Cathy Dumas's Blog
Last day at Microsoft
Hi, today is my last day at Microsoft. I am moving back home to Vancouver, BC. I won’t be allowed to...
Date: 12/22/2011
DirectQuery impersonation options explained
In my previous post about impersonation, I mentioned that DirectQuery impersonation was a bit...
Date: 12/12/2011
New for RC0 – the .layout file
If you look at my previous post on the tabular project structure, you’ll see this teaser: “There are...
Date: 12/02/2011
PowerPivot measures command – no really, don’t modify it manually!
If you look in the metadata of a BIM file, or if you look at the .dax file generated by the DAX...
Date: 11/29/2011
Least discoverable feature: importing more tables from an existing connection
You’ve run the import wizard, and imported a bunch of tables into your tabular model. Now you want...
Date: 11/23/2011
Securing your tabular model
Now that RC0 has arrived I can finally post about security for tabular models. I have put off...
Date: 11/21/2011
Changing your font and keyboard shortcuts in the tabular designer
If you look carefully, you can see my roots showing. No, not my hair – you can see my old job...
Date: 11/17/2011
Using Edit Table Properties on a partitioned tabular model
In PowerPivot, the Edit Table Properties dialog box is used for a few things. It is used to add...
Date: 11/10/2011
Impersonation in tabular models
Here is a pop quiz on impersonation when connecting to a data source for tabular models. Question 1:...
Date: 11/07/2011
When to choose tabular models over PowerPivot models
Sometimes people ask me for the slide deck to my PASS presentation. I send out the deck, but there...
Date: 10/27/2011
Making tabular models more sensitive
Case sensitive, that is. Last year, Denny Lee posted about PowerPivot’s case insensitivity problem....
Date: 10/24/2011
Collation and language settings in tabular models
Collation and language settings are tricky; so tricky that my two planned blog posts on this topic...
Date: 10/21/2011
The BI semantic model, MDX, DAX, and you
When I was at PASS I fielded a bunch of questions about the BI semantic model, multidimensional...
Date: 10/17/2011
DAX Editor for SQL Server going to CodePlex
Hi, today at my PASS session I gave a demo of a DAX Editor. This is a sample written by three...
Date: 10/13/2011
Heading to SQL PASS
I am spending the next couple of days getting ready for PASS Summit 2011. I have a session on...
Date: 10/10/2011
Configuring a workspace database server
Marco Russo has a nice post about the basics of configuring the workspace database server. You can...
Date: 10/03/2011
Working with the ACE provider in the tabular designer
The Office ACE provider is used to import from text files, Excel files, and Access files. Just like...
Date: 09/29/2011
Processing tabular models 101
With a new storage engine comes new processing options. Here are some fast facts about processing...
Date: 09/26/2011
Where does data come from when you open a BIM file?
By default, when you open the .bim file after closing it, the data comes back. Did you ever wonder...
Date: 09/23/2011
Configuring multiple partitions in a DirectQuery with VertiPaq model, step by step
In my DirectQuery 101 post, I promised an example of configuring a model with DirectQuery only...
Date: 09/15/2011
Managing tabular models
Managing tabular models is pretty much like managing multidimensional models. We have a full array...
Date: 09/12/2011
Using Integration Services with tabular models
The astute user may notice that the Analysis Services tasks included with Integration Services in...
Date: 09/08/2011
DirectQuery 101
DirectQuery is to tabular modeling what ROLAP is to multidimensional modeling. It’s a way to...
Date: 09/06/2011
Importing a subset of data using partitions, step by step
This is a follow up to part 1 – dealing with large row sets in the tabular designer. In this post I...
Date: 09/01/2011
Dealing with large row sets in the tabular designer
Amir Netz’s two billion and seven rows demo at last year’s BI conference was not just...
Date: 08/29/2011
Managing tabular models using PowerShell
As I mentioned in my previous post on deploying tabular models using msbuild, we now have AMO for...
Date: 08/25/2011
Recovering from cryptic errors thrown when importing from PowerPivot
Sometimes people get an error message about “Access is Denied” when trying to import from a...
Date: 08/22/2011
Pointing PowerPivot pivot tables to tabular models
After you import or restore from PowerPivot, you are left with a workbook with pivot tables and...
Date: 08/17/2011
What does Import from PowerPivot actually do?
We have two pieces of functionality in Denali that allow you to promote a self-service model in...
Date: 08/15/2011
Deploying tabular projects using a custom msbuild task
I have received a few questions from customers about how to build and deploy Analysis Services...
Date: 08/10/2011
Tabular project structure
Tabular projects have a very simple structure. When you create a tabular project, you see two files...
Date: 08/08/2011
Changing focus
This blog is back. Some time ago, I left the Workflow Designer team and joined the SQL Server...
Date: 07/10/2011
Least discoverable feature: changing the Workflow Designer fonts and colors
The MSDN documentation on the WF designer shell has a very short section describing how WF designer...
Date: 04/01/2010
Dynamically binding the expression type in the property grid
Previously, I demonstrated how to use an ExpressionTextBox in a custom property editor. In this...
Date: 03/29/2010
Using an ExpressionTextBox in a custom property editor
I have fielded a couple of questions from customers and also a forum post asking how to get the...
Date: 03/22/2010
Hostable editor keyboard shortcuts
In my previous post about keyboard shortcuts, I promised a summary of the hostable editor shortcuts....
Date: 03/02/2010
Imports designer 101
Oh, the imports designer. This innocuous looking piece of UI packs a lot of functionality in a...
Date: 02/18/2010
RC is here, and so is the Workflow Designer documentation
Today the RC version of Visual Studio was made publically available for MSDN subscribers. See the VS...
Date: 02/08/2010
Multi-dimensional array support in the Workflow Designer
In the Workflow Designer, all input provided to the workflow must be valid according to the model...
Date: 02/01/2010
About type coercion
The hosted compiler does something called type coercion. It converts one type to another type using...
Date: 01/28/2010
Expression serialization and literal support
Expressions created in the WF designer are serialized using square brackets, which is shorthand for...
Date: 01/25/2010
Women in technology at PDC09
When I was at PDC I spent some time with Ed and Ashley of Ed and Ashley’s 5 minute show. They have a...
Date: 01/23/2010
End-to-end expression editing feature deck
Hi, today I gave a talk to our support team about the expression editing feature. Since this is all...
Date: 01/21/2010
Enter and Tab key handling in the ExpressionTextBox
The Enter and Tab keys work a bit differently in the ExpressionTextBox than in the big VB IDE. In...
Date: 01/18/2010
Least discoverable feature: 100% zoom and fit to screen
There are a whole bunch of buttons in the bottom right hand corner of the workflow designer. Here...
Date: 01/14/2010
Least discoverable feature: Workflow designer keyboard shortcuts
The Workflow designer, like any good Visual Studio component, has many keyboard shortcuts. We are...
Date: 01/11/2010