an Action widget, you only need the Run Imports permission.

Use cases

Control the flow of data between Applications. If you don’t need data changes to impact other Applications in real time, you can use Metric importing to disconnect Applications. You can either schedule Metric imports on Shared Metrics or use an Action widget to trigger them, reducing the number of calculations and giving you greater control over your data flow.
Reduce calculations for Metrics designed for exporting. Large Metrics built for regular exports can be disconnected from upstream calculations and populated through Metric-to-Metric imports before their data is exported to an external system. These Metrics may aggregate data from many other Metrics or use formulas that only need to be calculated once before each export. If formulas prevent you from importing directly into the export Metric, create intermediate Metrics. Import data from the source Metrics into the intermediate Metrics, then reference those Metrics in the export Metric’s formula.
Reduce unnecessary recalculations from Access rights Metrics used in an Access rights Rule. Each time an Access Rights Metric is recalculated it can impact a large part of your Application. That’s why reducing Access Rights Metric recalculations can significantly improve your model performance. To do this, set up a Metric-to-Metric import in place of the formula from your Access Rights Metric. You can then schedule this import to be run at a lower frequency.

🛡️ Warning
Replacing the formula in an access rights Metric means that if a new Member is added, they will not have the current access rights configuration until the import is run. Contact your Solution Architect before implementing this practice.

Freeze data to transform formula data into inputs

You can use a Metric import to freeze values that have been computed through a formula. This is relevant when you build a Changelog in your Application or when you want to freeze output values to make sure they are not going to change anymore.

Pull data from a Snapshot into a live Application

Metric-to-Metric importing can be used to import data from a Metric in a Snapshot into a Metric in a live Application. Source and target Metrics must share the same structure and type. You can define how missing Dimension Items are handled, either by ignoring them or by configuring the import to fail entirely if any are missing.

Pull data from a Recovered Application into a live Application

Metric-to-Metric importing can be used to import data from a Metric in a Recovered Application into a Metric in a live Application. Recovered Applications are created from automatic backups in Pigment and provide access to a previous state of your Workspace. The import process is identical to other Metric-to-Metric imports.

Pull data from one Scenario into another Scenario

Metric-to-Metric importing can be used to transfer data from one Scenario to another, either within the same Metric or between different Metrics. This is useful for passing inputs between Scenarios.

By default, only populated source values are imported, so blank source cells do not overwrite existing target values. If Clear values prior to import is enabled, values within the selected clearing scope may be removed before the populated source values are imported.

Validate data before connecting to calculations

Data from external sources can first be imported into a staging or intermediary Metric for review and validation. Members can review this data on a Board, then use an Action widget linked to a saved Metric-to-Metric import configuration to transfer the validated data from the staging Metric to a connected Metric.

⚠️ Important
Members need the Run Imports permission to trigger a saved import through an Action widget. The Configure Imports permission is also required to create or modify the import configuration.

How to set up Metric-to-Metric importing

A Metric-to-Metric import allows you to import data from a Source Metric into a Target Metric. The Source Metric is where the data is pulled from, and the Target Metric is the Metric that receives the imported data. You can also choose to import data from a specific Scenario.

⚠️ Important
A Member must have Configure Imports permission and at least partial Read access to the Source Metric to set up this import. This includes the initial run in item 3 of Step 2: Selective mapping and clear values in target Metric below, even if the configuration is never saved. Only the values that are accessible to this Member will be imported.

Step 1: Select the source

To start the import, select a source Metric to pull data from.

Open the Target Metric.
In the top-right corner of the Metric, select the three-dot menu, then select Import Data.
Select Pigment Metric.
Select a Metric from the source Metric menu.
(Optional) Select Use a Metric from a Snapshot or a Recovered Application, then toggle between Snapshots or Recovered Apps to select the source Application and Metric.
(Optional) Select a Scenario from the source Scenario menu.
Select Set up import.

Step 2: Selective mapping and clear values in target Metric

1. (Optional) Configure your Selective mapping settings. For more information, see Selective Mapping.

2. (Optional) Toggle on the Clear values prior to import setting. For more information, see Clear values prior to import.

3. Select Import.

⚠️ Important
Selecting Import during setup is considered part of configuring the import. It requires Configure Imports, not Run Imports, even if you don’t save the configuration. Run Imports is required when triggering an existing saved configuration.

Step 3: Import report

(Optional) Select Save in the Import Summary panel to save the import configuration. For more information, see How to Manually Run Imports.

Selective mapping

Selective Mapping allows you to filter and remap values from one specific Dimension Item to another Item during an import.

This is useful when you want to import data associated with one Item in the Source Metric and load it into a different Item in the Target Metric.

ℹ️ Note
You can use Parameters in Selective mapping to allow Members to choose source or target Items each time they run a saved import configuration. Creating, editing or deleting these Parameters requires the Configure Imports permission. Members with the Run Imports permission can use existing Parameters when triggering a saved configuration. For more information, see Customize Data Actions with Parameters.

Example:

Import data from the Optimistic Item of the Version Dimension in the source Metric, and load it into the Final Item of the same Version Dimension in the target Metric.

How to set up a Selective mapping

The Source Item imports only the related values from the Source Metric, while the Target Item defines where the data will be loaded in the Target Metric.

1. Select Add Dimension and select one of the Dimensions from the source Metric.

2. Select the Source Item.

3. Select the Target Item.

4. (Optional) Repeat the process to add more Dimensions and define additional mappings.

ℹ️ Note
The Preview displays the source data that will be imported before the remapping is applied.

Clear values prior to import

Before importing, clearing values provides the option to remove either all data from the designated Metric or a specific subset of data.

Turn on Clear values prior to import to clear existing data from the target Metric before importing new values.

There are two options: All values and Limited Scope:

All values clears all data from the target Metric.
Limited Scope clears only the target data associated with populated source Items across the selected Dimensions.

How limited scope works

Limited Scope lets you clear a defined area of the target Metric while leaving other areas unchanged. Select one or more Dimensions to define the clearing scope. For each selected Dimension, Pigment identifies the Items associated with populated data in the source Metric and clears the corresponding target data before importing the new values.

For example, if you select the Months Dimension, Pigment uses the Items with populated data in the source Metric to determine which months to clear in the target Metric. If the source Metric contains data for January, February and March, all target data for those months is cleared before the new values are imported.

The source Metric shown above contains three Dimensions: Months, Products and Country. The examples below show which target data is cleared based on the selected Dimensions.

Months. All existing target data from January through June is cleared before the import across all Products and Countries. Data for other months, such as July, August and September, is not affected.
Products. All existing target data for Products B and C is cleared before the import because those Products contain data in the source Metric. Product A is not affected because the source Metric doesn’t contain data for it.
Country. All existing data in the target Metric is cleared because the source Metric contains data for every Country Item.
Months & Products. When you select multiple Dimensions, only cells associated with matching Items across all selected Dimensions qualify for clearing. In this example, data for Products B and C from January through June is cleared before the import. Data outside those Product and Month combinations remains unchanged.

⚠️ Important
Selecting multiple Dimensions narrows the clearing scope to data associated with matching source Items across all selected Dimensions.

Snapshot Item matching

You can define how Dimension Item mismatches are handled when importing data from a Snapshot:

Go to Snapshot Item matching.
Under the In case of missing Items section:
1. Select Fail import to stop the entire import when a missing Dimension Item is found. No values are imported.
2. Select Reject row to skip values associated with missing Dimension Items and continue importing the remaining values.