Attributes (Dimension Structure Tab, Dimension Designer) (SSAS)

Use this pane to manage the attributes associated with the selected dimension. Attributes can be dragged from this pane to the Hierarchies and Levels pane to create hierarchies, levels, and member properties. For more information about creating hierarchies, levels, and member properties, see Hierarchies and Levels (Dimension Structure Tab, Dimension Designer) (SSAS).

To create an attribute, drag a column from the Data Source View pane to the Attributes pane while in list, tree, or view mode. To remove an attribute, select Delete from the context menu.

Options

  • Attributes
    Displays the attributes available to the selected dimension. This option can be viewed in the following modes:

    • List mode
      Use this mode to create and modify hierarchies. To view the attributes in list mode, select Show Attributes in from the context menu, then click List.
    • Tree mode
      Use this mode to modify or create member properties for attributes. To create a new member property, expand the attribute and drag a column from the table into the <new member property> node. To view the attributes in tree mode, select Show Attributes in from the context menu, then click Tree.
    • Grid mode
      Use this mode to create dimensions manually, or to modify attribute properties. To view the attributes in grid mode, select Show Attributes in from the context menu, then click Grid.

When viewing attributes in grid mode, you have access to the columns listed in the following table.

  • Name
    Displays the name of the attribute.
  • Usage
    Sets the usage of the selected attribute. Click on the down arrow to select from the following choices:

    Value Description

    Regular

    Identifies a regular attribute.

    Key

    Identifies the key attribute for the dimension. This corresponds to the leaf member of the attribute. There can only be one key attribute per dimension. To modify, click the ellipsis button (...) next to the KeyColumns property in the Properties pane.

    Parent

    Denotes the parent attribute for a parent-child relationship. The child attribute in this relationship must always be a key attribute.

    AccountType

    Denotes an account type attribute. This is used by the instance when the aggregation function for a measure is set to "by account."

  • Type
    Sets the type of the attribute. Click the down arrow to choose from the available choices.
  • Key Column
    Displays the data type of the underlying columns. When creating a new attribute, click the down arrow to choose from the available choices.
  • Name Column
    Displays the location of the underlying column. When creating a new attribute, click the down arrow to choose between Same as key and Separate column. If Separate column is chosen, the NameColumn property in the Properties pane sets the column that stores the name to use for the attribute.

See Also

Reference

Dimension Structure (Dimension Designer) (SSAS)
Attributes (Dimension Structure Tab, Dimension Designer) (SSAS)
Hierarchies and Levels (Dimension Structure Tab, Dimension Designer) (SSAS)
Toolbar (Dimension Structure Tab, Dimension Designer) (SSAS)

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance