The underexposed but very helpful, new features in BI4.1 – keep members

Today, in our continuing series of new functionality that may not share the spotlight with others; I would like to highlight the recently added ability to keep members in BI4.1.

Problem

If a user wished to filter only a few members within their crosstab, they were required to perform a number of operations – regardless if the members were clearly visible in their crosstab. In our discussions with key customers, this workflow was highlighted as a common filtering operation and a request was made for a more convenient method that would save time.

Current (BI4.0)

A user wishing to filter 3 members, such as “England”, “Finland” and “France” was required to launch the filter panel, unselect everything and then select those members. Then, after applying this filter they would be presented with a crosstab containing only those members. As illustrated in the image below.

New

Contrast this workflow with the introduction of “Keep members” in BI4.1. This workflow is greatly simplified. Now, simply select the 3 members and by using a right-click menu, choose to keep them. The other members are then removed, as illustrated below.

Look out for other posts showcasing what’s new in Analysis edition for OLAP over the coming days leading up to Sapphire.

Best regards,

Philip