Workday Adaptive functions#

The Workday Adaptive family reads data from, and writes data back to, Workday Adaptive Planning. Each function has a canonical RW.Adaptive.* name and a legacy AI* alias.

The AI* alias is not artificial intelligence#

The aliases in this family begin with AI: AIEXTRACT, AITIER, AIOPTION, AIFILTER, AIINPUT, AIMODELEDINPUT, AIMODELEDEXPORT. That AI is short for Adaptive Insights, the former name of Workday Adaptive Planning. These functions have nothing to do with generative AI or large language models. They are a data connector.

The only generative worksheet function is RW.Tools.AIInsight. See The AI insight function. Do not confuse the two.

Before you use these functions#

• A Workday Adaptive Planning connection with valid metadata must be configured for the workbook. An admin sets this up; see the Connector catalog.
• The read and export functions run during report generation. The input and modeled-input functions run during input submission, not the output pass.
• The functions are inert in desktop Excel.
• Version availability across this family is approximate: most date from at least around v5.0.0.42, with RW.Adaptive.Filter from around v5.0.0.79.

RW.Adaptive.Extract#

Generates an Adaptive report into a worksheet range by combining the tier formulas that define its axes with the option formulas that control its output.

Signature

=RW.Adaptive.Extract(targetRange, tiersRange, optionsRange)

All three are required.

Behavior

• Extract gathers every RW.Adaptive.Tier formula from tiersRange and splits them into rows, columns and filters. At least one row tier and one column tier are required.
• RW.Adaptive.Option("AutoFormat", ...) controls whether Reportworq bolds the row and column labels and auto-fits the label columns.
• The Adaptive result set is imported into targetRange, and the formula cell is cleared on success.
• During the Adaptive pass, modeled exports run first, and Extract runs afterwards, once the workbook's Adaptive specs have been expanded.

Keep the tier and option formulas in small, clearly labeled setup ranges and pass those ranges in. Control formatting and suppression through RW.Adaptive.Option rather than hard-coding it into the template.

Example

=RW.Adaptive.Extract(A1, Setup!B2:B6, Setup!D2:D4)

RW.Adaptive.Tier#

Defines one Adaptive tier for the row axis, column axis, or filter axis of an Extract.

Signature

=RW.Adaptive.Tier(axis, dimensionName, selections, [expansionType], [order])

Behavior

• With expansionType="none" at least one element must be supplied.
• With children, descendants or leaf, the tier can expand from the members you supply or from the dimension root when no members are supplied.
• Extract sorts row and column tiers by order before building the request. Put outer tiers at lower order values and inner tiers at higher ones.
• Use leaf when you want fully expanded leaf-level members rather than parents.
• Use filters for dimensions that should constrain the report without appearing as row or column labels.

Examples

=RW.Adaptive.Tier("rows", "Period", A1:A5)
=RW.Adaptive.Tier("columns", "Region", B1:B2, "children", 1)
=RW.Adaptive.Tier("filters", "Version", "Actual;Budget")

When an argument is wrong

RW.Adaptive.Option#

Defines an option that Extract reads when building the report.

Signature

=RW.Adaptive.Option(optionName, optionValue)

Reportworq stores the value as text and also tries to parse it as a Boolean and as an integer. The formula cell displays optionName=optionValue.

Use SuppressRollups and SuppressZeros to shape the Adaptive request itself, rather than post-processing the result in Excel.

Examples

=RW.Adaptive.Option("AutoFormat", TRUE)
=RW.Adaptive.Option("SuppressZeros", 2)
=RW.Adaptive.Option("SuppressRollups", FALSE)

When an argument is wrong. A misspelled option name is silently unused by Extract, so an option that appears to have no effect is most often a typo. A numeric option whose value is text that cannot be parsed as an integer also fails quietly.

RW.Adaptive.Filter#

Stores a reusable Adaptive dimension filter: a dimension name and one or more member names.

