Member Properties
A member property is an attribute of a dimension member. It provides end users with additional information about the member. For more information about dimension members, see Dimension Structure.
The term member property sometimes refers to any of the properties of a member, including the standard set of properties associated with all members. However, in this topic, member property refers to the member property object in Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 Analysis Services. These objects are member properties you create in addition to the standard set.
Member properties are optional, but they are commonly used to enhance dimensions.
In some client applications, member properties can be easily viewed. The method of displaying member properties varies from application to application; for example, an end user might right-click a member to view its member properties. This presentation makes useful information available about members without cluttering the default view.
Member properties have a variety of uses. In addition to providing information about a member, member properties can be used in queries to provide end users with more options when analyzing cube data. Member properties can also be the basis of levels in virtual dimensions. For more information, see Virtual Dimensions.
Member properties are immediately subordinate to the level. A member property is created in the level that contains the members to which the member property applies.
You can create a member property in Dimension Editor by associating the column that contains values for the member property with the level that contains the members. For example, to create the member property Store Type for members of the Store Name level, ensure that the Store Type column is in the same table as the Store Name column, and then insert Store Type as a member property in the Store Name level.
You can create member properties in shared dimensions by using Dimension Editor. In Analysis Manager, a member property is identified by the following icon.
If you are programming with Decision Support Objects (DSO), the class type associated with the member property is clsMemberProperty.