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Selecting data mart elements

The selection panel on the left of the data mart constructor lists everything that can be included in the data mart and is the main way to build its composition.

How the panel is organised

The panel is grouped by fact table. Each fact table is a collapsible group with a switch that activates or deactivates it on the canvas. Inside a fact table group the elements are split into categories:

  • Facts
  • Dimensions — with a nested Dimension groups subgroup listing the dimensions of each group
  • Measures

A separate Common measures group is shown outside the fact tables. It holds measures that are calculated over the data of several fact tables.

Elements are included in the data mart with checkboxes. The panel supports search by element name and highlights the matches.

Activating a fact table

A fact table is shown on the canvas — activated — in two ways: with its switch in the panel, or automatically when one of its elements is selected. Only activated fact tables take part in the data mart and count towards the merge type.

Action Result
Select any element inside a fact table The element is added to the data mart and its fact table is activated on the canvas
Turn the fact table switch on The fact table appears on the canvas and inherits the dimension group dimensions that are already in the data mart through other activated fact tables
Turn the fact table switch off The fact table is removed from the canvas and its dimension group dimensions are cleared. In the other activated fact tables those dimensions stay in the data mart

As soon as a second fact table appears on the canvas, the Select merge type dialog opens — see the Data marts from several fact tables page.

Dimension groups across fact tables

The dimensions of a dimension group are kept in step across the activated fact tables, so that the same dimension does not have to be selected separately in each of them.

Action Result
Select a dimension of a dimension group, or the group as a whole, in one fact table The dimension (or group) is also selected in every other activated fact table it is linked to
Clear a dimension of a dimension group, or the group as a whole The dimension (or group) is removed from the data mart in every fact table it is linked to
Activate a new fact table Every dimension of a dimension group that is already in the data mart is selected in the new fact table as well
A dimension group that is not linked to every activated fact table The checkboxes of its dimensions are unavailable. The group itself can still be placed on the canvas with the Expand action

Notes:

  • Membership is tracked per fact table: the checkboxes of a deactivated fact table are not marked because of an element added through another fact table
  • Availability is recalculated as the selection changes, so the checkboxes react immediately, without saving the data mart. The fact table that the current action activates is already counted as activated
  • If a dimension that is not linked to all activated fact tables ends up in the data mart, the data mart becomes invalid and the dimension is marked with a warning: "This element cannot be used in the data mart of the current type"

Expanding a dimension group

The Expand action places a dimension group node on the canvas without adding any of its dimensions to the data mart. It is useful for reviewing the content of a group while configuring the data mart.

  • The action is available on the dimension group header in the selection panel and on the dimension group row inside a fact table node on the canvas. The dimension group row also offers Edit, which opens the dimension group editing dialog
  • The first click shows the dimension group node on the canvas without connection lines to the data mart node, in the same way a fact table node is shown when it is activated by its switch
  • A second click, when the node is already displayed, shows or hides the dashed connection lines between the dimension group and the matching dimension group rows in all displayed fact table nodes
  • The node is removed from the canvas with the delete button in its top-right corner
  • An expanded node with no dimensions in the data mart is still stored when the data mart is saved and is restored when the data mart is reopened. A data mart can be saved with dimension group nodes on the canvas even when no dimensions were added and no fact table was activated
  • The action also works for a dimension group whose dimensions cannot be added in the current configuration: the group can be shown, just without its dimensions

Measure health

Measures in the selection panel carry the health icon that shows their overall health status; hovering over it shows the health summary (see the Measure health cards page).

  • A measure with the Error health status cannot be added to the data mart: its checkbox is unavailable, with the tooltip "A measure with Error health status can't be added"
  • A measure with the Error status that is already in the data mart stays there and can be removed. Moving such a measure to another fact table or to the common measures block counts as adding it
  • The same rule is checked when the data mart is saved: the message "Measures with Error health status can't be added: …" names the measures being added
  • A data mart that contains a measure with the Error status cannot be verified, and its view cannot be created or updated from the constructor: "The data mart contains measures with Error health status"

Availability

  • The panel is read-only for users who may not edit the data mart composition, and when the company license is missing or invalid
  • The Expand action is shown only to users who may edit the data mart composition and is hidden when the license is missing or invalid
  • Adding and removing data mart elements is available to the Super administrator, Administrator, Developer and Analyst roles. Editing RMD definitions from the panel — a measure formula, or creating and editing a fact or a dimension — stays restricted to the Super administrator, Administrator and Developer roles