Signature

=RW.Adaptive.Filter(dimensionName, memberNames)

Literal lists and cell-based lists are both supported. The formula cell displays a dimension.members summary.

It defines filter values only. It does not render a report grid on its own; for the full row, column and filter layout use RW.Adaptive.Tier and RW.Adaptive.Extract.

Examples

=RW.Adaptive.Filter("Region", A1:A5)
=RW.Adaptive.Filter("Version", {"Actual","Plan"})

RW.Adaptive.Input#

Marks a cell as an Adaptive input and prepares it for upload during contribution processing.

Signature

=RW.Adaptive.Input(inputCell, [adaptiveSheetName], [tuplePart1], [tuplePart2], ...)

Behavior

• Supply explicit tuple parts when you want the formula itself to define where the value is written. Leave them out when the generated workbook already carries the tuple map Reportworq created for that input cell during report generation.
• Processed during input submission, not the output pass. The formula cell is cleared on success.

Examples

=RW.Adaptive.Input(B5)
=RW.Adaptive.Input(B5, "CommissionSheet")
=RW.Adaptive.Input(B5, "CommissionSheet", "Version|Plan", "Period|2026-01", "Region|East")

When an argument is wrong

RW.Adaptive.ModeledInput#

Updates a modeled Adaptive sheet by matching one key value and writing one modeled field value.

Signature

=RW.Adaptive.ModeledInput(version, adaptiveSheetName, importKeyName, importKeyValue, inputValueName, inputValue)

All six arguments are required. The formula builds a small two-column modeled-data update request and sends it during input processing. The formula cell is cleared on success.

Use INDIRECT(...) when you copy the formula down repeated worksheet rows, so the references track the row rather than drifting.

Use RW.Adaptive.Input instead for standard or cube-account uploads that rely on tuple metadata.

Examples

=RW.Adaptive.ModeledInput($C$2, "CommissionSheet", "Employee_ID", A2, "Target_Commission", B2)
=RW.Adaptive.ModeledInput("2026_Plan", "Targets", "Region", INDIRECT("A" & ROW()), "Headcount", INDIRECT("B" & ROW()))

When an argument is wrong

RW.Adaptive.ModeledExport#

Exports modeled Adaptive data into a worksheet range or named table.

Signature

=RW.Adaptive.ModeledExport(targetRange, version, [adaptiveSheetName], [startPeriod], [endPeriod], [levels], [includeDescendent], [isGlobal])

Behavior

• The export can be written into a normal range or into a named Excel table. A table is useful when downstream formulas, filters or charts should grow with the result set.
• Modeled exports run before Extract during the Adaptive formula pass.
• If the export returns rows, the data is imported and the formula cell is cleared.

Examples

=RW.Adaptive.ModeledExport(A1, "ActualData")
=RW.Adaptive.ModeledExport(SalesTable, "PlanModel", "CommissionSheet", "2026-01", "2026-12")
=RW.Adaptive.ModeledExport(B5, "ForecastData", , , , "Level1|Level2", TRUE, FALSE)

When an argument is wrong

Use cases#

• Adaptive custom report. RW.Adaptive.Tier formulas define Period rows and Region columns, RW.Adaptive.Option("SuppressZeros", TRUE) trims the empties, and RW.Adaptive.Extract renders the grid for a monthly management pack.
• Modeled forecast package. RW.Adaptive.ModeledExport pulls a modeled sheet into a table for a forecast workbook, and after review RW.Adaptive.ModeledInput writes the revised targets back.
• Commission upload. RW.Adaptive.Input marks the commission cells for cube-account upload during a contribution round.

Notes and limits#

• The functions are inert in desktop Excel. They only run inside a Reportworq job or form submission.
• Extract needs at least one row tier and one column tier.
• Remember the naming trap: the AI* aliases are Adaptive functions, not AI.

Related pages#

• Functions overview: which one do I use
• General report and layout functions for the layout functions that run alongside an Extract.
• The AI insight function for the genuinely generative one.
• Connector catalog for the Adaptive connection setup.