Using SpotlightXL-Model Attributes Subtask

Overview

Attributes are characteristics associated with dimensions and are most commonly used to create alternative roll-ups for analysis and reporting. Dimension Security supports attributes in views and reports.

Suppose in a Budget model, you have Customer, Company, Product dimensions defined. For a dimension called Product, you can configure attributes like size or color. These attributes provide additional flexibility to look into your data from a different perspective.

Attributes can be used in view and reports for reporting and analysis.

Additionally, attributes are calculated dynamically at run-time. When you add or delete or change an attribute or its mapping, you do not need to recalculate the model. You can quickly map certain dimension members to an attribute and then run a view or report using that attribute and see its rollup value. Then you can make changes to the mappings to see the differences in the rollup values quickly.

Setting Up Attributes

Power user and Contributor roles can set up attributes. Reviewers can use attributes that are set up, but must first be provided access.
There are two ways to set up attributes:

• Import attributes from the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting Applications
• Create attributes within Dynamic Planning (SpotlightXL)

Importing Attributes and Attribute Hierarchies from the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting Applications

When importing attributes and attribute hierarchies from Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications, you must define a map in SpotlightXL to transfer the data from Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications.

In this example the VP_Resp attribute (not shown below) defined on the Department dimension in the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications and the ReportingResponsibility attribute hierarchy (shown below) defined on the Department dimension are mapped as attributes in the Dynamic Planning SpotlightXL application.

Attributes as Defined in the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications for this example is shown below.

In Practice

1. In SpotlightXL, access the Model > Map page.
2. For Source Dimension select Attribute.
3. For Source Filter, all members below VP_Resp including VP_Resp will be transfered to Dynamic Planning from the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications.
4. For Source Value, the VP_Resp attribute (which is the root level member of the AllReportingResponsbility attribute hierarchy as defined in the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications) is selected as it is the attribute in the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications that will be transfered to Dynamic Planning.
5. Select the Target Dimension, which is VP_Resp. You must always include the dimension when mapping an attribute from the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications. In this case the dimension is Department, which is included in the map shown below. Another example might be if you want to map the Color attribute defined on the Product dimension in Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications. In this case, your map must include both the Product dimension and the Attribute color.
6. The Target Filter, like the Source Filter is MemberAndBelow so that all members below VP_Resp (including VP_Resp) will be populated in Dynamic Planning.
   Note:

   MemberAndBelow is the only source filter that is currently supported for creating and moving the attributes from the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications to the Dynamic Planning application.
7. Lastly, the Target Value is the attribute named VP_Resp.
8. Similar mapping is done for the attribute hierarchy named ReportingResponsiblity as shown below.
9. Also the attribute that you are mapping from the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications should have mapping defined to the leaf members of the base dimension in the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications.
   
   
   
10. Attributes mapped will be created in Dynamic Planning once the model is refreshed. To refresh the model, run the calculation by accessing the Model Calculation page. Ensure the DownloadData and DownloadMetadata types (shown below) are selected.
    
    
    
    Note:

    You can also access the Manage, Application Administration, Metadata Download page and click Run to refresh metadata.
11. Once the model is refreshed, access the Model > Setup page to verify the attributes were created for the model and associated dimension. An example is shown below.

If you want to make changes to an attribute in Dynamic Planning that is sourced from Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications, make the change in the Structured Planning, Consolidation, or Reporting applications, and then refresh the model to reflect the same changes in Dynamic Planning.

Creating Attributes within Dynamic Planning

Navigate to Model > Attribute. The new Attribute page displays attributes associated with a selected Model and Dimension. It also provides functionality to create new attributes for a specified Model and Dimension as well as update attributes already associated with a Model and Dimension.

The image below displays the Budget Model, Account Dimension, and the associated attribute.

See: Displaying Leaf Members for detailed Enable Dimension Leaf Members property information.

