Creating a geography or time hierarchy

Time, geography, and custom hierarchies enrich a dataset. Time and geography hierarchies are detected automatically when a dataset is acquired, but you can create hierarchies at any time.

Time hierarchies can be created on number and date columns. Geography hierarchies can be created only on columns containing values that are compatible with geography data values in the NAVTEQ database used by the application. You use the contextual menus of column headers and dimensions to create hierarchies.

  1. Select the Options gear icon next to a dimension, and select Start of the navigation path Create a geographic hierarchy Next navigation step By Names End of the navigation path or Create a time hierarchy.
    Column or dimension enrichment options appear for the hierarchy.
  2. Choose which columns to map to the hierarchy:
    • For time hierarchies, select the columns to map for the Year, Quarter, Month, and Day levels.

    • For geography hierarchies, select the columns to map for some or all of the Country, Region, Sub-Region, and City levels. These columns are checked for matches with the internal geography database used by the application.

      Select Detected columns to display columns detected as possible matches in drop-down lists for the level. If no columns are detected, the lists are empty. Select All columns to include all columns in drop-down lists for the level.

    For time hierarchies, the new columns selected as levels are automatically added to the dataset, and the new time hierarchy appears on the Hierarchies semantic tab.

    For geography hierarchies, the Geographical Data dialog appears, showing columns that matched the internal database in green, columns that were an ambiguous match in orange, and columns that did not match in red.

    For inferred dimensions, columns are created for the hierarchies.

  3. (Optional for geography hierarchies) In the Geographical Data dialog, for each proposed match, select the proposition row and select Choose to accept the location or Not found to remove the row, and select Confirm.
    The new geography columns selected as levels are automatically added to the dataset, and the new geography hierarchy appears on the Measures and Dimensions panel.

You can modify the matched levels of a geography hierarchy at any time. (Select the Options gear icon next to the hierarchy name, select Edit reconciliation, change the proposed matches for a level, and select Confirm.)