User inputs files

Bulk costing accepts an optional user inputs file in either Excel or CSV (comma-separated values) format files. This allows you to specify parts, production information, overrides for CSL values, and other cost inputs from a spreadsheet.

Production input values provided in this file take precedence over values from other sources. See Precedence of production input overrides for more information.

Note: aPriori strongly advises against manually creating input columns. Instead, generate the input spreadsheet as described in this section.

One way to get started with an inputs file is to create a new bulk cost group, edit its values in the Bulk Costing & Analysis UI, and then save the data with File > Export User Inputs Spreadsheet. This will create a user inputs file in Excel spreadsheet format. If you wish to create a CSV file, you can Save As .csv from Excel.

The columns in the spreadsheet files map to the columns in the Bulk Costing & Analysis UI in a fairly obvious manner.

Some of the less obvious mappings are covered in the following sections.