Openbox

PREVIOUSVALUE and PREVIOUSVALUES functions

PREVIOUSVALUE

Gives the value of the item in the immediately preceding period – that is, lagged by one.

Note that PREVIOUSVALUE() – that is, with nothing in the brackets – means the previous value of the line item you are calculating. In Excel, this is a formula that refers to the cell immediately to its left.

EXAMPLE

PREVIOUSVALUE([Cash flow]) is the cashflow last month, if the model is on a monthly basis. In Excel the formula in say K10 would look something like “= J10”

PREVIOUSVALUES

Gives the total for the current calculation in all previous periods (not just one period period).

EXAMPLE

IF(PREVIOUSVALUES() >0, 0, [Construction period flag] would show zero up until the column where Construction period flag is 1, then zero afterwards.  So it would be 1 only in the first construction period.

In Excel the formula would look something like “= IF(SUM($J10:M10) > 0, 0, N8)” (assumes the formula is in cell N10 and the construction period flag is in row 8

ALLVALUES function

All the values of that particular line item, in all periods – the ‘whole row’.

You need to apply another function to turn those values into a single number. Most commonly, you’d use SUM or SUMPRODUCT.

EXAMPLES

SUM(ALLVALUES([Cash flow])) is total cashflow over the lifetime of the model – i.e. what would be in the row total.

SUMPRODUCT(ALLVALUES([Operational period flag]), ALLVALUES([Cashflow])) is the total cashflow in the operational period

How do I make sure I have the latest version of Openbox?

In the “Openbox” ribbon in Excel, there is a “Check for new version” button. If you click it, Openbox will either tell you that you have the latest version, or tell you that there is an update and offer to install it.

Note that you need to be connected to the Internet to receive updates. If you have issues with receiving them, please check your connection and try again.

Consolidate something on one time axis to another?

The short answer is that you don’t have to. Openbox will automatically convert inputs on calculations that are on (say) a monthly basis to (say) a quarterly basis. It will also convert calculations into the basis required by the reports.

Suppose you have a model that has monthly construction, quarterly operations and financial statements that are annual. You don’t need to do any time conversion yourself – Openbox will handle it for you.

It also respects whether it is working with balances or not. If you take a monthly balance and convert to quarterly, the quarterly figure is the last monthly figure in each quarter. If it’s not a balance, the quarterly figure is the sum of the monthly figures. Openbox takes this into account when consolidating.

How to get multiple timelines on one sheet

Normally, each worksheet has a timeline across the top, and each column represents the same amount of time –  a month or a quarter for example. But you can have two timelines on one sheet, where  (for example) the first few columns represent months and the rest represent quarters. Openbox calls this a “hybrid” timeline.

To get it, click “Time” then “Settings” and check the “Hybrid timeline” box, as shown below.

Versions and change log

This page shows the changes, including new features and bug fixes, in each version of Openbox, starting at v1.9.0. Changes are shown newest first (i.e. the newest version is always at the top).

Version 1.9.97 – Bug fixes

  • Fix issue with adding extra scenarios
  • Fix issue with dimension selector for repeating sheets by element
  • Deal with case where user’s MyDocuments folder is not available
  • Close Find window when the main window is closed
  • Don’t show the validation issues window unless there is at least one issue 
  • Deal with occasional row totals issue

Version 1.9.95 – Bug fixes

  • Further bug fixes for scenarios where some inputs were blank
  • Fix issue where “repeat sheet for each element of an array” sometimes failed with multiple arrays in the model

Version 1.9.94 – Error tracer and bug fixes

  • Bug fixes for scenarios and cases
  • Add “error tracer” functionality – Ctrl+E when an error cell is selected will now trace the root source of the error and display it
  • Minor bug fixes

Version 1.9.93 – Multiple scenarios and Bug fixes

  • Allow user to add more scenarios and cases to the InpC sheet
  • Update “FormatAs” button for applying custom formats to report lines, and highlight report lines in different colours to show this
  • Add shortcut button Ctrl+Alt+G for new subsection
  • ‘Sum of above’ lines on reports now have units checked
  • If using the single input sheet option, the sheet is called “Inputs” not “InpS”
  • END inserted in col A not B
  • Consolidate ranges when adding or summing items 
  • No counterflow markings on opening balances of corkscrews
  • Format time flags as dates
  • Fix bug where copying an item created a linked copy 
  • Remove formulas from ‘sum of above’ items during validation
  • Fix issue loading some flags
  • Fix issue where a negated report line sometimes caused an exception during loading 
  • Minor bug fixes

