Plan the Presentation Layer

The presentation layer is where you set up the user view of the business model. After you deploy the semantic model, the presentation layer is displayed as subject areas.

The names of folders and columns in the presentation layer can appear in localized language translations. The presentation layer is the appropriate layer in which to set user permissions.

In this layer, you can do the following:

You can show fewer columns than exist in the logical layer. For example, you can exclude the key columns because they have no business meaning.
You can organize columns using a different structure from the table structure in the logical layer.
You can display column names that are different from the column names in the logical layer.
You can set permissions to grant or deny users access to individual subject areas, tables, and columns.
You can export logical keys to ODBC-based query and reporting tools.
You can create multiple subject areas for a single business model.
You can create a list of alternative names for presentation objects that are used in Logical SQL queries. Alternative names allows you to change presentation column names without breaking existing reports.

The following is a list of tips to use when designing the presentation layer:

Because there isn't an automatic way to synchronize all changes between the logical layer and the presentation layer, it's best to wait until the logical layer is relatively stable before adding customizations in the presentation layer.
There are many ways to create subject areas, such as dragging and dropping the entire business model, dragging and dropping incremental pieces of the model, or automatically creating subject areas based on logical stars or snowflakes. Dragging and dropping incrementally works well if certain parts of your business model are still changing.
For better maintainability, it's a best practice to rename objects in the logical layer rather than the presentation layer Assigning user-friendly names to logical objects rather than presentation objects ensures that you can use the names in multiple subject areas. Also, it ensures that the names persist even when you need to delete and re-create subject areas to incorporate changes to your business model.
Members in a presentation hierarchy aren't visible in the presentation layer. You can see hierarchy members in the Workbook editor or in the Analysis editor.
When setting up data access security for a large number of objects, consider setting object permissions by role rather than setting permissions for individual columns.