www.cubeslice.com

Try OLAP for Yourself

There’s an easy way to try OLAP browsing even if you don’t have access to an OLAP database. Download the self-extracting zip file on this page, follow a few simple instructions, and you can see what OLAP is like. 

Requirements 

You must have one of the applications installed on your machine: 

            Microsoft Excel 2000

            Microsoft Excel XP

            Microsoft Office 2000 Web Components

            Microsoft Office XP Web Components

            Microsoft Data Analyzer 

A 120-day trial copy of the Microsoft Data Analyzer is available from Microsoft: 

www.microsoft.com/office/dataanalyzer/default.asp 

Instructions 

1. Download this self-extracting zip file – olaptest.exe
2. Run the zip file and, if possible, use the default destination directory, c:\olaptest
3. Double-click on the client file for any of the OLAP clients you have installed and you can browse the OLAP data. There’s an .xls file for Excel, an .htm file for the Office Web Components, and an .max file for the Data Analyzer. All three of these client files use the data stored in the .cub local cube file.

That’s all you have to do. You can start your OLAP browsing. 

If You Want to Use a Different Destination Directory 

If  you want to put your local cube file in a directory with a different name, there are a few extra steps. 

For Excel, double-click on the client file, select the option to Enable Automatic Refresh, and you will be given the chance to enter the path and the name of the local cube file that has the data. 

For the Office Web Components and for the Data Analyzer, do the following: 

1. Open the client file (.htm or .max file) with Notepad.
2. Search the text for the string c:\olaptest\  This string should only appear once.
3. Replace it with the full path of the directory where you have placed the local cube file.
4. Save the client file and it’s ready to use.