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A rules files tells Analytic Services what changes to make to the data source and outline during a data load or dimension build. For a definition and discussion of rules files, see Rules Files. This chapter describes how to create a rules file for data loading or dimension building:
For a comprehensive discussion of performing a data load or dimension build after you create a rules file, see Performing and Debugging Data Loads or Dimension Builds.
To create a data load rules file, follow these steps:
For a discussion of factors that influence your decision, see Combining Data Load and Dimension Build Rules Files.
For a process map, see Creating Rules Files.
For a description of file delimiters, see Setting File Delimiters.
For a comprehensive discussion, see Using a Rules File to Perform Operations on Records, Fields, and Data.
For references for pertinent topics, see Validating, Saving, and Printing.
For a comprehensive discussion of data sources and rules files, see Understanding Data Loading and Dimension Building.
To create a dimension build rules file, follow these steps:
For a discussion of factors that influence your decision, see Combining Data Load and Dimension Build Rules Files.
For a process map, see Creating Rules Files.
For a description of file delimiters, see Setting File Delimiters.
For references to pertinent topics, see Naming New Dimensions.
For references to pertinent topics, see Selecting a Build Method.
For references to pertinent topics, see Setting and Changing Member and Dimension Properties.
For a comprehensive discussion, see Using a Rules File to Perform Operations on Records, Fields, and Data.
For references to pertinent topics, see Setting Field Type Information.
For references to pertinent topics, see Validating, Saving, and Printing.
For a comprehensive discussion of data sources and rules files, see Understanding Data Loading and Dimension Building.
Before you start building a rules file, you should determine whether to use that rules file for both data load and dimension build. Once you create a rules file, you cannot separate it into two rules files. Likewise, once you create two rules files, you cannot merge them into one rules file.
Use the same rules file for both data load and dimension build if you wish to load the data source and build new dimensions at the same time.
Use separate rules files for data load and dimension build under any of the following circumstances:
For references to pertinent topics, see Opening Data Prep Editor.
For a brief discussion and for references to pertinent topics, see Opening a Data Source.
You can open Data Prep Editor with a new or existing rules file. After you open Data Prep Editor, be sure to put the editor in the correct mode.
To open Data Prep Editor, see "Creating a Rules File" or "Opening an Existing Rules File" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
To learn how to use Data Prep Editor, see "About Data Prep Editor" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
After you open Data Prep Editor, you can open data sources, such as text files, spreadsheet files, and SQL data sources. The data source appears in Data Prep Editor so that you can see what needs to be changed.
You can open a SQL data source only if you have licensed Essbase SQL Interface. The Essbase Analytic Services SQL Interface Guide provides information on supported environments, installation, and connection to supported data sources. Contact your Analytic Services administrator for more information. When you open a SQL data source, the rules fields default to the column names of the SQL data source. If the names are not the same as the Analytic Services dimension names, you need to map the fields to the dimensions. For a comprehensive discussion of mapping, see Changing Field Names.
To open text files and spreadsheet files, see "Opening a Data File" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
To open SQL data sources, see "Opening a SQL Data Source" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
A file delimiter is the character (or characters) used to separate fields in the data source. By default, a rules file expects fields to be separated by tabs. You can set the file delimiter expected to be a comma, tab, space, fixed-width column, or custom value. Acceptable custom values are characters in the standard ASCII character set, numbered from 0 through 127. Usually, setting the file delimiters is the first thing you do after opening a data source.
Note: You do not need to set file delimiters for SQL data.
To set file delimiters, see "Setting File Delimiters" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
If you are not creating a new dimension in the rules file, skip this section.
If you are creating a new dimension, you must name it in the rules file. Before choosing a dimension name, see Understanding the Rules for Naming Dimensions and Members.
If you are creating an attribute dimension, the base dimension must be a sparse dimension already defined in either the outline or the rules file. For a comprehensive discussion of attribute dimensions, see Working with Attributes.
To name a new dimension, see "Creating a New Dimension Using a Rules File" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
If you are not performing a dimension build, skip this section.
If you are building a new dimension or adding members to an existing dimension, you must tell Analytic Services what algorithm, or build method, to use. You must specify a build method for each dimension that you are creating or modifying. For information about each build method, see Table 22.
To select a build method, see "Choosing a Build Method" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
If you are not performing a dimension build, skip this section.
If you are performing a dimension build, you can set or change the properties of the members and dimensions in the outline. Some changes affect all members of the selected dimension, some affect only the selected dimension, and some affect all dimensions in the rules file.
You can set or change member and dimension properties using the Data Prep Editor or a change the member properties in the data source.
To set dimension properties, see "Setting Dimension Properties" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
To set member properties, see "Setting Member Properties" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
You can modify the properties of both new and existing members during a dimension build by including member properties in a field in the data source. In the data source, put the properties in the field directly following the field containing the members that the properties modify. For example, to specify that the Margin% member not roll up into its parent and not be shared.
Margin% Margin% ~ N Sales
The following table lists all member codes used in the data source to assign properties to block storage outline members. For a list of properties that can be assigned to aggregate storage outline members, see Rules File Differences for Aggregate Storage Dimension Builds.
In a rules file you can perform operations on records, fields, and data values before loading them into the database. The data source is not changed.
For a comprehensive discussion, see Using a Rules File to Perform Operations on Records, Fields, and Data.
If you are not performing a dimension build, skip this section.
In a dimension build, each field in the data source is part of a column that describes a member in the outline. Fields can contain information about member names, member properties, or attribute associations. In order for Analytic Services to process this information, you must specify the field type in the rules file. You must specify the following information when setting field types:
The following sections contain detailed information about field types:
To set field information, see "Setting Field Types" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
Table 20 lists valid field types for each build method.
Field Type |
What the Field Contains |
Valid Build Methods |
---|---|---|
Note: If the Member update dimension build setting is set to Remove unspecified and the data source for a new member contains the alias value of a removed member, the alias value will not be assigned to the new member. |
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A member property. For a list of properties to set in the data source, see Using the Data Source to Set Member Properties. |
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In an attribute dimension, the name of the parent member of the attribute member in the following field |
||
A member of the specified attribute dimension. This member will be associated with a specified generation or level of the selected base dimension. |
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The name of a member that has duplicate parents; that is, a member that is shared by more than one parent |
||
The name of a member that has duplicate parents; that is, a member that is shared by more than one parent |
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The field type that you choose for a field depends on the build method that you selected. Table 21 lists the rules for selecting valid field types, depending on the build method. If necessary, move the fields to the required locations. For a brief discussion, see Moving Fields.
To move fields, see "Moving Fields" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
Rules files are validated to make sure that the members and dimensions in the rules file map to the outline. Validation cannot ensure that the data source loads properly.
To validate a rules file, see "Validating a Rules File" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
To save a rules file, see "Saving a Rules File" in the Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
If the rules file is not valid, complete one of the following actions:
If the rules file is correct, you can perform a data load or dimension build. For a comprehensive discussion of how to load data and members, see Performing and Debugging Data Loads or Dimension Builds.
For a data load rules file to validate, all the following questions must be answered "yes."
For a dimension build rules file to validate, all of the following questions must be answered "yes."
You can copy rules files to applications and databases on any Analytic Server, according to your permissions. You can also copy rules files across servers as part of application migration.
To copy a rules file, use any of the following methods:
Tool |
Topic |
Location |
---|---|---|
You can print the entire contents and properties of a data load or dimension build rules file. You can also specify properties and settings to print.
To print a rules file, see "Printing Rules Files" in Essbase Administration Services Online Help.
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