Creating Calculated Members

Creating Calculated Members

You can create customized measures or dimension members, called calculated members, by combining cube data, arithmetic operators, numbers, and/or functions. For example, you can create a calculated member called Marks that converts dollars to marks by multiplying an existing dollar measure by a conversion rate. Marks can then be displayed to end users in a separate row or column.

Calculated member definitions are stored, but their values exist only in memory. In the preceding example, values in marks are displayed to end users but are not stored as cube data.

You can create calculated members in regular or virtual cubes. For more information, see Creating Calculated Members in Regular Cubes and Creating and Maintaining Calculated Members in Virtual Cubes.

To create a calculated member, use Calculated Member Builder. It enables you to specify the following options for the calculated member:

• Parent dimension

  Select the parent dimension to include the calculated member. Dimensions are descriptive categories by which the numeric data (that is, measures) in a cube can be separated for analysis. In tabular browsers, dimensions provide the column and row headings displayed to end users when they browse a cube's data. (In graphical browsers, they provide other types of descriptive labels but with the same function as in tabular browsers.) A calculated member provides a new heading (or label) in the parent dimension you select.

  Alternatively, you can include the calculated member in the measures instead of a dimension. This option also provides a new column or row heading, but it is attached to measures in the browser.

• Parent member

  Select a parent member to include the calculated member. This option is unavailable if you select a one-level dimension or Measures as the parent dimension.

  Dimensions are divided into levels that contain members. Each member produces a heading. While browsing the cube's data, end users can drill down from a selected heading to previously undisplayed subordinate headings. The heading for the calculated member is added at the level directly below the parent member you select.

• Name

  Select the name of the calculated member. This name appears as the column or row heading for the calculated member values when end users browse the cube.

• Value expression

  Specify the expression that produces the values of the calculated member. This expression can be written in Multidimensional Expressions (MDX). The expression may contain any of the following:

  • Data expressions that represent the cube's components such as dimensions, levels, measures, and so on
    
    
  • Arithmetic operators
    
    
  • Numbers
    
    
  • Functions

  Important   Any calculated member that will be used in the value expression of another calculated member must be created before the calculated member that will use it.

After you create a calculated member, you can rename it. Renaming changes the associated column or row heading displayed to end users.

To rename a calculated member