Dimension Types
The Type property setting provides information about the contents of a dimension to server and client applications. In some cases, the Type setting only provides guidance for client applications and is optional. In other cases, such as Accounts or Time dimensions, the Type property settings for the dimension and its attributes determine specific server-based behaviors and may be required to implement certain behaviors in the cube. For example, the Type property of a dimension can be set to Accounts to indicate to client applications that the standard dimension contains account attributes. For more information about time, account, and currency dimensions, see Time (Analysis Services - Multidimensional Data), Account (Analysis Services - Multidimensional Data), and Currency (Analysis Services - Multidimensional Data).
The default setting for the dimension type is Regular, which makes no assumptions about the contents of the dimension. This is the default setting for all dimensions when you initially define a dimension unless you specify Time when defining the dimension using the Dimension Wizard. You should also leave Regular as the dimension type if the Dimension Wizard does not list an appropriate type for Dimension type.
Available Dimension Types
The following table describes the dimension types available in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services.
Dimension type |
Description |
|---|---|
Regular |
A dimension whose type has not been set to a special dimension type. |
Time |
A dimension whose attributes represent time periods, such as years, semesters, quarters, months, and days. |
Organization |
A dimension whose attributes represent organizational information, such as employees or subsidiaries. |
Geography |
A dimension whose attributes represent geographic information, such as cities or postal codes. |
BillOfMaterials |
A dimension whose attributes represent inventory or manufacturing information, such as parts lists for products. |
Accounts |
A dimension whose attributes represent a chart of accounts for financial reporting purposes. |
Customers |
A dimension whose attributes represent customer or contact information. |
Products |
A dimension whose attributes represent product information. |
Scenario |
A dimension whose attributes represent planning or strategic analysis information. |
Quantitative |
A dimension whose attributes represent quantitative information. |
Utility |
A dimension whose attributes represent miscellaneous information. |
Currency |
This type of dimension contains currency data and metadata. |
Rates |
A dimension whose attributes represent currency rate information. |
Channel |
A dimension whose attributes represent channel information. |
Promotion |
A dimension whose attributes represent marketing promotion information. |