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Importing variables can help you keep your models simple and maintainable. Instead of a single model with lots of variables and formulas, you can break a problem down into smaller separate models, and import variables between them.

For example, there are various parts to a financial model — revenue generation, costs, each of which might be broken down by department. Having multiple models for each parts means that each will be easy to follow.

When you have separate models, you can connect them together by importing variables from one into another.

Importing a variable

Click on the Models button in the toolbar to open the Models dropdown. This is the main area for housekeeping related to linked models.

1. Click the Link Model button.
2. Select the model you want to import from.
3. The model will now appear in the "Linked Models" section of the Models dropdown. Click on it to open it up.
4. You'll now see a list of variables that you can import from the other model. Click on a variable to import it.

<aside> 🚨 You only need to link a model once — if you want to import multiple variables from the same model, you can do this via a single link.

</aside>

Using an imported variable

Once you've imported a variable, you can broadly use it like any other variable in your model. You can use it in formulas, and you can add it to Visuals.

The main restriction is that you can't directly modify an imported variable's attributes, except for its name and description. This variable gets the rest of its attributes from the model in which it "lives".

If you want to make changes to an imported variable, double-click on the variable's icon in the spreadsheet to "zoom in" to its model, and make the changes in the original model. When you double-click on a linked variable, its original model opens in a new tab within the editor UI, so you can always navigate back to your other model.