Oracle® Business Intelligence Server Administration Guide > Oracle BI Administration Tool Utilities and Expression Builder > Utilities and Wizards >

Generating and Deploying a Metadata Dictionary


When using Oracle BI, you might need to obtain more information about metrics or attributes for repository objects. For example, you might need to resolve issues caused by confusing metadata object names or to obtain more details when an attribute is derived in a complicated way. A metadata dictionary can help you resolve conflicting information and understand the metrics and attributes of repository objects.

A metadata dictionary is a static set of XML documents. Each XML document describes a metadata object such as a physical table or a logical column, including its properties and relationships with other metadata objects.

These XML documents are viewed using index files in a browser. Therefore, the metadata dictionary needs to be located on the BI Presentation Server. If you know that location before you generate the dictionary, you can specify the location in the Save As dialog box before you generate the dictionary files and folders. If you obtain the location after you generate the dictionary, you can copy the files to the desired location at that time.

The dictionary does not change dynamically as repository changes are made. Therefore, you will need to generate the dictionary periodically to update the content.

Generating a Metadata Dictionary

When you generate the dictionary, you can set the output location to the final location or to a temporary location.

CAUTION:  Repositories can be large (containing tens of thousands of objects). Generating a dictionary for a large repository can take a significant period of time.

You can select a destination for your dictionary in the following ways:

  • Select a local or network location when you generate the dictionary. When the dictionary is generated, a subdirectory with the same name as the repository will be created in that location. The dictionary folders and files will be created in that subdirectory.

    For example, If you select J:\BI_DataDictionary\ and your repository name is demo1.rpd, the dictionary files, including the style sheets, will be located in the following location:

    J:\BI_DataDictionary\demo1\

    NOTE:  If the dictionary you wish to use has been generated, copy the entire folder to the desired location.

  • If you want to use an IIS virtual directory, you can create or select a virtual directory in IIS before you generate the dictionary. When you generate the dictionary, choose the physical directory associated with the IIS virtual directory.

    NOTE:  If dictionary has been generated, copy the entire folder to the physical directory associated with the IIS virtual directory.

After you generate a metadata dictionary, style sheets and index files are created for that dictionary.

The related style sheets (XSL files) are created and stored in the following location:

[drive]:\[path]\[repository name]\xsl

A name index and tree index are created and stored in the [drive]:\[path]\[repository name] root folder. You can use following URLs to locate and view objects:

  • http://<hostname>:<portname>/<repository name>/NameIndex.xml. Allows you to search for repository objects by name.
  • http://<hostname>:<portname>/<repository name>/TreeIndex.xml. Allows you to drill down from top-level objects to the object that you want to view.

NOTE:  Each index file contains a link to the other so that you can quickly switch views.

To generate the metadata dictionary

  1. Open the repository in Offline mode.

    You cannot generate the metadata dictionary in Online mode.

  2. From the Tools menu, choose Utilities > Generate Metadata Dictionary, and then click Execute.
  3. In the Choose Directory dialog box, click Browse to locate and select the location where you want to store the dictionary.

    You should receive the following message: Metadata dictionary has been successfully created in [drive]:\[path]\

  4. Click OK.
Oracle® Business Intelligence Server Administration Guide Copyright © 2007, Oracle. All rights reserved.