Metadata Doctor (MD Doctor) in Microstrategy

Metadata Doctor (MD Doctor) is a utility that detects and fixes certain physical inconsistencies in MicroStrategy 9.4.x - 9.5.x metadatas that may prevent MicroStrategy 9.4.x - 9.5.x products from functioning correctly.

In simple terms, it detects physical inconsistencies by running SQL against different metadata tables and then comparing results. If an entry is found in one table but not in the main lookup table of the metadata then that denotes a physical inconsistency and MD Doctor will delete that orphan entry.

Note: MD Doctor is not a supported tool for MicroStrategy 10.x metadatas.

NOTE: MD Doctor should be used only after a metadata backup has been taken. MD Doctor should not be used repeatedly. It is meant to primarily serve as a quick-fix to physical inconsistencies and get environments up and running. If repeated use of MD Doctor is needed then a possible recurrent-metadata physical inconsistency is being encountered.

MSTR WARNING:

Manually editing values in the MSTR Metadata incorrectly may cause serious, project-wide problems that may make your project unusable. Since these are user-initiated changes, they are not covered by any MicroStrategy warranty. Users are strongly encouraged to backup the metadata prior to any alteration.

Pre-Requisites for using MD Doctor:

The following are pre-requisites for the use of MD Doctor:

MicroStrategy Developer 9.4.x - 9.5.x installed. The product and metadata versions should match exactly.
A Direct (2-tier) Project Source to the target Metadata.

MD Doctor Best Practices

Remember the following Best Practices when running MD Doctor:

Running MD Doctor should not be a routine operation. MD Doctor is meant to be used as a fix once Technical Support identifies that there is a metadata physical inconsistency causing an issue in the platform.
Before running MD Doctor (fix/scan mode), all operations against the metadata should be stopped.
Before running MD Doctor (fix mode), a backup of the metadata must be taken.
Always save the MD Doctor logs.

Using Metadata Doctor:

Run the setup.exe and follow installations instructions.
Go to the Start menu and look for the MD Doctor executable under MicroStrategy -> Tools
Select the Direct MicroStrategy data source which points to the metadata to be checked. If a direct data source to the metadata does not exist, use MicroStrategy Developer or MicroStrategy Configuration Wizard to create one before running this application.

Metadata Login-- Connection information to the actual metadata repository. Login and Table Prefix are read from the select Direct Datasource created through Desktop. The user must specify a password.

Data Source Login-- MicroStrategy login and password in order to be able to check the metadata translations table.
Select Detect and Fix options:
Detect only. Do not fix errors -- Also known as running MD Doctor in scan-mode.

Prompt me to fix errors-- Also known as running MD Doctor in fix-mode. Every time an error is encountered the user will be prompted to fix it. Used for targeted fixes.

Fix all errors automatically -- Also known as running MD Doctor in fix-mode. No prompts to the user when an error is encountered. Used for fixing all encountered inconsistencies.

IMPORTANT: Users should always backup their entire metadata before allowing Metadata Doctor to fix any inconsistencies.

Log File-- The location of the log file. MD Doctor produces a detailed log file that records metadata statistics, errors log and actions taken; moreover it can include the SQL run against the metadata when the Include SQL in log file option is enabled. By default, the log file is generated in the same directory where the MD Doctor executable resides. A new log is created each time MD Doctor is run, and the log file name has a timestamp of the corresponding execution.
Select the 'Start' button to begin. MD Doctor may be interrupted by clicking on the 'Stop' button. However, do not stop/interrupt MD Doctor while it is fixing inconsistencies in the metadata.
A Status window will appear to display the checks performed by MDf Doctor:

