Planning 11.1.2.1 - Exporting metadata

I have lost count of the amount times the question has been asked “how can I extract a planning applications outline”, until now the options have been pretty limited, one of the possible methods is to use LCM but it has its limitations and is not in the format that suits everybody.

Since the arrival of version 11 the planning Outline Load utility has done wonders and has been improving with each release, it should have been around well before 11 but at least it did arrive.

Now the utility is mainly aimed at classic planning applications, yes there are still many clients holding out with classic and why not.

With the recent release of 11.1.2.1 the utility brings in the option to export dimension metadata which I didn't see mentioned in the planning new features document, so the utility has evolved as not just a loader but an extractor as well.

The utility is available on the machine where planning has been deployed in the folder <MIDDLEWARE_HOME>\user_projects\epmsystem1\Planning\planning1\

I am not going to go through all the parameters of the utility as I have already covered the utility when it was first released

To extract a dimensions metadata it is as simple as executing:-

Outlineload /A:application /U:username /D:DimensionToExtract /E:outputFilename

For example OutlineLoad /A:PlanSamp /U:admin /D:Account /E:F:/PlanExports/acc_export.csv

If you want to include logging then you can use the parameters /L:LogFilename /X:exceptionFileName, if you don’t want to enter a password you can you the –F:passwordFile, how to set up a password file is available read here



The generated output CSV file is exactly the same easy manageable format that is required to load a dimension using the utility.

It is also possible to extract attribute dimension metadata.



To extract an attribute dimension all that is required is to provide the attribute name using the /D: parameter.



Output format is MemberName/Parent/Alias.



It is possible to export all the Smart List metadata within an application.



The parameter required for exporting Smart Lists is /DS:HSP_SMARTLISTS





Once again the output format matches the one for importing.

To export exchange rates tables the parameter used would be /DX:HSP_RATES



All the exchange rates tables available within the application are exported to the output CSV file.



The utility supports the exporting of planning unit hierarchies (which was available in 11.1.2) and the defining parameter is /D:PlanningUnitHierName

Enjoy!