If you can map all of the members in your data source to their counterparts in the data target using standard member mapping, you need not perform advanced area-specific mapping.
If, however, you need to control how Essbase maps members at a more granular level, you may need to use area-specific mapping, which maps members in one area to members in another area only in the context of a particular area map.
Use area-to-area mapping to do the following:
Because Essbase cannot determine how to map multiple members in the data source to a single member in the data target, you must logically determine how to divide your data until you can apply one mapping rule to that subset of the data. Then use that rule in the context of area-specific mapping to map the members.
To create area-specific mappings, see “Defining Area-Specific Member Mappings in Partitions (Optional)” in the Oracle Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
Example 1: Advanced Area-Specific Mapping
The data source and data target contain the following dimensions and members:
Source Target Product Product Cola Cola Market Market East East Year Year 1998 1998 1999 1999 Scenario Actual Budget
The data source does not have a Scenario dimension. Instead, it assumes that past data is actual data and future data is forecast, or budget, data.
You know that 1998 in the data source should correspond to 1998, Actual in the data target and 1999 in the data source should correspond to 1999, Budget in the data target. So, for example, if the data value for Cola, East, 1998 in the data source is 15, the data value for Cola, East, 1998, Actual in the data target should be 15.
Because mapping works on members, not member combinations, you cannot simply map 1998 to 1998, Actual. Define the area (1998 and 1998, Actual) and then create area-specific mapping rules for that area.
Because the data source does not have Actual and Budget members, you also must map these members to Void in the data target.
Example 2: Advanced Area-Specific Mapping
You also can use advanced area-specific mapping if the data source and data target are structured very differently but contain the same kind of information.
This strategy works, for example, if your data source and data target contain the following dimensions and members:
Source Target Market Customer_Planning NY NY_Actual CA NY_Budget CA_Actual CA_Budget Scenario Actual Budget
You know that NY and Actual in the data source should correspond to NY_Actual in the data target and NY and Budget in the data source should correspond to NY_Budget in the data target. So, for example, if the data value for NY, Budget in the data source is 28, the data value for NY_Budget in the data target should be 28.
Because mapping works on members, not member combinations, you cannot simply map NY, Actual to NY_Actual. Define the area (NY and Actual, and NY_Actual) and then create area-specific mapping rules for that area.
Because the data target does not have NY and CA members, you must also map these members to Void in the data target so that the dimensionality is complete when going from the data source to the data target.