Comments

Case functions Microstrategy

Ca se functions Microstrategy Case functions return specified data in a SQL query based on the evaluation of user-defined conditions. In general, a user specifies a list of conditions and corresponding return values. Case This function evaluates multiple expressions until a condition is determined to be true, then returns a corresponding value. If all conditions are false, a default value is returned. Case can be used for categorizing data based on multiple conditions. This is a single-value function. Syntax Case ( Condition1 , ReturnValue1 , Condition2 , ReturnValue2 ,..., DefaultValue ) Example Case(([Total Revenue] < 300000), 0, ([Total Revenue] < 600000), 1, 2) sum(Case (Day@DESC in (“Sat”,”Sun”), Sales, 0) {~+} Sum(Case(Category@DESC In("Books","Electronics"),Revenue,0)){~+} CaseV (case vector) CaseV evaluates a single metric and returns different values according to the results. It can be used to perfo...

Control the display of null and zero metric values

Show Control the display of null and zero metric values in a grid report You can determine how to display or hide rows and columns in a grid report that consist only of null or zero metric values. You can have MicroStrategy hide the rows and columns in the following ways: Hide rows and columns that consist only of null metric values Hide rows and columns that consist only of zero metric values Hide rows and columns that consist only of null or zero metric values (default) Once you have defined how MicroStrategy hides null and zero metric values in the grid, you can quickly show or hide the grid using the Hide Nulls/Zeros option in the Data menu, as described below, or by clicking the Hide Nulls/Zeros icon in the Data toolbar. To determine how null and zero metric values are displayed or hidden in a grid report Open the report in Edit mode. From the Tools menu, select Report Options . The Report Options...

Microstrategy "Error type: Odbc error. Odbc operation attempted

"Error type: Odbc error. Odbc operation attempted: SQLExecDirect. [HYT00:0: on SQLHANDLE] [MicroStrategy][ODBC Oracle Wire Protocol driver]Timeout expired" is shown when executing reports from Web When users are trying to execute some reports in MicroStrategy web in particular, they may receive the Error “SQL Generation Complete Index out of range” and “Timeout expired” error as shown below: Possible Causes: One possible cause is that the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server using a cached database connection that was already dropped by the RDBMS. To resolve this: Admin should delete the database connection caches and create a new DSNs in case they are sharing DSNs to connect to different databases. In addition, change the settings for the ‘Connection lifetime’ and the ‘Connection idle time out’. Follow the steps below to perform the mentioned changes and verify the report after each step and some of the settings require i-server r...

Settings for Outer Join between metrics in MicroStrategy

Settings for Outer Join between metrics in MicroStrategy MicroStrategy adopts multi-pass logic to determine the execution plan for a report. This means that every metric is evaluated in separate SQL passes. Outer Joins come into play when MicroStrategy Engine merges the results from all SQL passes into one report. For a multi-pass report, different Outer Join behaviors can give the user completely different results. In addition, report metrics can be of different types which can, in some cases, influence the result of the outer join. In MicroStrategy, there are two settings that users can access to control Outer Join behavior : Formula Join Type and Metric Join Type . Metric Join Type: VLDB Setting at Database Instance Level Report and Template Levels Report Editor > Data > Report Data Options Metric Level Metric editor > Tools > Metric Join Type Control Join between Metrics Formula Join Type: Only at Compound/Split...

Microstrategy Dashboard performance improvements steps

Microstrategy Dashboard performance improvements steps: Many times, causes of poor performance can be simplified to specific components. To troubleshoot performance issues, users must identify these components, then make the appropriate modifications to the environment and/or to the MicroStrategy dashboard to reduce bottlenecks. Dashboard execution stages can be represented below: MicroStrategy Intelligence Server When an end user makes a Document Execution Request through any client (a web browser via MicroStrategy Web, the MicroStrategy Desktop/Developer client, the MicroStrategy Mobile app, or the MicroStrategy Office client), the request is sent to the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server, which processes the request and prepares the response. The MicroStrategy Intelligence Server will execute all children datasets on the dashboard by either generating SQL and running this against the data warehouse, or by fetching data from a cache. The Inte...

