Preparing Flat Files for Each Management Ledger Dimension

You can use dimension flat files to update Management Ledger applications as well as create them. If existing members are omitted from the file, they are removed during the update. See the topics listed at the beginning of this section for details.

To add or replace dimensions in a Management Ledger application using flat files, prepare the flat files as follows:

1. In a text editor, create one flat file for each dimension, following the format described in this section. Each flat file must completely define the dimension. Dimension flat files are text files that contain the following:

   • A header record that specifies the order of dimension and member properties

   • A dimension data record with values for those properties

   • Individual member data records with values for those properties

     Note:

     Because member entries need to be in the same order as the final outline, parent members must be defined before their children. The order of the members in the file will be the same order as the dimension tree is displayed within Oracle Hyperion Profitability and Cost Management (for example, in the Member Selector).

2. Create dimension and member header records following these rules:

   • You can specify the properties in any order, separated by commas. Each value of a multi-value property must be enclosed in quotes. Quotes are needed when a property has multiple values. For example, a given member of the user-defined attribute (UDA) property can have multiple UDA strings. They are enclosed in quotes to indicate they are a set, such as:

     ,"myUDA1, myUDA2, myUDA3",

   • Commas used within multi-value properties, such as attribute names or UDAs, are always interpreted as value separators. Single-value properties can contain commas as long as the value is enclosed in quotes (for example, "my,value").

   • To put double quotes in a value, enclose the double-quoted value in another set of quotes. For example, to enter the value "myValue", specify it as follows: ""myValue""

     Note:

     For best results, avoid using member names that require double quotes.

   • Property names are not case-sensitive: For example, the following names are all handled the same: name, NAME, Name.

   • Not all properties are required for every row in the flat file. Properties can be ignored or null, indicated by no value between the commas where that property would ordinarily be listed, such as: ,,

     For example, in a member record, any dimension properties from the header would be ignored.

   • Properties without a value or with an invalid value will be defaulted for required properties (see About Flat File Properties).

   • Comments are supported (see About Comments in Flat Files).

   • The Rule and Balance dimensions are seeded in the same way they are seeded when deploying from a Master Cube. You do not need to import a file for them; members are created automatically. You cannot specify aliases for any Rule dimension members. The dimension member names for Rule and Balance dimension members are defined programmatically and translated.

   • The dimension sort and solve order precedence is handled as follows: Processing is based on alphabetical order using Dimension Name, except that Attribute dimensions are always last (and ordered alphabetically from there). If the Member Solve Order property is used, it overrides other considerations.