Slice as Replacement for PAX

We’ve been using Planning Analytics for Excel in our environment for a while. We would like to consider using Slice instead of PAX to take advantage of some new features (like hierarchies in DBRWs) but would like some more information. We have a large range of users, so pushing new technology can be difficult and guaranteed to meet resistance. I downloaded Slice a while ago and tested out, but have some questions regarding compatibility existing PAfE features…

  • Does Slice support Explorations and Quick Reports? I don’t see how to create either in the solution. I haven’t tried to work with and Exploration or Quick Report that was built originally in PAfE.
  • Can Slice work alongside PAfE? Or do we need a method to switch from one to the other?
  • Has anyone actually deployed Slice as a primary Excel interface for TM1 users?

I really do want the capabilities it offers for my users. However, we do have a range of users who do use explorations and quick reports. And I do like using the Arc/Slice cube viewer, but retraining them on the different format will be tricky…especially for those that also still use Workspace. And it doesn’t help if I can produce DBRW’s with hierarchies in Slice if they can’t consume them in PAfE.

Hi @dmiller ,

It’s great to hear that you like Slice. We are preparing a new release which will be out soon with many optimizations and new features.

Regarding your questions:

  • Slice does not support Exploration Mode and Quick Reports.
  • You should have only one TM1 Excel add-in active, you will have to choose between Perspective, PAfE or Slice. With Excel, you can have both add-ins installed and switch between the one you want to use but your users might not like switching between the two add-ins.

I hope this help,

Cheers,

Vincent