List Management

What are the different types of lists?

The types of lists used to build models include:

Each of these list types has distinct features and is used in particular ways.

What are the list settings?

When you open a list, you will see five tabs:

Tree View

Tree View displays a hierarchical view of the selected list. As well as importing and exporting list items, you can add, delete, and move them in this view.

There is a limit of 1000 items in Tree View. Where there are more than 1000 items, you will be automatically taken to Grid View.

Grid View

Properties

List Properties contain metadata: additional information about list items. For example, in a list of Employees, you could add properties such as Employee Preferred Name, the Department they work in, etc.

Properties can be used in line item calculations or to drive the aggregation of data through a model.

Properties settings

Format – Select and configure the line item formatting: number, Boolean, date, text, time period, list, no data.

Formula – The property formula. To enter a formula or edit an existing formula, double-click in the cell.

Data tags – Shows any data tags applied to the list property. To apply a data tag, click the ellipsis … and then select one or more data tags.

Notes – Shows any notes added to the property.

Referenced by – Shows the line items and properties whose formula reference the property.

Subsets

Subsets contain some, but not all items from a list. This enables efficient use of the items in a list (without unnecessarily increasing the size of the model). List subsets can be used in the same way as the list from which they are derived. You can create several subsets from a single list. When you create a subset of a list, a column is added to the Grid View of that list. Checkboxes are displayed to select the items to include in the subset.

Subsets settings

Notes – Shows any notes added to the list subset.

Referenced in applies to – Shows the module and subsidiary line items where the List Subset has been applied as a dimension.

Referenced as format – Shows the module and list properties where the List Subset has been set as the line item format.

Configure

The Configure tab enables you to change options for the list.

Top Level Item – Shows the very highest level in the hierarchy or the subtotal into which all lower level members in the list will roll up into. It’s important that you populate this field to ensure that links and lists will map correctly from module to module. You’ll want a top level in nearly all cases, with the exception being a list that is only used as a flag. You can add the top level either on the main General Lists view or on the Configure tab for a specific list.

Parent Hierarchy – Indicates whether another list is going to be used for the next level ‘up’ from the list shown. For example, Opportunities might roll up into Sales Reps, and Sales Reps could roll up into Organization.

Category – Can be used to group lists based on what type of data the list holds, for example: Organization, Geography, Products, etc.

Data Tags – Shows any data tags applied to the list. To apply a data tag, click the ellipsis (…), select one or more data tags, then click Apply.

Selective Access Enabled? – Used to limit users’ access to parts of the hierarchies but should be set up with help from Anaplan support. See Selective Access.

Production Data? – Used to set the list as a production list. This is an Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) feature.

Managed By – Reserved for future use and not available for editing.

Workflow Enabled? – Used to monitor progress towards completion of a forecast. One list in the model would be set to drive Workflow. See Workflow for more information.

Numbered List? – Used to mark the list as a numbered list.

List management best practice

While you can manage list settings from within the list (as shown above), it is best practice to setup list property management modules to provide optimal user experience. Benefits include:

Note: