How to Configure SQL Server Analysis services’s Action to Open an URL?

SSAS Actions are powerful! You can open web pages, open sql server reporting services, customize drill through reports among other things using actions. In this post, you will see a common requirement from users to navigate to a corporate intranet site from the cube – and usually it needs to be dynamic.

For example, user is interested in seeing the Order Entry Page hosted on the corporate intranet site by using the Order ID from the SSAS cube.

Here’s how you can set it up:

1. Open SSAS Cube in SQL Server Data Tools:

2. Navigate to Actions tab:

3. Here you’ll see three types of action that you can configure

a. Standard (this have five subtypes including the URL action)

b. Drill Through

c. report action

4. For the purpose of this blog post, let’s focus on standard action:

5. Once you click on the “New Action” it will ask you to configure the action:

a. Name: Enter the desired name here

b. Target Type: In this case, Order ID is an attribute member but you will have to choose appropriate target type for your scenario

c. Target Object: In this case, it’s something like [Order].[Order ID] – in your case, you’ll have to choose an appropriate target object

d. Type: URL in this case (also don’t forget to check books online for what other types can do as well)

e. Action Expression: the format of the Action Expression if it’s driven by a parameter would go something like:

[code language=”SQL”]
"http://servername/site/Pages/OrderRef.aspx?Search&ID="+[Order].[Order ID].currentmember.member_caption
[/code]

f. Additional Properties: I like to set the Caption to clearly indicate the user that they are opening the “Order Form for Order ID 123999”. You can do that by setting the caption property. The format goes like this:

[code language=”SQL”]
"Open Order Entry page for Order ID: "+[Order].[Order ID].currentmember.member_caption
[/code]

Also set the caption is MDX to True if you are using above format.

That’s about it, don’t forget to test it (after deploying the cube) using excel or other end-user tool of your choice. In the Pivot Table, use the Order ID attribute in Row/Column labels > Right Click on any attribute member of Order ID attribute > Additional Actions > The caption with dynamic order id should show by here for users to click and navigate to the specified URL:

How to create an Average Aggregation in SQL Server Analysis services?

Problem:

How do create a measure that does an average over a field from fact table? You can’t find it the “usage” property while trying to create a new measure:

Solution:

Before i show you the solution, I want you to know that this is a Level 100 solution to get you started – so depending on the complexity of your cube the calculated measure that you are about to create may or may not perform well – if it does not perform well, you might have to dig a little deeper and here’s one blog post to get you started: URL

OK, back to topic! Here are the steps.

SCENARIO: you need average of Sales Amount.

1. Create a SUM OF SALES AMOUNT measure

Steps: Open cube > Cube Structure > Right click on Measure Group > New Measure > Usage: “SUM” > Source Table: Pick your Fact Table. In this case let’s say it’s Fact Sales > Source Column: In this case, lets say it’s SALES AMOUNT

2. Create a COUNT OF SALES measure (important: row count vs. non empty count – this is not a developer’s choice, a business user needs to define that)

Steps: Open cube > Cube Structure > Right click on Measure Group > New Measure > Usage: count of rows OR count of non empty values (again this is not developer’s choice, a business user needs to define this) > Source Table: Pick your Fact Table. In this case let’s say it’s Fact Sales > Source Column: In this case, lets say it’s SALES AMOUNT

3. Create a Calculated Measure that equals (SUM OF SALES/COUNT OF SALES)

3a. Switch to Calculations section > create a new calculated member:

3b. Complete Name, Format String & Associated Measure Group. For the Expression, use the following expression. Please use this as a starting point for your measure:

[code language=”SQL”]
IIF([measures].[COUNT OF SALES]=0,0,[measures].[SUM OF SALES AMOUNT]/[measures].[COUNT OF SALES])
[/code]

4. Before you test it, if you don’t need the SUM OF SALES AMOUNT and COUNT OF SALES measures than don’t forget to hide them!

Conclusion:

In this post, you saw how to define a measure with average aggregation is SSAS.

SSAS Joining Facts at different granularity to a single dimension:

Problem:

You have a Fact Sales and Fact Target in your data mart. Fact Sales stores values are product sub category level and fact target stores values at product category level because business sets “sales targets” at a higher (rolled up) level. How do you connect it to a single dimension at different granularity?

Solution:

Here’s the table structure, I just made this up for the demo purpose:

1. Fact Sales

2. Fact Target

3. Dim product sub category

so, you went ahead and tried testing by creating relationship’s to single dimension at different granularity in the cube:

Note how the relationship was specified between Fact Target and Product Sub Category Dimension – it’s joined at a different granularity compared to fact sales. it would be help you from a performance standpoint if the fields that you are using to join the fact and dimension is an int.

So, you browse the cube and here’s what you get:

Note the problem: the target values are being repeated for sub categories but that shouldn’t be happening, right? that’s misleading to business users…ok, to recap what we need to do here: hide target values for subcategories since targets are not set at that granularity. but we do need to show them if the business users pulls in product category.

So here’s a measure group property that comes to the rescue!

Go to Fact Target Measure group’s property > Set IgnoreUnRelatedDimension to False

deploy and browse your cube again, here’s what you will see now:

That’s it! you have successfully joined facts at different granularity to a single dimension.

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Paras Doshi's Blog on Analytics, Data Science & Business Intelligence.

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How to Configure SQL Server Analysis services’s Action to Open an URL?

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How to create an Average Aggregation in SQL Server Analysis services?

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