Examine Attribute Properties: Source Properties
The Source
properties group appears, within the Properties pane, just underneath
the Parent-Child properties. We will next examine each property
within the Parent-Child group for our chosen attribute example.
As we did for the other properties groups, we will discuss / examine, in
most cases, the purposes of, as well as the possible settings for, each property.
Source Property: CustomRollupColumn
The CustomRollupColumn property specifies a column within the
underlying data source that defines a custom rollup formula.
1.
Click the
downward arrow selector button that appears to the immediate
right of the CustomRollupColumn label, to expose the two basic
options for selection, as shown in Illustration 7.
Illustration 7: CustomRollupColumn
Property Value Selection Options
The
two selection options that are available are “None” and “New.”
2.
Select the “New”
option within the selector.
The
Object Binding dialog appears, as we saw earlier. Here again, we can
employ the Object Binding dialog box to define bindings between the property
of an Analysis Services object and a table / column in a data source
view. As is the case with any of the several properties of Analysis
Services objects we listed in our last section, we can call the Object
Binding dialog box by selecting (new) from the drop-down list for
the CustomRollupColumn value.
With
the value we place into the CustomRollupColumn property, we can specify a column that contains an MDX (Multidimensional
Expressions) expression to be used to aggregate measures for the attribute
under consideration. An appropriate expression whose location (that is, the
column within which it resides in the underlying data source) we specify within
this value will override the AggregateFunction property (whose value can
be one of twelve or so possible additive, semiadditive, or
nonadditive functions – with SUM as the default) of the
measure.
Using
the Object Binding dialog, we select Binding type,
Source table and Source column as appropriate to our needs, and
then save our changes. Because we will not be making changes to this property
setting in our practice example, we will simply dismiss the dialog via the Cancel
button, as we have done earlier.
3.
Click the Cancel
button at the bottom of the Object Binding dialog box to dismiss the dialog.
Source
Property:
CustomRollupPropertiesColumn
CustomRollupPropertiesColumn affords us a means of specifying a
column containing the properties of the custom rollup.
4.
Click the
downward arrow selector button that appears to the immediate
right of the CustomRollupPropertiesColumn label, to expose the two basic
options for selection, as depicted in Illustration 8.
Illustration 8:
CustomRollupPropertiesColumn Property Value Selection Options
The
two selection options that are available are “None” and “New,” as
we have seen in earlier properties.
5.
Select the “New”
option within the selector.
The
Object Binding dialog appears, as we saw earlier, offering the same
opportunities we have discussed for the definition of bindings between the property
of an Analysis Services object and a table / column in a data source
view.
With
the value we place into the CustomRollupPropertiesColumn property, we can specify a column that contains the properties of
a custom rollup formula. Using the Object Binding dialog, once again, we select Binding type, Source
table and Source column as appropriate to our needs, and then save
our changes.
Because
we will not be making changes to this property setting in our practice
example, we will simply dismiss the dialog via the Cancel button, as we
have done earlier.
6.
Click the Cancel
button at the bottom of the Object Binding dialog box, as before, to dismiss
the dialog.
Source
Property:
KeyColumns
The value we select for the KeyColumns property
specifies, in a manner similar to the CustomRollupColumn and CustomRollupPropertiesColumn properties, a column or columns within the
underlying data source. The KeyColumns property specifies the column(s) containing the member
key(s).
7.
Click the
ellipses (“ ... “) button that appears to the immediate
right of the KeyColumns
property label, as shown in Illustration
9.
Illustration 9: Click
the Ellipses ( “... “) Button to the Right of the KeyColumns Property
The DataItem Collection Editor appears, as depicted in Illustration 10.
Illustration 10: The
DataItem Collection Editor Appears
The
DataItem
Collection Editor is used throughout the Business Intelligence
Development Studio to edit the collection of data items associated with the KeyColumns
property of various Analysis Services objects. The Members pane
on the left side of the dialog lists the data items contained by the
collection. Here, we can add or remove data items to the Members pane,
as well as move the items up or down as appropriate to meet our business
requirements.
8.
Expand the Misc
group in the Properties pane (right
half of the Editor) by clicking the “+” sign that appears to
the immediate left of the Misclabel,
as shown in Illustration 11.
Illustration 11: Expand
the Misc Group in the Properties Pane
9.
Expand the Source
properties group in the Properties pane, atop the list that appears
under the newly expanded Misc group, by clicking the “+” sign
that appears to the immediate left of the Source label.
The Properties pane displays a list of properties available for the data item that
is selected within the Members pane (left half of the Editor), as depicted in Illustration 12.
Illustration 12: The
Expanded Misc Properties Appear
Because
we will not be making changes to these property settings in our practice
example, we will simply dismiss the dialog via the Cancel button, as we
have done in steps before.
10.
Click the Cancel
button at the bottom of the DataItem Collection Editor to dismiss the dialog.
Source
Property:
NameColumn
The NameColumn
property is related to the KeyColumns property. It allows us to specify the column
that provides the name of the attribute that is displayed to
users, rather than the value in the key column for the attribute (the
default if no Name is specified).
11.
Expand the NameColumn
group in the Properties pane by clicking the “+” sign that
appears to the immediate left of the NameColumn property label, as shown in Illustration 13.
Illustration 13: Expand
the NameColumn Group in the Properties Pane
12.
Expand the Source
properties group in the Properties pane, atop the list that appears
under the newly expanded NameColumn group, by clicking the “+”
sign that appears to the immediate left of the Source label.
The Properties pane displays a list of properties
settings available for the NameColumn
property,
as depicted in Illustration 14.
Illustration 14: The
Expanded NameColumn Properties Appear
The value we supply to NameColumn is used to
specify the column within the underlying data source that provides the name of the attribute
that is displayed to users, as we have noted. This column is used to display a user-friendly column to
users when the key column value for an attribute member is
cryptic or not otherwise useful to the user, when the key column is
based on a composite key or where other scenarios exist that dictate the
use of an “alias” for a Name.
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