Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 10-2.
Accessing the Properties window
Table
10-1
describes the most commonly used properties.
Table 10-1.
Common Attribute Properties
Property
Description
KeyColumns
A collection of one or more columns uniquely identifying one row from
another in the dimension table (for example, 1, 2, or 3)
Name
The logical name of an attribute
NameColumn
The values that are displayed in the client application when a particular
attribute is selected (for example, Red, Green, or Blue)
Type
The type of data the attribute represents (for example, day, month, or year)
Each attribute must have one or more KeyColumns. Most of the time you will have just one column defined
in the KeyColumns property. But if a single column cannot uniquely identify one row from another, you can
configure this property to use multiple columns, as we will show you later in this chapter.
Each attribute must have a name. We recommend using a name without spaces to avoid rare problems with
some client applications. The name should be simple and descriptive. As an example, in Figure
10-3
we elected to
change the attribute name Date in the DimTitles dimension to PublishedDate, because it is more explicit.
