Text measures extend the analytical capabilities of Essbase beyond numerical data to text-based content. Storage and analysis of textual content can be useful when a cell needs to have one of a finite list of textual values; for example, a product may be sold in 5 different colors. The color is a text measure whose value must be one of the 5 colors.
The colors are a set of text strings mapped to corresponding numeric IDs. These mappings are contained in database-level Text List objects that you create.
Use the following workflow to enable and use text measures.
Enable text measures in the outline properties.
Create a Text List object to store the text values and map them to integers. Also, map Missing and Out of Range to integers.
Create a member to be a text measure in the dimension where measures are represented. For example, create a measure called “Color.”
In the member properties for the text measure, define it as type “text,” and associate it with the Text List object.
“Working With Typed Measures” in the Oracle Essbase Database Administrator's Guide