DBS TM1 Excel Syntax and Use

DBS is an Excel based function, used to send numeric values to a TM1 cube’s cell.

Example

To illustrate the usage of DBS, let’s consider a Sales Analysis cube with the dimensions : Year, Month, Customer, Product, and Measures. Suppose we want to insert the value of $1000 in the intersection of:

• Year: 2025
• Month: Oct
• Customer: The Corner Cafe
• Product: Coffee
• Measure: Sales $

Syntax of DBS

DBS(value, cube, e1, e2[,...en])

Where:

• Value: This is the specific value being sent to the cube . It can be a numeric value representing a data point or calculation result.
• Cube: The cube is the target where the value will be sent. It is a multidimensional structure that organizes data along different dimensions, allowing for analysis and reporting.
• e1, …en: These are the names of elements that define the intersection within the cube where the value will be placed. The number of elements corresponds to the number of dimensions in the cube. The sequence of elements is important, as e1 corresponds to the first dimension, e2 to the second dimension, and so on. It is also possible to use aliases for dimension elements instead of their actual names.

Note, if you have numeric element names (like 2025 for the Year dimension). Place element names consisting of numeric characters (like say 2025 for Years) in quotation marks. This will make TM1 interpret it as a name rather than a numeric value.

Usage

Based on the provided dimensions, you would use the DBS function to send a numeric value to the Sales Analysis cube with the following information:

Value: $1000 (example numeric value)
Cube: Sales Analysis
e1: 2025 (Year)
e2: Oct (Month)
e3: The Corner Cafe (Customer)
e4: Coffee (Product)
e5: Sales $ (Measure)

Using the DBS function syntax, the example usage would be as follows:

DBS(1000, "Sales Analysis", "2025", "Oct", "The Corner Cafe", "Coffee", "Sales $")

This would send the value 1000 to to the intersection of “2025” (Year), “Oct” (Month), “The Corner Cafe” (Customer), “Coffee” (Product), and “Sales $” (Measure) within the Sales Analysis cube.

More Flexible Usage of DBS

The more flexible approach to using DBS is to reference the values from other cells within Excel instead of using hard-coded values. Users usually employ this method when creating a Dynamic Report or Custom Report in Planning Analytics for Excel. By referring to these cells, the report becomes flexible, allowing for easy modification and updates to the referenced values. This allows users to adjust the content of the report without directly modifying the formula or hard-coded values, resulting in a more efficient and adaptable reporting process within Planning Analytics for Excel.

Example of the use of DBS in TM1 and Planning Analytics

One More Thing…

The DBS function does not designed send strings. For example, you could not use it to load “This is a string” into a string type element. If you need to send string data, you should use the appropriate function, which is DBSS. The DBSS function enables the sending of string values to a cube and is typically used when the source of the data is individuals who do not have direct access to TM1.

Example of a TM1 Send Sheet

We have a fully worked example of using DBS in a TM1 Send Sheet to bulk load values into TM1 cubes. Please see this post for more information on Send Sheets.

IBM’s Notes on DBS

Here is IBM’s brief explanation of DBS.