Dissecting the Model XML - Part 2 - The Unchangeable Properties of Time

Within the model XML there are many tree nodes.

Under BizModelSite root node:

CalendarMetaData
DataConnections
Dimensions
DimensionAttributeGroups
Models
SubModelSites
WorkFlowTables

This posting will examine CalendarMetaData.

Time is very important in a PerformancePoint application. It affects Cycles, display of the time dimension, granularity of time within models, display of time in forms and filters, etc. etc.

The problem is, once you Create The Calendar, that is basically it. There is no way to reseed the data with different calendars, create multiple calendars, or change the start date of the calendar, without modifying the underlying database and probably the XML here and most likely other places. You can only extend the calendar for additional time ahead and create Calendar Views for different granularity settings.

There are also steps to take to ensure that locale changes affect the calendar correctly.

It is a bit messy if done wrong, since you'll have to start over.

When dealing with Balance Sheets, be sure to start the time period before the first time range you would like to see in your filter list. This allows for entry of historical closing period balances.

Test the different calendar modes to see if you need Fiscal calendars, etc. Review the documentation. Check out the sample apps in the AllUpBI VPC file MS provides. Create a test application, create the calendar, and prototype the time dimension in a form. You should find out fairly quickly how it is displayed and whether it is acceptable for your requirements.

About the application calendar
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb839150.aspx

Alpine Ski House documentation
http://office.microsoft.com/download/afile.aspx?AssetID=AM102421841033

About the 445 calendar, "Annus Confusionus"

http://personal.ecu.edu/mccartyr/clash.html

The XML didn't turn out so well, will have to see about fixing in future posts.