(versions 1.9.90-1.9.92 were only used internally)

Version 1.9.89 – Bug fixes

  • Remove display/ preferred name when merging report lines
  • Fix bug where custom number format not always applied
  • Don’t flip corkscrews to flows unnecessarily
  • Allow negated placeholders in reports
  • Fix issue where new report line with default name did not have that name changed when the user edited the display/ preferred name
  • Improve circularity detector to shortcut exploring unnecessary paths through the model logic
  • Insert blank rows after headers on calculation sheets, for consistency
  • Misc exception handling e.g. SEHException handling during ingestion
  • Sum of above reports issue when there are duplicates, instead of throwing an exception
  • Avoid issues with orphaned nodes on the main view
  • Fix bug in the ‘repeat calculation sheets’ code

(versions 1.9.85-1.9.88 used for internal purposes only)

Version 1.9.84 – Calculation sheets repeat for each business unit, project etc

  • Can now set calculation sheets to be repeated for each element of an array
  • Can now set a section in the inputs sheet to be laid out by element of array e.g. all inputs for one business unit first, then all inputs for the second and so on
  • Allow user to ignore individual validation issues
  • Report lines can now have “display name” which is different to name in model
  • Duplicating reports now gives option to duplicate calculations or not
  • Amy can now process call transcripts as well as documents
  • Workaround for Excel named range (CxxRxx) bug
  • Fix balance vs corkscrew message bug and other minor bug fixes

(versions 1.9.81-1.9.83 used for internal purposes)

Version 1.9.80 – Improving Amy

  • Amy can now retrieve the current model for analysis
  • Answers are more specific to requirements
  • Can now add balances to the model
  • Can now add reports
  • Can now export transcript of conversation
  • When ingesting, if a row has no name, use its address as the label
  • Deal with documents that are too large for Amy
  • Allow user to duplicate reports
  • Fix bug with no formula being selected
  • Speed up drag and drop by caching
  • Deal with issue ingesting files with tens of thousands of named ranges
  • Allow user to lay out actuals by subscript
  • When clicking a node, and checking if it was ingested from an Excel file, do this in a background Task 
  • More specific answers
  •  

(version 1.9.79 was only used for internal testing purposes)

Version 1.9.78 – Amy AI Assistant

  • Add code for Amy and ability for enabled users to enter OpenAI code
  • Issues list is now clickable and scrolls KanBan to issue location
  • Fix table input bug with ingestion
  • Ask for total column when ingesting
  • Fix bug where there is circularity but no model checks causing unexpected error

Version 1.9.77 – Issues now reported as single list, plus new yWorks licence

  • Issues found during validation are now shown in the validation issues list on the right of the screen, rather than having individual popups
  • new yWorks perpetual licence added
  • Added framework for Amy AI Assistant
  • Don’t scroll workbook when updating preview
  • Add check for case where arrays that are alternatives are only applied to some lines on a report and not all

Version 1.9.75 – Better Report Importing

  • Save user colour choices for import/ export marking
  • Tidy up unit synonym checker
  • Don’t try to save readonly workbooks when ingesting
  • Fix issue with named range table sheet which was preventing updating
  • PPT template handler now faster, only two levels of precedent shown
  • User can turn calculation block titles on or off
  • Allow user to specify maximum grouping/ outline level, which defaults to 2
  • Insert new report lines with unique names, based on headers
  • Fix issue with calculation labels which could be misinterpreted as cell addresses e.g. Q2
  • Fix occasional ‘cannot access Excel’ issues

(version 1.9.74 not used)

Version 1.9.73 – Report lines and bug fixes

  • Check for nulls when removing report actuals
  • When inserting a new report line, insert it above the selected item (if any)
  • When inserting an auto-created precedent, insert it above the selected item to avoid counterflows
  • Fix bug where sub-sections of an input section on a Table basis were not always on the same basis

