Introduction
Apps are the 'solutions' with which end users interact, allowing for easy data collection and reporting across an enterprise. Unless you are a system admin, admin, or modeler, you will likely work exclusively within apps.
This guide covers the basics of the Apps module and using apps:
- Navigating to and within the Apps module
- Navigating in an app
- Using app controls
- Using filters
- Using forms
- Using rules
Navigation
You can access your apps by selecting Apps from the module dropdown.
The Apps page shows all the apps accessible to you on the left pane. When an App is selected, all related app instances, which are different versions of the same app, appear in the right pane.
Note: If you cannot create multiple app instances, please contact your admin. They can enable the Allow Multiple App Instances option in the Administrator module.
Open app instance
Create a new app instance
Create a new app instance by selecting New or double-clicking the app in the left pane. New app instances always open on the app's starting page.
Open existing app instance
Continue working on an existing app instance by selecting or double-clicking the app instance in the right pane. Existing app instances will open on the page you were on last.
Discard app instance
Select the delete icon () to discard an app instance.
Note: Deleting a saved view will not delete data—just like deleting a file shortcut on your laptop will not delete the original file.
Search for apps
If you have many apps, you can input the name of your target app in the search bar () to narrow down the selection.
App navigation
When you open an app instance, you will find it typically organized into sections and pages in the navigation bar.
Tip: An app's navigation bar might be in other styles and in different positions on the page.
Change pages
Most sections have pages, which you can access as follows:
1. Hover over a section (e.g., STRATEGIC) in the navigation bar to see its pages.
2. Select a page (e.g., Strategic Assumption).
Note: Some sections do not have pages. You can access them by selecting the section in the navigation bar.
App controls
App controls are located in the top right corner of the page:
Update 
Updates the values entered in forms to the database.
Back to apps 
Return to the Apps module.
Action menu ☰
Opens the action menu.
User profile menu 
Opens the user profile menu.
Action menu
The action menu contains general actions that you can use to manage the app, export files, and more.
Refresh
Refreshes the app instance to reflect the latest metadata on your server.
Update
Updates changed values in the database. For convenience, most apps are built with an Update button on the page itself.
Save
Saves records formulas, and filter selections to the database, allowing you to come back and start from where you left off. Saved views are private to the user who saved the app instance.
Note: Saving does not update records in your database.
Tip: Keep your saved app instances as organized as possible: save and rename your app instances with user-friendly, descriptive names, restart from existing app instances if possible, delete unused app instances over time, etc.
Discard
Discards the app instance.
Open
Open another app instance of the current app.
Export Dashboard to PDF
Exports the dashboard as a PDF file to your local machine. Learn more.
Export Form to PDF
Exports a form as a PDF file to your local machine. Learn more.
Export to Excel
Export forms as Excel files (.xlsx) to your local machine. Learn more.
View Activity
View activity on the app instance.
Workflow Attachment
Manage and download workflow attachments uploaded to the app. Learn more.
User profile menu
The User Profile menu allows you to manage your user profile and sign out.
Profile
Opens your user profile, where you can change your display language and client locale. Learn more.
Sign out
Signs you out of your Kepion account.
Filters
Most pages have filters to help you switch between different datasets.
When you open a filter, you should see its selections (members) and various options.
Search
Enter a member name in the search bar to narrow down the selection.
Expand All
(Only for parent-child hierarchies) Expands the complete hierarchy.
Collapse All
(Only for parent-child hierarchies) Collapses the hierarchy to the parent members.
Clear
Removes the filter selection(s).
Multi-Select
Enables multiple member selection.
Show Selections
Enables the right pane where you can reorder and remove member selections.
Tip: You may find that filters are linked: one filter selection changes the selections available in other filters. Contact your app designer if you would like to configure or change the behavior of linked filters.
Forms
Forms display data and can accept various forms of data entry.
Color codes
Color codes indicate different types of data cells. The default colors are shown below:
- Read-only numbers/text
- Number input
- Text input for annotation
- Drop-down selection
- Aggregation line
Tip: Contact your modeler if you would like to change these colors.
Form bar
The form bar contains various actions to interact with forms. It appears above forms.
Search
Allows you to find values in the form.
Enable/Disable Column Filter
Allows or disallows you from using column filters to narrow down members displayed on the form by columns.
Sort
Organizes your form's rows based on the values in a column.
Full Screen
Opens the form in full-screen mode.
Refresh
Refreshes the form to reflect the latest metadata on your server.
Show/Hide rows with empty data
Shows or hides rows without data.
Show/Hide columns with empty data
Shows or hides columns without data.
Show/Hide spreadsheet headers
Shows or hides spreadsheet headers.
Tip: Spreadsheet headers are particularly helpful when writing formulas.
Expand/Collapse rows
Forms built with parent-child hierarchies have expand/collapse functionality on rows for convenience and useability.
