Properties Pane (Cube Editor Schema View)

Analysis Services

Analysis Services

Properties Pane (Cube Editor Schema View)

Use the properties pane to display the properties of the object selected in the tree pane. To display the properties pane, click Properties beneath the tree pane.

Each type of object contains a different set of properties. Use the properties pane to modify the property settings for the selected object. For shared dimensions, their levels, and their member properties, some properties are read-only and must be changed in Dimension Editor.

The following table describes the properties displayed in the properties pane.

Object Property Description
Action Action Type Indicates the particular type of action. For descriptions of the different types of actions, see CREATE ACTION Statement.
  Application Used to provide additional information to the application that performs the action.
  Caption Expression A Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) expression used by the client application as a caption for the action.
  Description Used to provide a description for the action.
  Invocation Used to determine how the action will be activated.
  • Interactive: Actions run interactively when the end user activates an associated element in the user interface. This is the default setting and the only type supported by Cube Browser in Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 Analysis Services.

  • On Open: Actions run automatically when the client opens a cube.

  • Batch: Actions are run by the client in a batch job. These actions provide a way to check for exceptions.
  Name The name of the action. This is displayed when selecting the target object for the action.
  Value The MDX expression that defines the action.
Calculated cells BackColor Indicates the background color of the cells defined by the cell coordinates and condition.
  Calculation Condition Contains an MDX conditional expression that defines the calculation subcube cells that are computed with the calculation formula by testing each cell.
  Calculation Subcube Contains an MDX set expression that defines the subset of the cube data that is computed using the calculation formula.
  Calculation Value Contains an MDX expression that provides the value for each cell in the calculation subcube.
  Description Contains the text string that describes the calculated cells definition.
  Disabled Determines whether the cell calculation is disabled. The default value is False.
  FontName Indicates the font name of the cells defined by the cell coordinates and condition.
  FontSize Indicates the font size of the cells defined by the cell coordinates and condition.
  FontFlags Indicates the font flags of the cells defined by the cell coordinates and condition.
  Calculation Pass Number Indicates the calculation pass in which this calculation is executed.
  Calculation Pass Depth Determines how many calculation passes are required to fully compute a calculated cells definition.
  ForeColor Indicates the foreground color of the cells defined by the cell coordinates and condition.
  Format String Contains the format string of the cells defined by the cell coordinates and condition.
  Name Contains the name of the calculated cells definition. This property is read-only.
  Solve Order Contains a number representing the order of evaluation of the calculated cells.
  Visible Determines whether the calculated cells definition is visible in the schema rowset. The default value is True.
Calculated member BackColor The background color of the displayed calculated member. To use this optional property, the client application must support its use and interpret its values. Only numeric values are valid. Cube Browser, the Cube Editor Data tab, and the Virtual Cube Editor data pane do not support this property.
  FontFlags The font flags of the displayed calculated member. To use this optional property, the client application must support its use and interpret its values. Only numeric values are valid. Cube Browser, the Cube Editor Data tab, and the Virtual Cube Editor data pane do not support this property.
  FontName The font of the displayed calculated member. To use this optional property, the client application must support its use and interpret its values. Cube Browser, the Cube Editor Data tab, and the Virtual Cube Editor data pane do not support this property.
  FontSize The font size of the displayed calculated member. To use this optional property, the client application must support its use and interpret its values. Only numeric values are valid. Cube Browser, the Cube Editor Data tab, and the Virtual Cube Editor data pane do not support this property.
