When browsing the attribute elements in Data Explorer | System Hierarchy , we noticed that the DESC form is always shown but by default the ID is hidden. To change this behavior and decide how the attribute will appear to the end user, we will modify the settings in the Display tab of the Attribute Editor. These settings will affect the way attribute elements are displayed also in dynamic selections and filters which we'll cover in Chapter 8, Dynamic Selection with Filters and Prompts.
Let's see how to do it:
- In the Schema Objects | Attributes folder, double-click on the Customer attribute.
- Select the Display tab, you will find a shopping cart like the one shown in the following screen capture:
- In the right part of the cart, select the EMAIL form and remove it from both Report display and Browse by clicking on the small < buttons.
- Click on Save and Close and update the schema.
Now if you go to Data Explorer | System Hierarchy, you'll notice that the e-mail address is gone. If you still see it, that's because MicroStrategy Desktop keeps a local cache of attribute elements to speed up the application; in this case you need to refresh the elements. Click on the View menu and select Refresh (F5).
This setting affects the default behavior of the entire project when browsing the attribute. You will still have the possibility to change the display forms on a per report basis.
You may want the elements sorted by code, for example, instead of DESC.
You can do this from the Modify Attribute Form window. Refer to the screen capture:
There are two comboboxes down on the right-hand side named Report sort and Browse sort.
If you change the second one to Descending (in the screen capture I am sorting the Year attribute), you will see the years' elements sorted backwards. This is especially useful when the users have to select from a dynamic list of years, and you want the most recent to be shown first.