Define Hierarchy

To define Hierarchy:

1.   Click Next.

The Define Hierarchy dialog box appears.

2.   Click in the Create Aggregate Total Member checkbox (boxed in the figure). This creates a Total Member for the Dimension, which will be called "Total Dimension name"—e.g., Total Products in this example.

Other fields can be used in creating a Hierarchy—for present purposes, if you are working with the example file, do not create a Hierarchy. This too will be demonstrated for the creation of a Customers dimension.

Notes


Do consider whether it is logical in your Dimension to have an Aggregate Total Member. There are instances when a Total Member makes no sense- for example, in a Version dimension whose Members are Actual, Budget1, Budget2, etc., a total of all these will be meaningless.

Notice the combo box below the Create Aggregate Total Member check box. The Order By drop down menu let's you select from four different options for the arrangement of the Aggregate values in the member list.

The available selections for the Order By drop down menu is presented below with corresponding descriptions for each option.

Order By drop down menu options:

• Hierarchy Traversal:
  - The order of all members in the member list will match the traversed Parent-Children traversal of the hierarchy.
• Aggregate Traversal Then Details:
  - The First members in the member list will match the traversal of the aggregates in the hierarchy. All Detail members will follow.
• Descending Levels:
  - All level 1 members followed by all level 2 ... with the details being at the end. This option is selected by default.
• Ascending Levels:
  - All leaf members followed by all Level N members followed by all Level N-1 members...

3.   For this example let us leave the default option (I.e., Descending Levels) selected for the Order By drop down menu.

This completes the steps for creating a hierarchy. Next, let us finish creating the 2nd Dimension (Products).

4.   Click Next to show the Relational Dimension Summary of the Products dimension you just created.

The Relational Dimension Summary message box summarizes the options you selected in the creation of the Dimension.

5.   Click Finish to return to the Dimensions dialog box, where Products is now listed.

Notes


When you click Finish, PowerOLAP^® automatically determines whether the Dimension is "valid". For example, if Allow Reserved Characters has not been checked, and it is determined that Reserved Characters exist in one of the Members of a Dimension, the following message box appears.

Please see succeeding topic:

• Creating succeeding Dimensions (3^rd Dimension).