About attributes

An attribute is a schema object included in a data model, such as City, State, and Region. You can group related attributes such as these into a common hierarchy, like Location. When attributes are in the same hierarchy, they must be related to each other, whereas attributes in different hierarchies cannot be related or share any elements.

You can use attributes to define the level of detail for a report. The lowest level attribute you include in a report is the lowest level of detail reported. A high level report, such as the Region level, includes the Region attribute, but it lacks the detail of a similar report that includes the lower level attributes City and State.

Attributes are groups of related data, such as in table columns. The attribute acts like a column header, and the data that appears in the following table are elements. Elements define and make up the attribute. For example, the elements New York, Baltimore, and Boston are grouped under the attribute City.

An attribute form describes an attribute and an attribute can have many forms, such as Name, Zip Code, and ID for City. For more information, see The purpose of viewing attribute forms on a report.

For additional information, refer to the appropriate topic in the Project Design Help.