Version 1.9.72 – Formula Bar

  • Improve Intellisense in Formula Bar
  • Handle workbook closing more gracefully
  • Deal with occasional file corruption with large arrays
  • Add standard basic 3FS and project finance for AI
  • Only toggle #REF cells when tidying up generated model
  • Fix bug in PASTVALUES([x],0) formula
  • Fix unit synonym bug
  • When user clicks on a report line, refresh Focus View if active
  • Don’t show report line tooltips unless user hovers mouse for a full second

Version 1.9.71 – Minor fixes

  • Ignore ‘cannot save Ribbon State’ error
  • Don’t wait more than 10 seconds before closing workbook
  • Don’t ask user about merge conflicts, and just show the new diagram node, when alerts are suppressed

(version 1.9.68-1.9.70 were not used)

Version 1.9.66 – AI and Sum of Above

  • Add AI button (for AI beta users) and associated code
  • If can’t remove @ symbol from formulas when creating a model, do not crash, just continue
  • Only report an issue if a file is in use – rather than an exception
  • Fix sum of above so it now goes to the nearest header
  • When inserting sub totals, only include constants if everything being summed is a constant
  • Try several times to open the XL template, in case it is temporarily locked by OneDrive
  • Warn if there’s a formula issue when parsing
  • Make sure the ‘view updating’ flag is cleared even if the update fails
  • Remove item meaning functionality which was causing file corruption issues

(version 1.9.65 not published)

Version 1.9.64 – OBXValues as cell references

  • Allow the user to choose whether OBXValues functions are replaced by named ranges, or by cell references
  • Fix issue where sometimes the Focus Mode would crash if it could not find an item in the model

Version 1.9.63 –  Array names and bug fixes

  • Allow the names of arrays to be changed
  • Ticking an array in the ‘manage arrays’ window now selects it so you can edit right away
  • OBXValues no longer case sensitive
  • User can now choose to show a cell reference instead of a named range when OBXValues is replaced
  • Revert changes to VM sync code that were causing KanBan mode issues
  • Deal with section grouping for constants

Version 1.9.62 – Bug fixes

  • Fix issue with some versions of Excel where OBXValues was not being properly converted
  • Fix OBXValues/ array issue
  • Unit checker is now case insensitive when cancelling items from the numerator and denominator

Version 1.9.61 – Bug fixes

  • Deal with the situation where Excel refuses to set CustomProperties during build
  • Deal with edge case when moving one item from one section to another
  • Fail gracefully if the item clicked on in the preview is no longer in the model
  • Deal with SpreadsheetGear issue with some unusual XLSM files

Version 1.9.60 – Bug fixes

  • Include named ranges for closing balances in named ranges table
  • Improve telemetry for multi cell parser
  • Better naming of internal named ranges to follow Excel rules
  • Fix ‘add total’ for balances and flows. Insert below the totalled item
  • Replace full name of OBXValues UDF even if Excel inserts the name of the addin at the start
  • Fix issue where a report header was sometimes checked for a calculation
  • Add ‘copy formulas to clipboard’ command
  • Add ‘AI’ button
  • Fix bug when compressing secondary timeline balances
  • Insert blank rows when ingesting reports
  • Fix issue with POS lines incorrectly reported by sheet checker
  • Fix AVERAGEIF syntax
  • Fix splitter
  • Reduce unnecessary OBZ file clutter relating to reports
  • Give clear message about any issues with activating licence
  • Allow show all named ranges
  • Allow user to put reports at the start of the model
  • Allow user to edit active scenario number on InpC

(Versions 1.9.56-59 unused)

Version 1.9.55 – Bug fixes

  • Fix issue with incorrect sub total arrays test
  • Fix “Excel not responding” bug when ingesting selected sheets

Version 1.9.54 – Bug fixes

  • Make sure an item is marked as used when you add an array total for it
  • Add “x” at top right of issues window to make it easy to close
  • Allow arrays in headers
  • Read table headings correctly when ingesting
  • Minor bug fixes

Version 1.9.53 – Bug fixes

  • PowerBI table now links to individual cells not entire row
  • Updating table inputs in preview now possible
  • Unit manager now shows units in alphabetical order
  • You can now remove custom number formats on an item, and it reverts to the format from its unit

