Import an Action from another Cube to the Virtual Cube
We will import the Action that we created in the previous article into the Virtual Cube W Action clone we created, to get a handle on the process. For this purpose, we will select the Action we created, named ANSYS21 1, within the Sales sample cube in our previous lesson, Putting Actions to Work in Regular Cubes. We will focus for now upon the Import process itself.
1. Right-click the Virtual Cube w Actions virtual cube we cloned earlier.
2. Click Edit from the context menu that appears.
The Virtual Cube Editor launches.
3. Right-click the Actions folder in the tree pane to the left.
This time we are going to select the option that is unique to the virtual cube, the Import Action option.
4. Select Import Action from the context menu, as depicted in Illustration 18.
Illustration 18: Select Import Action (Circled)
The Import Action dialog appears. We can select to import Actions from other cubes that are within the same database - although, in my case, at least, only one Action for a common data source appears.
5. Select the check box beside the ANSYS21 1 Action, housed within the Sales cube.
The Import Action dialog appears, as shown in Illustration 19.
Illustration 19: Import Action Dialog
NOTE: We might deselect the Show source cubes only checkbox to make all Actions and their cubes visible. Leaving the checkbox selected means we only see those that relate to a common data source.
The ANSYS21 1 Action is imported into the cube without any errors noted.
7. Select File --> Save to save the virtual cube with the imported Action.
If you wish to test the ANSYS21 1 Action, be sure to drill to the lowest level in the Store dimension, then to select it from the context menu that appears from right-clicking the individual store. ANSYS21 1 appears as an option when you perform the right-click - but only at the Store Name level, as is appropriate. (ANSYS21 1 was fully functional when I tested it on my machine).
An error message upon the attempt to import an Action typically means that the definition of the Action includes a measure, dimension, or other object that is not in the virtual cube, or that syntax errors have been detected. The Action is not included in the virtual cube data displayed to end users as long as the error exists. To correct the error, we can add the missing component to the virtual cube, or edit the action to remove the offending syntax (from within the Cube Editor and Action Wizard, within the cube that houses the original Action).
Once we feel comfortable with our understanding of the functionality, and have tested the imported Action, if desired, we can leave the Virtual Cube Editor.
8. Select File --> Exit when ready to leave the Virtual Cube Editor, saving if requested.
9. Exit Analysis Services in similar fashion, when ready.
Summary ...
In this article, we extended the examination of Actions that we began in the previous article, Putting Actions to Work in Regular Cubes, to the creation and use of Actions within virtual cubes. After considering the differences between regular and virtual cube scenarios, we created an Action in a sample virtual cube we cloned from an existing sample. We then performed the import of an example Action into our cloned virtual cube. Throughout the hands-on practice exercises, we commented upon the results we obtained, to reinforce our understanding of the concepts involved.
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