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Function documentationMember Behavior Using Dimension Properties Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

Dimension properties are attributes that are assigned to dimensions. Many of the attributes are generic, such as ID and EvDescription, while others can be unique to a dimension, such as Scale. These categories define the behavior of members within the dimension.

Features

You can use the following features when working with dimensions:

Default dimension properties

Based on their assigned type, dimensions are assigned default properties, some of which are required. You can add more properties to further customize your dimension members.

Note Note

The SOLVE_ORDER property defines the order in which the system solves calculated members when they intersect with other calculated members. SOLVE_ORDER determines the order in which the system evaluates and calculates dimensions, members, calculated members, custom rollups, and calculated cells. The system evaluates the member with the highest solve order first, and calculates it last. Zero is the highest priority.

Guidelines for implementing SOLVE_ORDER:

  • Specify up to 3 measures and 5 members within a SOLVE_ORDER property.

  • Specify dimensions by dimension name, making sure that capitalization is correct.

    Example Example

    [ACCOUNT].[Account1] / [ACCOUNT].[Account2]

    [PRODUCT].[Product1] + [PRODUCT].[Product2]

    End of the example.

    The only exception to this rule is that you do not need to specify an Account dimension by name.

End of the note.

Adding properties to dimensions

By assigning properties to dimensions, you can implement powerful features in your reporting, member lookup, formulas, Data Manager selections, and so on. You can filter on properties in many places in the system. For example, if you want to be able to easily select entities by geographic region, you simply add a Region property and enter a region value for each entity. Then you can filter and sort by region, apply account logic by region, or define a report format based on region.

The system requires various properties depending on the dimension. You can also assign additional properties for your business needs.

You can add properties to a dimension by selecting a dimension within the dimension library and adding a property ID at the bottom of the property list. Property names appear as column headings on the Member Sheet for a dimension. When you save the dimension after new properties have been added, columns are added to the Member Sheet for the new properties. The system does not permit you to keep columns on a member sheet that are not related to properties.

Note Note

If you reorder the columns in the dimension sheet, the system does not maintain the new order when you close the sheet.

End of the note.

Maintaining dimension properties

You maintain dimension properties by adding new properties to a dimension. After you add a property to a dimension, you can assign property values to members in the dimension. To add dimension properties, select a dimension within the dimension library and enter the name of the property and the maximum alphanumeric size of the property values.

There is no limit to the length of dimension attributes you create. To reduce the length of an existing dimension attribute, create a new property, copy the values over from the old property, then delete the old property.

You can also delete dimension properties as long as they are not required. To delete a dimension property, select a dimension within the dimension library, delete the text from the Property Name column, then select Modify Dimension Property from the action pane.

Dimension formulas

The optional property FORMULA allows you to define calculations to perform for dimensions. This powerful feature of the system gives you the ability to customize data management to meet your business requirements. For information about implementing formulas, see Dimension Logic.