(version 1.9.52 not used)

Version 1.9.51 – Bug fixes

  • Fixed issue when saving a model with no reports
  • Fixed issue with recovery backups

Version 1.9.50 – Major bug fix

  • Fix an urgent issue which was causing the Openbox UI to run slowly

(version 1.9.48 and 1.9.49 not used)

Version 1.9.47 – Bug fixes

  • Warn if there’s an issue removing #NAME errors from the sheet
  • Deal with the case where the financial year end is not valid
  • Fully implement ability to have reports on multiple time bases
  • Items now scroll into view when the report line or name in find window is clicked
  • Convert balances that aren’t corkscrews to corkscrews if they contain BEG()
  • Tidy up Options form
  • Fix issue importing older models with only 1 timestep
  • Improve dashboard handling of inter sheet links and OBXValues function
  • Fix bug which would cause a crash in some cases if the name referred to by OBXValues didn’t exist
  • Allow SUM OF ABOVE items to be constants
  • Turn off recovery backup when main Openbox window closes (not when Excel closes)

Version 1.9.46 – Dashboards, reports and bug fixes

  • Add Dashboard and Save As dashboard fully implemented
  • Reports can now be on several timesteps and a copy will be created for each timestep e.g. monthly, quarterly and financial year
  • Updated OBXValues so more robust and can cope with calculated names e.g. “Period ” & D6
  • Put “‘OBX” at the start of formulas in dashboards, so they don’t show #REF when saved
  • Fixed various bugs with named ranges for unusual characters in labels
  • Allow user to document a model in PowerPoint from the main window not just Excel
  • Finer control over when named ranges are added
  • Fixed issue with importing leading to duplicate calculations
  •  

Version 1.9.45 – More on dashboards, ingesting and bug fixes

  • Read col A headers when ingesting
  • Deal with formulas on InpS sheet when ingesting
  • Autosize the validation issues list to make it more readable
  • Allow user to show the internal description of any error
  • Add a sheet showing named ranges
  • Speed up dashboard importing
  • Make sure dashboard sheets are imported in the right order
  • Fixed issue with importing dashboards that contain tables
  • Fixed bug where user deletes a corrupted report
  • Fix bug with the DELAY function when the “use named ranges” expert option is on

(version 1.9.44 was not released)

Version 1.9.43 – Dashboards, ingesting headnigs and bug fixes

  • Dashboard handler now loads and saves dashboards correctly including linking named ranges and OBXValues
  • When ingesting, Openbox now reads the headings and puts items in the appropriate sections/ sub-sections
  • Can now ingest models where the POS line is below the sign switch line
  • Deal with older models which may have more than one “sum of above” calculation for the same item
  • Don’t show progress form when alerts are suppressed
  • Fix bugs in merging
  • Remember sheet zoom for the preview
  • Update the diagram including precedents and dependents, as soon as the formula changes
  • Can now create arrays of dates
  • Allow user to customise the prefix/ suffix text for balances e.g. BEG
  • Fix bug where non-English settings caused inputs with arrays not to be displayed correctly
  • Fix FAST colouring bug which sometimes caused an unexpected error when deciding whether to apply import/ export colours
  • Ctrl+0 now warns if the item the user wants to zero in on does not exist
  • Pasting now inserts items in the correct order, after cutting
  • Dashboards now use Formula2 property to take advantage of dynamic arrays 

(version 1.9.42 not released)

Version 1.9.41 – Bug fixes

  • “Save as dashboard” now only saves selected sheets
  • Fix corrupt report lines from older files
  • When changing an item to/ from a balance, preserve units
  • Fix undo for merging calculations
  • Speed up unit analysis
  • Allow thousands separators in formulas e.g. 13,591 is now a valid input
  • Deal with edge case where only historic copy/ paste block
  • Add a debt sizing switch if there are historic/ bank case items in the copy/ paste section

Version 1.9.40 – Bug fixes

  • Only warn about needing macros if there are copy/ paste blocks
  • Fix issues with Autorecover sometimes changing a filename

(versions 1.9.38 and 1.9.39 had issues and were not published)

