Create Dynamic Formatting with Cell Attributes

Author: Ian Britz

Cell Attributes are used to create dynamic formatting, validate inputs, and override certain properties of a cell. Cell Attributes are an important Kepion feature to understand because they're utilized in nearly every Application. Furthermore, it's best practice to use Cell Attributes whenever you need the formatting to dynamically affect your Dimensions Members as the Form changes.

Add Cell Attributes

Right-click on a Form and select Add Cell Attributes.

It's best to give your Cell Attributes descriptive names, as you may be managing several different attributes in each Form.

Scope

The Scope tab enables you to define the Dimensions and Dimension Members that will be affected by the Cell Attribute. For example, if you select Account and then select Health Insurance, the formatting will be applied to any cell that intersects with that Dimension Member. If you add on the FiscalYear attribute and the FY21 Member, only cells intersecting the Health Insurance account, in Fiscal Year 2021, will be affected.

Tip: The initial scope is determined by which cells you selected when you open the Cell Attributes window. To scope your attributes more quickly, start by selecting all the cells you want affected.

Attributes

In the Attributes tab, you can override the cell input option. For example, if you wanted a non-inputtable Dimension Member to be inputtable on only one Form, you could override the option by selecting Allow. You can also choose to hide aggregated values on a Form. This is useful for percentage accounts that don't have meaningful aggregations.

Validation

In the Validation tab, select the Enable validations checkbox to configure this area. Here you can define conditions that will trigger warnings, errors, or prevent users from posting data.

Validation Format

Use the Validation Format tab to modify the icon alignment, size, and position.

Format

In the Format tab, select the Enable formatting checkbox to configure this area. You can format the cell(s) defined by the scope however you wish. This definition will override what's defined in the Form.

Modify Cell Attributes 

To modify the Cell Attributes definition, right-click any cell on the Form and select Manage Cell Attributes.

You’ll see all the Cell Attributes that are defined in the Form. If there are multiple Cell Attributes defined for one cell, their priority is based on list order.

• To change the list order, select the target Cell Attribute(s) and click  Move Up and Move Down.
• To reconfigure a Cell Attribute, click Edit for the target Cell Attribute.
• To delete a Cell Attribute, select the target Cell Attribute(s) and click Remove.