Performance Management Architect applications can contain dimensions of two different states: shared and local.
Shared Dimensions are created in an area of the Dimension Library called the Shared Library. These dimensions are available to all applications and can be individually linked to one or more applications when included in each application as a shared dimension. Changes made to the dimension in the Shared Library are automatically inherited to every application sharing that dimension. All types of modifications can be made to the dimension within the Shared Library but only certain types of changes can be made to the shared dimension within the application.
Once a dimension has been included in an application as a shared dimension, changes can be applied to the shared dimension within the application to handle exceptions that may only be relevant to that application. These types of changes include:
Member filters
Property value overrides
Structural changes for shared dimensions, such as adding or moving members, can only be performed within the Shared Library.
Local Dimensions originate within a single application and can be created directly within the application or as a copy of a dimension from the Shared Library or another dimension in the application. Local dimensions are separate dimensions and do not inherit any changes made to the dimension in the Shared Library.
The initial copy of the dimension from the Shared Library copies the entire dimension. Any subsequent actions, such as adding new members, are performed within the application.
If you make changes to the shared dimension that was used to create the local dimension, you have the option to explicitly merge any further changes to the dimension at the application level. See Converting Local Dimensions to Shared.