An alias is an alternate name for a member or shared member. This chapter describes how to create and manage alias tables in an OLAP Server outline. It contains the following sections:
You can assign one or more alternate names, or aliases, to a member or a shared member. Aliases can improve the readability of an outline or a report. For example, members in the Sample Basic database's Product dimension are identified both by product codes, such as 100, and by more descriptive aliases, such as Cola.
Use the following rules when creating aliases:
Product Market Names Market
100-10 The Best Cola All, unless different for
specific market
100-10 Kola New York
100-10 Cool Cola California
For information on creating alias combinations, see Creating Aliases for Member Combinations.
Product Default Long Names
100-10 Cola The Best Cola
100-20 Diet Cola Diet Cola with Honey
100-30 Caffeine Free Cola All the Cola,
none of the Caffeine
For information on creating multiple aliases, see Creating New Alias Tables.
Aliases are stored in one or more tables as part of a database outline. When you create a database outline, Essbase creates an empty alias table called Default. If you don't create any other alias tables, all of the aliases that you create are stored in the Default alias table.
If you want to create more than one alias for a member or set of members, create a new alias table and set it as your current alias table. Then create one or more new aliases. These aliases are stored in the new alias table. The last bullet in Rules for Aliases, for example, shows two alias tables. The first alias table is named Default and the second alias table is named Long Names. When users retrieve data, they see the aliases in whichever table that they pick. For more information, see Creating New Alias Tables and Setting Alias Tables.
Note: You can create up to 10 alias tables for each outline.
An alias table contains a column listing all of the members followed by a column listing all of the aliases that correspond to those members. Alias tables must use the following format:
$ALT_NAME 100 Cola "member name 2" "Alias Name 2" $END
Tip: Use the DISPLAYALIAS command in ESSCMD to view the all aliases in an alias table. See the Technical Reference in the docs directory for information about this command. See Automating the Production Environment for information about ESSCMD.
You can create aliases for members. For more information on aliases, see Introducing Aliases and Alias Tables.
To create an alias in the Outline Editor:
Figure 102: Member Properties Dialog Box
Note: Member names and alias name limits are specified in Limits.
You can create aliases for non-attribute members that are based on member combinations, called alias combinations. For more information on aliases, see Introducing Aliases and Alias Tables.
To set an alias based on a member combination:
Figure 103: Alias Combinations Page
Figure 104: Edit Alias Dialog Box
To create a new alias table for the selected outline:
Figure 105: Create Alias Table Dialog Box
Note: You can create up to 10 alias tables for an outline.
Essbase uses the current alias table as the source for the aliases displayed in the outline. For more information on alias tables, see Introducing Alias Tables.
To set an alias table to be the current alias table:
Figure 106: Set Current Alias Table Dialog Box
Tip: You can view and set the current alias table without Application Manager:
Tool |
Instructions |
For More Information |
---|---|---|
To copy an alias table to a different name in the same outline:
Figure 107: Copy Alias Table Dialog Box
To change the names of existing alias tables:
Figure 108: Rename Alias Table Dialog Box
You can delete an alias table from the outline or you can clear all of the aliases from an alias table without deleting the alias table itself.
To delete an alias table from the outline:
Figure 109: Delete Alias Table Dialog Box
To clear the contents of an alias table, that is, remove all of the entries in the table without deleting the table:
Figure 110: Clear Alias Table Dialog Box
You can import or export alias tables into an outline. For more information on alias tables, see Introducing Aliases and Alias Tables.
Figure 111: Import Alias Table Object Dialog Box
If you select Server, the import file must reside in the database directory under \ESSBASE\APP\application_name\database_name, where application_name and database_name represent the name of your application and database. Type the name of the alias table import file in the Object Name text box or select it from the Objects list box.
If you select Client, the alias table can reside in either the application or database directory under \ESSBASE\CLIENT or on the drives accessible from the client file system. Click the File System button to select a file from a standard Open Client Data Files dialog box.
Select the alias table import file to load.
Note: The \ESSBASE\APP and \ESSBASE\CLIENT are the default directories specified during installation. You may have set these directories differently.
You can also use the LOADALIAS command in ESSCMD to perform this task. To unload an alias table, use the UNLOADALIAS command in ESSCMD. See the Technical Reference in the docs directory for information about these commands. See Automating the Production Environment for information about ESSCMD.
Tip: Use the LISTLINKEDOBJECTS and PURGELINKEDOBJECTS commands in ESSCMD to perform these tasks. See the Technical Reference in the docs directory for information about these commands. See Automating the Production Environment for information about ESSCMD.
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