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Linking Cubes Using Formula ​

Cube data can flow from one cube to another using Formula. The key functions for this are the LINK and LINKBY functions.

FunctionDescription
LINKThe link function returns data from a specified cube at a relative location. If common dimensions exist, they can be excluded entirely from the relative location argument.

Syntax:

LINK("SourceCubeName", ["Element 1", "Element N"])

Example:

LINK("Travel Spend", [ "Total International Spend", "All Trips"])
LINKBYThe linkby function us used when retrieving values based on another value held in this cube. The initial two arguments are the same as the link function. The third argument is the relative location of the value to assist in locating a destination cell in the source cube.

Syntax:

LINKBY("SourceCubeName", ["Element 1", "Element N"], ["MappedValueStringLocation"])

Example:

LINKBY("Travel Rates", ["Flight Costs"], ["Destination"]

Consider a Profit and Loss cube that takes its online revenue from a separate Sales cube. The formula sits on the "321 - Retail Sales" account, restricted to the "Amount" measure and the "Local" currency so it calculates only the cells it should.

The formula editor over the Profit and Loss workview, annotated to show the restrictions and the LINK expression

js
IF(
    ELEMENT("Department") ~ "Online"
    ,
    LINK("Sales",["Revenue","All Products"])
    ,
    CONTINUE
)

The LINK names the source cube and only the elements that exist there - the "Revenue" measure and the "All Products" consolidation. "Year", "Month", "Scenario", "Department" and "Currency" are common to both cubes, so they're left out of the call and matched one-for-one against the cell being calculated.

CONTINUE passes any cell that isn't an online department down to the next formula in the list, rather than returning nothing.

Checking a linked value ​

Right-click the calculated cell and choose Explain Value. The trace shows the formula that produced the number, and a magnifying glass beside the LINK opens the trace for the cell in the source cube - so a value can be followed across the link rather than stopping at it.

See Testing and explaining formulas for the walkthrough.

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