Sorting on attribute element orders from MDX cube sources

The order of MDX cube data mapped to attribute elements in MicroStrategy can be defined to include the same order of the data in your MDX cube source. If the order is defined in this way, as described in Preserving Attribute Element Orders from MDX Cube Sources, you can sort MDX cube reports so that the data is in the same order as it exists in the MDX cube source.

Sorting MDX cube reports to represent data as it exists in your MDX cube source can be helpful in many ways. For example, this can help support financial balance sheet analysis in which you always want to see your accounts receivable information above your accounts payable information.

Steps to perform a sort on the attribute element order as it exists in your MDX cube source are described in the procedure below.

Prerequisites

To create an MDX cube report in MicroStrategy Developer, you need to have Developer privileges, including the Define MDX Cube Report privilege.
To create an MDX cube report in Web, you need to have Web Professional privileges, including the Web Define MDX Cube Report privilege.
You can only sort an MDX cube report on the order in your MDX cube source if the order has been integrated into MicroStrategy. For information on defining MDX cubes to integrate their order of data into MicroStrategy, see Preserving Attribute Element Orders from MDX Cube Sources.

To sort on attribute element orders from MDX cube sources

In MicroStrategy Developer, log in to a project.
Browse to an MDX cube report, right-click the report, and select Run. The MDX cube report is executed.
From the Data menu, select Advanced Sorting. The Sort dialog box opens.
Select the Rows tab, and then click Add.
From the drop-down list in the Sort By column, select an attribute on the MDX cube report.

If you are sorting multiple attributes in a hierarchy and want to replicate the order that exists in your MDX cube source, you should sort on higher level attributes first. For example, if your have attributes for Year, Quarter, and Day, you should first sort on Year, then on Quarter, and then on Day.
From the drop-down list in the Criteria column, select Source Order.

Source Order is an attribute form automatically created for any attributes within dimensions that are defined to integrate the order of their data into MicroStrategy. If there is no Source Order form, then the order information has not been integrated. For information on defining MDX cubes to integrate their order of data into MicroStrategy, see Preserving Attribute Element Orders from MDX Cube Sources.
From the drop-down list in the Order column, select Ascending. An ascending sort on the Source Order form displays the data in the same order that exists in the MDX cube source.
Click OK to save your changes and return to the report.
Re-execute the report to apply the new sort.