For information about aggregate storage outlines, see About Aggregate Storage Outlines.
In Essbase, a database outline defines the structure of the database through dimensions, members, aliases, attributes, consolidations, and mathematical relationships. The outline structure determines how data is stored and calculated in the database.
Essbase uses dimensions and members to represent data hierarchies. In an outline, each dimension consists of one or more members. The members, in turn, may have child members. This hierarchy determines how Essbase consolidates the values of individual members. Within the tree structure of the database outline, a consolidation is a group of members within a branch of the tree.
When a database is created, Essbase automatically creates an empty outline. The outline file uses the database name with an .otl extension (dbname.otl). If you have Database Manager permissions (or higher) for the database, you can access the outline in Administration Services by using the Outline node under the node for the specific database.
You can create and maintain an outline manually, by using Outline Editor, or you can dynamically build an outline from a data source by performing a dimension build. For a quick, read-only view of an outline, use Outline Viewer.
For more information about Essbase outlines, see the Oracle Essbase Database Administrator's Guide.
“Dimensions and Members” in the Oracle Essbase Database Administrator's Guide