• Model —Name of model to which the attribute will be or is associated
• Dimension —Name of the dimension to which the attribute will be or is associated
• Attribute— Name of the attribute associated with the model. By default, a New Attribute is displayed
• Enable Dimension Leaf Members - Select Yes to display leaf level members of an attribute’s mapped dimension in views and reports.
• Yes must also be selected to save data on attributes in views and reports. Ensure Enable Save is set to Yes for view on the Design View and/ or Design Report Properties pages. Drill through is supported for Views and Reports which have attributes when the ‘Enable Dimension Leaf Members’ property is set to ‘Yes’.
• Action— There are two actions available based on the stage of the attribute.
  • Select the Update action to update attribute data associated with a Model and Dimension with the latest changes (see Updating an Attribute).
    

The following fields are available when you select Update:

• Member Code - A unique identifier for the dimension member.
• Member Parent - The name of the parent member in the dimension hierarchy that the member rolls up to. For example, the Time dimension Parent Member might be 2016 and the Rollup Member might be Q12016.
• Member Display Label - Allows you to customize the display label. For example, if the Member Code is Jan-15 and you want to display the full name of the month, enter January-15 in the Member Display Label field.

Once the attribute is set up to map the attribute members to leaf dimension members, select Set Attribute Mapping so that all leaf members of the selected dimension will be displayed. You can type the attribute members in the attribute member code column or you can select from the drop-down and then save the attribute.
The following fields are available when you select Set Attribute Mapping:

• Dimension Member Code - Dimension code for all leaf members of the selected dimension is displayed.
• Dimension Member Parent - Parent member for all leaf members of the selected dimension is displayed.
• Attribute Member Code - Enter the attribute members here or select from the drop-down.

How to Create a New Attribute on a Dimension?

1. In SpotlightXL, navigate to Model > Dimension.
2. Select the Model you want a new attribute associated with.
3. Select the Dimension you want a new attribute associated.
4. Enter the name of the new attribute in the New Attribute field.
5. In the Member Code area, add new members. Adding attribute members is similar to adding dimension members. You can define the attribute with one root member or have multiple levels. You can also provide display label details for all the members of the attribute.
6. Map dimension members to attribute members using the Set Attribute Mapping action.
7. Save.
8. View attribute mapping details by accessing the Model Dimension page as shown below. Make sure you select the View Attribute Mapping action on this page.

Providing Access to the Attribute Page

Power users can disable access to the attributes setup for Contributor users from the Navigation Access screen as shown below.

How to Use Attributes in Views?

1. In SpotlightXL, navigate to Analyze >Data.
2. Select the model/view for which you created the attributes.
3. Select the Design View subtask.
4. Click the Properties action.
5. In the Attributes section of the page(shown below), select the attribute properties for the selected view.
   
   
   
6. For Attribute Display, select from one of the following options:
   1. Attributes with Dimension - Displays the attribute and the associated dimension
   2. Attributes without Dimension - Displays the attribute only
7. Select the attributes you want to use for the view. Attributes are displayed for selection in the Select Attribute1, and Select Attribute2 fields. Note that a maximum of 2 attributes is allowed for selection in a View. The image below shows how the attributes created on the Attribute page are populated and available in the Attributes list box on the Properties page.
   
   
8. Save the view.
   Note:

   When you are using attributes in a View > Design View mode, the data will not be displayed. Data will only be displayed during run mode.
9. Navigate to Analyze > Data to run the view. The attributes defined are displayed in a way similar to page level POV as shown below.
   

Limitations

• A maximum of 5 attributes per Dimension is allowed
• A maximum of 2 attributes in a View is allowed
• A maximum of 2 attributes per Model in a Report is allowed
• The attribute name must be unique
• The attribute name cannot match any dimension name for the model
• Attribute name cannot contain "." (dot) character.
• The use of special characters in the attribute name is not recommended
• "New Attribute" is a reserved keyword and cannot be used as an attribute name
• Drill through functionality in Views and Report is not supported if attributes are enabled
• Data cannot be saved from the View / Report if attributes are being used in that View / Report
• When you are using attributes in a View, data will not displayed in design mode i.e. Analyze > Design View. Data will only be displayed only during the run model i.e. Analyze > Data