Creating dimensions using the Dimension Editor window

The most common, although time consuming method of creating dimensions, is using the Dimension Editor window. This is an approach that might be used for smaller, slow moving dimensions. In real-world enterprise applications, larger dimensions (such as P&L accounts) may be created and maintained by the TurboIntegrator processes using source files from a client's GL system.

Another time when you may use the Dimension Editor to create a dimension is during a "proof of concept" or "prototyping" effort when you want to generate something quickly to show and then to throw it away.

Follow the next steps to create dimensions using the Dimension Editor window:

  1. Click on Dimensions | Create New Dimension and the Dimension Editor will open.
  2. Click on Edit | Insert Element and the Dimension Element Insert dialog box will open.
  3. To add a consolidated element, do the following:
    • a. Type My Total in the Insert Element Name field.
    • b. Select Consolidated from the Element Type list.
    • c. Click on Add.
    • d. Click on OK.
  4. My Total now appears as the first element of the dimension, which is a consolidated element. Now you can add child elements to the My Total element by following the next steps:
    • a. Select the My Total element.
    • b. Click on Edit | Insert Child and the Dimension Element Insert dialog box will open.
    • c. In the Insert Element Name field, type value1 and click on Add.
    • d. In the Insert Element Name field, type value2 and click on Add.
    • e. The dialog box now contains two children of My Total, each with a default weight of one.
    • f. Click on OK.
  5. The Dimension Editor shows the new elements as children of My Total.
  6. Click on Dimension | Save | Dimension Save.
  7. As dialog box opens, enter a dimension name and click on Save.

The new dimension gets displayed in the list of dimensions on the server.

After creating your dimension with the Dimension Editor, you can then use it to make modifications to that dimension. You can:

  • Add siblings to existing elements.
  • Add children to existing elements.
  • Rearrange the hierarchy structure (such as repositioning elements within consolidations).
  • Delete elements from the dimension.
  • Delete elements from consolidations.
  • Edit element properties, such as changing the weight of an element within a consolidation.
  • Rearrange the order of elements in the dimension.

Note

A couple of things you need to know about the Dimension Editor:

  • Element types are listed as simple, consolidated, and string.
  • Remember that simple is a term used for numeric.

The element weight shows a default as 0.0 but if you leave this, it will add the element with a default weight of 1.0.

You can copy elements from almost any source (other dimension, text file, Microsoft Excel worksheet) and paste them into the Dimension Editor to add multiple elements in one step.

You can use "drag and drop" to move elements around within the dimension.

"Delete Element" removes the element from the dimension while "Delete Element from Consolidation" removes the element from its "parent element" and not from the dimension unless that element is only defined as a child of that parent.

Ordering elements in a dimension

The order of elements in a dimension is very important! When you add elements to a dimension, TM1 assigns an index number to each element automatically. TM1 uses the index internally to keep track of the elements. Keep in mind that as elements are deleted, those indexes will be reassigned to other elements! If you (or TM1) change the order of elements in a dimension, any processes or applications that reference the element index values will return new and possibly unexpected values.

However, you can reset the order of the elements in your dimension to re-determine the index value for each element in a dimension. One way to perform this is through the Dimension Editor. You simply order the elements as you want them to appear in the dimension (see the sort options functionality of the Dimension Editor).

Next, click on Set Dimension Order | Dimension | Save. When the sorting property of the dimension is set to Automatic, TM1 prompts you to change the sorting property to Manual. When the sorting property of the dimension is set to Manual, TM1 inserts any elements you added to the dimension wherever you manually positioned them in the Dimension Editor.

Ordering elements in a dimension

Finally, click on Yes to save the new dimension order and set the dimension sorting property to Manual.

You can set the order of elements even when the Dimension Editor displays only a subset of all dimension elements. For example, if you have a large dimension, you might want to alter and set the order of just a few elements. Be aware that when you set the order of elements with just a subset of elements displayed in the Dimension Editor, the entire dimension is affected.

Setting the order of dimension elements from the Server Explorer

You can also set the order of dimension elements directly from TM1 Server Explorer (right-click on the dimension in the Server Explorer and then select Set Elements Order). You select a sorting property for the dimension from these three automatic sort orders:

  • Name: Sorts elements alphabetically
  • Level: Sorts elements by hierarchy level
  • Hierarchy: Sorts elements according to the dimension hierarchy

After you set the sorting property, TM1 inserts the elements you added to the dimension according to their position within the sort order.

上一章目录下一章