How to: Create a Dimension Using the Dimension Wizard
You can create a new dimension by using the Dimension Wizard in Business Intelligence Development Studio.
To create a new dimension
In Solution Explorer, right-click Dimensions, and then click New Dimension.
On the Select Creation Method page of the Dimension Wizard, select Use an existing table, and then click Next.
Note
You might occasionally have to create a dimension without using an existing table. For more information, see Creating a Dimension by Generating a Non-Time Table in the Data Source and Creating a Time Dimension by Generating a Time Table.
On the Specify Source Information page, do the following procedures:
In the Data source view list, select a data source view.
In the Main table list, select the main dimension table.
In the Key columns list, review the key columns that the wizard has automatically selected based on the primary key that is defined in the main dimension table. To change this default setting, specify the key columns that link the dimension table to the fact table.
In the Name column drop-down list, review the name column that the wizard has automatically selected.
This default name is appropriate when the column contains descriptive information. However, you might want to specify a name that contains values that are more meaningful for the end user. For example, if a product category attribute in a Products dimension uses the ProductCategoryKey column as its key column, you can specify the ProductCategoryName column as its name column.
If the Key columns list contains multiple key columns, you must specify a name column that provides the member values for the key attribute. To do this, you can create a named calculation in the data source view and use that as the name column.
Click Next.
On the Select Related Tables page, select the related tables that you want to include in your dimension, and then click Next.
Note
The Select Related Tables page appears if the main dimension table that you specified has relationships to other dimension tables.
On the Select Dimension Attributes page, select the attributes that you want to include in the dimension, and then click Next.
Optionally, you can change the attribute names, enable or disable browsing, and specify the attribute type.
Note
To make the Enable Browsing and Attribute Type fields of an attribute active, the attribute must be selected for inclusion in the dimension.
On the Define Account Intelligence page, in the Built-In Account Types column, select the account type, and then click Next.
The account type must correspond to the account type of the source table that is listed in the Source Table Account Types column.
Note
The Define Account Intelligence page appears if you defined an Account Type dimension attribute on the Select Dimension Attributes page of the wizard.
On the Completing the Wizard page, enter a name for the new dimension and review the dimension structure. If you want to make changes, click Back; otherwise, click Finish.
Note
You can use Dimension Designer after you complete the Dimension Wizard to add, remove, and configure attributes and hierarchies in the dimension.
See Also