Browsing the cube
After you deploy a cube, the cube data is viewable on
the Browser tab in Cube Designer, and the
dimension data is viewable on the Browser tab
in Dimension Designer. Browsing cube and dimension data is way to check your
work incrementally. You can verify that small changes to properties,
relationships, and other objects have the desired effect once the object is
processed. While the Browser tab is used to view both cube and dimension data,
the tab provides different capabilities based on the object you are browsing.
For dimensions, the Browser tab provides a way to
view members or navigate a hierarchy all the way down to the leaf node. You can
browse dimension data in different languages, assuming you have added the
translations to your model.
For cubes, the Browser tab provides two approaches
for exploring data. You can use the built-in MDX Query Designer to build
queries that return a flattened rowset from a multidimensional database.
Alternatively, you can use an Excel shortcut. When you start Excel from within
SQL Server Data Tools, Excel opens with a PivotTable already in the worksheet
and a predefined connection to the model workspace database.
Excel generally offers a better browsing experience
because you can explore cube data interactively, using horizontal and vertical
axes to analyze the relationships in your data. In contrast, the MDX Query
Designer is limited to a single axis. Moreover, because the rowset is
flattened, you do not get the drilldown that an Excel PivotTable provides. As
you add more dimensions and hierarchies to your cube, which you will do in
subsequent lessons, Excel will be the preferred solution for browsing data.
To browse the deployed
cube
1.
Switch to Dimension Designer for
the Product dimension in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT). To do this, double-click
the Product dimension in the Dimensions node of Solution Explorer.
2.
Click the Browser tab
to display the All member of the Product Key attribute hierarchy. In
lesson three, you will define a user hierarchy for the Product dimension
that will let you browse the dimension.
3.
Switch to Cube Designer in
SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT). To do this, double-click theAnalysis
Services Tutorial cube
in the Cubes node of Solution Explorer.
4.
Select the Browser tab,
and then click the Reconnect icon
on the toolbar of the designer.
The left pane of the designer shows the objects in the Analysis
Services Tutorial cube. On the right side of the Browser tab, there are two panes: the
upper pane is the Filterpane, and the lower pane is the Data pane. In an upcoming lesson, you will
use the cube browser to do analysis.
No comments:
Post a Comment