When Do (re)Calculations Occur?

[AshleyAd1]

Hi everyone, I'm writing up the conditions under which calculations occur because I haven't found a comprehensive source out there yet. This is specifically in regards to pulling data down from the portfolio level. First, does anyone know if comprehensive documentation already exists on the when/how/why recalculations occur? Hoping the best answer is not "update previous calculations (in the background)" in setup for every calculated field. tl;dr - Looking to confirm if calculated fields at the task level ever recalculate automatically, and the conditions under which that would happen. Thanks! Best, Ashley _______________________________ Ashley Adam Amazon IT Services One Door System Administrator

[Doug_Den_Hoed__AtAppStore]

Hi Ashley, Great question! In my opinion, the importance of having accurate data in calculated parameters cannot be overstated: when they fall behind (aka get "stale"), it causes frustration, erodes confidence in the system, and can lead to incorrect decisions. Although calculated parameters do not automatically overnight (unlike Timelines, which do ), I am aware of three ways that trigger recalculation: when something to which the formula refers changes, or when a user direct Workfront to force a recalculation (e.g. via a list report > select all > bulk update > recalculate custom data (albeit "in the background", as you pointed out, implying a queue and time delay) when initiated via the API, which is how our "https://store.atappstore.com/product/recalc-helper/" Recalc Helper solution (on button click) and our "https://store.atappstore.com/product/force-custom-data-double-recalc/" Recalc Parameters solution (on schedule, e.g. overnight) work Once you do have calculations you do trust that are up to date, life is beautiful: you can add them to views, reports, filters, groupings, etc. and (bonus) even chart on them. You can even have calcs based on other calcs (and so on; which I dabbled in extensively, back in my Blue Period). As for references, I invite you to review Using Custom Data (the closest I've seen to a definitive work), and Calculated Custom Fields Vs. Calculated Columns (the latter sacrificing grouping and charting for real time recalculation). Regards, Doug Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore

[AshleyAd1]

Hi Doug, Thanks so much for your response--and especially the sanity check! One of the recalc situations I'm not confident in is when something to which the formula refers changes. I'm in Preview right now, changing the value on a portfolio field (a la "is this portfolio for a team we onboarded into the global process" and the only option is Yes). I have calculated fields at program and project level that reference this portfolio field (I know I don't *need* program but have it anyway) and neither object is calculating when I change the value at portfolio level. I'm curious if recalculating when the referenced field updates is contingent upon field or calculation type. Thanks as well for the links, and that's a great reminder about the benefit of calculated columns! _______________________________ Ashley Adam Amazon IT Services One Door System Administrator

[Doug_Den_Hoed__AtAppStore]

Good catch Ashley, Yes, in saying " when something to which the formula refers changes", I should have qualified that it only works when the "something" is on the same object (i.e. on the object itself, elsewhere on the same custom form, or on another custom form). When the formula refers to a parent object, as you've discovered in your Preview testing example, changing the parent object (e.g. Portfolio) does not trigger the recalc at the child level (e.g. Project): at that moment, the child calculation results become "stale" until they are recalculated using one of the other two methods. Regards, Doug Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore