Format Construction Mode

Owned by Nicolás Palombo (Unlicensed)
Last updated: 18 Sept, 2008Version comment
5 min read
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Use the Format construction mode in cases where you have a given code that allows you to establish the hierarchy of the dimension's categories. For example, in the Accountancy Plan, there is a code for each Item, defined as follows:

"n.n.nn.nn"

Each "n" represents a digit between 0 and 9, and each code represents a detail level of the code similar to its parent. For example, the Item 1.1 is a detail level of code 1, just as 1.2, 1.3, etc. are. The item 1.1.1 is subordinate to 1.1, and so on. This is how you define an Accountancy tree, where the sum of the entries to the children items accumulates to form the balance of the parent account.

In this instance, you must declare the dimension that represents the Accountancy Plan with the Format construction mode. This allows O3 to automatically create hierarchies from the values for the field representing the code in the Data Sources.

The values for "n" can be any alphanumeric character. Also, the delimiter is not restricted to . (period), but can be any character.

Similar to other Dimension types, you can indicate the Key field and enter a description value from another field for displaying in the O3 Browser. Using the previous example, this could be the Account's description, instead of its formatted code.

Some type of association must exist between the field assigned to the Key and the field assigned to the Value. This association can be a consequence of both fields coming from the same source, or through implicit joins made by O3 based on name similarity. See the About Field Naming.

Use the From and Length columns of the level definition table to indicate the position of the code and the length (in characters) of each level. In the previous example, "n.n.nn.nn", taking into consideration that the periods belong to the code existing in the Source field, the Dimension levels are defined as follows:

Using the definitions, O3 parses the key field and creates each one of the hierarchy's levels. Use the New Field button to add rows to the table, and the Delete Field button to remove a row.

It is important to note that the From and Length definitions do not include the delimiting periods.

From

Length

0

1

2

1

4

2

7

2



Adding a Format Dimension

Use the Add Dimension command or the Insert Dimension command to add a dimension in format construction mode.

To add a dimension in format construction mode:

  1. Select the Dimension branch in the Design tree.
  2. Add a new Dimension
    • To add a dimension to the end of the list, choose the Add Dimension command.
      The dimension is added and the Properties Pane is displayed.
    • To insert a dimension right after an existing dimension, select it and choose the Insert Dimension command.
      The dimension is added and the Properties Pane is displayed.
  3. Turn on the Format radio button.
  4. Complete the fields in the Property Pane.
  5. To add a field to the Levels table, choose the New Field button. A row adds.
  6. Double-click on each field in the row to enter a value.
  7. To remove a field from the Levels table, click on the row, Choose the Delete Field button. The field is deleted.


The Dimension Property Pane - Format Construction Mode

In Format construction mode, the dimension property pane includes two tabs:

  • Description
  • General
  • Order

The Description Tab

Property

Description

Name

Enter the name of the dimension.

Description

Enter a description of the dimension.

The General Tab

Property

Description

Default Value for Null Fields

Enter the label of the special node created to accumulate the registers in cases where data from the Measures Data Source has null values in the identification of this dimension key, or out of range values for the hierarchy category.

Store Dimensions As

For every dimension you can select any of this options to store the elements of the dimension. To select one you must know how many total elements (for all levels) the dimension will have.

  • Byte (8 bits)max 256 elements
  • Short (16 bits)max aprox. 65.000 elements (should be enough for most dimensions)
  • Integer (32 bits)max aprox 4 billion elements.

Related Dimension

Links a dimension with another with the same structure and similar information. (See Related Dimensions)

Key

Enter the field name, from the Data Sources, that contains the categories for this level.

Short Label

Often the categories provided by the field associated with the key correspond to element codes. You can assign a label to clarify this for the O3 Browser end-user.

Levels Table

Specify each of the levels in this table. Indicates the position of the code in the From field, and the length of each level, in characters.
Use the New Field button to add an interval immediately after the last available one. Use the Delete Field button to remove an interval.

The Order Tab

This section refers to a mechanism that activates rankings from O3 Designer during the design phase of the model.

(info) See Automatic Rankings

Property

Description

Activate Order

Activates the automatic ranking of elements in the dimension.

All Elements

Indicates that all elements will be displayed after sorting

First

Indicates that only the first N elements will be displayed after sorting.

Show Others

In cases when only a few elements are shown, it is possible to include an extra element, called Others, that summarizes those left out of the view.

This feature does not imply the sorting of elements in the hierarchy. This is just a presentation feature. To sort elements in the dimension see the sorting options in the properties pane for dimension levels in standard dimensions

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