MicroStrategy ONE

Standard OLAP analysis features

Whether you use MicroStrategy Developer or Web, once you execute a report, you can perform various OLAP manipulations on the report using features such as banding, sorting, pivoting, page-by, and so on. These features do not cause the report to be re-executed against the warehouse, and therefore have a much faster response time.

These standard OLAP features are different than the OLAP Services features covered in this guide. Each standard OLAP feature is described briefly in the following sections below. These features listed below are covered in detail in the Basic Reporting Help and Advanced Reporting Help:

  • ClosedAliasing

    When displaying a report, you can use the aliasing feature to rename any object on the report grid, such as attribute names, consolidation names, custom group names, and metric names. You can perform this task from both MicroStrategy Developer and Web.

  • ClosedBanding

    Banding allows you to color groups of rows or columns so that they form bands of data that are easy to locate and analyze. Banding can also make it easier to make sense of a very large report, because the large amounts of data are broken up into visual groups. If you need to keep track of values that mean different things in different columns (for example, dollars in one column and inventory quantities in another column), banding can help you avoid reading the wrong number.

    Banding is a method of organizing or grouping data values in a grid report according to certain criteria. You can band rows or columns in several ways. You can band based on the number of rows or columns (for example, alternating color every 5 rows). You can also band data based on the row and column headers (for example, sorting the Units Sold column in order, then applying alternating colors to sets of values). For information on applying banding to a report, see the Basic Reporting Help.

  • ClosedOutline mode

    Outline mode allows you to create an indented grouping of related attribute elements. You can collapse and expand sections of related data. This function is particularly useful in instances where the information displayed would otherwise involve repetitive entries. For example, in the case of a grid report showing sales by year, each year is broken down by month. With outline mode enabled, the data is organized into groups, with months of each year nested below the years.

  • ClosedPage-by

    Page-by is a way to segment data in a grid report by placing available attributes, consolidations, or metrics on a third axis called the Page axis. Based on the varying objects on the axis, you can view the report data in separate pages. This feature is most useful when you have an extremely long report with many objects, and you need to scroll to see all the data. You can page by many objects, such as attributes, metrics, hierarchies, consolidations, custom groups, and so on.

  • ClosedPivoting

    Pivoting enables you to rearrange the columns and rows in a report to view data from different perspectives. With data pivoting, you can do the following:

    • Move an object from the row header to the column header
    • Move an object from the column header to the row header
    • Change the order of objects in the row header
    • Change the order of objects in the column header

  • ClosedSorting

    Sorting allows you to specify an ascending or descending order for a particular row or column to present the report data. You can select what objects you want to sort, the sorting criteria, and the sorting order. MicroStrategy Developer and Web offer quick sort, advanced sort, and hierarchical sort.

  • ClosedSubtotals

    Using the Subtotal feature, you can add, remove, and edit the subtotals at different levels for metrics on the report. The subtotal functions available include sum, count, min, max, average, mean, median, and so on. You might choose to display all subtotals, a grand total only, or subtotals across levels where you select the object to be subtotaled. Additionally, Developer allows you to construct custom subtotals that, for example, allow you to enable subtotals for selected metrics only.

  • ClosedThresholds

    A threshold highlights data that meets conditions defined by you. Highlighting data can include using different cell formats, symbols, images, or replacement text.