Working with Dimensions

Article
06/14/2017

To make it simpler to perform analysis on documents such as sales orders, you can use dimensions. Dimensions are attributes and values that categorize entries so you can track and analyze them. For example, dimensions can indicate the project or department an entry came from.

For example, instead of setting up separate general ledger accounts for each department and project, you can use dimensions. This gives a rich opportunity for analysis, without creating a complicated chart of accounts. For more information, see Business Intelligence.

Another example is to set up a dimension called Department, and use this dimension when you post sales documents. This will let you use business intelligence tools to see which department sold which items. The more dimensions you use, the more detailed reports you can base your business decisions on. For example, a single sales entry can include multiple dimension information, such as:

The account the item sale was posted to
Where the item was sold
Who sold it
The kind of customer who bought it

Analyzing by Dimensions

The Dimensions functionality plays an important role in business intelligence, such as when defining analysis views. For more information, see How to: Analyze Data by Dimensions.

Tip

As a quick way to analyze transactional data by dimensions, you can filter totals in the chart of accounts and entries in all Entries windows by dimensions. Look for the Set Dimension Filter action.

Dimension Sets

A dimension set is a unique combination of dimension values. It is stored as dimension set entries in the database. Each dimension set entry represents a single dimension value. The dimension set is identified by a common dimension set ID that is assigned to each dimension set entry that belongs to the dimension set.

When you create a journal line, document header, or document line, you can specify a combination of dimension values. Instead of explicitly storing each dimension value in the database, a dimension set ID is assigned to the journal line, document header, or document line to specify the dimension set.

Setting Up Dimensions

You can define the dimensions and dimension values to categorize journals and documents, such as sales orders and purchase orders. You set up dimensions in the Dimensions window, where you create one line for each dimension, such as Project, Department, Area, and Salesperson.

You also set up values for dimensions. For example, values might be departments in your company. Dimension values can be set up in a hierarchical structure similar to the chart of accounts, so that data can be broken down into various levels of granularity, and subsets of dimension values can be totaled. You can define as many dimensions and dimension values as you need, and everyone in your company can use them.

You can also set up some global and shortcut dimensions:

Global dimensions are used as filters, for example, on reports and batch jobs. You can use only two global dimensions, so choose dimensions you will use often.
Shortcut dimensions are available as fields on journal and document lines. You can create up to six of these.

Setting Up Default Dimensions for Customers, Vendors, and Other accounts

You can assign a default dimension for a specific account. The dimension will be copied to the journal or document when you enter the account number on a line, but you can delete or change the code on the line if appropriate. You can also make a dimension required for posting an entry with a specific type of account.

Translating the Names of Dimensions

When you create a dimension, and especially a shortcut dimension, what you're actually creating is a custom field or column heading. If your business is international, you can provide translations for the name of the dimension. Documents that include the dimension will use the translated name, where applicable.

Example of Dimension Setup

Let's say that your company wants to track transactions based on organizational structure and geographic locations. To do that, you can set up two dimensions in the Dimensions window:

AREA
DEPARTMENT

Code	Name	Code Caption	Filter Caption
AREA	Area	Area Code	Area Filter
DEPARTMENT	Department	Department Code	Department Filter

For AREA, you add the following dimension values:

Code	Name	Dimension Value Type
10	Americas	Begin-Total
20	North America	Standard
30	Pacific	Standard
40	South America	Standard
50	Americas, Total	End-Total
60	Europe	Begin-Total
70	EU	Standard
80	Non-EU	Standard
90	Europe, Total	End-Total

For the two main geographic areas, Americas and Europe, you add subcategories for regions by indenting the dimension values. This will let you report on sales or expenses in regions, and get totals for the larger geographic areas. You could also choose to use countries or regions as your dimension values, or counties or cities, depending on your business.

Note

To set up a hierarchy, the codes must be in alphabetical order. This includes the codes of the dimension values that are provided in Dynamics NAV.

For DEPARTMENT, you add the following dimension values:

Code	Name	Dimension Value Type
ADMIN	Administration	Standard
PROD	Production	Standard
SALES	Sales	Standard

With this set up, you then add your two dimensions as the two global dimensions in the General Ledger Setup window. This means that you can use AREA and DEPARTMENT as filters for general ledger entries, as well as on all reports and account schedules. Both global dimensions are also automatically available for use on entry lines and document headers as shortcut dimensions.

Using Dimensions

In a document such as a sales order, you can add dimension information for both an individual document line and the document itself. For example, in the Sales Order window, you can enter dimension values for the first two shortcut dimensions on the individual sales lines, and you can add more dimension information if you choose the Dimensions button.

If you work in a journal instead, you can add dimension information to an entry in the same way, if you have set up shortcut dimensions as fields directly on journal lines.

You can set up default dimensions for accounts or account types, so that dimensions and dimension values are filled in automatically.

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