Copying and comparing scenarios

Methods and settings

Choose content, scope and periods

Use Copy to scenario… or Copy from scenario… from a supported line/cell or the scenario assumptions panel. Choose source and target scenarios, the modeled item or items, and content. Scope can be Item only or Item + linked subtree. Forecast scope can be the current period, a selected range or all forecasts.

A linked subtree includes the relevant dependent model structure so a copy can remain meaningful. Name, timing and rules can apply to the whole copied item, while period assumptions use the selected range. Review this distinction before assuming that a one-period copy cannot affect an item-wide property.

Review replacement and independence

Value only requires a compatible method and field. A percentage rate cannot be copied as though it were a currency amount. Source-granularity differences can also make a value-only copy incompatible. Use a complete setup copy if the intention is to replace that modeling approach, then review its scope.

If target work already exists, the copy reports a conflict and asks whether to replace it. The resulting copy belongs to the target. Later edits in the source do not update the copied assumptions. Use a live model reference for an ongoing calculation dependency, not repeated copying disguised as a link.

Compare values and financial effects

Display can select visible scenarios and statements and arrange separate blocks or an integrated view, with scenarios in rows or columns. Use absolute values or Δ versus Base/reference consistently. Changing the presentation does not create another scenario or financial assumption.

Scenario assumptions lists direct overrides. Scenario Impact vs Base shows their combined dependent financial effects before What-If transactions. A cost-rate change can produce differences in EBITDA, tax, cash and debt; those dependent changes are not separate user-entered overrides. The delta itself is neutral, not an automatic good/bad rating.

Resolve missing targets deliberately

An override can be active, disabled or unresolved. A source change, missing forecast period or removed linked item can make a formerly valid override unavailable. Stored work is retained for review. Navigate to the model to correct its target or remove the override if it no longer represents the intended case.

Disable preserves an override without applying it; Remove restores inheritance for that assumption. Deleting a scenario removes that scenario and its associated What-If transactions; Base cannot be deleted. Shared history and shared operator records are not independent copies just because scenarios are displayed side by side.