Creating and Modifying Dimensions

Creating dimensions

You choose Dimension from the Maintain menu to create a new dimension. This opens the Maintain Dimension dialog box. From this starting point you can perform the following functions:

• Enter a name for the dimension. The name is used in reports, graphs, worksheets, and data entry forms.

• Enter an object name. The object name is the internal identifier by which the system references the dimension.

• Enter an object prefix.

• Choose the dimension type. You can choose Text or Time.

• Specify the maximum name length for dimension values that are part of this dimension.

Assigning properties and user privileges to dimensions

Once a dimension has a name, object name, object prefix and type, you can specify whether the dimension supports the following types of operations:

• Aggregation of financial data over time.

• Whether the dimension supports best case and worst case variance reporting.

• Whether values for this dimension should be refreshed in each user's database according to the order specified in your (administrator) database.

• Whether the user can scale data associated with this dimension.

You can also specify the types of users who can create new hierarchies, models, or attributes based on this dimension. You can choose DBA, EveryOne, or NoOne.

Important: Base your selections on how the dimension will be used in the system. Refer to "Suggested Ways to Set Up Dimensions" for an overview of typical ways in which dimensions are used in Financial Analyzer.

Example: Dimension information

The following example shows the Maintain Dimension dialog box with information for the Product dimension.

In this example:

• The Product dimension maintains the same sort order as the administrator

• If scaling is supported by the financial data item that the dimension is part of, users will be able to scale date values associated with this dimension in reports

• All users can create hierarchies and attributes based on this dimension

• All users can create models using Product as the base dimension

Modifying dimensions

You choose Dimension from the Maintain menu to modify dimensions in your personal database. This opens the Maintain Dimension dialog box, from which you can perform the following modifications:

• You can give a dimension a new name.

• You can delete a dimension from your personal database. As an administrator, you can also delete a dimension from the shared database by deleting it from your personal database, and then distributing this change to the shared database and to other users.

• You can modify the properties that have been assigned to a dimension. For more information, see "Assigning properties and user privileges to dimensions".

• You can move a dimension to a new position in the list of dimensions maintained by the system.

• As an administrator, you can change the types of users who can create objects based on the dimension. For more information, see "Assigning properties and user privileges to dimensions".

Distributing a deleted dimension

If you delete a dimension, you must distribute the structure with a Delete from System action. This deletes the structure from the shared database and from the personal databases of all of your users, including any administrators immediately below you in the reporting hierarchy. Administrators below you in the reporting hierarchy should propagate this change by distributing the deletion to their shared database and to the personal databases of their users, and so on down to the leaf nodes. If they choose not to do so, they can retain the structure for their own use, but they can never submit data associated with the structure into your shared database.

If you delete and then redefine a dimension

If you delete a dimension and then attempt to define a dimension with the same object name before distributing the deletion, the system prompts you to specify whether to process the deletion.

• If you indicate that the dimension is a new object that is intended to replace the deleted object, the system creates a system deletion task on the distribution list.

• If you indicate that the deletion was inadvertent, the system removes the deletion task from the distribution list, but any dimension values remain deleted. If you choose this option, it is your responsibility to redefine the dimension exactly as it was prior to the deletion. The system will not check for this.

Related information

For more information about working with dimensions, search for the following topics in the Financial Analyzer Help system:

"Creating Dimensions"

"Modifying Dimensions"

"Moving Dimensions"

"Renaming Dimensions"

"Deleting Dimensions"