Data field names and formats
This topic describes the data field names and formats supported by NLG Apps and Arria Answers.
For app-specific data requirements — such as minimum and maximum number of dimensions and measures — see the NLG Apps Directory.
Measures
Note
A measure is a field containing measurable, quantitative values that can be used in calculations (e.g. Sales and Profit).
There are no restrictions on field names for measures. The aggregation type and data format requirements are:
Measures must be numeric and have one of the following aggregation types: Don't summarize, Sum, Average, Minimum, Maximum, orCount*.
Not all aggregation and entity type combinations are supported by every app. See the NLG Apps Directory for app-specific guidance.
Decimal separators must be periods; thousand separators, if used, must be commas.
*Arria Answers does not support measures aggregated by Count. See Query types for guidance on which aggregation types are required by each type of query.
Dimensions
Note
A dimension is a field containing non-measurable, qualitative values (e.g. Country, Product, and Date). Dimensions can be used to categorize measures and provide context to your data.
A time dimension is a dimension field that contains whole date, year, quarter, month, or day values, only. Time dimensions can be used to perform analysis over time or to categorize your data.
A dimension instance is a unique value in a dimension field. For example, Scotland may be an instance of the Country dimension and February may be an instance of the Month time dimension.
With the exception of time dimensions, there are no restrictions on the field names and data formats for dimensions.
The restrictions on time dimensions are described below. When data fields follow these conventions, Arria for Power BI automatically recognizes them as time dimensions and changes their entity type to DateTime. You can also set the entity type manually in Step 2 of the wizard.
The following time dimensions are supported:
Tip
If you prefer to use a single-column date field instead of a hierarchy of date fields, you can disable the Power BI Auto date/time option that automatically creates date hierarchies.
Supported field names
Date fields must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Field Names |
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*date* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more characters, including letters, spaces, hyphens, and underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and Arria Answers wizard to override field names.
Supported data formats
Date values must be in one of the following formats:
Pattern | Example Values |
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Supported field names
Year fields must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Field Names |
|---|---|
y |
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*yr* |
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*year* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more characters, including letters, spaces, hyphens, and underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and Arria Answers wizard to override field names.
Supported data formats
Year values must be a two-digit or four-digit number (e.g. 22 or 2022).
Tip
Set the field's Summarization property to Don't summarize. If you don't, Power BI will treat the field as a measure.
Supported field names
Quarter fields must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Field Names |
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q |
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*qt* |
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*qtr* |
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*quarter* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more characters, including letters, spaces, hyphens, and underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and Arria Answers wizard to override field names.
Supported data formats
Quarter values can be in alphanumeric or numeric form:
Quarter | Example Alphanumeric Values† | Example Numeric Values |
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Quarter 1 |
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Quarter 2 |
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Quarter 3 |
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Quarter 4 |
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† Any combination of the strings Q, Qt, Qtr, and Quarter followed by a number — with or without spaces — is acceptable, so Q4 and Q 4 are equally valid. Also, any mixture of cases is acceptable, so qtr1 and QTR1 are valid alternatives to Qtr1.
Tip
If the values are numeric rather than alphanumeric, set the field's Summarization property to Don't summarize. If you don't, Power BI will treat the field as a measure.
Supported field names
Month fields must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Field Names |
|---|---|
m |
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*mon* |
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*mth* |
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*month* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more characters, including letters, spaces, hyphens, and underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and Arria Answers wizard to override field names.
Supported data formats
Month values can be in text or numeric form:
Month | Example Text Values† | Example Numeric Values |
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January |
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February |
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March |
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April |
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May |
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June |
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July |
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August |
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September |
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October |
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November |
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December |
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† This requirement is case-insensitive, so "JAN", "JAn" and "jan" are valid alternatives to "Jan".
Tip
If the values are numeric rather than alphabetic, set the field's Summarization property to Don't summarize. If you don't, Power BI will treat the field as a measure.
Supported field names
Day fields must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Values |
|---|---|
d |
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*day* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more characters, including letters, spaces, hyphens, and underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and Arria Answers wizard to override field names.
Supported data formats
Day values must be a one-digit or two-digit number (e.g. 5 or 05). Ordinal numbers (e.g. 5th) are not supported.
Tip
Set the field's Summarization property to Don't summarize. If you don't, Power BI will treat the field as a measure.
