Dimensions are data sets that appear as buttons down the left of the screen in both grid and chart view. Common dimensions are customers, products, sales reps, regions, vendors, accounts, and so on. When you select a dimension it turns blue, as shown in the image below.
Some dimensions have a subset (group) of dimensions. E.g., in the image below 'Product group' and 'Category' are grouped under 'Products'.
Dimension properties
Properties (dimension metadata such as name, code, customer address, etc) are displayed as columns. By default, Phocas displays code and name. To display more properties simply tick as required from the Properties menu, or create your own custom property.
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Select a dimension
Step 2. Select a dimension. The selected dimension button will turn blue and the data displayed in the grid will change accordingly. In the image above, the 'Products' dimension has been selected and the grid displays product data.
- Columns are sorted by total in ascending order.
- Negative figures are shown in red.
- Cells that do not contain data are shaded green.
- If the data in the Code column is blue it indicates a link is available.
- Dimensions that have selections will be indicated by numbers in brackets.
Select multiple dimensions
You can easily slice and dice data in Phocas by selecting multiple dimensions - in effect, combining dimensions.
Step 1. Select a dimension and focus on some data. Selecting without focusing gives you the same information; however, focusing removes other data from view and retains the selection when you move to the next dimension.
Step 2. Select a second dimension. What you see now depends on your previous selections, e.g. if you select and focus on sales reps 'Fred' and 'Daisy', and then move to the 'Customer' dimension, only customers who have purchased from 'Fred' and 'Daisy' will appear.
Example
'Which customers are buying items supplied by a particular vendor from sales rep Alan in the South East region?' This question can be answered by following the steps below:
- Select 'Sales Rep' dimension and choose 'Alan'. Focus.
- Select 'Vendor' dimension and choose any vendor. Focus.
- Select 'Region' dimension and choose South East. Focus.
- Select 'Customer' dimension to view the results of your analysis.
You will see a list of customers in the South East who are buying items from 'Alan' that came from your chosen vendor. Dimensions that have selections are indicated by numbers in brackets next to the dimension name.
Default settings for dimensions
When you first select a dimension the data shown depends on the default settings for the database.
Sales database defaults
In a sales database, which is one of the most common databases in Phocas, the default columns are:
Period: Default
Mode: Period
Properties: Code, Name
Stream: Default
Filter: Sales value
Measure: Sales value
Format: Actual
The columns displayed will change as you select different periods, modes, properties and so on.