Skip to main content
Version Pentaho
Hitachi Vantara Lumada and Pentaho Documentation

Creating Attributes

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF

An attribute is used to create a single level hierarchy, using either a field or existing hierarchy level.

Create an Attribute on a Field

These steps guide you through creating an attribute using the Annotate Stream step.

  1. If you haven't done so already, complete steps 1-7 in Using the Annotate Stream Step.
  2. Select Create Attribute from the Actions menu. The Name - Value table auto-populates with a list of annotation properties for the attribute.

PDI_AnnotateStream_Annotate_CreateAttribute_71.png

  1. Enter or edit the value for each annotation component.
    Property Description
    Attribute Name Enter a name for your attribute. This is a required field.
    Time Level Type For time level attributes, specify a time level type from the drop-down menu. Options may include:
    • TimeYears
    • TimeHalfYears
    • TimeQuarters
    • TimeMonths
    • TimeWeeks
    • TimeDays
    • TimeHours
    • TimeMinutes
    • TimeSeconds
    This is a required field for Time Level attributes.
    Time Source Format

    For time level attributes, specify a time format for the attribute to appear in. Options are dependent on the selected time level type. For example, if you select 'TimeYears' in the Time Level Type field, then you can only select 'yyyy' or 'yy' in the Time Source Format field. This is a required field for Time Level attributes.

    See Date Formatting Table for more information on selecting the appropriate format.
    Geo Type For geo attributes, specify the geo type from the drop-down menu. Options may include:
    • Location
    • Country
    • City
    • State
    • County
    • Postal_Code
    • Continent
    • Territory
    This is a required field for Geo Type attributes.
    Latitude

    If you select a Geo Type of 'Location', select an existing value from the drop-down menu.

    If you do not select values for Latitude and Longitude, then the system will attempt to assign approximate values for these two fields.
    Longitude

    If you select a Geo Type of 'Location', select an existing value from the drop-down menu.

    If you do not select values for Latitude and Longitude, then the system will attempt to assign approximate values for these two fields.
    Ordinal Field Select a field to use for sorting members in ascending order. For example, months will display in chronological order, e.g. January, February, etc.
    Format

    Choose how this attribute should be formatted, such as currency, general number, percentage, or date. Use the drop-down arrow to select a format from a system-defined list, or type in the field to enter a custom format. For example, to display the attribute as a simple date, you might select 'MM/dd/yy'. Note that the Format field only displays when the value for the attribute is a number or a date.

    See Format Field Options for more information on selecting the appropriate format.
    Description Enter a description for the attributes. This description is visible when a user mouses over an attribute in Analyzer.
    Parent Attribute If you want to create multi-level hierarchies, select a parent attribute for the attribute you are creating. This relationship will display in the Summary column for the annotation on the Annotate Stream dialog box. For example, if you are working with 'Month', then you can select 'Year' as the parent attribute. Double-clicking 'Year' in the model displays Months.
    Dimension Select an existing dimension or create a new dimension for the attribute. This is a required field.
    Hierarchy Select an existing hierarchy or create a new hierarchy for the attribute. This field may be left blank.
    Is Unique

    Set to 'True' when member names do not repeat under different parents. Setting this field to 'True' will optimize SQL generation in Mondrian.

    Set to 'False' when member names may repeat under different parents.
    Hidden

    Set to 'True' to prevent this attribute from displaying as an available level in Analyzer. When set to 'True', this attribute is included in the model, but is not visible to users when the model is published and opened in Analyzer.

    Set to 'False' to allow this attribute to display as an available level in Analyzer. When set to 'False', this annotation is visible to users when the model is published and opened in Analyzer.

    The Hidden property is useful for attributes needed to build a proper data model, but not needed for analytic purposes. For example, if you are in a multi-tenant environment, you may want to hide the 'Tenant ID' attribute while still including it in the data model.
    • For all annotations, enter the Attribute Name and select the Dimension type. Optionally, you can enter an ordinal field, write a description, choose a hierarchy, and designate if the attribute 'Is Unique'.
    • For Time Level attributes, select a Time Level Type, a Time Source Format, and optionally set a parent attribute if you want to create a relationship between two time attributes.
    • For Geo attributes, select a Geo Type and optionally set a parent attribute if you want to create a relationship between two geo attributes.
  2. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate through the fields. When finished, click OK to add the attribute to the annotations list or Cancel to close the dialog box without saving your annotations.