Good Afternoon Community,

I'm getting pretty familiar with the editable table in r12.  However I'm not sure the correct process flow in regard to editable tables that start as an enriched table.  

The way I interpret the way the option reads is that its basically a way to append edits to an existing table.  However, what's the correct way to get these edits back to the original table, if that's even possible.

I see a couple of different options:

1. Create editable table and include all columns from source table.  Add new data then make a new table with editable table as source consuming all the columns.  Then build from here.
2. Create editable table and include enough columns from source table so that you can create a lookup in the source table.  Then add new data.  Create new table from the editable table and use a look from the original table to pull the new data back into the original table.  Feels like this would create a circular reference.

I'm just trying to understand the correct use case and how to bring it back in properly.

@Stephen Atwell, looping you in on the question as you may best understand how this should work.

@Jeffrey Smith, I believe @Stephen Atwell created these 3 videos on editable tables:

https://tbmcouncil.jiveon.com/videos/2141
https://tbmcouncil.jiveon.com/videos/2153
https://tbmcouncil.jiveon.com/videos/2132

Have you checked them out?

Tony,

I have seen these videos but re-watched to make sure I didn't miss this topic.  I did not find anywhere Stephen talks about the Enriched editable table and how to best use the table once it's been created.

In my example I have a table with 30+ columns that comes from another source directly from another system and I just want to create an additional column to capture a new data point.  I can do this the traditional way by creating a mapping table and exporting to excel.  However, if you read the example listed in when you select enriched table, you'll see this is the exact example I'm trying to do.

Now comes my confusion.  Should I be creating an exact copy of the original table that I need to supplement with new data.  Then create a table based on this new editable table.  Or do I create a "mapping" table that I can then reference using a lookup back to the original table.  Again I feel this second option might create a circular reference.

I'm not finding any more documentation on the community explaining this aspect to of the enriched editable table.

@Jeffrey Smith, I believe the spirit of the editable table is to edit certain cell(s) without uploading the entire table. If you are just transforming certain table by just appending additional columns, I would just do a transform of the original table.

Agree.  But then what the correct way to use the enriched table?  Once you create it, you need to bring it back as a table to consume the new column.  I would typically just create a mapping file and use a key column(s) to be able to create my lookup to to merge the data back but this feels wrong as well.

I'm hoping someone from Apptio can explain the use case for once you create an enriched editable table.

@Tony Wong  I'm wondering if my fear of the circular reference makes sense logically but from the Studio's perspective there's no real link back to the original table.

Source table (Table 1) used to create enriched editable table (Table 2).  Table 1 and Table 2 are linked as if you update Table 1 with new data Table 2 sees this new data.  To use Table 2 or any editable table a new table must be created with the editable table as the source (Table 3).

I don't believe there's a true link between table 2 and table 3 since the load of table 3 from the editable appears to be relationship just like loading a csv file.

Therefore Table 1 and Table 3 are not related and I should be able to safely do a reference formula to get the new data point back to the original table.

@Stephen Atwell I'm hoping someone from Apptio can shed some light on my question.

Jeffrey,

The primary intention of an enriched table is so that you can add new editable columns that don't exist in your source system, to an uploaded table.

To reference this data after making an editable table, create a new 'Table' and pick 'editable table' as the source.

As a standard rule, I would suggest then using this new table directly in the model, instead of referencing it from the source table.

Historically a reference from the source table has been a circular reference, and no work has been intentionally done to make this no longer the case. Even if it were no longer a circular reference, I believe the circularity will lead to the maintenance process being confusing in the long-term, and thus would advise against it.

@Stephen Atwell, then are saying I need add all the columns from the original table that I plan to use when I create the enriched editable table?  What if the source table has 75+ columns, won't this cause issues?

Do you understand my concern?  As you put above the one option in not advisable.  However creating complete replication of the source table to add one column also doesn't appear to make sense either.  

if you have a large number of columns, then I would either:

1) make a table based off 'existing table' coming from the source of the enriched table, then use the join step to bring in the columns from the table based off an editable table

or

2) In the table based off the editable table, user a join step to bring in the columns from the original table.