Import members and attributes into a dimension in Planning Analytics Workspace

You can import dimension members, attributes, types, and member weight properties into a dimension. You can also create a process and a chore that you can run to update the dimension at a later time.

Your import data file must be correctly formatted to get accurate results. To find out more, see Dimension import file formats.

Note: In IBM® Planning Analytics Workspace Local, import actions require Planning Analytics Administration agent to be configured and running.

Import members and attributes into a dimension in Planning Analytics Workspace

About this task

You can import members into a dimension from multiple locations on the Databases tree. Depending on the launch point, your ability to create or modify metadata might be limited.

If you click Dimensions, Import members on the Databases tree, there are no limitations on metadata updates. You can:

update an existing dimension and an existing hierarchy
update an existing dimension and create a new hierarchy
create a new dimension and a new hierarchy

If you click <dimension name>, Import members on the Databases tree, updates apply to the dimension you clicked, but you can pick the hierarchy to update or choose to create a new hierarchy.

If you click <hierarchy name>, Import members on the Databases tree, updates apply only to the hierarchy you clicked.

Procedure

Use one of the options described above to start the import.
As applicable on the Import members pages, specify the Dimension and Hierarchy to update.
Upload the import data file by dropping the file on the target area or browsing for the file.
Click Next.
Preview the file and confirm that the correct Delimiter, Quote character, and Header records formatting options are applied.

If necessary, modify any of the formatting options and then click Refresh to see the impact on the preview.
Click Next.
Select the Mapping type that you want to apply to the import.

Leaf only

Imports a flat list of leaf members. You can pick which column to import when you define mappings.

Parent-Child

Imports two columns of data with a parent-child relationship. For example, New England is the parent and Vermont is the child. Parent-Child is the default setting. You can specify the parent-child relationship in the source columns when you define mappings.

Multi-level

Creates more than two levels of consolidation in a dimension. You can add levels of consolidation and specify the consolidation path in the source columns when you define mappings.
If you chose to update an existing hierarchy during the import, you must specify how to update the hierarchy.

Select Recreate hierarchy to delete all members from the existing hierarchy and recreate the hierarchy with the members that are contained in the import file.

Select Update hierarchy with new members to update the existing hierarchy by adding any unique members from the import file to the hierarchy.
You can change the default Decimal separator and Thousand separator.
To create a process that contains the options that you specified, select the Save as process option and name the process.
The process is saved in the Processes node of the database.
To schedule the process that you created, select the Schedule process as option and name the chore.
A chore is created and set to run daily using the time of the initial import. The chore is saved in the Chores node of the database.
Map your data source columns to the hierarchy levels, leaf member weights, and (if applicable) attributes for your hierarchy.
1. Click the items in the Mapping column and map to the corresponding level of consolidation in your hierarchy. If there aren't enough levels in the hierarchy to accommodate mapping from the source, click Add level to insert a new higher level of consolidation.
2. To set the Member type, click the Mapping column and select either Numeric or String if all members have the same type, or select the column in the source file that contains the member type.
  Strings are used in pick lists and in cells where users type comments.
3. To assign the same weight to all leaf members in the hierarchy, type the weight value, such as 1.0 in the Weight field of the Mapping column. To import weights from the source file, select the column that contains the weight values.
  To find out more about weights, see Weights.
4. To map an existing attribute to a column of data in the source, click the appropriate attribute field on the Mapping column and select the attribute.
5. To create a new attribute, click Add attribute +, enter the name of the attribute, and select the type: String, Number, or Alias.
  Then, click the corresponding field on the Mapping column to map a column in the source to the attribute.
  
  To remove an attribute that you added, hover over the attribute and click Delete.
Click Import.

Import members and attributes into a dimension in Planning Analytics Workspace Classic

Procedure

To create a new dimension, right-click Dimensions, and click Create dimension. Name the dimension, then either click Browse for file, or drag the import file onto the dimension editor window.
To update an existing dimension, click in the dimension editor, and browse for the import file.
A preview of the file that you are importing is displayed. The delimiter and quote characters that are used in the text file are automatically detected, and the Header rows setting defaults to 1. You can change these settings.
If you change the settings, you must click Refresh before you can continue to the next step.
Click Continue.
Select the dimension import settings under Mapping type in the right pane.

Leaf only

Imports a flat list of members.

Parent-Child

Imports two columns of data with a parent-child relationship. For example, Scotland is the parent and Edinburgh is the child. Parent-Child is the default setting.

Multi-level

Creates more than two levels in a dimension.
Map your data source columns to the hierarchy members.

In the Mapping list, the headers from the source data are listed, along with the first member.

In the example shown, Country is the Parent.
To set the Member type, in the Member type field, select either Numeric or String if all members have the same type, or select the column in the source file that contains the member type.
Strings are used in pick lists, and in cells where users type comments.
To assign the same weight to all members in the dimension, type the weight value, such as 1.0 in the Weight field. To import weights from the source file, select the column that contains the weight values.
Top-level consolidations do not have a weighting. To find out more about weights, see Weights.
To map an existing attribute to a column of data, select the column of data next to the attribute.
To create a new attribute, click New attribute, type the name of the attribute, and select the type: Text, Number, or Alias.
Then, click the arrow to map the appropriate source column to the attribute.
If you are importing into a dimension that contains members, select one of the following Dimension import settings under While loading data.
- Re-creates the current hierarchy
- Update hierarchy with new members
You can change the default Decimal separator and Thousand separator.
To create a process that contains the options that you specified, select the Save as process option, and name the process.
The process is saved in the Processes branch of the data tree. You can modify the process, see Create and edit processes.
To schedule the process that you created, select the Schedule process as option, and name the chore.
A chore is created and opened on the tab so that you can set the schedule, see Create and edit chores. The chore is saved in the Chores branch of the data tree.
Click Import.