Version 1.9.37 – Bug fixes and Autorecover

  • Autorecover now replaces Autosave. 
  • ELEMENTNAME function now respects whether an array element is a number or not
  • Fix issue with brackets which meant expected units was not correctly calculated 
  • Fixed issue with “remove leading or trailing spaces” during validation

Version 1.9.36 – Bug fixes

  • Allow two arrays to have the same elements so you can have, for example, Origin-Destination matrices
  • When changing a calculation to a flow, make sure the new flow is selected
  • Check if named ranges are >255 characters (which is not allowed in Excel)
  • Don’t add visible named ranges for FAST ingredients
  • Deal with file corruption for reports/ report lines

Version 1.9.35 – Bug fixes, particularly for updating

  • Deal with issue where Excel “forgets” not to display dialog boxes
  • Speed up moving sheets during updating
  • Allow user to specify that a calculation is an input, when importing a component
  • Fix issue where making changes in the preview for a calculation with leading or trailing white space in its name would fail
  • Tidy up temporary file creation/ deletion during updating

(Versions 1.9.32-34 were used for internal testing and not published)

Version 1.9.31 -Fix updating and dashboards

  • “Update” button in the Openbox ribbon now works as expected
  • Can now add dashboards (Excel sheets) to any Excel model created by Openbox
  • Dashboard sheets can link to the sheets created by Openbox using named ranges

Version 1.9.30 – Improve reports, add “total” and “count” of selected cells, named ranges for model constants, bug fixes

  • Look in whole model by default for find and replace
  • Fix bug with automatic recalculation in the advanced preview editor
  • Can now specify, for each unit, whether it needs a row total and whether it should be ignored when determining expected units
  • Fix bug where alerts were sometimes shown as unused
  • Format input expressions (e.g. 3+5) as inputs on the input sheets
  • Can now have model constants as named ranges in formulas instead of as FAST ingredients
  • Read in comments when ingesting from Excel
  • Don’t lose the formula when changing from a flow to a balance or corkscrew and vice versa
  • Allow item totals to be just below an item, rather than as a separate block
  • Add F5+Enter to go back to previous cell
  • Allow user to copy and merge reports
  • Easier to reorder reports now e.g. using right click
  • Deal with lookups on items with only one array on a table sheet
  • Fix “Sheet is on” menu
  • Add “Total” and “Count” of selected cells at bottom right of preview

Version 1.9.27 – Distinguish balances and corkscrews, INTERSECT function, remove obz file encryption

  • Add the INTERSECT function to pick one item from a 2D table
  • Corkscrews are now a type of balance, but any calculation can be set as a balance (and will be consolidated as one on reports) even if not a corkscrew
  • OBZ files no longer encrypted by default
  • Improve the “Manage units” window
  • Fix bug where a unit divided by itself was not showing as unitless
  • Fix bug with reporting on one time base
  • Improve LOOKUP for tables
  • Allow sections to be dragged out and become sheets
  • Fix bug with PREVIOUSVALUE()+1 and similar formulas, which previously were treated as inputs because they have no precedents
  • User can now cancel at any stage during validation

 

Version 1.9.24 – Help with ingestion, and advanced editing in preview

  • New “Show in Excel” button in the Ribbon jumps to the formula in Excel that corresponds to a calculation block read into Openbox using ingestion
  • Preview now allows editing of named ranges, cell and chart formats through right click menu
  • Advanced editor now available in preview – allows Excel-like functions including load/ save, goal seek, and so on.

Version 1.9.23 – Calculations on report sheets, allow balances that aren’t corkscrews, and bug fixes

  • Allow balances that are not corkscrews (for example, Accounts receivable calculated based on accounts receivable days and revenue)
  • Corkscrew formulas can now be of the form SUM(..) +/- SUM(..)
  • Allow simple calculations on reports (toggled in the ‘Expert’ options tab)
  • Fix issue where items were sometimes incorrectly marked as unused after validation
  • Fix issue with PREVIOUSVALUE and expected units
  • Allow merging of report lines
  • Allow leading minus sign in expressions
  • Allow last parameter to be missing for some functions e.g YEARFRAC, for compatibility with Excel
  • Pasting lines into a report now includes headers and sub-headers if these are selected in Excel

