Data Sources that Do Not Need a Rules File

If you are performing a dimension build, skip this section.

If a data source contains all of the information required to load the data values in it into the database, you can load the data source directly in a free-form data load.

To load a data value successfully, Essbase must encounter one member from each dimension before encountering the data value. For example, in Figure 63, Kinds of Fields, Essbase loads the data value 42 into the database with the members Texas, 100-10, Jan, Sales, and Actual. If Essbase encounters a data value before a member of each dimension is specified, it stops loading the data source.

To map perfectly, a data source must contain all of the following and nothing else:

The fields in the data source must be formatted in an order that Essbase understands. The simplest way to format a record is to include a member from each dimension and a data field, as illustrated below:

Sales "100-10" Ohio Jan Actual 25
Sales "100-20" Ohio Jan Actual 25
Sales "100-30" Ohio Jan Actual 25

An incorrectly formatted data source will not load. You can edit the data source using a text editor and fix the problem. If you must perform many edits (such as moving several fields and records), consider using a rules file to load the data source. See Rules Files.

The following sections describe more complicated ways to format free-form data sources.