  ForeColor The foreground color of the displayed calculated member. To use this optional property, the client application must support its use and interpret its values. Only numeric values are valid. Cube Browser, the Cube Editor Data tab, and the Virtual Cube Editor data pane do not support this property.
  Format String The format for displaying cell values. A list of common formats is displayed when you click Format String and display the dropdown list. This property accepts the same values as the Display Format property of measures. For more information, see Display Formats.
  Name The name of calculated member. The name is displayed when end users browse the cube.
  Non Empty Behavior Stores the name of the measure used to resolve NON EMPTY queries in MDX. If the Non Empty Behavior property is blank, the calculated member must be evaluated repeatedly to determine if a member is empty. If the Non Empty Behavior property contains the name of a measure, the calculated member is treated as empty if the specified measure is empty.
  Parent Dimension The dimension that includes the calculated member. If the calculated member is a measure, specify Measures.
  Parent Member The member that includes the calculated member. The parent member determines the location of the calculated member in the dimension structure. This property must be null if the parent dimension is Measures or a one-level dimension.
  Solve Order The order in which the calculated member is resolved in case of intersection with other calculated members. Valid values are 0 (zero) and positive or negative integers. Calculated members with lower Solve Order values have precedence in resolution.
  Value An MDX expression that defines the values of the calculated member. The values are displayed when end users browse the cube.
  Visible Indicates whether the dimension is visible when end users browse the cube.
Cube Aggregation Prefix The prefix appended to aggregation names for the cube's partitions, provided that the partition's aggregation prefix begins with a plus sign (+). In this case, this property's value is appended to the beginning of the partition's aggregation prefix. If the partition's aggregation prefix does not begin with a plus sign, this property is ignored. To access the aggregation prefix for a partition, in the Analysis Manager tree pane, right-click the partition, click Edit, advance to the Finish step of the Partition Wizard, and then click Advanced.
  Data Source The data source for the cube. The partitions of the cube can have different data sources.
  Default Measure The measure that is returned by queries when no measure is displayed on an axis and no slicing measure is specified. If no default measure is specified, an arbitrary measure is the default measure.
  Description The description of the cube.
  Fact Table The fact table for the cube. The partitions of the cube can have different fact tables.
  Fact Table Size The number of rows in the fact table of the cube at the time they were last counted by Analysis Services, or a user-provided estimate of the number of rows.
  Key Error Limit Limit for the number of dimension key errors. The default is 0. Cube processing is halted and cancelled when the limit is exceeded, provided that the Stop Processing on Key Errors property of the cube is Yes. If you select Yes and a Key Error Limit value greater than 0, and processing completes, the data in the cube does not reflect the entire fact table. The Key Error Limit property is ignored if the Stop Processing on Key Errors property is No.
  Key Error Log File Path and file name of the log file for dimension key errors.
  Name The name of the cube.
  Processing Optimization Mode Values of the Processing Optimization Mode property are Regular (processed data is available after all aggregations have been computed) or Lazy Aggregations (processed data is available immediately after data has been loaded). This property only applies to MOLAP partitions of a cube.
  Source Table Filter The WHERE clause expression applied to the partitions' fact tables to limit the data in the cube. This property provides defaults for the filters in the partitions of the cube. These filters override this property. To access a filter in a partition, in the Analysis Manager tree pane, right-click the partition, click Edit, advance to the Finish step of the Partition Wizard, and then click Advanced.
  Stop Processing on Key Errors If you select Yes, processing is halted and cancelled when the limit for the number of dimension key errors is exceeded. This limit is specified in the Key Error Limit property of the cube. A dimension key error occurs when a fact table row is encountered that contains a foreign key value not present in the joined primary key column of a dimension table.

