About driver files
Driver files contain rates, statistics, and other drivers to be referenced in your plan files to help calculate planning data. Driver files can also contain global values such as calendar information.
The data in driver files is ultimately saved to the database into one or more driver tables. These driver tables can then be referenced by templates/plan files to calculate planning data or determine other global settings for the file group. Each file group can have as many driver files and associated tables as needed.
Driver files use standard Axiom file functionality. For details on configuring Axiom files, see Axiom spreadsheet file setup.
Driver tables
Although drivers are managed in spreadsheets, the driver data is ultimately saved to the database. When you use the GetData function to reference a driver value, Axiom is querying the associated table in the database, not the spreadsheet file.
Driver files can save data to the database using either of the following approaches:
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Save Type 3: Most driver files use Save Type 3 to create document reference tables in the database. When using this approach, the driver file is the ultimate source of the data. When the driver file is saved, the data is saved off to a document reference table. The document reference table cannot be edited separately; it can only be modified by editing and saving the source driver file.
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Save Type 1: Some driver files use Save Type 1 to save data to reference tables or data tables. When using this approach, the table is the ultimate source of the data. The data is queried into the driver file from the table, edited within the file, and then saved back to the table. The table can be edited separately from the driver file. Data should not be "stored" in the driver file; the queries in the driver file must be configured as rebuildable An Axiom file that is rebuilt every time it is accessed; no data is stored within the file itself. There are two levels of "rebuildable": 1) the file is persisted but all the queries in the file are rebuilt each time the file is accessed, 2) the file is virtual and is literally re-created each time the file is accessed. so that the driver file always has access to the latest data in the table.
When you create a new driver file, or add a sheet to an existing driver file, you must enable Save Type 3 or Save Type 1 for each sheet that contains data to be saved to the database.
Using multiple sheets or multiple driver files
Each file group can have multiple driver files, and each driver file can have multiple sheets. When deciding whether to create a new driver file or create a new sheet in an existing driver file, consider how the driver information will be used and which users need access to it. For example, if different business units in your organization have different sets of drivers, and each driver set is managed by a different user, you may want to create separate driver files instead of using multiple sheets in the same file.
Each driver sheet that you save to the database using Save Type 3 must use a unique table name. The table name does not have to incorporate the sheet name, but it is a good idea to do so, so that the relationship between the sheet and the table is clear.
