Verification
Inspect
the Operation of the Drillthrough Action within the Cube Browser
Once
the deployment of the project has been accomplished, we can fully leverage the Browser
that the Cube Designer makes available to us. We will do so by taking
the following steps:
1.
Click the Browser
tab to initialize the Browser for the Designer, as depicted
in Illustration 5.
Illustration 5: Click
the Browser Tab ...
2.
Once the Browser
loads, click the Reconnect button, as shown in Illustration 6.
Illustration 6: Click
the Reconnect Button ...
Let's set up a Browse
scenario that presents many of the details that our client colleagues have
specified that they want to see. The Browser is an extremely convenient
place to accomplish this and other examinations. (More in-depth details about
use of the Browser, a formidable tool within itself, are developed
within other articles of this series, whose objectives, typically within "verification"
procedures, are to examine or analyze values and other details within the cube.)
3.
Within the
cube tree appearing inside the Metadata pane, expand Measures.
4.
Expand the Reseller
Sales folder. as depicted in Illustration 7.
Illustration 7: Exposing
Measures within the Cube Tree
5.
Drag the Reseller
Sales Amount measure, followed by the Reseller Order Quantity measure,
to the area of the Browser canvas marked Drop Totals or Detail Fields
Here, as shown in
Illustration 8.
Illustration 8: Dragging
the Measures to the Browser Canvas ...
6.
Once again,
inside the Metadata pane, expand the Employee folder.
7.
Right-click
the Employee attribute hierarchy that appears in the expanding tree.
8.
Select Add
to Row Area from the context menu that appears.
The expanded Employee attribute
hierarchy appears within the browser's row axis, as depicted in Illustration 9.
Illustration 9: Adding
Employee Attribute Hierarchy to the Cube Browser Row Axis
9.
Expand the Product
folder within the Metadata pane.
10. Expand the Category attribute
hierarchy that appears within the expanded Product folder.
11. Right-click the Category level
that appears within the expanded Category attribute hierarchy.
12. Select Add to Row Area from
the context menu that appears.
Category appears, collapsed, within the
browser's row axis, to the immediate right of the expanded Employee
members (for each of which drilldown has become enabled, as evidenced by the "plus"
("+") icon to its immediate left), as shown in Illustration 10.
Illustration 10: Nesting
Category into the Row Axis ...
13. Once again, inside the Metadata
pane, expand the Ship Date folder.
14. Expand the Calendar folder
that appears.
15. Expand the Ship Date.Calendar hierarchy
that appears within the expanded Calendar folder, as depicted in Illustration
11.
Illustration 11: Getting
to the Calendar Quarter Level ...
16. Right-click the Calendar
Quarter level that appears.
17. Select Add to Column Area
from the context menu that appears.
Calendar Quarter appears, with the individual
quarters appearing nested (and collapsed) underneath, within the browser's
column axis.
18. Expand the Reseller folder
within the Metadata pane.
19. Right-click the Reseller Type hierarchy
that appears within the expanded Reseller folder.
20. Select Add to Column Area
from the context menu that appears.
The Business Type level of the Reseller hierarchy
appears, with the subordinate Reseller level to its immediate right
within the browser's column axis. The two newly added levels appear,
collapsed, to the immediate right of the expanded Calendar Quarter level,
as shown in Illustration
12.
Illustration 12: The
Column Axis with Our Additions (Partial View)
Having set up the axes as
desired, we are ready to take a look at two primary Drillthrough Action
considerations, availability and operation. First, let's examine
when the Action is available, and when it is "disabled,"
to ascertain that its behavior is in accordance with our efforts to meet the
client business requirements we have defined.
21. In the row axis of the browser,
expand Employee member Jillian Carson by clicking the "+"
sign to its immediate left.
The four Product
Categories and a Total appear nested within the drilled down Employee.
22. In the Reseller Sales Amount
column, to the immediate right of the Accessories Category for Jillian
Carson, right click the cell containing the value.
The context menu that
appears contains a single Action, named Reseller Details, as
depicted in Illustration
13.
Illustration 13: A Sole
Action, Reseller Details, is Available for Accessories ...
The fact
that we do not see our new Drillthrough Action, Reseller Sales
Information, provides instant confirmation that our Condition within
the Action definition is effective. Recall that the purpose of the Condition
was to render the Action unavailable for the Reseller measures as
they relate to the Accessories Category; we imposed this Condition
in response to the expressed business requirement of our client colleagues to "disable"
the new Drillthrough Action for the Accessories Category. (The
same results would be noted on the context menu for the other measure, Reseller
Order Quantity, within the context of the Accessories Category.)
» 
Comment and Contribute
