Object names

Reserved characters for database names

These characters are not allowed in database names: \ / | < > ? * " :.

Special character for cube and dimension names

Dimensions and cubes where the name starts with the pound character (#) are only visible to users with the Administer OLAP Database permission. They are hidden from other users.

Reserved characters for cube, dimension, and hierarchy names

These characters are not allowed in cube, dimension, and hierarchy:

• Characters with ASCII codes below 32.
• The [ ] \ / : * ? " < > and | characters.

A hierarchy name cannot start with a number. This is reserved for future use. There is an exception, an implicit hierarchy can start with a number. An implicit hierarchy name is the same as the dimension name. This is allowed for backward compatibility.

Cube and dimension names must also adhere to rules for files from the operating system.

Spaces in cube, dimension, and element names

Spaces are allowed in cube, dimension, and element names. Leading and ending spaces are removed. This behavior is not configurable. Internally, names are saved without leading and ending spaces. Names are case insensitive, so "AB" is the same as "ab".

This table describes a few examples:

String	Stripped string
"ab"	"ab"
" ab"	"ab"
"ab "	"ab"
" ab "	"ab"
"a b"	"a b"
" a b "	"a b"
"a b"	"a b"

Reserved characters and strings for element names

These characters are not allowed for element names:

• Characters with ASCII codes below 32.
• The [ and ] characters.
• Other documented limitations apply.

You cannot create elements with these names:

• B:*
• C:*

Existing dimensions that contain these element names are not loaded or used.