Additional Functions in InfoCube
Maintenance
Documents
You can display, create or change documents for InfoCubes.
More information: Documents.
Tree Display
You can display all the InfoCube settings made in InfoCube maintenance in a clear tree structure. The InfoCube is displayed in a hierarchical tree display with its dimensions and InfoObjects.
Version Comparison
You can compare changes in InfoCube maintenance for the following InfoCube versions:
● Active and modified versions of an InfoCube
● Active and Content versions of an InfoCube
● Modified and Content versions of an InfoCube
Transport Connection
You can select and transport InfoCubes. The system automatically collects all BI objects needed to ensure a consistent status in the target system.
Where-Used Lists
You can determine which other objects in the BI system use a given InfoCube.
You can determine the effect of changing an InfoObject in a particular way and whether this is permitted at a given time.
Business Content
In BI Content InfoCubes, you can call the transaction for installing BI Content, copy the InfoCube, or compare it with the customer version. More information: Installing BI Content in the Active Version.
Navigation Attributes
In the InfoCube, you can activate navigation attributes created in the InfoObject maintenance transaction. In the default setting, navigation attributes are deactivated so that as few attributes as possible are included in the InfoCube. More information: Performance of Navigation Attributes in Queries and Input Help.
Note: You can create or activate navigation attributes in the InfoCube at any time. However, once you have activated an attribute, you can no longer deactivate it (because of any aggregates or selection variables that may have been defined).
Units
On the key figures screen, you can display the units contained in the InfoCube by choosing the corresponding pushbutton. Units are not defined but are generated from data from the transferred key figures.
Analyzing InfoCubes
In the main menu, choose Edit to access the analysis and repair environment. You use the analysis and repair environment to check the consistency of your InfoCubes.
More information: Analysis and Repair Environment
InfoProvider Properties
You can make various settings for the cache, the aggregates, the behaviour of DataStore objects when loading data, and database performance.
More information: InfoProvider Properties
Provider-Specific Properties of InfoObjects
With Provider-Specific Characteristics in the context menu you can assign the InfoObjects specific characteristics that are only valid in the InfoCube you are currently processing.
Most of these settings correspond to the settings that you can make globally for an InfoObject. For characteristics, these are Display, Text Type, Selection and Filter Value Selection upon Query Execution. See the corresponding sections under Tab Page: Business Explorer.
You can also specify constants for characteristics.
By assigning a constant to a characteristic, you assign a fixed value to it. This means that the characteristic is available on the database (for validation, for example) but is no longer displayed in the query (no aggregation/drilldown is possible for this characteristic).
It is particularly useful to assign constants to compound characteristics.
Example 1:
The storage location characteristic is compounded with the plant characteristic. If only one plant is ever run within the application, you can assign a constant to the plant. The validation for the storage-location master table runs correctly using the constant value for the plant. In the query, however, the storage location only appears as a characteristic.
Example 2:
For an InfoProvider, you specify that only the constant 2005 appears for the year. In a query based on a MultiProvider that contains this InfoProvider, the InfoProvider is ignored if the selection is for year 2004. This improves query performance since the system knows that it does not have to search for records.
Special case:
If constant SPACE (type CHAR) or 00..0 (type NUMC) is assigned to the characteristic, specify character # in the first position.
Key figures have the settings Decimal Places and Display. See the corresponding sections under Tab Page: Additional Properties.
Info Functions
Various information functions are available with regard to the status of the InfoCube:
● Log display for the save, activation and deletion runs for the InfoCube
● InfoCube status in the ABAP/4 Dictionary and on the database
● Function for raw data display (browser) of the data saved in the InfoCube
● Current system settings
● Permitted limits in the InfoCube
● Object directory entry
● Analysis of data consistency in the InfoCube
Special Functions
Navigation in InfoObject Maintenance: Pushbuttons allow you to Create, Display, and Change individual InfoObjects. Note that if you change InfoObjects, the system applies these changes globally to all instances where the InfoObject is used, including other InfoCubes.
Undo change: This function resets the InfoCube to the active version; changes that were made the last time data was saved are reset.
Display active / SAP version: When you are editing the InfoCube, you can display its active version, or the version delivered by SAP (if it exists).
Performance Settings:
Assigning Function Modules
By assigning a function module to an InfoCube, you can load data from external sources. The function module is called when the data is loaded. It supplies the data temporarily. The function can be called from the context menu using Additional Characteristics.