15.1 What are Consolidations¶
A consolidation is your own grouping of a dimension's values. The data model has customers, accounts or postal codes; a consolidation turns them into the groups you think in – Nordic countries, Zealand and Funen vs. Jutland, Revenue, Costs and Result in an income statement.
What a Consolidation Can Do¶
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| Group values | Nordic = Denmark, Sweden and Norway |
| Group ranges | Jutland = postal codes 6000–9999 |
| Collect the rest | Other countries – everything not in another group |
| Calculate | Contribution margin = Revenue − Cost of sales; Margin % = Contribution margin / Revenue |
| Combine dimensions | Domestic sales = account 1200 and department DK |
A consolidation is used like any other dimension: put it in the rows or columns of a table, on a chart axis, or in a filter. Each group – a member – becomes one row, column or bar.
Members may overlap: a value can count in several members, e.g. Denmark in both Nordic and EU.
Consolidations, Segmentations and Histograms¶
| Feature | Groups by | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidation | Values you choose | Fixed groupings and calculations: regions, account structures |
| Segmentation | A metric's result, e.g. top 10 customers by revenue | Groupings that follow the data – see Chapter 14 Segmentations |
| Histogram | Number ranges of a column | Intervals: order sizes, temperatures – see 15.4 Histograms |
All three are custom dimensions: dimensions you create yourself on top of the data model.
Where Consolidations Live¶
A consolidation can be used:
- Only here – in one visual;
- Entire workbook – in all visuals of the workbook; listed in the Object Tree under Report Objects → Custom dimensions;
- Everywhere – in all workbooks; listed under its dimension in Dimensions.
See 15.3 Using Consolidations for changing this.