Create an Analysis Services Project

Applies to: SQL Server Analysis Services Azure Analysis Services Fabric/Power BI Premium

You can define an SQL Server Analysis Services project in SQL Server Data Tools either by using the SQL Server Analysis Services Project template or by using the Import SQL Server Analysis Services Database Wizard to read the contents of an SQL Server Analysis Services database. If no solution is currently loaded in SQL Server Data Tools, creating a new SQL Server Analysis Services project automatically creates a new solution. Otherwise, the new SQL Server Analysis Services project will be added to the existing solution. Best practices for solution development call for creating separate projects for different types of application data, using a single solution if the projects are related. For example, you might have a single solution that contains separate projects for Integration Services packages, Analysis Services databases, and Reporting Services reports that are all used by the same business application.

An Analysis Services project contains objects used in a single Analysis Services database. The deployment properties of the project specify the server and database name by which the project metadata will be deployed as instantiated objects.

This topic contains the following sections:

Create a New Project Using the Analysis Services Project Template

Create a New Project Using an Existing Analysis Services Database

Add an Analysis Services Project to an Existing Solution

Build and Deploy the Solution

Analysis Services Project Folders

Analysis Services File Types

Analysis Services Item Templates

Create a New Project Using the Analysis Services Project Template

Use these instructions to create an empty project in which you define SQL Server Analysis Services objects that you can then deploy as a new SQL Server Analysis Services database.

1. In SQL Server Data Tools, click File, point to New, and click Project. In the New Project dialog box, in the Project types pane, select Business Intelligence Projects.

2. In the New Project dialog box, in the Visual Studio installed templates category, select Analysis Services Project.

3. In the Name text box, type the name of the project. The name you enter will be used as the default database name.

4. In the Location drop-down list, type or select the folder in which to store the files for the project, or click Browse to select a folder.

5. To add the new project to the existing solution, in the Solution drop-down list, select Add to Solution.

   -or-

   To create a new solution, in the Solution drop-down list, select Create new Solution. To create a new folder for the new solution, select Create directory for solution. In Solution Name, type the name of the new solution.

6. Click OK.

Create a New Project Using an Existing Analysis Services Database

Use the Import SQL Server Analysis Services Database Wizard to create a project based on the objects in the existing SQL Server Analysis Services database. When you define an SQL Server Analysis Services project based on an existing SQL Server Analysis Services database, the metadata for that database will open in an SQL Server Analysis Services project in SQL Server Data Tools. These objects can then be modified within the project without affecting the original objects, and then be deployed to the same SQL Server Analysis Services database if the deployment properties specify that database, or to a newly created SQL Server Analysis Services database for comparison testing. Until the changes are deployed, no changes made will affect the existing SQL Server Analysis Services database.

You can also use the Import SQL Server Analysis Services Database template to create a project from a production database to which changes have been made directly since the original SQL Server Analysis Services project was deployed.

Before you process or deploy the project, you might need to change the data provider that is specified in the data sources. If the SQL Server software you are using is newer than the software used to create the database, the data provider specified in your project might not be installed on your computer. During processing, the service account will be used to retrieve the data in your Analysis Services database. If the database is on a remote server, check whether the local service has process and read permissions on that server.

1. In SQL Server Data Tools, click File, point to New, and click Project. In the New Project dialog box, in the Project types pane, select Business Intelligence Projects.

2. In the New Project dialog box, in the Visual Studio installed templates category, select Import Analysis Services Database.

3. Enter property information for the project and solution, including name and location for the files. Click OK.

4. On the Welcome to the Import Analysis Services Database Wizard page, click Next.

5. On the Source Database page, specify the server and the database from which the wizard will extract the contents and create the SQL Server Analysis Services project, and then click Next.

   Supported databases include those created in the following versions of Analysis Services: SQL Server 2005 (9.x), SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 R2, and SQL Server 2012 (11.x).

   You can either type the database name or query the server to view the existing databases on the server. If the database is on a remote server or production server, you might need to request permission to read the database. Firewall configuration settings can further restrict access to a database. If you get an error while attempting to connect to the database, check permissions and firewall settings first.

6. When the wizard finishes extracting the contents of the SQL Server Analysis Services database, click Finish on the Completing the Wizard page.

7. Open the Solution Explorer window to view the contents of the project.

Add an Analysis Services Project to an Existing Solution

If you already have a solution that contains all the source files of a business application, you can add a new Analysis Services project to that solution.

Adding an existing project to a solution associates, but does not copy, the project with the solution. If the Analysis Services project was created in a different solution, the project files remain with the original solution for which it was created. This means that any changes you make to the project through either solution will operate on the same set of source files. If this behavior is not what you intend, you should copy or move the project files to the new solution folder first, and then add the project to the solution.

1. Open the solution in SQL Server Data Tools. In Solution Explorer, right-click the solution, point to Add, and then click Existing Project to select the project you want to add.

2. Select a .dwproj file to add to the solution.

Build and Deploy the Solution

By default, SQL Server Data Tools deploys a project to the default instance of SQL Server Analysis Services on the local computer. You can change this deployment destination by using the Property Pages dialog box for the SQL Server Analysis Services project to change the Server configuration property.

Build and deploy the solution to an instance of SQL Server Analysis Services for testing. Building a solution validates the object definitions and dependencies in the project and generates a deployment script. Deploying a solution uses the SQL Server Analysis Services deployment engine to send the deployment script to a specified instance.

After you deploy the project, review and test the deployed database. You can then modify object definitions, build, and deploy again until the project is complete.

After the project is complete, you can use the Deployment Wizard to deploy the deployment script, generated when you build the solution, to destination instances for final testing, staging, and deployment.

Analysis Services Project Folders

An SQL Server Analysis Services project contains the following folders, which are used to organize items included in the project.

Analysis Services File Types

A SQL Server Data Tools solution can contain several file types, depending on what projects you included in the solution and what items you included in each project for that solution. Typically, the files for each project in a SQL Server Data Tools solution are stored in the solution folder, in a separate folder for each project.

The project folder for an SQL Server Analysis Services project can contain the file types listed in the following table.

Analysis Services Item Templates

If you use the Add New Item dialog box to add new items to an SQL Server Analysis Services project, you have the option of using an item template, a predefined script or statement which demonstrates how to perform a specified action.

The item templates, listed in the following table, are available in the SQL Server Analysis Services Project Items category in the Add New Item dialog box.

See Also

Configure Analysis Services Project Properties (SSDT)
Build Analysis Services Projects (SSDT)
Deploy Analysis Services Projects (SSDT)