Setting Up Attributes for Attribute Hierarchies

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Article Summary

This article provides a complete, step-by-step guide to setting up attributes for attribute hierarchies. It explains how to define attribute types, configure attribute values, and navigate Hierarchy Management to add and manage attributes, covers key settings like attribute types, attribute members, display order, and reporting usage, and helps administrators efficiently configure hierarchical attributes, ensuring accurate reporting, aggregation, and dimension-level analysis.

eddy_summary: Learn how to set up and manage attributes for attribute hierarchies in Maintenance.
eddy_keywords: attribute hierarchy, attribute setup, hierarchy management, attribute types, text attribute, list attribute, reference to segment, attribute members, finance hierarchies
eddy_intent: Informational
eddy_module: Maintenance
eddy_synonyms:
attribute hierarchy = attribute structure, hierarchical attributes
attribute setup = attribute configuration, attribute management
hierarchy management = dimension hierarchy tools, hierarchy configuration
eddy_questions:
- How do I create and configure attributes for attribute hierarchies?
- What types of attributes can be used in Finance Hierarchies?
- How do I navigate to the Attribute Setup page?
- How can I add, edit, or delete attribute members?
- Editing attributes for projects in planful

Attributes must be defined before creating the attribute hierarchy. Attributes are used to report and aggregate leaf-level dimension data based on traits. For example, a Department dimension is associated with the division attribute dimension where members are categorized based on profits.

List of Attribute Types

Whenever you are creating attributes, you can see the following types of attributes:

Type

Description

Reference to Segment

Select to assign the attribute to a defined segment. Used when the attribute is linked to another dimension in the reporting area.

Text

Attribute value expects alphanumeric values which change from one member to another in the hierarchy

Date

Attribute value changes from one member to another and the valid input is the date

Month


Attribute value changes from one member to another and the valid input is the month

Year

Enables the default year field

List

Specify allowed values. Enter the number and select Add to insert rows

Float

Enables the Default Value field which may be used to enter precise numerical values

Integer

To enter a number without a decimal to associate with the attribute

Dimension

Available when “Reference to Dimension” is selected so that the attribute may reference a dimension


Attribute Types Examples

  • Reference to Segment Attribute Type Example:

  • Dimension: Countries

  • Hierarchy:

    • America

      • United States

      • Canada

      • Mexico

      • Brazil

    • Europe

      • U.K

      • Germany

      • France

      • Italy

      • Switzerland

    • Asia-Pacific

      • India

      • China

      • Japan

      • Singapore

      • Australia
        Now, if you want to use these leaf members as attribute values in another dimension (e.g., Customer), set up the attribute as follows:

  • Dimension: Customer

  • Attribute: Country

  • Attribute Values: India, China, USA, etc.
    These values will be displayed in the Customer hierarchy properties pane, allowing selection as needed. For Sales budgeting and forecasting, you can create an attribute on the Sales dimension as a separate reporting hierarchy or associate it with an existing sales dimension.

  • Text Attribute Type Example:

    • Dimension: Customer

    • Attribute: City

    • Values: Springfield, Maplewood, Rivertown
      OR

    • Dimension: Customer

    • Attribute: Contact Number

    • Values: 555-1234, 555-5678, 555-9876
      OR

    • Dimension: Customer

    • Attribute: Email ID

    • Values: user@company.com, support@domain.org

  • Date Attribute Type Example:

    • Dimension: Company

    • Attribute: Date of Incorporation

    • Values: 01/15/2021, 07/20/2022, 10/05/2024

    • Month/Year: Used for associating months or years with attributes, such as a product launch year.

      Example:

    • Dimension: Product

    • Attribute: Year of Introduction

    • Values: 2023, 2024, 2025

  • List Attribute Type Example:

  • Dimension: Product

  • Attribute: Category

  • Values: Budget, Standard, Premium

  • Float/Integer Attribute Type Example

  • Dimension: Product

  • Attribute: Shelf Life (hours)

  • Values: 24, 48, 72

Attributes

Attributes are created in Hierarchy Management and can be added within the Finance Hierarchies Setup page. Attributes may be used in the budget entity hierarchy as well as in Dynamic Reporting.

  • Leaf-level members of one dimension can be used as the attribute value on another dimension. For example, if Countries is a dimension, the leaf level members of the Countries dimension can be used as an attribute for the Customer dimension. A Reference to Segment attribute type could be used and referenced to the Customer.

  • User-defined attributes are optional but highly useful for tailoring reports to specific needs.

  • For Financial Segments, you can define up to 25 attributes across 8 dimensions, depending on your application configuration.

How to Navigate to Attribute Setup?

To navigate to Attribute Setup, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to Maintenance and Hierarchy Management.

  2. Click Edit Hierarchy to open the Hierarchy Management interface in Edit Mode.

    If your Default View is set to Edit Mode, the interface will automatically open in Edit Mode.

  3. Under Hierarchy Selection,            

    1. Select Type as Finance Hierarchies.

    2. Select the Hierarchy and Dimension to which you want to add the Attribute (for example, Department).

  4. Click Setup.


  5. On the Finance Hierarchies Setup page, click Attribute Setup. The Finance Attributes page appears.


  6. On the Finance Attributes page, you will see the following options:

    1. Add: To add a new attribute.

    2. Edit: To edit an existing attribute. Note that you can edit an attribute ONLY if Used in Reporting is set to No.

    3. Delete: To delete an existing attribute.

    4. Move Up / Move Down: To reposition attributes on the page.

    5. Save Display Order: Saves the position of the attributes on the page.

    6. Attribute Member(s): To access the Attribute Members List page. This allows you to view, delete, and export attribute members (for attributes with an attribute type of Text). You can also click Output to export the Attribute Members List to Excel for printing, viewing, or reporting purposes.


    7. Filter and Export: To apply filter and narrow down the search results using the Filter option and to export the Attribute Members List to Excel for printing, viewing, or reporting purposes.