Adding a Dimension Dependency After Loading Data

Though it is always recommended to have your dimension dependencies sorted out and in place before loading data, sometimes you may need to add a dimension dependency to an attribute or reference type after the fact.

Add a Dimension Dependency to an Attribute After Data Has Been Loaded

  1. Temporarily create a context that has the 'All' level of the dimension you want to apply to the attribute.

  1. In the Export Manager, select all products in the database and map the attributes that you want to apply the dimension to.
  2. Save the export configuration.
  3. Save two copies of the exported Excel file.
  4. In STEP, add the dimension dependency to the attribute(s).
  5. If an attribute uses an LOV, refer to the Using Dimension Dependent LOVs With Attributes topic in the List of Values (LOVs) documentation here for advice about setting them up.
  6. In one copy of Excel, load the values back to the real working context (not the context that has the 'All' level).
  7. In the second copy of Excel, replace all of the values with '[delete]' (no quotes)
  8. Load the [delete] values to the temporary context that has the 'All' level of the dimension you applied to the attribute(s). This will remove the values.
  9. Verify that the values have been removed from the 'All' level by re-running the export from the temporary context.
  10. Verify that the values are now in the context with the dimension point you applied to the attribute.
  11. It is recommended to make a small test of steps 8-10 before loading the entire file.

Add a Dimension Dependency to a Reference Type After Data Has Been Loaded

  1. Temporarily create a context that has the 'All' level of the dimension you want to apply to the reference type.
  2. In the Export Manager, select all products in the database and map the reference types that you want to apply the dimension to.
  3. Save the export configuration.
  4. Save two copies of the exported Excel file.
  5. In one copy of Excel, load the values back to the real working context (not the context that has the 'All' level)
  6. In the second copy of Excel, delete all values.
  7. Import the file with deleted values to the temporary context that has the 'All' level of the dimension you applied to the reference type(s).
  8. In the Advanced Settings (step 8) of the Import Manager, select the type of reference in the 'Remove Un-Mapped References' box.

  1. Verify that the values have been removed from the 'All' level by re-running the export from the temporary context.
  2. Verify that the references are now in the context with the dimension point you applied to the reference type.
  3. It is recommended to make a small test of steps 7-9 before loading the entire file.