Using Cell Properties (MDX)

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Cell properties in Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) contain information about the content and format of cells in a multidimensional data source, such as a cube.

MDX supports the CELL PROPERTIES keyword in an MDX SELECT statement to retrieve intrinsic cell properties. Intrinsic cell properties are most commonly used to assist in the visual presentation of cell data.

CELL PROPERTIES Keyword Syntax

Use the following syntax for the CELL PROPERTIES keyword of the MDX SELECT statement:

SELECT [<axis_specification>
       [, <axis_specification>...]]
  FROM [<cube_specification>]
[WHERE [<slicer_specification>]]
[<cell_props>]

The following syntax shows the format of the <cell_props> value and how this value uses the CELL PROPERTIES keyword along with one or more intrinsic cell properties:

<cell_props> ::= CELL PROPERTIES <property> [, <property>...]

Supported Intrinsic Cell Properties

The following table lists the supported intrinsic cell properties that are used in the <property> value.

Property

Description

ACTION_TYPE

A bitmask that indicates which types of actions exist on the cell. This property can have one of the following values:

  • MDACTION_TYPE_URL

  • MDACTION_TYPE_HTML

  • MDACTION_TYPE_STATEMENT

  • MDACTION_TYPE_DATASET

  • MDACTION_TYPE_ROWSET

  • MDACTION_TYPE_COMMANDLINE

  • MDACTION_TYPE_PROPRIETARY

  • MDACTION_TYPE_REPORT

  • MDACTION_TYPE_DRILLTHROUGH

Note

Drillthrough actions are not included for queries containing a set in the where clause.

BACK_COLOR

The background color for displaying the VALUE or FORMATTED_VALUE property. For more information, see FORE_COLOR and BACK_COLOR Contents (MDX).

CELL_ORDINAL

The ordinal number of the cell in the dataset.

FONT_FLAGS

The bitmask detailing effects on the font. The value is the result of a bitwise OR operation of one or more of the following constants:

  • MDFF_BOLD = 1

  • MDFF_ITALIC = 2

  • MDFF_UNDERLINE = 4

  • MDFF_STRIKEOUT = 8

For example, the value 5 represents the combination of bold (MDFF_BOLD) and underline (MDFF_UNDERLINE) font effects.

FONT_NAME

The font to be used to display the VALUE or FORMATTED_VALUE property.

FONT_SIZE

Font size to be used to display the VALUE or FORMATTED_VALUE property.

FORE_COLOR

The foreground color for displaying the VALUE or FORMATTED_VALUE property. For more information, see FORE_COLOR and BACK_COLOR Contents (MDX).

FORMAT

Same as FORMAT_STRING.

FORMAT_STRING

The format string used to create the FORMATTED_VALUE property value. For more information, see FORMAT_STRING Contents (MDX).

FORMATTED_VALUE

The character string that represents a formatted display of the VALUE property.

LANGUAGE

The locale where the FORMAT_STRING will be applied. LANGUAGE is usually used for currency conversion.

UPDATEABLE

A value that indicates whether the cell can be updated. This property can have one of the following values:

  • MD_MASK_ENABLED (0x00000000)   The cell can be updated.

  • MD_MASK_NOT_ENABLED (0x10000000)   The cell cannot be updated.

  • CELL_UPDATE_ENABLED (0x00000001)   Cell can be updated in the cellset.

  • CELL_UPDATE_ENABLED_WITH_UPDATE (0x00000002)   The cell can be updated with an update statement. The update may fail if a leaf cell is updated that is not write-enabled.

  • CELL_UPDATE_NOT_ENABLED_FORMULA (0x10000001)   The cell cannot be updated because the cell has a calculated member among its coordinates; the cell was retrieved with a set in the where clause. A cell can be updated even though a formula affects, or a calculated cell is on, the value of a cell (is somewhere along the aggregation path). In this scenario, the final value of the cell may not be the updated value, because the calculation will affect the result

  • CELL_UPDATE_NOT_ENABLED_NONSUM_MEASURE (0x10000002)   The cell cannot be updated because non-sum measures (count, min, max, distinct count, semi-additive) can not be updated.

  • CELL_UPDATE_NOT_ENABLED_NACELL_VIRTUALCUBE (0x10000003)   The cell cannot be updated because the cell does not exist as it is at the intersection of a measure and a dimension member unrelated to the measure’s measure group.

  • CELL_UPDATE_NOT_ENABLED_SECURE (0x10000005)    The cell cannot be updated because the cell is secured.

  • CELL_UPDATE_NOT_ENABLED_CALCLEVEL (0x10000006)   Reserved for future use.

  • CELL_UPDATE_NOT_ENABLED_CANNOTUPDATE (0x10000007)   The cell cannot be updated because of internal reasons.

  • CELL_UPDATE_NOT_ENABLED_INVALIDDIMENSIONTYPE (0x10000009)   The cell cannot be updated because update is not supported in mining model, indirect, or data mining dimensions.

VALUE

The unformatted value of the cell.

Only the CELL_ORDINAL, FORMATTED_VALUE, and VALUE cell properties are required. All cell properties, intrinsic or provider-specific, are defined in the PROPERTIES schema rowset, including their data types and provider support. For more information about the PROPERTIES schema rowset, see MDSCHEMA_PROPERTIES Rowset.

By default, if the CELL PROPERTIES keyword is not used, the cell properties returned are VALUE, FORMATTED_VALUE, and CELL_ORDINAL (in that order). If the CELL PROPERTIES keyword is used, only those cell properties explicitly stated with the keyword are returned.

The following example demonstrates the use of the CELL PROPERTIES keyword in an MDX query:

SELECT
   {[Measures].[Reseller Gross Profit]} ON COLUMNS,
   {[Reseller].[Reseller Type].[Reseller Name].Members} ON ROWS
FROM [Adventure Works]
CELL PROPERTIES VALUE, FORMATTED_VALUE, FORMAT_STRING, FORE_COLOR, BACK_COLOR

Cell properties are not returned for MDX queries that return flattened rowsets; in this case, each cell is represented as if only the FORMATTED_VALUE cell property were returned.

Setting Cell Properties

Cell properties can be set in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services in various places. For example, the Format String property can be set for regular measures on the Cube Structure tab of the Cube Editor in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT); the same property can be set for calculated measures defined on the cube on the Calculations tab of the Cube Editor; calculated measures defined in the WITH clause of a query have their format string defined there too.The following query demonstrates how cell properties can be set on a calculated measure::

WITH MEMBER MEASURES.CELLPROPERTYDEMO AS [Measures].[Internet Sales Amount]
, FORE_COLOR=RGB(0,0,255)
, BACK_COLOR=IIF([Measures].[Internet Sales Amount]>7000000, RGB(255,0,0), RGB(0,255,0))
, FONT_SIZE=10
, FORMAT_STRING='#,#.000'
SELECT MEASURES.CELLPROPERTYDEMO ON 0,
[Date].[Calendar Year].[Calendar Year].MEMBERS ON 1
FROM [Adventure Works]
CELL PROPERTIES VALUE, FORMATTED_VALUE, FORE_COLOR, BACK_COLOR, FONT_SIZE

See Also

Other Resources

MDX Query Fundamentals (Analysis Services)