You can expand rows by selecting the arrow next to the member name:
You can collapse row by selecting the triangle next to the member name:
Right-click an arrow or triangle for more expand/collapse actions depending on the member's place in the hierarchy and the collapse/expand state.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Expand to Children | Expands the selected member to the next hierarchy level. |
| Expand to Leaves | Expands the selected member and all hierarchy levels below it. |
| Expand All <Member Name> to Children | Expands the selected member to the next hierarchy level, wherever it appears. |
| Expand All <Member Name> to Leaves | Expands the selected member and all hierarchy levels below it. |
| Collapse All <Member Name> | Collapses the selected member and all hierarchy levels below it. |
| Reset | Resets the hierarchy to the default configuration. |
Data entry
Forms configured to allow data entry accept one or more of the following input methods:
Numeric
By default, data cells for numeric data entry are colored yellow. Simply enter values in the cells.
Text
You can enter text into data cells using the following two methods:
- Right-click and select Insert Comment.
- Enter text directly into the annotation data cells.
The Add Comment window allows users to input comments for a data cell. This window also supports the Clear action which clears any comments from the cell.
Cells with comments are marked by a red triangle in their top-right corners.
The second method of entering text is directly into an annotation cell. When users enter text into an annotation cell, the annotation is stored in the data model.
Note: Comments and annotations need to have the Query includes annotation and text cells option enabled in the Form Advanced Settings.
Drop-down
Drop-down menus allow for controlled entry. Users must select from a defined range of valid inputs for a particular field. Drop-downs can be configured so that each set of input values varies depending on the particular data cell.
Revert or clear data
Right-click an input-enabled data cell and you will see two options to revert or clear data.
Revert to the last saved version?
Clear the change and revert back to the cell value pulled from the server.
Clear value
Delete any contents in the cell.
Formulas
Forms support full arithmetic operators, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. For example, “=1+3/3+2*2” results in the value of 6. In addition, Forms support the following functions:
|
Worksheet Function |
Syntax |
|---|---|
|
SUM |
=SUM(D6:E6) |
|
AVERAGE |
=AVERAGE(C9:E9) |
|
IF |
=IF(FALSE, "DISPLAY TRUE","DISPL AY FALSE") |
|
VLOOKUP |
=VLOOKUP(105,C2:E7,2,TRUE) |
|
HLOOKUP |
=HLOOKUP("B", A1:C4, 3, TRUE) |
The image below shows an example of a cell with a formula:
Convert formula to value
To keep the value but remove the underlying formula, right-click the cell and select Convert formula to value.
Freeze/Unfreeze
Freezing headers or panes allows you to keep parts of a form visible as you scroll through it.
Right-click the data grid to select the freeze/unfreeze actions.
Freeze headers
Freeze the form by row or column headers.
Freeze panes
Freeze the form by cells.
Unfreeze panes
Unfreeze the form.
Export
Forms can be exported for easy sharing or use in Excel.
Right-click anywhere on the form and select one of the export actions.
Export Form to PDF
Exports a form as a PDF file to your local machine. Learn more.
Export to Excel
Export forms as Excel files (.xlsx) to your local machine. Learn more.
Printing allows you to have a physical copy of your form.
Right-click anywhere on the form and select Print.
Drill-through (Analytical)
Drill-through (Analytical) allows you to drill down to a lower level of data in the cube.
Right-click any numeric data cell on a form and select Drill-through (Analytical).
You can drag and drop different slicers from the left pane into the analysis design region on the right side.
To view the data, select Run and you will be taken to the Results tab.
You can go back to the Definition tab to run different slicers or select Cancel to exit the window.
Rules
Rules provide additional functionality to your app. For example, they can allow you to add employees or run calculations. Kepion offers a number of out-of-the-box rules, but your app designer may be able to configure custom rules for your app.
There are multiple methods to run a rule within an app:
Run on update
One or more rules can automatically be triggered to run when the Update action is used. Usually, these rules calculate metrics or accounts based on user inputs on forms.
Run dashboard rules
Dashboard rules appear on an app's pages and can be run on demand.
A dashboard rule can be triggered immediately after selecting the button or open a window to gather the user's desired parameters. A parameter can be a numeric value, free text, or selection from a pre-defined list.
Run from a form
Rules can also be run by right-clicking form cells.
You can run rules on a form only when Show Run Rules is enabled for the form.
Select one or multiple cells, right-click the selection, and select use a rule to use:
- Adjust by percent
Works on the leaf-level cells of your Forms, enabling you to increase/decrease each selected cell's value by a positive or negative percentage. Learn more.
- Spread by amount
Works on the leaf-level cells of your Forms, enabling you to either add/subtract an amount to existing values or set a new total for selected cells. Learn more.
Run upon workflow actions
A rule can also be run when a workflow action is used, Learn more.
Note: Workflow actions are only available for Advanced workflows (i.e., has an approval process).
Next steps
If your app includes workflows or transactional drill-through, review the App User Advanced Guide for details on those features.