The Simplified dimension editor is a new PBCS feature highlighted in the May monthly update. This is an update to the classic dimension editor, and we could see this fully replace it in the future. The Simplified dimension editor displays dimensions, members, and the member properties in a grid format within the web. This format allows you to edit member properties, for multiple members on a single page.

To access the Simplified dimension editor, from the Home page click:

  1. Application
  2. Overview
  3. Dimensions Tab
  4. Choose the Dimension you want to view
  5. Edit Member Properties tab

Oracle PBCS simplified dimension editor

Member Properties

Each column in the grid represents a member property. The list of properties displayed will be different based on what dimension is being edited. The grid allows you to edit the properties directly within the grid and allows you to perform ad hoc operations such as zooming in, zooming out, and keeping and removing selected members from your view. This functionality lets you to customize your view, to provide the most efficient view for updating your metadata. Above the grid is a toolbar to perform these ad hoc actions.

Interacting with your dimension

To Zoom into All Levels or Bottom Levels for selected member:

To Keep only or Remove only selected members:

To add children or siblings to the selected member:

If you drill in too far, or have a customized view that you want to reset to bring you back to the top of the dimension, there is a reset button to reset the view quickly in the upper right corner of the window.

When editing a property cell for a member, there is the option to either type, choose the property from the dropdown, or drag and drop property values to fill in properties that are the same.

Deploy your changes

After all the members have been added or all property edits have been made, you can refresh the database directly from the dimension editor in the toolbar to deploy the metadata changes. This is a nice upgrade compared to the classic dimension editor, as you no longer need to travel to a different window to refresh the database.

Overall the Simplified dimension editor is a nice enhancement to the process of updating your PBCS metadata. It provides a smoother, more streamlined way to perform basic metadata updates. As you may know, at the end of the year the PBCS classic interface will be discontinued and no longer supported. The new dimension editor is yet another example of how Oracle is continuing to move towards the simplified interface with each monthly update.

Questions?  Comments?   Feel free to reach us at:

Derek Wolhowe, dwolhowe@ecapitaladvisors.com

Amy Stine, astine@ecapitaladvisors.com