In R12 you now have the ability to use a selector tool when defining the identifier or the level of granularity required for your document.  Please see below:

So why is this a better solution?

1. Quicker to add and remove granularity on modeled objects.
   1. In R11 you were forced to trace back how that unique identifier was created. Now you’re able to simply check a box to add it.
2. Calculation efficiency
   1. In R11 you we used concatenation to add the level of granularity require for these documents. In R12 the underlying code does it for you and stores that result in the most efficient way.  This efficiency gain is an absolute game changer when it comes to the use of larger data sets.
3. Faster to troubleshoot allocation or report {various} issues
   1. Similar to 1.), instead of having to jump back into the backing data layers, you can simply add or remove granularity to troubleshoot

NOTE: In this same realm, if you do NOT set an identifier, it will pick the lowest level of granularity required for your document.  This is not optimal and likely will cause your project to have drastic performance issues.  Please always have at least 1 column selected for your identifier.

How To: Convert R11 Identifiers to R12

1. Identify a Model Object to uses the old concatenated unique identifier, in this example it will be Cost Source
2. Open the backing data set that supports this model by selecting the “Source” step in the transform pipeline.
3. Navigate to that document, in this example Cost Source Master Data
4. Find the formula column for the indentifier, in this case “Unique Identifier”
5. Copy formula to notepad
   1. =Cost Pool&&Cost Sub Pool&&Account&&Cost Center&&Project ID&&Vendor ID&&UID Metafield&&Fixed Variable&&Expense Type&&Benchmark Identifier
6. Navigate back to Cost Source and check out the document.
7. Deselect “Unique Identifier” and replace with the above columns. Apply changes.
8. Validate all is correct and check in document.