Setting Culture Properties for Models
When working with your model, you can set two culture-specific properties: model culture and attribute culture.
Model Culture
Model culture is set initially when you select a language from the Select model language drop-down list in the Model Designer wizard. The language that you select tells Model Designer which language-specific code to use when generating user-friendly names for the tables and columns in your database. The eight model culture options listed in the wizard reflect the languages for which SQL Server 2005 is available.
After you finish the wizard, you can set the Culture property on the model to any .NET Framework 2.0 culture. To change the model's Culture property, in Business Intelligence Development Studio, select the top-level model node, and in the Properties pane, select a culture from the Culture drop-down list. The model culture is the default culture used when formatting attribute values according to their respective Format properties. The culture used can affect number and data formatting, as well as the currency symbol used.
Attribute Culture
Attribute culture is set by using the DataCulture property on individual attributes within an entity. This property affects how the attribute data is formatted. If you do not set this property, the attribute is formatted using the model culture by default.
Culture Behaviors
In Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Report Builder is primarily designed for use in situations where the user's culture is the same as the model culture. Differences in these two cultures can cause confusing behavior when designing and running a report:
- When you design a Report Builder report, your local computer culture is used to format the sample data in the design area, except in instances where the DataCulture property has been set for an attribute within the data source. When you run a Report Builder report, the data source culture is used to format data for the entire report, except in instances where the DataCulture property has been set for an attribute within the data source.
- You can change local computer regional settings without changing your computer culture. When these regional settings are changed, the Report Builder design area reflects the changes. However, when the report is run, the changes are ignored.
- In the Filter Data and Define Formula dialog boxes, and in the parameter area displayed when running a report, your local computer culture and regional settings are used to display values and to interpret data that you type into the filter, formula, or parameter.
- Custom fields and complex formulas use the data source culture, even if they are based on an attribute whose DataCulture property has been set within the data source. They do not inherit culture from the attribute.
- A formula based on an aggregate attribute, where the only change is to add a filter or remove duplicates, is formatted using the attribute's DataCulture property.
- The display language and the culture settings used in Report Builder are determined by the culture and regional settings of your local computer. They are not affected by the language settings of the browser used to launch Report Builder.
Change History
| Release | History |
|---|---|
17 July 2006 |
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See Also
Concepts
Attribute Object (Model Designer)
Working with Model Designer
SemanticModel Object (Model Designer)
Formatting a Report (Report Builder)
Running a Report (Report Builder)
Other Resources
Select Report Model Generation Rules [Model Designer]
Report Model Designer Wizard F1 Help