Version 1.9.22 – Section formatting and bug fixes

  • Can now edit labels in Focus Mode
  • Importing components now much faster for large components
  • Fix bug with Ctrl+[ in preview
  • More logical layout of report items in Ribbon
  • Can now change the time suffixes for reports
  • When importing into a model with two timelines, ask what timeline the component should be on
  • Better warning about making sections into table sections
  • Update form now offers link to this change log
  • Right click menu in Preview now includes “Calculate Now” and “Toggle manual/ automatic calculation”

Version 1.9.21 – Reports, circularity, ingestion and bug fixes

  • Can now simultaneously add reports for all timelines between model timeline and yearly (e.g. add monthly, quarterly, semi annual and annual reports for a monthly model)
  • Line items with no arrays now correctly inserted on reports with arrays
  • Allow user to build circular models by clicking “Ignore” in the circularity warning window
  • Allow multi-row IRR/ XIRR functions to be ingested
  • Fix counterflow bug
  • “Secondary vars refer to primary” is now a warning not an error
  • Allow choice not to duplicate time sheet in multi timeline models
  • Fix ingestion issue with opening balances
  • Add PREVIOUSVALUES function which gives the total of the current line item for all previous periods
  • Add tooltips to import window to show which sheet items are on
  • Allow “add both” when merging
  • Fix bug with ingestion of text values
  • Allow user to insert a named range for constant inputs
  • Read named ranges and values when ingesting

Version 1.9.20 – Better ingestion and copy paste

  • Ingestion can now deal with references to row totals
  • Added XNPV function
  • Correct standard copy/ paste macro
  • Populate placeholders when ingesting from Excel
  • Deal with  single quote marks ‘ in the middle of sheet names
  • Better warnings about invalid sheet names
  • Ctrl +[ now goes to the first precedent in the preview (same behaviour as Excel).
  • Ctrl+0 in preview shows the Focus view for that item
  • Fix pasting in from preview so it brings values not text. 
  • Warn about pasting more than 255 columns from Excel, because of an Excel limitation
  • Check for “balances” that don’t include a reference to the BEG value in the formula
  • Allow user to use custom copy/ paste macro instead of the standard one

Version 1.9.8 – Full model ingestion

  • New option “Import selected sheet(s)” on the Openbox part of the Excel Ribbon. Allows you to bring whole sheets or models into Openbox in one step
  • Update report layout approach, to deal with complex arrays
  • Deal with any placeholders ending “POS” in the Openbox screen – offer to merge them with the corresponding line item e.g. “Operating costs POS” merges with “Operating costs”

Version 1.9.7 – Bug Fixes

  • Reports on single sheet option now works with complex multi-period reports
  • Ingesting multi-row InpT inputs now works
  • Fix period end flag calculation in hybrid timelines which failed if there was a leap year during construction
  • Don’t allow opening or closing [ ] in labels
  • Tidy up timeline letters on sheets and inputs
  • Don’t allow switching to secondary axis if the model has a hybrid timeline
  • Put units for InpT items in correct row
  • Allow user to refer to table items on another sheet, in a normal FAST calculation block
  • Correct some broken/ out of date help links

Version 1.9.6 – Bug fixes

  • Fix InpT (table input) sheet bugs, and add buttons for toggling time/ table view to Ribbon
  • Don’t check time axis of built in sheets
  • Don’t store temporary model results in saved files
  • Warnings if issues ingesting input tables

Version 1.9.5 – Bug fixes

  • Scenario and comparison buttons now operational
  • Fix issue with circularity breaker in preview window, where it was incorrectly reporting that the results did not converge
  • Fix issue with the input selector formula on InpC

Version 1.9.4 – Scenarios and bug fixes

  • Allow users to display multiple scenarios, and compare scenarios, on charts
  • Fix bug where some circular references were not being detected
  • Improve circularity handler
  • Fix bugs with Delete key
  • Allow changes to scenario names on InpC
  • Find/Replace now lets you search in section, sheet or model

Version 1.9.3 – bug fixes

  • Fix issues with copying and pasting items
  • Fixed bug which caused the screen to jump occasionally
  • Fix issue with circular reference screen buttons
  • Fix bug where the ‘Delete’ key wouldn’t let you delete sheets
  • Insert the current unit into the dropdown when the unit editing box is displayed

