Procedure: Make a Copy of the Analysis Services Sample Project within a New Solution

Objective:


Use this procedure to create a copy of the sample Analysis Services Project that ships with MSSQL Server 2005 Analysis Services.


To begin, launch the SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio.



1.  Click Start.


2.  Navigate to, and click, the SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio, as appropriate.


The equivalent on my PC appears as depicted in Illustration 1.




Illustration 1: Launching SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio


We briefly see a splash page that lists the components installed on the PC, and then Visual Studio .NET 2005 opens at the Start page.



3.  Close the Start page, if desired.


4.  Select File –-> Open from the main menu.


5.  Click Project / Solution … from the cascading menu, as shown in Illustration 2.




Illustration 2: Selecting a Project …


The Open Project dialog appears.



6.  Browse to the location of the Adventure Works Analysis Services sample project folder.


Two versions of the Adventure Works Analysis Services project samples are installed, by default (and, of course, are subject to be installed in different locations on our individual machines), in the following location


C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Samples\AdventureWorks Analysis Services Project


Of the two samples, we will select the Enterprise project, as it is a more evolved sample than the Standard project. We will copy the Enterprise folder to another location, and work with it within our practice session. (If the Standard project is all that is available in the local environment, use that instead.)



7.  Right-click the Enterprise (or Standard, as appropriate) folder, containing the sample Adventure Works solution, project and associated objects.


8.  Select Copy from the context menu that appears, as depicted in Illustration 3.




Illustration 3: Copy the Enterprise Project Folder …



9.  Navigate, from within the Open Project dialog box, to the location of preference for storing the folder we have copied, and from which we will create a “clone” project.


10.  Upon arrival within the desired folder, right-click the area within the folder.


11.  Select Paste from the context menu that appears, as shown in Illustration 4.




Illustration 4: Pasting the Copy of the Enterprise Project Folder to a Selected Location


The Enterprise folder appears, via the Open Project dialog, in the new location, as depicted in Illustration 5.




Illustration 5: Enterprise Project Folder in Its New Location …



12.  Right-click the Enterprise folder, within the Open Project dialog.


13.  Select Rename from the context menu that appears, as shown in Illustration 6.




Illustration 6: Renaming the Folder …



14.  Type the following replacement name into the folder’s activated caption box:


Database Journal Training


15.  Click outside the caption box to accept the new name, which then appears as depicted in Illustration 7.





Illustration 7: Newly Named Folder …



16.  Click the new folder, to select it.


17.  Click the Open button on the Open Project dialog.


The solution file, Adventure Works.sln, and the project file, Adventure Works DW.dwproj, appear at this point, along with two folders containing associated objects.



18.  Select the Adventure Works.sln file, and then click the Open button, as shown in Illustration 8.




Illustration 8: Opening the Adventure Works.sln File


The Adventure Works solution opens, complete with Adventure Works DW Analysis Services project, and we see the various associated objects appear in Solution Explorer, as depicted in Illustration 9.




Illustration 9: The Cloned Project and Objects, within the Solution Explorer



19.  Right-click the Adventure Works DW Project, within the Solution Explorer.


20.  Select Rename from the context menu that appears, as depicted in Illustration 10.




Illustration 10: Renaming the Analysis Services Project …



21.  Type the following replacement name into the project’s activated caption box:


DBJ_Adventure Works DW


22.  Click outside the caption box to accept the new name.


23.  Click Yes on the dialog box that appears next, asking if we would like to change the object name, as well, as shown in Illustration 11.




Illustration 11: Click Yes to Change the Object Name, As Well …


The newly renamed project appears within the Solution Explorer, as depicted in Illustration 12.




Illustration 12: The Newly Renamed Solution and Project Appear …


As a final step, we will modify the targeted database, to prevent overwrite of the existing Adventure Works DW sample database on the Analysis Server (to preserve it for working with the tutorials that come with Analysis Services 2005 and other uses).



24.  Right-click the new project, DBJ_Adventure Works DW, within the Solution Explorer.


25.  Select Properties from the context menu that appears, as depicted in Illustration 13.




Illustration 13: Select Properties for the Project


The DBJ_Adventure Works DW Properties Pages dialog opens.



26.  Click Deployment, under Configuration Properties, in the tree in the left-hand pane of the dialog.


27.  Replace the current text (Adventure Works DW) in the Database box (in the lower right half of the dialog, within the Target properties group) with the following:


DBJ_Adventure Works DW


The newly renamed Target Database appears within the DBJ_Adventure Works DW Properties Pages dialog, as shown in Illustration 14.




Illustration 14: The Newly Renamed Target Database

William Pearson
William Pearson
Bill has been working with computers since before becoming a "big eight" CPA, after which he carried his growing information systems knowledge into management accounting, internal auditing, and various capacities of controllership. Bill entered the world of databases and financial systems when he became a consultant for CODA-Financials, a U.K. - based software company that hired only CPA's as application consultants to implement and maintain its integrated financial database - one of the most conceptually powerful, even in his current assessment, to have emerged. At CODA Bill deployed financial databases and business intelligence systems for many global clients. Working with SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase and Informix, and focusing on MSSQL Server, Bill created Island Technologies Inc. in 1997, and has developed a large and diverse customer base over the years since. Bill's background as a CPA, Internal Auditor and Management Accountant enable him to provide value to clients as a liaison between Accounting / Finance and Information Services. Moreover, as a Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) - a Certified Public Accountant recognized for his or her unique ability to provide business insight by leveraging knowledge of information relationships and supporting technologies - Bill offers his clients the CPA's perspective and ability to understand the complicated business implications and risks associated with technology. From this perspective, he helps them to effectively manage information while ensuring the data's reliability, security, accessibility and relevance. Bill has implemented enterprise business intelligence systems over the years for many Fortune 500 companies, focusing his practice (since the advent of MSSQL Server 2000) upon the integrated Microsoft business intelligence solution. He leverages his years of experience with other enterprise OLAP and reporting applications (Cognos, Business Objects, Crystal, and others) in regular conversions of these once-dominant applications to the Microsoft BI stack. Bill believes it is easier to teach technical skills to people with non-technical training than vice-versa, and he constantly seeks ways to graft new technology into the Accounting and Finance arenas. Bill was awarded Microsoft SQL Server MVP in 2009. Hobbies include advanced literature studies and occasional lectures, with recent concentration upon the works of William Faulkner, Henry James, Marcel Proust, James Joyce, Honoré de Balzac, and Charles Dickens. Other long-time interests have included the exploration of generative music sourced from database architecture.

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