Editing dimensions
You can edit a dimension according to your needs. Editing options include adding columns, adding attributes and defining filters.
Changes in a dimension expression or lookup of a column in a dimension are not updated retroactively. In order to update historical data, you would need to reload the data which could take a long time depending on the number of records and their history.
To edit a dimension:
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Click the Manage button in the bottom left of the Data Mart panel.The Manage Data Marts window opens.
- In the left pane, select the data mart containing the star schema you want to edit.
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Expand the list of dimensions and select the dimension you want to edit. Then either click the Edit button in the lower toolbar or right-click the star schema and select Edit.
The Edit Conformed Dimension - Name (or Edit Dimension - Name if the dimension has not yet been added to the data mart) window opens. The following tabs are displayed:
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General tab: In the General tab, you can edit the dimension name, the dimension table name, the dimension view name and the description. You can also change the dimension’s history type by selecting Type 1 or Type 2 from the History Type drop-down list. For more information on changing the history type, see Understanding dimension history types.
See also Data mart views.
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Logical Attributes tab: In the Logical Attributes tab, you can add and delete columns, edit a column’s properties, view a column’s lineage, change the column order, and define filters.
Edit the Logical Attributes tab according to the table below.
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Physical Table tab: The Physical Table tab provides a preview of the actual "physical" columns that will be created in the database. All editing tasks are performed in the Logical Attributes tab, except for defining table creation modifiers which is performed in the Physical Table tab.
For an explanation of how to define table creation modifiers, see Defining Fact Table Creation Modifiers.
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Edit the Logical Attributes tab according to Editing star schemas.
Information noteYou can apply or revert your changes at any time, simply by clicking the Apply or Cancel buttons respectively.
- Click OK to close the window and save your settings or Cancel to close the window without saving your settings.
Editing Logical Attributes
To | Do this |
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Edit a column’s properties |
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Delete a column |
Select the column(s) you want to delete (multi-selection is supported) and click the Delete toolbar button. The column(s) are deleted. |
View a Column’s Lineage |
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Create a filter |
Click the Filter toolbar button. The Expression Builder opens with the heading: Edit Filter - TableName. For information on creating filters, see Creating expressions. Information note
Using From Date (FD) and To Date (TD) columns in a filtering expression is not supported. Information note
The assumption is that columns that are used in the filters do not change between different versions of the record. If this is not the case, the Full rebuild option should be selected in the Data Mart settings. This assumption is also true for relationships; for example, if a Sales record relates to Product which relates to Country, and the filter is applied to the product's country, then the assumption is that the sale cannot change its product so that it is filtered in or out based on a new country. |
Create or edit an expression |
Hover the mouse cursor over the desired table column and then click the fx button that appears to the right of the Expression column. The Expression Builder opens with the heading: Edit Expression - Column Name. For information on creating an expression, see Creating expressions. |
Change the column order |
Select the column(s) you want to move and then click the Move Down/Move to Bottom or Move Up/Move to Top buttons as desired. |