A cube must contain at least one measure from the designated fact
table; in addition, it must also contain a minimum of one dimension that is
associated with a key column in the table. We will add dimensions next.
8.
Add the following dimensions to
the Dimensions folder, by dragging each from the Sales_Fact_1997 table onto the folder, in
the following order:
- time_id
- customer_id
- product_id
Illustration 16: The Dimensions Folder with Newly Added Dimensions
The dimensions that we
have added are private dimensions, meaning that they belong to this cube only.
Now let's make some adjustments to the measure and dimension properties, simply
to illustrate them, as well as to refresh our memories, in some cases, of
several member properties attributes.
9.
Click the Time Id
dimension to select it in the cube tree.
10.
Click Properties beneath
the tree pane to display the properties of the Time Id dimension.
11.
Click the Basic tab in
the Properties pane.
12.
Rename the dimension to Calendar.Time.
The Basic tab of
the Properties pane for the Calendar.Time dimension appears as
shown below:
Illustration 17: Calendar.Time Dimension, Properties Pane, Basic Tab
13.
Click the Time Id level
underneath the Calendar.Time dimension to select it in the cube tree.
14.
Ensure the Basic tab in
the Properties pane is selected.
15.
Rename the level to Calendar
Time (note that the delimiter "." is not allowed here).
The Basic tab of
the Properties pane for the single Time level appears as shown
below:
Illustration 18: Time Level, Properties Pane, Basic Tab
16.
Click the Calendar.Time dimension
again to select it in the cube tree.
17.
Click the Advanced tab
in the Properties pane.
18.
Modify the All Caption
to read All Calendar Time.
The Advanced tab
of the Properties pane for the Calendar.Time dimension appears as
shown below:
Illustration 19: Calendar.Time Dimension, Properties Pane, Advanced Tab
19.
Complete steps 34 through 43
above, for each of the other two dimensions, Customer Id and Product Id, to
rename the dimensions (and their associated single underlying levels) to Customer
and Product, respectively, on the Basic
tabs of the associated Properties panes.
20.
Modify the All Caption
fields on the Advanced tab in the Properties panes for Customer
and Product to read All Customers and All Products, respectively.
The cube tree should
appear as shown below:
Illustration 20: Cube Tree, Reflecting Modifications of Customer and Product Dimension (and Associated Levels) Names
Keep in mind that the
dimensions we have defined are private
dimensions. Because private dimensions (and the associated dimension levels)
are defined for the individual cube, they are created/modified, as we have
seen above, using the cube editor. We in essence must be "inside" the cube
with the editor to readily see the private dimensions exposed in the cube tree.
We will process the cube at this stage.
Page 7: Processing the Cube
See All Articles by Columnist William E. Pearson, III
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