There is a lot of information stored in the CalendarMetaData, not sure what some of the properties are however most are intuitive:
<frequency type="GregorianYear"><br />The Frequency is the type of calendar selected. 445, 454, 542, 13.<br /><br /><useresourcenumbering>false</useresourcenumbering><br />Not sure what this is.<br /><br />Some of these are self-explanitory.<br /><textarea><name>Year</name><br /><idcolumnname>Year</idcolumnname><br /><namecolumnname>Gregorian Year</namecolumnname><br /><description>This is the Year frequency</description><br /><frequencytype>Year</frequencytype><br /><id>890000000</id><br /><prefix>Year</prefix><br /><suffix><br /><namingfrequencytype>HalfYear</namingfrequencytype><br /><dependentfrequenciesids><br /><frequencytype>HalfYear</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Trimester</frequencytype><br /></dependentfrequenciesids><br />Defines the hierarchy perhaps?<br /><br /><isnew>false</isnew><br />Not sure.<br /><br /><lastgeneratedindex>7</lastgeneratedindex><br />Not sure.<br /></frequency><br /><br /><frequency type="GregorianQuarter"><br /><useresourcenumbering>false</useresourcenumbering><br /><name>Quarter</name><br /><idcolumnname>Quarter</idcolumnname><br /><namecolumnname>Calendar Quarter</namecolumnname><br /><description>This is the Quarter frequency</description><br /><frequencytype>Quarter</frequencytype><br /><id>810000000</id><br /><prefix>Q</prefix><br /><suffix><br /><namingfrequencytype>Year</namingfrequencytype><br /><dependentfrequenciesids><br /><isnew>false</isnew><br /><lastgeneratedindex>31</lastgeneratedindex><br /></frequency><br /><frequency type="GregorianMonth"><br /><useresourcenumbering>false</useresourcenumbering><br /><name>Month</name><br /><idcolumnname>Month</idcolumnname><br /><namecolumnname>Calendar Month</namecolumnname><br /><description>This is the Month frequency</description><br /><frequencytype>Month</frequencytype><br /><id>770000000</id><br /><prefix>Month</prefix><br /><suffix><br /><namingfrequencytype>Year</namingfrequencytype><br /><dependentfrequenciesids><br /><frequencytype>HalfYear</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Trimester</frequencytype><br /></dependentfrequenciesids><br /><isnew>false</isnew><br /><lastgeneratedindex>95</lastgeneratedindex><br /></frequency><br /><frequency type="GregorianDay"><br /><useresourcenumbering>false</useresourcenumbering><br /><name>Day</name><br /><idcolumnname>MemberId</idcolumnname><br /><namecolumnname>MemberId</namecolumnname><br /><description>This is the Day frequency</description><br /><frequencytype>Day</frequencytype><br /><id>680000000</id><br /><prefix>MemberId</prefix><br /><namingfrequencytype>HalfYear</namingfrequencytype><br /><dependentfrequenciesids><br /><isnew>false</isnew><br /><lastgeneratedindex>2921</lastgeneratedindex><br /><lastgeneratedsequencenumber>2993152</lastgeneratedsequencenumber><br /></frequency><br /></usedfrequencylist><br /><availfrequencylist><br /><frequency type="GregorianHalfYear"><br /><useresourcenumbering>false</useresourcenumbering><br /><name>Half Year</name><br /><idcolumnname>HalfYear</idcolumnname><br /><namecolumnname>Calendar HalfYear</namecolumnname><br /><description>This is the Half Year frequency</description><br /><frequencytype>HalfYear</frequencytype><br /><id>720000000</id><br /><prefix>HY</prefix><br /><suffix><br /><namingfrequencytype>Year</namingfrequencytype><br /><dependentfrequenciesids><br /><isnew>true</isnew><br /><lastgeneratedindex>-1</lastgeneratedindex><br /><br /><treatmergeoption>ContainsXPeriods</treatmergeoption><br /><numbertreatmerge>0</numbertreatmerge><br /><upperalignfrequencytype>Year</upperalignfrequencytype><br /><basefrequencytype>Month</basefrequencytype><br /><containornumperiodsoption>ContainsXPeriods</containornumperiodsoption><br /><containornumperiodsnumber>6</containornumperiodsnumber><br /><numberofextradays>0</numberofextradays><br /><extradayweekday>Sunday</extradayweekday><br /><numberofextradaysoption>ContainsXPeriods</numberofextradaysoption><br /></frequency><br /><frequency type="PatternGenericFreq"><br /><useresourcenumbering>false</useresourcenumbering><br /><name>Trimester</name><br /><idcolumnname>Trimester</idcolumnname><br /><namecolumnname>Calendar Trimester</namecolumnname><br /><description>This is the Trimester frequency</description><br /><frequencytype>Trimester</frequencytype><br /><id>840000000</id><br /><prefix>TM</prefix><br /><suffix><br /><namingfrequencytype>Year</namingfrequencytype><br /><dependentfrequenciesids><br /><isnew>true</isnew><br /><lastgeneratedindex>-1</lastgeneratedindex><br /><treatmergeoption>ContainsXPeriods</treatmergeoption><br /><numbertreatmerge>0</numbertreatmerge><br /><upperalignfrequencytype>Year</upperalignfrequencytype><br /><basefrequencytype>Month</basefrequencytype><br /><containornumperiodsoption>ContainsXPeriods</containornumperiodsoption><br /><containornumperiodsnumber>4</containornumperiodsnumber><br /><numberofextradays>0</numberofextradays><br /><extradayweekday>Sunday</extradayweekday><br /><numberofextradaysoption>ContainsXPeriods</numberofextradaysoption><br /></frequency><br /><frequency type="GregorianWeek"><br /><useresourcenumbering>false</useresourcenumbering><br /><name>Week</name><br /><idcolumnname>Week</idcolumnname><br /><namecolumnname>Calendar Week</namecolumnname><br /><description>This is the Week frequency</description><br /><frequencytype>Week</frequencytype><br /><id>870000000</id><br /><prefix>Week</prefix><br /><suffix><br /><namingfrequencytype>Year</namingfrequencytype><br /><dependentfrequenciesids><br /><isnew>true</isnew><br /><lastgeneratedindex>-1</lastgeneratedindex><br /></frequency><br /></availfrequencylist><br /><viewlist><br /><calendarview><br /><name>Base View</name><br /><isnew>false</isnew><br /><description>Base view description</description><br /><frequencytypelist><br /><frequencytype>Year</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Day</frequencytype><br /></frequencytypelist><br /></calendarview><br /><calendarview><br /><name>Monthly View</name><br /><isnew>false</isnew><br /><description>View 1 Description</description><br /><frequencytypelist><br /><frequencytype>Year</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Month</frequencytype><br /></frequencytypelist><br /></calendarview><br /></viewlist><br /><optionalfrequencyids><br /><frequencytype>HalfYear</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Trimester</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Quarter</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Week</frequencytype><br /></optionalfrequencyids><br /><isgregorian>true</isgregorian><br /><isyearendfixed>true</isyearendfixed><br /><pattern>P12</pattern><br /><weekend>Saturday</weekend><br /><br /><isdirty>true</isdirty><br /><br /><startweekminlength>1</startweekminlength><br /><startweekdayrequired>Friday</startweekdayrequired><br /><extraweekmonth>1</extraweekmonth><br /><br />Here is the start date and end date of the calendar. It may be possible to change the data here along with reseeding the D_Time dimension table.<br /><br /><calendarstartdate>2006-01-01T00:00:00</calendarstartdate><br /><startyear>2006</startyear><br /><calendarenddate>2014-01-01T00:00:00</calendarenddate><br /><currentyearenddate>2008-12-31T00:00:00</currentyearenddate><br /><name>Calendar</name><br /><description><br /><isconventional>true</isconventional><br /><futureyears>5</futureyears><br /><pastyears>2</pastyears><br /><freqdependencygraph><br /><arrayoffrequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Year</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>HalfYear</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Quarter</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Month</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Day</frequencytype><br /></arrayoffrequencytype><br /><arrayoffrequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Year</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Trimester</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Month</frequencytype><br /></arrayoffrequencytype><br /><arrayoffrequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Year</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Week</frequencytype><br /><frequencytype>Day</frequencytype><br /></arrayoffrequencytype><br /></freqdependencygraph><br /><yearswithextraperiods><br /><isfirstweekbasedonminweeklength>true</isfirstweekbasedonminweeklength><br /><br /><isgenerated>true</isgenerated><br /><yearfrequencytype>Year</yearfrequencytype><br /><dayfrequencytype>Day</dayfrequencytype><br /></calendarmetadata><br />
Generating applications with the various calendars may show differences that would allow for manipulation of this XML to change the calendar, though is much safer just to recreate the application.