Make Free hand SQL number be dimensions rather than measures

[dbird1]

I can't find a way to make numbers in free hand SQL be dimensions rather than measures. I have numbers that are unique ID fields and primary or foreign keys. WebI is trying to aggregate them, causing a #multivalue error. Defaulting numbers to measures is a really stupid default if it can't be changed.

These fields are dimensions in my universes.

I know that I can make a variable and assign it as a dimension, but I need to be able to join/relate them to other objects where the data type is numeric.

[yogananda]

dbird
Unfortunately, I don't think there is a way to do this in free hand SQL. You may need to create a variable for each field in WebI, and then assign it as a dimension. This will allow you to join/relate it to other objects that have a numeric data type.

[dbird1]

This is not an answer, but a rant. This is one of the dumbest things I've run across in version 4.3. 4.2 allowed it. I think SAP Business Objects was developed with only simple financial applications in mind. All of our relational keys are numeric, and we use them in every report we create. I end up modifying universes to do some of the simplest tasks because even using variables, I get weird results. For instance, if I want to count the numeric unique IDs for a row in a crosstab report, and I use the same unique key to count in a subtotal, for example on a monthly bases, I can't get a count of the top level numeric key. It is always limited to the count of the monthly category, even when I create different variables for each of the two uses.

[former_member803915]

Please see KB article 3199437. You now have to change the object data type after the query is ran vs. before.