Strategy One

Enable Subtotal from Base in Metrics for Report

Subtotal from Base allows Strategy to calculate more accurate subtotals in metrics by calculating directly from the base data rather than aggregating higher-level results. This enhancement ensure that metrics, especially metrics that use COUNT DISTINCT operations, generate proper expressions during dynamic aggregation. Traditional subtotal methods can lead to inaccurate results when they combine aggregated data, which often results in duplicate count issues that compromise data integrity. Subtotal from Base eliminates these inaccuracies and provides more reliable reporting and analytic results. Subtotal from Base is most valuable in standard report scenarios, where maintaining data integrity throughout the aggregation process is critical for accurate decision-making.

Prerequisites

You must be on Strategy Analytical Engine 14 or higher.

Enable Subtotal from Base

Configure the Metric

  1. Open Workstation and find your metric.

  2. Right-click the metric and choose Edit.

  3. Click Options.

  4. Toggle on Allow smart metric.

  5. Expand the Aggregation and subtotal behavior drop-down list and choose Manual.

  6. Toggle on Aggregate from base.

  7. Toggle on Subtotals from base.

  8. Click Save.

Behavior Comparison

Without Subtotal from Base:

  • Subtotals calculate as M01.CountDistinctAttr

  • May include duplicate counts in the result

  • Less precise for certain types of data

With Subtotal from Base:

  • Subtotals are calculate as M01.CountDistinctAttr+Smart+AFB

  • Calculations push down to the database level

  • Produce more accurate results by eliminating duplicate counting

  • Improves performance for large datasets

Limitations

Subtotal from Base is not supported in the following scenarios:

  • Working set reports

  • Changing attribute order in a report

  • Deleting a metric from a report and adding a new metric

  • Any metrics not actively used in the report

  • Using Subtotal from Base in other smart/Subtotal from Base metrics

    Metrics will display as NULL.

Troubleshooting

If Subtotal from Base does not work correctly, verify the following:

  • The registry setting is correctly applied

  • The server was restarted after registry updates

  • All metric options are configured as described above

  • Your scenario is not in the Limitations

Related Topics

KB489390: Support reusable count distinct metrics in Intelligent Cubes (requires Data Engine 14 or registry setting)

Metrics that are not dynamically aggregated by default

KB484095: Data Engine Behavior