Dimension Editor

Dimension Editor - Schema

Enables you to examine and edit a dimension and its levels. It appears in two views, Browse and Schema. You can switch from one view to another by clicking the Preview Dimension Data button or the View Source Tables button. You can also click Data or Schema on the View menu.

The Dimension editor appears when you do either of the following:

In the OLAP Manager, in the Library folder, open the Shared Dimensions folder. Right-click a dimension, and then click Edit.
In the OLAP Manager, in the Library folder, open the Shared Dimensions folder. Click a dimension, and then on the Action menu, click Edit.

In this topic, you can read about:

The Schema pane.
The Dimension editor menus.
The Dimension editor toolbar.
The tree view.
The Properties pane.
Working in the Dimension editor.

Schema Pane

In the Dimension editor Schema pane, you can organize the structure of the dimension in a graphical display, add additional tables and levels, and browse the data in the dimension tables.

The Schema pane displays the dimension tables with blue title bars. Joins are depicted by lines connecting the key columns between multiple tables.

Lengthen a selected table window vertically, or use the scroll bars to view all columns in the table. You can also widen the table window to view long column names.

Note Changing the structure of a dimension causes the results of previous dimension processing to be invalidated. After a dimension’s structure has changed, you must process the dimension to re-create the data.

Working in the Schema pane

This section lists the actions that can be performed in the Schema pane. Many actions can be performed in multiple ways. For example, an action can be accomplished by a drag-and-drop procedure, or by right-clicking an object and then clicking an item on the shortcut menu.

To add a new table

Right-click anywhere in the Schema pane, and then click Insert Tables.

To remove a table

Right-click the title bar of a table, and then click Remove.

To browse the data in a table

Right-click the title bar of a table, and then click Browse Data.

To create a join between two tables

Select the key column name in the first table, and then drag it over the corresponding key column name in the second table.

To remove a join between two tables

Right-click the line depicting the join, and then click Remove.

To switch to the Browse pane

On the lower toolbar, click the Preview Dimension Data button.

Dimension Editor Menus

Menu	Option	Description
File	New Dimension - Wizard	Creates a new dimension using the Dimension wizard.
	New Dimension - Editor	Creates a new dimension using the Dimension editor.
	Save	Saves the dimension.
	Save As	Saves the dimension under a different name.
	Exit	Closes the Dimension editor.
Edit	Rename	Renames the selected object.
	Delete	Deletes the selected object.
	Remove Join	Removes all joins from the selected column.
View	Schema	Displays the Schema pane.
	Data	Displays the Browse pane.
	Properties	Expands the Properties pane.
Insert	Tables	Adds a table to the dimension.
	Level	Adds a new level.
	Member Property	Adds a new member property.
	Join	Adds a join to the selected column.
Tools	Process Dimension	Processes the dimension.
	Count Dimension Members	Counts the number of members in a dimension.
	Validate Dimension Structure	Verifies that the dimension structure doesn’t contain invalid components that would prevent processing of the dimension.
Help	Help on Dimension Editor	Displays this Help topic.
	Contents and Index	Opens the Microsoft® SQL Server™ OLAP Services Books Online.

Toolbar

Tree View

The tree view previews the structure of your dimension in a hierarchical tree. Right-click an object to see a shortcut menu for that object.

Right-click	Shortcut menu option	Description
Dimension name	New Dimension	Adds a new dimension.
	Process Dimension	Processes the dimension.
	New Level	Adds a new level.
Level	New Level	Adds a new level.
	New Member Property	Adds a new member property.
	Delete	Deletes the level.
	Rename	Renames the level.
Member Property Folder	New Member Property	Adds a new member property.
Member Property	New Member Property	Adds a new member property.
	Delete	Deletes the member property.
	Rename	Renames the member property.

Properties Pane

The Properties pane displays the properties of a selected object in the tree view. Each type of object (dimension, level, or member property) contains a different set of properties. Use the Properties pane to modify the property settings for the selected object.

To expand the Properties pane for an object in the tree view

Select an object, and then click the arrow on the Properties pane.
-Or-
On the View menu, click Properties.

Note The MemberKeyColumn property for a dimension level can refer to a column or to a value derived from a column, such as a formula that extracts the year value from a date-formatted column. However, the column or the value derived from the column must be a string or a number.

For more information about properties, see Properties Cross-Reference.

Working in the Dimension Editor

This section lists the actions that can be performed in the Dimension editor. Many actions can be performed in multiple ways. For example, an action can be accomplished either by clicking a menu item, by clicking a button on the toolbar, or by right-clicking an object and then clicking an item on the shortcut menu.

To view a different dimension

Click the down arrow on the Dimension list on the toolbar, and then click the desired dimension.

To create a new dimension using the Dimension wizard

On the File menu, point to New Dimension, and then click Wizard.
-Or-
Click the New Dimension button on the toolbar.

To create a new dimension using the Dimension editor

On the File menu, point to New Dimension, and then click Editor.
-Or-
On the Dimension list on the toolbar, click New.
-Or-
In the tree view, right-click a dimension, and then click New Dimension.

To save the current dimension

On the File menu, click Save.
-Or-
Click the Save button on the toolbar.

To save the current dimension under a different name

On the File menu, click Save As.
In the New Dimension Name dialog box, enter a name in the Dimension Name box, and then click OK.

To add a table

On the Insert menu, click Tables.
-Or-
Click the Insert Table button on the toolbar.

To add a level

On the Insert menu, click Level.
-Or-
Click the Insert Level button on the toolbar.
-Or-
In the tree view, right-click a dimension, and then click New Level.
-Or-
In the tree view, right-click a level, and then click New Level.

To delete a level

In the tree view, click a level, and then on the Edit menu, click Delete.
-Or-
In the tree view, right-click a level, and then click Delete.

To rename a level

In the tree view, click a level, and then on the Edit menu, click Rename.
-Or-
In the tree view, right-click a level, and then click Rename.

To add a member property

On the Insert menu, click Member Property.
-Or-
In the tree view, click a level, member property folder, or member property, and then click the Insert Member Property button on the toolbar.
-Or-
In the tree view, right-click a level, member property folder, or member property, and then click New Member Property.

To delete a member property

In the tree view, click a member property, and then on the Edit menu, click Delete.
-Or-
In the tree view, right-click a member property, and then click Delete.

To rename a member property

In the tree view, click a member property, and then on the Edit menu, click Rename.
-Or-
In the tree view, right-click a member property, and then click Rename.

To process a dimension

On the Tools menu, click Process Dimension.
-Or-
In the tree view, right-click the dimension, and then click Process Dimension.

To count dimension members

On the Tools menu, click Count Dimension Members.

To validate a dimension structure

On the Tools menu, click Validate Dimension Structure.

To view the Browse pane

On the View menu, click Data.
-Or-
On the lower toolbar, click the Preview Dimension Data button.

To expand the Properties pane

On the View menu, click Properties.
-Or-
Click the down arrow on the Properties pane.

To edit the properties of an object

In the Properties pane, place the pointer in a cell and then type in the new value, or select a value from the list, if a list is presented.

To close the Dimension editor and return to the tree view of OLAP Manager

On the File menu, click Exit.