In addition to the primary input data associated with each element, which affect the results of a STEM model directly, a further group of time-series inputs is provided for each market segment, service, transformation, function, resource, location and cost index element, which can be referenced in formulae, and also in the definitions of derived results – see 5.17 Defining results. By default, these inputs are called User1, User2, …, and are located in the User Data dialog, accessed from an icon menu in the usual way.
This facility allows you to calculate a primary input from several numbers or time series, and to use the same formula for all elements, effectively extending the input parameters of your model.
It is possible to rename user fields, so that they have intuitive labels instead of User1, User2, etc. There is also a set of global User Data, accessed from the Data menu, which can be referenced from any element.