Microstrategy Document Autotext macros:

Autotext code/macros in Microstrategy Document/dashboard This is a list of the available auto text macros that the Report Services Document engine recognizes. The following auto text codes allow you to add document variable information to your document. These auto text codes are automatically replaced by information about the document. Auto text codes for MSTR document/dashboard: AUTOTEXT DESCRIPTION {&PAGE} Display the current page. {&NPAGES} Display the total number of pages. {&DATETIME} Display the current date and time. {&USER} Display the user name that is executing the Report Services Document. {&DOCUMENT} Display the document name. {&DOCUMENTID} Display the document ID. {&DESCRIPTION} Display the document description. {&PROJECT} Display the project name. {&EXECUTIONTIME} Dis...

Microstrategy Dossiers explained

Microstrategy Dossiers With the release of MicroStrategy 10.9, we’ve taken a leap forward in our dashboarding capabilities by simplifying the user experience, adding storytelling, and collaboration.MSTR has evolved dashboards to the point that they are more than dashboards - they are interactive, collaborative analytic stories . Ultimately, it was time to go beyond dashboards, both in concept and in name, and so the've renamed VI dashboards to ‘ dossiers ’. Dossiers can be created by using the new Desktop product or Workstation or simply from the Web interface which replaces Visual Insights. All the existing visual Insights dashboards will be converted to Dossiers With MicroStrategy 10.9, there was an active focus on making it easier to build dashboards for the widest audience of end users. To achieve this, some key new capabilities were added that make it easier to author, read, interact and collaborate on dashboards ...

Multi-Select Drop Down Selector with Apply Button

Multi-Select Drop Down Selector with OK Button When creating a Report Services Document, you may want to create a drop down selector to save space, but also would like the drop down to be a multi-selector with OK/Apply button. Below are instructions to achieve this in a Report Services Document. Steps to Create: 1. Right click on your drop down selector and choose Properties and Formatting 2. Navigate to the Layout Tab 3. In the layout tab, click "Allow multiple selections". It will not indicate that the check box is enabled, but this step is mandatory. 3. Next, navigate to the Theme tab. Choose the L ight Theme from the drop down menu and click the Apply button. 4) Next, change the Theme back to None and click Apply. 4. When you return to the Layout tab, you will see the checkbox for Allow multiple selections is now checked.

Best Practices for using images in Microstrategy reports

Using images in Microstrategy reports On the I-Server we copy the images to the following folders: - Program Files (x86)\MicroStrategy\Developer\Images - Program Files (x86)\MicroStrategy\IntelligenceServer\Images - Program Files (x86)\Common Files\MicroStrategy\images To reference an image using relative path, the following locations are required to store the image in order to display in multiple MicroStrategy products. Relative path sample: images/ logo.jpg To display images on: MicroStrategy Desktop, Web, Mobile, Distribution Services: * Additional Adobe Flash security rule applies when displaying images on Flash Dashboard For image to display on MicroStrategy Web Services: Note: It is recommended that HTTP path should be used for reference image. User should consider using HTTP path to reference image and store image in an client accessible server for easier maintain and upgrading purpose ...

Prompt-in-prompt(Nested Prompts) in Microstrategy

Prompt-in-prompt(Nested Prompts) in Microstrategy Nested prompts allows you to create one prompt based on the other and other bases on another, nested prompts allows us to prompt the highest level(Like year) to middle level(like Quarter, then to the low level(like Month). Here you can see how to create a 3-level deep nested prompt that will prompt the user to select a year, then a quarter within that year, then a month within that quarter. Prompt-in-prompt is a feature in which the answer to one prompt is used to define another prompt. This feature is only implemented for element list prompts . The following procedure describes how to achieve this: Create the highest level filter. This is a filter which contains a prompt on an attribute element list. Create a filter on the attribute "Year." Click "prompt on attribute element list" and click "Next" through the rest of the screens to accept the default values. Do not set any additio...

Microstrategy Analytics

Search This Blog