Cube Building and Modifying Examples

Creating a Time Dimension in SAS OLAP Cube Studio

When you create a cube in SAS OLAP Cube Studio, the Cube Designer wizard enables you to create cube dimensions and add the needed levels and hierarchies to those dimensions. For time-specific dimensions, you can select from a list of supplied time hierarchies that will help you build the dimension and auto-populate the levels and some level properties for the cube.

Open the Cube Designer wizard and select the input data for the cube. Select Add on the Cube Designer - Dimensions page. This opens the Dimension Designer - General page. When you create a time dimension, you must select the TIME dimension type. See the following display.

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Enter the remaining information for the dimension and select Next. This opens the Dimension Designer- Level page. On the Dimension Designer - Level page, the Add button becomes a drop-down list of options. The Add levels and Add supplied time hierarchies options are now available for selection.

Note: The Add (levels) function is always available for selection regardless of the type of dimension you are creating. When you specify a TIME type dimension, the Add button is converted to a drop-down list where you can select the Add (level) specific function that you want to use. [cautionend]

Select the Add supplied time hierarchies option. On the Add Supplied page, the Input column drop-down list displays the available numeric values that have a date format applied to the column. This will default to the Date value if it is found in the data source list of columns. The Format and Informat values change, depending on the value selected in the Input column drop-down list. Select from the list of supplied time hierarchies to create the time levels. See the following display.

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Selecting OK closes the dialog box and updates the Dimension Designer - Level table with new levels based on your selection. One level is created for each selected time period, even if it appears in multiple supplied hierarchies. You can then define properties such as the sort order and description for the levels that you have selected. See the following display.

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The hierarchy or hierarchies that are selected on the Add Supplied page are listed in the Hierarchies panel on the Dimension Designer - Hierarchies page. If there is only one hierarchy, as with this example, the hierarchy name is changed to match the dimension name. See the following display.

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