Configure Information Source - Fact Dimensions¶

This page describes configuration of the metadata associated with Dimensions connected to an Information Source.

Information Source Dimensions¶

An overview of dimensions connected to an Information Source is available in the Connected Dimensions section in the Information Source page.

Select one or more dimensions and then use the standard go-to-details command/button to navigate to the details page.

The following information is available:

Attribute	Description
Information Source Dimension Details
Information Source ID	Identity of the Information Source. Parent key.
Info Source Display Name	Display name of the Information Source
Dimension ID	Dimension identity. Key
Dimension Display Name	Display name of the Dimension
Associated Information Source Item ID	Information Source item identity that defines the column in the Information Source table that contains the unique identifier of an instance of associated dimension. This item is used for standard join between a fact and a dimension. It is joined with the Key Column of the connected dimension.
Display Order	Display order of the dimension in the Information Source Navigator in clients.
Dimension Alias	Alias of the Dimension. This item is used as the Alias of the Dimension table when the join between Information Source table and Dimension table is built.
Zoom In Details	Indicates if zoom in details are specified inInformation Source Dimension - Detail Items. Note: By default the current Information Source always supports Zoom In to itself. Dimension details does not have to be defined but normally are.
Drill Down Details	Indicates if drill down in details are specified in Information Source Dimension - Detail Items. Note: If the current Information Source can act as a drill down data source then the attribute can be selected. Else the attribute should not be selected.
On Line Join Defined	Indicates if specific On Line join details have been defined between the Information Source and the dimension.
Data Mart Join Defined	Indicates if specific Data Mart join details have been defined between the Information Source and the dimension.
Writeback Supported	Indicates if writeback specific details exists for this connected dimension.

For each connected dimension the following details can be defined:

Content¶

Information Source Dimension - Detail Items¶

For each connected dimension it is possible to define the dimensions items that should be displayed when performing Zoom In or Drill Down, typically in IFS Business Reporter.

An overview of dimension detail items is available in the Information Source Detail Dimension Items section in the Information Source Dimension Details page.

The following information is available:

Attribute	Description
Dimension Item ID	Dimension item identity. Key
Zoom In Display Item	Indicates if the dimension item should be displayed when generating Zoom In details
Zoom In Display Order	Display order of Zoom In items in design controls and when presenting the Zoom In result in a new work sheet in Excel. Should be synchronized with Zoom In Display Order defined for Information Source Items. Dimension items start with 1 Information Source measure items start with 101 Information Source light items start with 201
Drill Down Display Item	Selected if the dimension item should be displayed when generating Drill Down details
Drill Down Display Order	Display order of Drill Down items in design controls and when presenting Drill Down result in new work sheet in Excel. Should be synchronized with Drill Down Display Order defined for Information Source Items. Dimension items start with 1 Information Source items start with 101 Light fact items start with 2

Information Source Dimension - ID Definition Items¶

For each connected dimension it is important to define the items (attributes) that represent the natural keys in the fact, i.e. the items in the fact that are (or can be) used to build the dimension identity. This information is important in order to support creation of Access Views. These access views should be possible to create regardless off supported data access type, i.e. if On Line access is not supported it should still be possible to find out what columns that defines the key of a given dimension.

E.g. if a dimension has the keys Company and Year, also defining the dimension ID, then the items in the fact representing Company and Year should be described.

Expand the Information Source Dimension ID Definition Items section in the Information Source Dimension Details page.

Attribute	Description
Sequence No	Sequence number of item defining the dimension ID
Information Source Item ID	Information Source item representing the Sequence No key/item
Item Expression	This attribute only provides information, it is not used in any way. The attribute can be used to define how the item in the fact is converted when represented in a dimension ID string, e.g. TO_CHAR(<item_column>, 'YYYY-MM-DD')

Information Source Dimension - Joins¶

Each Dimension connected to an Information Source has its own set of join definitions. The join information is defined per data access type, e.g. for On Line and/or Data Mart. However the most common scenario is to define join information for the Online case.

Expand either the Information Source Dimension On Line Join section or the Information Source Dimension Data Mart Join section in the Information Source Dimension Details page.

The following information is available:

Attribute

Description

Requested Data Access Type

Defines the data access type the information applies to.
Can have one of the following values:

On LineFor On Line access.
Data MartFor Data Mart access

If e.g. Data Mart access is requested, it might still be so that On Line access is used depending on if Data Mart access is available for the Information Source. Requested in this context means the access type that will be used when a statement to fetch a data set is built.

Exact Join

Indicates if the dimension identity can be exactly defined on each row in the Information Source. E.g. the values that refers to one row in the dimension are always available on every row in the transaction source. Exact join is technically known as inner join. A non-exact join always refers to what technically is called left outer join.

Note: There can be only one entry per access type for on Information Source-Dimension connection.

Information Source Dimension - Join Items¶

By selecting the join type in either the Information Source Dimension On Line Join section or the Information Source Dimension Data Mart Join section in the Information Source Dimension Details page and then use the standard go-to-detail command/button, navigation to the Information Source Dimension Join page.

The page contains the join details for each data access type specific join. The join details are specified as a connection between a dimension item and an Information Source (fact) item.

E.g. the dimension DIM_ACCOUNT has an ID that is defined as company^account_code, meaning that one line in the dimension is uniquely defined by the company and the account code. To define a join for DIM_ACCOUNT, two detail have to be specified:

The company related item in DIM_ACCOUNT and the corresponding company item in the fact (Information Source).
The account related item in DIM_ACCOUNT and the corresponding account item in the fact (Information Source).

The following information is available:

Attribute	Description
Information Source Dimension Join
Information Source ID	Identity of the Information Source. Parent key.
Dimension ID	Dimension identity. Parent key
Requested Data Access Type	Defines the data access type the information applies to. Key. Can have one of the following values: OnLineFor On Line access.. Data MartFor Data Mart access
Information Source Dimension Join Item
Join No	Join detail counter
Dimension Item ID	Identity of the dimension item to be joined.
Information Source Item ID	Identity if the Information Source (fact) item to be joined with the dimension item.

Information Source Dimension - Write Back Dimension Items¶

For each connected dimension it is possible to define the dimensions items that are associated with the Write Back functionality in IFS Business Reporter. Each write back interface can handle a given number of items, either Information Source (Fact) items or Dimension items. The write back specific dimension items are defined as details to a dimension connected to an Information Source.

Expand the Information Source Dimension On Line Join section or the Information Source Dimension Data Mart Join section in the Information Source Dimension Details page.

The following information is available:

Attribute	Description
Dimension Item ID	Dimension item identity. Key
Writeback Identity	Identity of the dimension item id that can be interpreted by the API that has the responsibility to process the write back data, e.g. an attribute name in a LU specific attribute string.
Writeback Type	Specifies the requirements that the write back interface has on each item. The following values are supported: OptionalMeans that the item can be taken care of by the write back interface but it does not have to be available. MandatoryMeans that the write back interface regards this as a mandatory item. Key ItemThe item will be regarded as a mandatory item for write back. The item will not be possible to write back but is mandatory as part of every record sent to the server.
Writeback Display Order	The display order of the item in the Write Back feature in IFS Business Reporter. Note: This this attribute should be synchronized with Write Back Display Order available for Information Source Items.
Writeback Selectable	The attributes is not available for usage and will be deprecated