Lesson 3: Rename Columns

In this lesson, you will rename many of the columns in each table you imported. Renaming makes columns more identifiable and easier to navigate in both the model designer as well by users selecting fields in a client application. To learn more, see Rename a Table or Column (SSAS Tabular).

Important

Renaming columns is not necessary to complete this tutorial; however, remaining lessons, in particular those that include creating relationships and creating calculated columns and measures using DAX formulas, refer to the column friendly names described in this lesson. If you choose not to rename columns, you will have to edit the DAX formulas in lessons 5, 6, and 7 to use the original source column names provided in this lesson.

Estimated time to complete this lesson: 20 minutes

Prerequisites

This topic is part of a tabular modeling tutorial, which should be completed in order. Before performing the tasks in this lesson, you should have completed the previous lesson: Lesson 2: Add Data.

Rename Columns

To rename columns

1. In the model designer, click the Customer table (tab).

   When you click a tab, that table becomes active in the model designer window.

2. Double click the CustomerKey column name, then type Customer Id, and then press ENTER.

   Tip

   You can also rename a column in the Column Name property in the column’s Properties window, or in Diagram View.

3. Rename the remaining columns in the Customer table, as well as the columns in the remaining tables, replacing the source name with the friendly name:

   Customer Table

   Source Name	Friendly Name
   GeographyKey	Geography Id
   CustomerAlternateKey	Customer Alternate Id
   FirstName	First Name
   MiddleName	Middle Name
   LastName	Last Name
   NameStyle	Name Style
   BirthDate	Birth Date
   MaritalStatus	Marital Status
   EmailAddress	Email Address
   YearlyIncome	Yearly Income
   TotalChildren	Total Children
   NumberChildrenAtHome	Number of Children At Home
   EnglishEducation	Education
   EnglishOccupation	Occupation
   HouseOwnerFlag	Owns House
   NumberCarsOwned	Number of Cars Owned
   AddressLine1	Address Line 1
   AddressLine2	Address Line 2
   Phone	Phone Number
   DateFirstPurchase	Date of First Purchase
   CommuteDistance	Commute Distance

   Date

   Source Name	Friendly Name
   FullDateAlternateKey	Date
   DayNumberOfWeek	Day Number of Week
   EnglishDayNameOfWeek	Day Name
   DayNumberOfMonth	Day of Month
   DayNumberOfYear	Day of Year
   WeekNumberOfYear	Week Number of Year
   EnglishMonthName	Month Name
   MonthNumberOfYear	Month
   CalendarQuarter	Calendar Quarter
   CalendarYear	Calendar Year
   CalendarSemester	Calendar Semester
   FiscalQuarter	Fiscal Quarter
   FiscalYear	Fiscal Year
   FiscalSemester	Fiscal Semester

   Geography

   Source Name	Friendly Name
   GeographyKey	Geography Id
   StateProvinceCode	State Province Code
   StateProvinceName	State Province Name
   CountryRegionCode	Country Region Code
   EnglishCountryRegionName	Country Region Name
   PostalCode	Postal Code
   SalesTerritoryKey	Sales Territory Id

   Product

   Source Name	Friendly Name
   ProductKey	Product Id
   ProductAlternateKey	Product Alternate Id
   ProductSubcategoryKey	Product Subcategory Id
   WeightUnitMeasureCode	Weight Unit Code
   SizeUnitMeasureCode	Size Unit Code
   EnglishProductName	Product Name
   StandardCost	Standard Cost
   FinishedGoodsFlag	Is Finished Product
   SafetyStockLevel	Safety Stock Level
   ReorderPoint	Reorder Point
   ListPrice	List Price
   SizeRange	Size Range
   DaysToManufacture	Days to Manufacture
   ProductLine	Product Line
   Dealer Price	Dealer Price
   ModelName	Model Name
   LargePhoto	Large Photo
   EnglishDescription	Description
   StartDate	Product Start Date
   EndDate	Product End Date
   Status	Product Status

   Product Category

   Source Name	Friendly Name
   ProductCategoryKey	Product Category Id
   ProductCategoryAlternateKey	Product Category Alternate Id
   EnglishProductCategoryName	Product Category Name

   Product Subcategory

   Source Name	Friendly Name
   ProductSubcategoryKey	Product Subcategory Id
   ProductSubcategoryAlternateKey	Product Subcategory Alternate Id
   EnglishProductSubcategoryName	Product Subcategory Name
   ProductCategoryKey	Product Category Id

   Internet Sales

   Source Name	Friendly Name
   ProductKey	Product Id
   CustomerKey	Customer Id
   PromotionKey	Promotion Id
   CurrencyKey	Currency Id
   SalesTerritoryKey	Sales Territory Id
   SalesOrderNumber	Sales Order Number
   SalesOrderLineNumber	Sales Order Line Number
   RevisionNumber	Revision Number
   OrderQuantity	Order Quantity
   UnitPrice	Unit Price
   ExtendedAmount	Extended Amount
   UnitPriceDiscountPct	Unit Price Discount Pct
   DiscountAmount	Discount Amount
   ProductStandardCost	Product Standard Cost
   TotalProductCost	Total Product Cost
   SalesAmount	Sales Amount
   TaxAmt	Tax Amt
   CarrierTrackingNumber	Carrier Tracking Number
   CustomerPONumber	Customer PO Number
   OrderDate	Order Date
   DueDate	Due Date
   ShipDate	Ship Date

Next Step

To continue this tutorial, go to the next lesson: Lesson 4: Mark as Date Table.