What is a field?

A field is a placeholder for dynamic data. When the data that the field links to changes, the text in the field is automatically updated.

For example, a field could be inserted into a paragraph or a table cell linking to the current period end date. When the current period end date changes, the value shown in the field will automatically update. This means the report content updates itself, so the does not need to find all instances of the date and manually update them.

How do fields work?

The following explains the functionality of fields.

Example

When a field is inserted that links to a cell within table, the field is not locked to that cell. If the table structure changes, it is possible the field will then link to a different cell. Therefore, a warning message is shown when table structures are changed.

In the following image the field in the paragraph links to the yellow cell in the user inserted table beneath it. The field links to the 3rd row and the 2nd column.

Image shows a table Introduction rows. In the table, a field is linked to the paragraph above.

The rows with 'Row 1' and 'Row 2' in them are the Introduction for the table and this can be turned off in the table settings. Turning the introduction off would produce the following outcome.

Image shows a table with no Introduction rows.

Note that the field still links to 3rd row and the 2nd column.

Fields and Import report

It is possible when using Import report that the fields will link to tables which do not exist in the destination report. In this case #ERROR will be shown in the fields that cannot find the source of the field.

Pasting data into a table containing fields

A field is treated like a locked cell when data is pasted into a table. If a field is no longer required and data needs to be pasted in the table, delete the field first.

Fields values and formats

If a report is rounded to whole units and a cell value is 1,234,000 and that cell is used in a field in a paragraph, the field will show as 1,234,000. Updating the report rounding to thousands means the cell value would update to 1,234 and the field value would also update to 1,234.

Importing disclosures

A field is treated like a locked cell when data is imported into a table using Disclosures. If a field is no longer required and data needs to be imported into a table, delete the field in the table first. This means any cell with data in the Disclosures file will be ignored when imported, if in the destination table the corresponding cell is a field.

Roll forward

When a report is rolled forward:

Fields in numeric cells will not roll to the prior period
Where applicable, fields in text cells will roll to the prior cell

Adding fields to a table

Fields cannot be inserted into Chart of Accounts descriptions and date cells.

Fields can be formatted with text styles, such as bold. Styles apply to the whole field, it is not possible to partially format fields.

Inserting fields

Click a table to edit
Click where the field should be inserted and click the Insert field button on the toolbar or right mouse click where the field should be inserted and select Insert field or press the = key when in numeric cells

Field types

Table

This option is only available in numeric cells and paragraphs. Table headers cannot be used as fields.

Select a table from the Source list. Tip: Only tables which are named will appear in the list. To name a table, click it, type in a name and click Save.
Click a cell to insert as a field
Select the Calculation type, either Addition or Subtraction. Tip: Selecting Addition will insert the balance as is (i.e. if a positive balance, the field will be positive. If a negative balance, the field will be negative). Selecting Subtraction will insert the negative sign (-) before the balance (i.e. if a positive balance, the field will be a negative. If a negative balance, the field will be positive).
Click OK

Chart of Accounts

This option is only available in numeric cells. Table headers cannot be selected as a field.

Click a cell to insert as a field
Select the Calculation type, either Addition or Subtraction. Tip: Selecting Addition will insert the balance as is (i.e. if a positive balance, the field will be positive. If a negative balance, the field will be negative). Selecting Subtraction will insert the negative sign (-) before the balance (i.e. if a positive balance, the field will be a negative. If a negative balance, the field will be positive).
Click OK

Note: Use the filter to Show or Hide unused allocations.

Formula

This option is only available in numeric cells. Table headers cannot be selected as a field. Fields can be inserted to sum cells and groups of cells. The cell the field is being inserted into will automatically sum the cells chosen from the selected table.

Select a table from the Source list. Tip: Only tables which are named will appear in the list. To name a table, click it, type in a name and click Save.
From the table, select the cells to sum using SHIFT plus click
Click OK

AutoSum

This option is only available when groups of cells have been selected. The AutoSum option will automatically sum groups of cells by inserting multiple Formula fields into a table at once.

To AutoSum columns:

Click a table to edit
From the table, select the cells to sum using SHIFT plus click
Click Insert field from the toolbar
Select the desired position of the Formula fields being inserted, either Below, Right or Both
Select the tickboxes above the columns to include them in the total formula

To AutoSum rows:

Click a table to edit
From the table, select the cells to sum using SHIFT plus click
Click Insert field from the toolbar
Select the desired position of the Formula fields being inserted, either Below, Right or Both
Select the tickboxes next to the rows to include them in the total formula

Note: When selecting the desired position of the Formula fields being inserted, the Right and Both options will be disabled if the column to the right of the selection is not editable or if the column has the wrong data type selected (for example, if the column data type is Text). If the row below the selection is not editable, the Below and Both options will be disabled.

Note

Click the note to insert as a field
To include the word 'note' before the note number, tick Include the word 'note'
To include the note number before the note name, tick Include the note number
To include the note name after the note number, tick Include the note name

Note: Use the filter to show either All or Used notes.

