Computed Columns

Who is this for? Tenant administrators who want to add their organization's own calculated columns to Value Chains workspaces.

Computed columns let you add your own columns to Value Chains workspace tables. A computed column either rolls up a record's related records into a single value (for example, how many of a product's suppliers match a condition) or reads a record's own fields and assigns it a label. Open Settings from the user menu and select the Computed Columns tab.

Availability. Computed columns are available where enabled for your organization, so you may not see the tab in every tenant. Only tenant administrators can create, edit, or build them. Contact your Altana representative to turn them on.

When to Use Computed Columns

When a compliance analyst wants to see, on every finished product, how many of its suppliers meet a risk condition, without opening each value chain.
When a sourcing team wants a single label (for example, "High," "Medium," or "Low") assigned to each supplier from a set of rules over its own fields.
When you want a weighted score that combines several conditions and other computed columns into one sortable number.

Before You Start

You need the tenant administrator role, and computed columns must be enabled for your organization.
Computed columns are defined per catalog. The tab shows and builds the columns for the catalog you are working in.
Each catalog has a limit on how many computed columns it can hold. The badge next to the page title shows how many you've used out of your limit; it turns yellow as you get close and red when you reach it. Disabled columns count toward the limit.

What the Tab Shows

The table lists every computed column in the catalog:

Name — the column name your team sees in workspaces.
Appears on — the record type the column is added to.
Calculation — the calculation type.
Used by — how many other computed columns read this one. Hover to see their names.
Status — Enabled or Disabled, and whether the column is Hidden by default.

Each row has Preview, Edit, and Delete actions.

Create a Computed Column

Select Create column.
Enter a Name.
In Add this column to, choose the record type the column appears on: Finished Products, Input Products, Products, T1 Suppliers, Suppliers, or Exposed Companies.
Choose a Calculation (see Calculation types below) and fill in the fields it asks for.
Read the summary sentence under the form. It describes in plain language what the column will calculate and where it shows up.
Optionally, select Preview to check the result against live rows before you save (see Preview a column).
Set Enabled and Hidden by default as needed, then select Create.

Saving a column doesn't fill in its values right away. Values appear after the next build (see When values update).

Calculation Types

Rollups look across a record's related records. For example, a column on Finished Products can look at each product's suppliers. You can narrow any rollup with conditions under Only include … that match. Leave the conditions empty to include every related record; when you add several, a record must pass all of them.

Count — how many related records match. Use Count once per to count each distinct value once rather than each record.
True / False — whether any related record matches.
Total and Average — add up or average one numeric field across the matching related records.
Lowest and Highest — the smallest or largest value of one field across the matching related records.
Latest date and Earliest date — the most recent or oldest date of one field across the matching related records.
List of values — collects each distinct value found across the matching related records into one list. A list shows up to 100 values, followed by a count of the rest.

Other calculations work on the record itself:

Label by rules — reads the record's own fields and assigns a label. Rules are checked top to bottom and the first rule that matches wins; the required else label applies when no rule matches. Choose whether the label shows as plain text, a badge, or severity colors.
Combine columns — totals, averages, or takes the highest or lowest of numeric fields and number-type computed columns on the same record.
Score — adds up the points a record earns from the rules it matches and the columns you weight. Each scoring line awards points when a rule matches, takes the first matching band, or weights a column value. The score is either the total points or a weighted average.

Inputs and Conditions

Wherever a calculation asks for a field, the picker groups your options into Standard fields, Custom fields (see Custom Fields), and Computed columns, so one computed column can build on another.

Conditions support: is, is not, is any of, is none of, contains, starts with any of, is more than, is at least, is less than, is at most, is between, list contains, and has any value. Use starts with any of to match several prefixes at once. For example, enter 72, 73, 76 to match HS codes in any of those chapters. It works on text fields and text lists only. Date conditions using is between offer quick ranges for the last 7, 30, or 90 days.

Preview a Column

Select Preview in the create or edit form to try an unsaved definition, or use the Preview row action on a saved column. The preview works the column out live against 50 rows, with no build needed. Values are exact for the rows shown.

The preview reports one of three results:

Looks computable — with how many sampled rows got a value and how many distinct values appeared.
Worth a second look — the column computes, but something may be off. For example, no sampled row got a value (your conditions may match nothing), or every row received the same label (check your rule order).
This column would not build — the definition has a problem to fix before it can produce values.

Preview stays unavailable until the form has what it needs, such as a name, the field to roll up, or an else label for Label by rules.

When Values Update

Automatically — computed columns rebuild after each refresh of your organization's data.
On demand — select Run build to recalculate every computed column in the catalog now, for example after creating or editing columns. When the build starts you'll see a confirmation, and columns fill in on workspace tables once it finishes. While a build is running, the button is unavailable to every administrator. If you select it again, you join the same build rather than starting a second one.

If a build can't start because of a connection problem or a temporary outage, a message appears with a Retry option. If it keeps happening, contact support.

Outputs and Interpretation

Enabled computed columns appear in the workspace tables for the record type you chose. A computed column is marked with a green calculator icon and green name, both in the table header and in the workspace columns panel. Hover the header to see when the column's values last updated. Show, hide, and reorder computed columns like any other column. A column set to Hidden by default starts hidden, but anyone can show it.

Values reflect your organization's data as of the most recent build. A rollup over exposure data is calculated across the whole tenant, so it isn't narrowed by an individual user's access.

Edit, Disable, or Delete a Column

Edit — saving recalculates the column everywhere it's used on the next build. Other columns that read it keep working.
Disable — a disabled column keeps its definition but stops appearing in workspaces. You can't disable a column that enabled columns still read, or enable a column that reads a disabled one. Change those columns first.
Delete — removes the column from workspaces. This can't be undone. If other computed columns depend on it, the dialog lists them and deletion is blocked until you edit or delete them.

Constraints and Caveats

Catalog limit. When you reach your catalog's limit, delete an existing column or contact Altana to raise it.
Limits per value type. Each record type also has a maximum number of computed columns of each value type: number, label, true/false, and date. If you hit one, delete a column of that type or choose a different calculation.
No loops. Computed columns can't read each other in a loop. For example, A can't read B if B reads A.
Chain depth. A chain of computed columns that read each other can be at most five levels deep.
Matching types. Total and Average roll up numbers only. Latest date and Earliest date roll up dates only. Combine columns accepts numeric inputs only.