MSAS Actions in Virtual Cubes
We learned in our last
article that an MSAS Action is an operation upon a selected cube (or
portion of a cube), initiated by an information consumer, while performing
analysis within the cube in which the Action exists. We discovered that,
for the item upon which it is initiated, the Action can retrieve
information about the item that is selected, can start an application with the
selection as a parameter that is fed to the application to accomplish its
function, and so forth.
Actions afford the consumer-analyst the
capability of accessing valuable relative information in a
non-disruptive manner, by allowing him / her to access the information without
leaving the point of analysis at which the Action is initialized (the "target,"
in the parlance of MSAS architecture). In this article, our examination of
MSAS Actions will include:
-
A brief
introduction to Actions from the perspective of MSAS virtual
cubes;
-
Creation of a
virtual cube through the "cloning" of a FoodMart2000 sample, to save
time;
-
A review of
the characteristics of virtual cubes, where appropriate to the current
objectives;
-
A hands-on
practice example of the creation of an Action within our newly created
virtual cube;
-
A review of
the use of Actions within the Cube Browser;
-
A hands-on
practice example of the import of an Action within our newly created virtual
cube;
Create a Clone of a Virtual Cube for this Article
1.
Open Analysis
Manager.
2.
Expand the Analysis
Servers folder by clicking the "+" sign to its immediate
left.
Our
server(s) appear.
Mine is shown in various illustrations as MOTHER1.
3.
Expand the
desired server.
Our
database(s) appear,
in much the same manner as shown in Illustration 1.
Illustration 1: Databases
Displayed within Analysis Manager
4.
Expand the FoodMart
2000 database.
5.
Expand the Cubes
folder.
The
sample cubes appear,
as shown in Illustration 2.
Illustration 2: The
Sample Cubes in the FoodMart 2000 Database
NOTE: Your databases / cube tree may differ, depending upon
the activities you have performed since the installation of MSAS (and the
simultaneous creation of the original set of sample cubes). Should you want or
need to restore the cubes to their original state, simply restore the database under
consideration. For instructions, see the MSSQL Server 2000 Books Online.
6.
Right-click on
the Warehouse and Sales sample cube.
Because
our lesson will involve making changes to the cube we use, let's make a copy of
the Warehouse and Sales cube. This sample that accompanies installation
of MSAS is a virtual cube. Working with the copy will allow us to
maintain our existing sample cubes in their original condition.
7.
Select Copy
from the context menu that appears, as shown in Illustration 3.
Illustration 3: Select
Copy from the Context Menu
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