Version 1.9.2 – formula help

  • Formula help now displayed below formula bar at all times when editing. Includes help on function syntax and arrays
  • Add “online help” button in formula help bar which takes you to the function help page on this site
  • Add “unpin all charts” functionality

Version 1.9.1 – Charts and bug fixes

  • Fix bug which caused duplicate labels for some constants on two timeline models
  • Include copy paste block check in overall check
  • Tidy up Equation charts
  • Fix issue with financial close date calculation for new models

Version 1.9.0

  • Improved chart display in Focus Mode
  • Improved file name suggestions for saving
  • Fix issue where there are reports with different arrays, and the user chooses to put all reports on one page
  • Fix issue where pasting beyond column IV in the preview
  • Copied and pasted items in the main view are now put beside the original, not in ‘Unallocated’
  • OBXValues function now correctly deals with array elements in the second argument
  • Counterflow arrows now refreshed on validation
  • Fix bug where array formulas in the template would cause an error
  • Improved Focus Mode layout and redrawing
  • Fix bug where a template with automatic calculation would cause a crash
  •  

Checking you have 64-bit Excel

We recommend using Openbox on 64-bit Excel, as some users have experienced installation issues with 32-bit Excel on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11. 

Here is how to tell what version of Excel you are running:

  1. Open Excel
  2. Click “File” then “Account”
  3. Click the “?”/ “About Excel” icon

You should see a title ending with “64-bit”, as shown in the image below.

If you see “32-bit”, and are having issues installing Openbox, you may want to consider upgrading to 64-bit. Click here for advice from Microsoft on how to do this (it is free).

Why don’t shapes show up in the preview?

When you create the preview window (e.g. by pressing F9) Openbox reads in the sheets and contents of the Excel formatting template file you chose.

In most cases, this is brought in exactly as in Excel. However, in some cases you may not see everything you expect in the preview.

In particular, shapes (triangles, arrows and so on) are not shown in the preview. In most cases, they will be shown in the built model. However, in some cases, complex shapes (with “custom geometry”) will not appear in the built model. 

We are working on a fix for this issue.

 

Why doesn’t the Openbox menu appear in Excel?

After installation, the Openbox menu should appear in the Excel ribbon, as shown above.

If it does not appear, there are a number of possible explanations including: failure to install properly, anti-virus tools blocking install or operation, Excel security settings and out of date Windows files.

First of all, please check that you are running 64-bit Excel (click here for how).

We recommend the following steps:

  1. Reboot your computer
  2. Uninstall Openbox using “Add/ remove programs” in the Start menu in Windows
  3. Run Office repair (click to go to the Microsoft site)
  4. Reboot your computer
  5. Reinstall Openbox. Important – do NOT open Excel before or during this process
  6. Re-open Excel

If this does not work, you can try temporarily disabling your anti-virus software at step 5, and re-enabling after step 6. We scan all Openbox downloads with all major anti-virus tools, before publishing, but there can be issues remaining.

You may also want to check your Excel security settings.  In Excel 365, click “File” then “Options”. Then click “Trust Center” and “Trust Center settings”. Click “Add-ins”, and uncheck “Require Application Addins to be signed by a Trusted Publisher” then click OK as many times as needed to get back to Excel.

You may also want to check that your Windows installation is up to date. Please ensure that you have installed the following files from Microsoft:

Download Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 from Official Microsoft Download Center

Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads | Microsoft Learn (choose the link in the table row labelled x64).

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Unused items

Often when creating a model we build sections or calculation blocks and then decide that they aren’t what we need. They should be deleted, but it is easy to forget to do this.

There’s a risk in leaving items in the model that aren’t used. They will quickly become out of date, relative to the rest of the model. If they are used again in future, they may no longer be appropriate for the model’s purpose.

Openbox warns you about any unused items and offers several choices:

  1. Ignore. Just skip past this item for now.

  2. Ignore all. Don’t warn about any other unused items. This is fine when drafting but we don’t recommend it for the final model

  3. Add to report. Sometimes the reason something is unused is that you forgot to put it on a report. Openbox offers to do this for you.

  4. Cancel. Stop the checking and allow you to fix the calculation.