If you select No, dimension key errors never halt or cancel cube processing regardless of the number of errors encountered. If one or more dimension key errors are encountered, the data in the cube does not reflect the entire fact table.

  Visible Determines whether the cube is visible in a list of cubes.
Dimension Aggregation Usage Indicates the levels for which aggregation data is calculated. Choices in the list are:
  • Standard: The levels for which aggregation data is calculated depend on the variety of the dimension. For regular dimensions, aggregation data is calculated for all levels unless the Changing property of the dimension is True, in which case aggregation data is not calculated for levels between the top and bottom levels. For parent-child dimensions, aggregation data is calculated for the bottom level displayed to end users and the (All) level, if any. For virtual dimensions, aggregation data is not calculated for any level.

  • Top Level Only: Aggregation data is calculated for only the top level. This value is not valid for parent-child dimensions or dimensions with their Changing property set to True unless the All Level property of the dimension is set to Yes.

  • Bottom Level Only: Aggregation data is calculated for only the bottom level.

  • Top and Bottom Levels: Aggregation data is calculated for only the top and bottom levels. This value is not valid for parent-child dimensions or dimensions with their Changing property set to True unless the All Level property of the dimension is set to Yes.

  • Custom: Aggregation data is calculated for only the levels with an Enable Aggregations property of Yes. Custom is not valid for parent-child dimensions or dimensions with their Changing property set to True.
  All Caption The name of the member in the (All) level.
  All Level Indicates whether the dimension contains an (All) level. If the value is Yes, the (All) level is the top level of the dimension but is not displayed in the Cube Editor tree pane. The (All) level contains a single member whose cell value is the aggregate of cell values for all members in the next lower level.
  All Member Formula The custom rollup formula for the (All) level. This formula is an MDX expression that determines the cell values for the All member and overrides the Aggregate Function properties of measures. For more information, see Custom Rollup Formulas and Custom Member Formulas.
  Allow Duplicate Names Indicates whether the members under a common parent can have the same name.
  Changing Indicates whether the dimension is optimized for frequent changes. If the value is set to True, query performance may be slower. However, levels and members below the top level and above the bottom level can be added, moved, and deleted. This eliminates or reduces subsequent processing requirements, and also minimizes interruptions of end users' access to the cubes that include that dimension.

Several conditions must exist before the Changing property can be set to True. For more information, see Changing Dimensions.

  Data Member Caption Template Controls the names of data members when the Members With Data property of the dimension is set to Nonleaf data visible. When you type a value that includes an asterisk (*), the name of each data member will be the value with the asterisk replaced by the name of the parent member. The Data Member Caption Template property is available only for parent-child dimensions.
  Data source The data source that contains the dimension table(s).
  Default Member The member that slices the datasets returned by queries when the dimension is not displayed on an axis and no slicing member in the dimension is specified. If no default member is specified, and the All Level property of the dimension is Yes, the member indicated by the All Caption property is the default member. If no default member is specified, and the All Level property of the dimension is No, an arbitrary member of the highest level is the default member.
  Depends on Dimension For virtual dimensions, the dimension that supplies the member properties or columns on which the levels of the virtual dimension are based.

For dimensions that are not virtual, the dimension according to which aggregation design is optimized. A dimension in the value of this property is advantageous when the cross product of the two dimensions' members results in a significant percentage of combinations that cannot coexist. For example, the Depends on Dimension property of a Customer Gender dimension is Customers. Fifty percent of the combinations resulting from the cross product of the dimensions' lowest-level members cannot coexist because a customer can have only one gender. For more information, see Dependent Dimensions.

  Description The description of the dimension.
  Member Keys Unique Indicates whether member keys are unique within the dimension. If this property is set to True, the Member Keys Unique property for every level in the dimension is set to True.

If the value of this property is changed, you must reprocess the current cube using the Full Process option. For more information, see Processing Cubes.

  Member Names Unique Indicates whether member names are unique within the dimension. If the value is True, internal member names omit qualifying level names and member names. These internal member names are used in MDX expressions. If this property is set to True, the Member Names Unique property for every level in the dimension is set to True.
  Members With Data Indicates whether nonleaf members are allowed to have associated fact table data. If they are allowed, this property also indicates whether children of nonleaf members are created to display this data. Valid values are:
  • Leaf members only: Only leaf members can have associated fact table data. If a nonleaf member has associated fact table data, processing fails. This value is the default.

  • Nonleaf data hidden: Nonleaf members can have associated fact table data. This data is not represented among the descendants of the nonleaf member. Consequently, it might appear to end users that values aggregate incorrectly.

  • Nonleaf data visible: Nonleaf members can have associated fact table data. This data is represented among the descendants of the nonleaf members by the creation of a child for each nonleaf member. This child, called a data member, is a leaf member and has a value equal to the aggregate of its parent's associated fact table data. The data members' names are controlled by the Data Member Caption Template property.

This property is available only for parent-child dimensions.

  Enable All Level Aggregations Determines whether to consider the (All) level when designing aggregations to optimize performance.
  Name The name of the dimension.
  Source Table Filter A WHERE clause expression applied to the dimension table to limit the members in the dimension. For example, in the Store dimension supplied with Analysis Services, to include only the Canada member and its descendants, type:

"store"."store_country" = 'Canada'

