Move Categories When Source Data Changes

You can prevent model errors due to changes in your source by designating a unique level. This tells Cognos® Transformer that categories in that level are identified by their source values alone, without reference to their ancestors. However, when you move a category within a unique level, a uniqueness violation is reported during category generation because the moved category now appears in a different context.

To avoid having to manually restructure the categories in a unique level to conform to the changed ancestor data, you can specify that such changes be treated as unique moves. Measure values are thereafter rolled up the new path from the moved categories.

If any cube in the model is set to incrementally update, you cannot specify changes as unique moves. Conversely, if unique moves are specified for any level, you cannot set incremental updates for the cubes.

Unique move is supported for time-based partitioned cubes. In the member cubes that were created before the category was moved, the category will remain connected to the previous parent and values will roll up to that parent. In member cubes that were created after the category was moved, the category will be connected to the new parent and values will roll up to the new parent.

In IBM® Cognos, any categories that do not move under a different parent will have the effect of a changed member unique name for that category. When reports that directly reference this category or member are run, the report consumer will receive an error. The report author will need to reassociate the category, or member, to the newer version.

For more information about member unique names, see Member Unique Names.