Lesson 10: Create Hierarchies

In this lesson, you will create hierarchies. Hierarchies are groups of columns arranged in levels; for example, a Geography hierarchy might have sub-levels for Country, State, County, and City. Hierarchies can appear separate from other columns in a reporting client application field list, making them easier for client users to navigate and include in a report. To learn more, see Hierarchies (SSAS Tabular).

To create hierarchies, you will use the model designer in Diagram View. Creating and managing hierarchies is not supported in the model designer in Data View.

Estimated time to complete this lesson: 20 minutes

Prerequisites

This topic is part of a tabular modeling tutorial, which should be completed in order. Before performing the tasks in this lesson, you should have completed the previous lesson: Lesson 9: Create Perspectives.

Create Hierarchies

To create a Category hierarchy in the Product table

1. In the model designer, click on the Model menu, then point to Model View, and then click Diagram View.

   Tip

   Use the Minimap controls at the top-right of the model designer to change how you can view objects in Diagram View. If you reposition objects in Diagram View, that view will be retained when you save the project.

2. In the model designer, right-click the Product table, and then click Create Hierarchy. A new hierarchy appears at the bottom of the table window.

3. In the hierarchy name, rename the hierarchy by typing Category, and then press ENTER.

4. In the Product table, click the Product Category Name column, then drag it to the Category hierarchy, and then release on top of the Category name.

5. In the Category hierarchy, right-click the Product Category Name column, then click Rename, and then type Category.

   Note

   Renaming a column in a hierarchy does not rename that column in the table. A column in a hierarchy is just a representation of the column in the table.

6. In the Product table, right-click the Product Subcategory Name column, then in the context menu, point to Add to Hierarchy, and then click Category.

7. Rename Product Subcategory Name to Subcategory.

8. By using click and drag, or by using the Add to Hierarchy command in the context menu, add the Model Name and Product Name columns (in order) and place them beneath the Product Subcategory Name column. Rename these columns Model and Product, respectively.

To create hierarchies in the Date table

1. In the model designer, right-click the Date table, and then click Create Hierarchy.

2. Rename the hierarchy to Calendar.

3. Add the following columns, in-order, and then rename them:

   Column	Rename to:
   Calendar Year	Year
   Calendar Semester	Semester
   Calendar Quarter	Quarter
   Month Calendar	Month
   Day Of Month	Day

4. In the Date table, repeat the above steps, creating a Fiscal hierarchy, including the following columns:

   Column	Rename to:
   Fiscal Year	Year
   Fiscal Semester	Semester
   Fiscal Quarter	Quarter
   Month Calendar	Month
   Day Of Month	Day

5. Finally, in the Date table, repeat the above steps, creating a Production Calendar hierarchy, including the following columns:

   Column	Rename to:
   Calendar Year	Year
   Week Number Of Year	Week
   Day Of Week	Day

Next Steps

To continue this tutorial, go to the next lesson: Lesson 11: Create Partitions.