Question:
In the BFA Setup tab, I see some “User Save” columns after the User Calc columns. What are these columns used for?
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Answer:
The “User Save” columns differ from the “User Calc” columns in that they hold text or numeric amounts whereas the latter hold the results of formula calculations. There are two User Save Text columns and three User Save Amount columns. The labels on these columns can be changed to suit your purpose.
These columns allow users to enter either text or a numeric amount and have these values returned in subsequent BFA snapshots. These values remain constant until changed by the user. The values can be edited in either the Budget or Forecast mode, depending on setup (see below).
These columns have the same attribute options as standard columns and can be configured by location, visibility and size. They can appear on the Data worksheet, auxiliary worksheets and supplemental workbooks.
Uniqueness of Data
The default edit, save, and display functionality, as shipped by Spitfire, ensures that the values for each BFA row for these columns remain discrete to the BFA mode in which they were entered. This means, for example, that User Save Text 1 could hold information for BFA in Budget mode and different information for BFA in Forecast mode; a change made in a Budget will show up in subsequent Budgets but not affect the value seen in a Forecast and vice-versa. However, this default behavior can be changed through a rule.
BudgetConfig | UDSSourceMode Rule
This rule, set up in the Rules tool on the System Admin Dashboard, allows you to provide consistency in the column across all BFA modes. The result value for this rule can be set to Budget or Forecast and indicates the mode in which a user can enter a value. When UDSSourceMode = Budget, the editing of these columns is disabled in Forecast mode and, therefore, the Forecast mode displays the last approved Budget values in these columns. The opposite is true if the rule is set to Forecast.
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There are some exceptions:
- Regardless of the UDSSourceMode rule, “User Save” columns are edit-enabled in the Initial Budget mode.
- Even if the rule is set to Forecast, the initial Forecast will inherit the Budget mode values, if they exist.
Note: at the time of BFA cell selection, the code will verify that edits are permitted in this mode and change the color of the cell to ‘edit allowed‘ if appropriate. This may cause confusion if you do not understand why you can edit the cell in one mode but not the other. If you cannot edit the cell because of the rule, a column comment indicates that edits are allowed in the opposite mode only.
UDSSourceMode Impact on Project Analysis Mode
Project Analysis assembles data from the last approved Budget and Forecast along with the most current actual project costs.
If the UDSSourceMode rule has not been set and:
- If the Budget mode values in the columns match the Forecast mode values, then the values are displayed in Project Analysis mode.
- If the values do not match, then nothing is displayed in Project Analysis mode.
Note: values in these columns are evaluated on a row-by-row basis; therefore, some values may appear and others not.
If the UDSSourceMode rule has been set:
- The result value dictates the source for the values displayed in the Project Analysis mode, thus providing a consistent result for all modes.
KBA-01950; Last updated: September 16, 2026 at 13:21 pm
Keywords: user defined, budget, forecast, analysis