Variable

Click the variable to insert as a field
Click the Edit button to edit variable value

Conditional

Conditional variables analyse the column content and change wording based on their values. For example, when all columns are positive, the field may say 'Profit'. When the column values change to positive and negative, the field may say 'Profit/Loss'.

Click the conditional variable to insert as a field
Click the Edit button to edit the conditional variable value

Custom variable

Click the custom variable to insert as a field
Click the New button to add new custom variables
Click the Edit button to edit custom variables
To add, edit or delete custom variables click Reports > Options > Custom variables

Prefix and suffix

Fields can have a prefix or suffix added to them. For example, if a currency cell from a table is inserted as a field, the prefix could be the local currency symbol.

Case

The case of fields can be set to:

Default - no changes made
Lowercase - all text is converted to lowercase
Sentence case - first character of the first word is converted to uppercase, all other characters are converted to lower case
Proper case - first character of each word is converted to uppercase, all other characters are converted to lower case
Uppercase - all text is converted to uppercase
Capitalise first character - first character of the first word is converted to uppercase, no changes made to all other characters

Note: Case does not change the case of the prefix and suffix.

Example

Below is an example of a system table with Chart of Accounts items, where a subtotal is required in the middle. This can be achieved by inserting a table and using fields to populate the numbers. Then insert balance checks to ensure there is a warning if other allocations are used in the future.

Image shows a system table switched off and a manual table formatted to include a subtotal for the first 3 rows. Fields have been inserted in the manual table linking to system table above.

Adding fields to a paragraph

Fields can be formatted with text styles, such as bold. Styles apply to the whole field, it is not possible to partially format fields.

Inserting fields

Right mouse click where the field should be inserted and select Insert field

Field types

Table

Table headers cannot be used as fields.

Select a table from the Source list. Tip: Only tables which are named will appear in the list. To name a table, click it, type in a name and click Save.
Click a cell to insert as a field
Select the Calculation type, either Addition or Subtraction
Click OK

Notes

Click the note to insert as a field
To include the word 'note' before the note number, tick Include the word 'note'
To include the note number before the note name, tick Include the note number
To include the note name after the note number tick Include the note name

Note: Use the filter to show either All or Used notes.

Variable

Click the variable to insert as a field
Click the Edit button to edit variable value

Custom variable

Click the custom variable to insert as a field
Click the New button to add new custom variables
Click the Edit button to edit custom variables
To add, edit or delete custom variables click Reports > Options > Custom variables

Prefix and suffix

Fields can have a prefix or suffix added to them. For example, if a currency cell from a table is inserted as a field, the prefix could be the local currency symbol.

Case

The case of fields can be:

Default - no changes made
Lowercase - all text is converted to lowercase
Sentence case - first character of the first word is converted to uppercase, all other characters are converted to lower case
Proper case - first character of each word is converted to uppercase, all other characters are converted to lower case
Uppercase - all text is converted to uppercase
Capitalise first character - first character of the first word is converted to uppercase, no changes made to all other characters

Note: Case does not change the case of the prefix and suffix.

Errors

If a field shows the value #ERROR, then the report has an issue displaying the field. The easiest resolution for this is to delete the field and insert it again. #ERROR could be displayed for several reasons, including, but not limited to:

A table cell used for a field has since been deleted
A custom variable used for a field has since been deleted
The table the field links to has no name

Editing fields

To edit an existing field:

Double click it or;
Right mouse click the field and click Edit field or;
Click the Edit field button in the toolbar or;
Press the = key when in numeric cells

Deleting fields

To delete a field:

Click the field, then press the delete key or;
Right mouse click the field and click Delete field

What is a circular reference?

A circular reference happens when a field in a cell refers to itself either directly or indirectly.

The following image shows an example of a circular reference. The #ERROR cell has a field within it linking to the total column for the same row. That is not possible and so #ERROR is shown.

Image shows a table with a circular reference error in Row 1, Column 1

How to resolve circular references after opening a report

If a report contains a circular reference, the following screen will show automatically when the report is opened.

Image shows screen that appears when a report contains a circular reference. The circular reference is in the Loss of control over entities note, in the table named Example 1, in Row 1, Column 2

The screen shows all fields which contain circular references, including:

Note - the note the circular reference is in
Table name - the name of table the circular reference is in
Row - the row number in the table the circular reference is in, with the text description in brackets
Column - the column number in the table the circular reference is in

The following options are available to resolve a circular reference:

Delete all circular references. This will delete all fields which are listed.
Edit the circular reference. This will show the edit field screen, so a new cell can be selected for the field value. Once edited, the report will recalculate to check for circular references that still exist.
Delete the circular reference. Once deleted, the report will recalculate to check for circular references that still exist.

It is also possible to ignore the circular reference by clicking any menu option in Accurri. This is not recommended as it will leave the circular references and will result in unexpected report calculations.