MicroStrategy objects

All reports have specific business objects placed on them. Those objects determine what data is gathered from your data source, how that data is calculated, and how the results are displayed when each report is run. Therefore, to create a report, you must first determine whether the objects you want to place on it already exist. If they do not, you must learn how to create the objects you want.

Objects used on reports include such things as:

• Attributes: An attribute is a business concept, such as Product, Employee, Month, and so on. Attributes provide a context for metrics (described below). Attributes based on the data in your data source should have already been created by your company's project designer. An attribute on a report serves as a label for a group of metrics. To use attributes on a report, see Providing business context to a report: Attributes.
• Metrics: A metric is a business measure or key performance indicator, such as Revenue, Profit, Employee Headcount, or Probability of Purchase. From a practical perspective, metrics are the calculations performed on data stored in your database, the results of which are displayed on a report. A metric on a report shows a list of values used for analytical calculations. To create metrics and use them on reports, see Calculating data on a report: Metrics.
• Filters: A filter sifts the data in your data source to bring back the information that answers exactly what you require. To create filters and use them on reports, see Filtering data on a report: Filters.
• Prompts: A prompt is a question the system presents to a user during report execution. How the user answers the question determines what data is displayed on the report. To create prompts and use them on reports, see Asking for user input: Prompts.

The objects you can create in MicroStrategy fall into one of three groups: schema objects, application objects, and reports and documents.

• Schema objects: Schema objects are generally created by a project designer and include such things as facts, attributes, hierarchies, and transformations. Schema objects are building block objects; they are used to create application objects. For information on how to create these types of objects, see the Project Design Help.
• Application objects: These objects are used to create reports. Application objects are generally created by a report designer and are built from schema objects. This chapter describes how to create these types of objects. Samples of each type of application object are located in the Public Objects folder in the Tutorial project.
• Report and document objects: Reports (and documents, if you own MicroStrategy Report Services) are built from application objects. Reports and documents are the objects that display the results calculated from your data for analysis purposes. Reports and documents are generally created by a report designer. This chapter describes how to create these types of objects.

The objects in each group, and their related icons, are shown in the following diagram. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the icons for application objects and reports, so you can quickly identify objects you want to use in the MicroStrategy interface:

Application objects must be created and saved within a project before they can be used on reports.