  Storage Mode The type of storage for the dimension. If the value is MOLAP (multidimensional OLAP), the dimension data is stored in a multidimensional structure on the Analysis server. If the value is ROLAP (relational OLAP), the dimension data is the dimension table itself. MOLAP provides better performance and is recommended except for extremely large dimensions, that is, dimensions that have roughly 5 to 10 million members. In order to select ROLAP, the Member Keys Unique property of the lowest level must be True. Restrictions also apply to the dimension's Aggregation Usage property in all cubes in which the dimension is used. For more information, see Dimension Storage Modes.
  Type The type of the dimension. Standard is the default. This property indicates to client applications the kind of information in the dimension.
  Virtual Indicates whether the dimension is a virtual dimension, that is, one based on the tables and columns of another dimension. If this property is set to True, an (All) level is automatically created for the dimension.
  Visible Indicates whether the dimension is visible when end users browse the cube.
  Write-enabled Indicates whether the members of the dimension can be updated while administrators browse the dimension and while end users browse the cube. The only end users that can update a write-enabled dimension are those in cube roles granted read/write access to that dimension. Only parent-child dimensions can be write-enabled. For more information, see Write-Enabled Dimensions.
  Enable Real-Time Updates Indicates whether the dimension supports real-time updates to underlying dimension tables.
Level Custom Members Indicates whether custom member formulas are used to determine cell values of the members. For more information, see Custom Rollup Formulas and Custom Member Formulas. To view the custom member formulas, right-click the dimension, click Browse, and then see the custom member formula pane.
  Custom Member Options Indicates whether calculation options can be defined for custom members on this level and unary operators on the following level. Calculation options are stored in a column in the dimension table. To set this property to True, you must first set the Custom Members property to True.
  Custom Rollup Formula An MDX expression that determines the members' cell values and overrides the Aggregate Function properties of measures. For more information, see Custom Rollup Formulas and Custom Member Formulas.

Allows dimension tables to be linked to fact tables when the data types of the columns do not match but the contents represent the same values.

  Description The description of the level.
  Disabled Indicates whether the level is included in the cube. This property is not available for parent-child dimensions. A level whose Disabled property is Yes cannot be referenced explicitly in calculated members and other MDX expressions.
  Enable Aggregations Indicates whether aggregations are calculated for the level. The value of this property can be changed only if the Aggregation Usage property of the dimension is Custom. The value of this property is always No for levels in virtual dimensions. This property is not available for parent-child dimensions.
  Grouping Indicates whether the level contains member groups. Member groups can be used to satisfy the maximum limit of 64,000 members under a parent. To group members, create a new level immediately above and identical to the level that exceeds the limit, and then set the Grouping property of the new level to Automatic. For more information, see Member Groups. If the level is in a shared dimension, you must do this in Dimension Editor.
  Hide Member If Determines which members are hidden from end users browsing the cube. Hidden members support ragged dimensions, which contain logical gaps in member lineage, by hiding the members that occupy the gaps. Valid values are:
  • Never hidden: No members are hidden.

  • No name: Every member whose name is null or an empty string is hidden.

  • Parent's name: Every member with the same name as its parent is hidden.

  • Only child with no name: Every member that is an only child and whose name is null or an empty string is hidden.

  • Only child with parent's name: Every member that is an only child and has the same name as its parent is hidden.

This property is not available for parent-child dimensions.

  Key Data Size The size (in bytes) of the columns that store member keys in aggregations. Member keys are copied from the column specified in the Member Key Column property.
  Key Data Type The data type of the columns that store member keys in aggregations. Member keys are copied from the column specified in the Member Key Column property.
  Level Naming Template Determines the level names displayed to end users browsing the cube. This property is available only for parent-child dimensions. If the level is in a private dimension, click this property and click the edit (...) button to display the Level Naming Template dialog box.
  Level Type The type of the level. Regular is the default. The following values are used only in dimensions whose Type property is Time: Years, Half-Years, Quarters, Months, Weeks, Days, Hours, Minutes, Seconds, and Time-Undefined. The Level Type property indicates to client applications the kind of information in the level. This property is not displayed for parent-child dimensions.
  Member Count The number of members in the level at the time members were last estimated by Analysis Services, or a user-provided estimate of the member count. If the level is in a private dimension, you can update the member count by clicking Count Dimension Members on the Tools menu.
  Member Key Column The column that contains the member keys. Alternatively, the value can be derived from a column, such as an expression that extracts the year value from a date-formatted column. The syntax of such expressions must comply with the requirements of the data source provider; otherwise, processing fails with one or more errors.
  Member Keys Unique Indicates whether member keys are unique within the level. This property is not available for parent-child dimensions.

If the value of this property is changed, you must reprocess the current cube using the Full Process option. For more information, see Processing Cubes.

