Defining Analysis Services Dimensions - SQL Server Analysis Services 2012 Cube Development - page 38

columns, but they do need to know what data each attribute represents.
Therefore, it is quite common to have lengthy attribute names, which include
spaces—a practice that is generally avoided when naming relational data-
base columns.
7. Although we included PromotionKey as the dimension's key attribute, let's
name it Promotion Name . Additionally, let's include English Promotion
Type , English Promotion Category , Discount Percent , Start Date , End
Date , Minimum Quantity , and Maximum Quantity attributes; it is best to
spell out words completely in attribute names rather than cause ambiguity in
users' minds.
8. Enabling browsing and attribute type options allows us to set a couple of
important properties. You may want to include an attribute in the dimension
without enabling cube users to slice data by this attribute. For example, the
key attribute could simply be an identity column—a monotonically increasing
value that has no business meaning and won't be useful for browsing. On
the other hand, columns that aren't available for browsing could be useful for
sorting other attributes.
9. Most of the attributes will be classified as regular, but occasionally you will
need special attribute types; clicking on the attribute type drop-down box will
show you the choices: Account , Currency , Date , Geography , and Other .
Each attribute type has multiple subtypes associated with it.
10. Leave all the attributes of the type Regular , and click on next after ensuring
your screen looks like the following screenshot:
Tip
Do keep in mind that special attribute types are available and can be set
after the dimension has been created.