Custom attributes

Custom attributes are new columns derived from other attributes in the data model.

For example, a common use of a custom attribute is to concatenate two attributes. Use single quotes and spaces to add space between the values. For example:

[ContactTitle]+' '+[ContactName]

You can create a custom attribute by applying a formula to one or more base attributes from the same hierarchy level. These custom formulas execute at the data tier (pre-aggregation) and the custom attributes become available in the subject areas of Designer and Visualizer. You can also use custom attributes in report filters. Another common use of a custom attribute is to extract a specific date part from a date attribute, for example:

DATEPART(YEAR,[Order_Date])

You can pass prompt filters and values to custom formulas.