  Member Name Column The column that contains the member names, which are displayed to end users browsing the cube. Alternatively, the value can be derived from a column, such as an expression that extracts the year value from a date-formatted column. The syntax of such expressions must comply with the requirements of the data source provider; otherwise, processing fails with one or more errors.
  Member Names Unique Indicates whether member names are unique within the level. If the value is True, internal member names omit qualifying member names. These internal member names are used in MDX expressions.
  Name The name of the level.
  Order By The sort order for displayed members. You can sort by member name, member key, or any member property defined for the level.
  Parent Key Column The column that contains the keys for the members' parents. This property is available only for parent-child dimensions.
  Root Member If Indicates the criteria by which members of the highest level (ignoring the (All) level, if any) are identified. The following values are valid:
  • Parent is blank, self, or missing: A member is in the highest level if any of the following three criteria is met.

  • Parent is blank: A member is in the highest level if its value in the Parent Key Column is null or 0 (zero).

  • Parent is self: A member is in the highest level if its value in the Parent Key Column is equal to its value in the Member Key Column.

  • Parent is missing: A member is in the highest level if its value in the Parent Key Column does not exist in the Member Key Column.

This property is available for parent-child dimensions only.

  Skipped Levels Column Indicates the column that contains the number of levels between a member and its parent, excluding the member and parent. Valid values in the column are 0 (zero) and positive integers. This property is available only for parent-child dimensions.
  Unary Operators Enables unary operators or custom rollup operators that control how level members are aggregated into the value of their parent member. For more information, see Custom Rollup Operators. To view the custom member formulas, on the View menu click Data, and then see the value beside UNARY_COLUMN in the Member properties pane.

The structure of the cube will not be valid if a cube has a measure with the Distinct Count aggregate function, or if you add custom rollup operators to a level of the cube.

  Visible Indicates whether the level is visible to end users browsing the cube. To set this property to False, you must first set the Member Keys Unique property of all lower levels to True. The Visible property is not available for parent-child dimensions. Unlike other objects whose Visible property is False, a level cannot be explicitly referenced in calculated members and other MDX expressions.
Measure Aggregate Function The function used to aggregate measure values. Valid values are:
  • Sum: The measure value for a dimension member is calculated by adding the values in the measure's Source Column in rows where the foreign key value for the dimension equals the key value of the member or one of its descendants.

  • Count: The measure value for a dimension member is calculated by adding the number of values in the measure's Source Column in rows where the foreign key value for the dimension equals the key value of the member or one of its descendants. Null values are not counted.

  • Min: The measure value for a dimension member is the lowest of the values in the measure's Source Column in rows where the foreign key value for the dimension equals the key value of the member or one of its descendants

  • Max: The measure value for a dimension member is the highest of the values in the measure's Source Column in rows where the foreign key value for the dimension equals the key value of the member or one of its descendants.

  • Distinct Count: The measure value for a dimension member is calculated by adding the number of different values in the measure's Source Column in rows where the foreign key value for the dimension equals the key value of the member or one of its descendants. A cube can contain only one measure with the Distinct Count aggregate function.

If a cube has a measure with the Distinct Count aggregate function, the structure of the cube will not be valid if you add a custom rollup operator or expression to a level of the cube.

Measure values for the intersections of members from different dimensions are also calculated using the selected aggregate function. For more information about aggregate functions, see Aggregate Functions.

A multiple-partition cube can have multiple fact tables, so a measure can have multiple source columns. (Note that each source column must have the same column name.) In this case the aggregate function spans all the source columns.

  Data Type The data type of the columns that store measure values in aggregations.
  Description The description of the measure.
  Display Format The format of the measure values displayed to end users browsing the cube. For more information, see Display Formats.
  Name The name of the measure. The name is displayed to end users browsing the cube.
  Source Column In the fact table of the default partition of the cube, the column that stores the measure values before they are aggregated.
  Visible Indicates whether the measure is visible to end users browsing the cube.
Member property Caption The caption used to display the member property.
  Data Size The maximum number of characters allowed in the column that stores the member property values. Allows dimension tables to be linked to fact tables when the data types of the columns do not match but the contents represent the same values.
  Data Type The data type of the column that stores the member property values. Allows dimension tables to be linked to fact tables when the data types of the columns do not match but the contents represent the same values.
  Description The description of the member property.
  Language The language used to display the member property.
  Name The name of the member property.
  Source Column The column that stores the values of the member property. This column must be in one of the dimension tables for the dimension that contains the member property.
  Type Indicates to client applications the type of information in the member property values.
  Visible Indicates whether the member property is visible to end users browsing the cube.
Named set Name The name of the named set.
  Value The MDX expression that defines the named set.