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MDX Time Expressions Cheat Sheet

MDX Time Expressions User Handbook

MDX (Multidimensional expressions) is a query language for OLAP (Online analytical processing) services using database management systems. It is a highly functional expression syntax that is used for querying multidimensional data
This cheat sheet provides you with the expression syntax and the statements required to learn SSAS in-depth and work on it.

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You can also download the printable PDF of this cheat sheet.
MDX Time Expressions Cheat Sheet

MDX Time Expressions:

Statement Expressions
To get previous month in the Time dimension SELECT ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Month], [Date].[Calendar].DefaultMember) ON 0
FROM [Sales Summary]
WHERE ([Measures].[Sales Amount])
To display the first day of last month in the cube SELECT OpeningPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Date]
, ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Month], [Date].[Calendar].DefaultMember)
) ON 0
FROM [Sales Summary]
MDX query to get the last month loaded in the cube SELECT ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Month], [Date].[Calendar].DefaultMember) ON 0
FROM [Sales Summary]
MDX query that uses execution date/time as a parameter SELECT {[Measures].[Internet Order Count]} ON 0
, {StrToMember(“[Date].[Date].[”
+ Format(now(), “MMMM dd, yyyy”) + “]”)
} ON 1
FROM [Direct Sales];
To get the latest months and previous years same month data SELECT {ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Month], [Date].[Calendar].DefaultMember)
, ParallelPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year]
, 1
, ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Month], [Date].[Calendar].DefaultMember)
)
} ON 0
FROM [Sales Summary]
To create a calculated member for AVG sales over last 3 years based on NOW () function CREATE MEMBER CurrentCube.Measures.[Avg3Years] AS
Avg(
{ParallelPeriod( [Date].[Date].[Date Yr], 3, StrToMember(“[Date].[Date].&[” + Format(now(), “yyyyMMdd”) + “]”))
: StrToMember(“[Date].[Date].&[” + Format(now(), “yyyyMMdd”) + “]”)}
, [Measures].[Sales Qty]
) ;
To get the Previous year to date values WITH MEMBER [Measures].[Current YTD] AS
SUM(YTD([Date].[Calendar].CurrentMember), [Measures].[Internet Order Quantity])
MEMBER [Measures].[Last YTD] AS
SUM(YTD(ParallelPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year]
, 1
, [Date].[Calendar].CurrentMember))
, [Measures].[Internet Order Quantity]
)
SELECT {[Measures].[Current YTD]
, [Measures].[Last YTD]
} ON 0
FROM [Adventure Works]
WHERE ([Date].[Calendar].[Date].[March 22, 2004])
To calculate monthly average of one year WITH MEMBER [Measures].[AvgVal] AS
Avg( Descendants([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].&[2004]
, [Date].[Calendar].[Month])
, [Measures].[Internet Order Count]
)
SELECT {[Measures].[AvgVal]} ON 0
FROM [Adventure Works]
WHERE ([Product].[Product Model Lines].[Model Name].&[Classic Vest])
To return lists of months from start of year to specified month SELECT YTD([Date].[Calendar].[Month].&[2003]&[8])
ON 0
FROM [Sales Summary]
To order the date dimension members in descending order in a report SELECT {[Measures].[Reseller Order Quantity]} ON 0
, ORDER(Tail([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].Members,3)
, [Date].[Calendar].CurrentMember.Member_Key, DESC
) ON 1
FROM [Adventure Works]
To load the first month of last year in the cube SELECT OpeningPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Month]
, ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year], [Date].[Calendar].DefaultMember)
) ON 0
FROM [Sales Summary];
MDX query to show the year level data for all years except the last one, and month level data for the last year SELECT {NULL:
ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year], [Date].[Calendar].DefaultMember).PrevMember
, DESCENDANTS(ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year], [Date].[Calendar].DefaultMember)
, [Date].[Calendar].[Month])
}
ON 0
FROM [Sales Summary]
To calculate sales for 12month to date in MDX WITH MEMBER [Measures].[Last 12 Mth Order Count] AS
SUM(
ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Month], [Date].[Calendar].[All Periods]).Lag(12)
: ClosingPeriod([Date].[Calendar].[Month], [Date].[Calendar].[All Periods])
, [Measures].[Order Count]
)
SELECT [Measures].[Last 12 Mth Order Count] ON 0
FROM [Adventure Works]
To get count of months with sales amount > 0 in defined period WITH Member [Measures].[Months With Above Zero Sales] AS
COUNT(FILTER(
DESCENDANTS({[Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].&[2003]: [Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].&[2004]}
, [Date].[Calendar].[Month])
, [Measures].[Sales Amount] > 0
)
)
SELECT {[Measures].[Sales Amount], [Measures].[Months With Above Zero Sales]} ON 0
, [Product].[Product Model Lines].[Product Line].Members on 1
FROM [Adventure Works]
WHERE ([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].&[2003]: [Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].&[2004])
To calculate monthly average of a year including empty months WITH MEMBER [Measures].[AvgVal] AS
Avg( Descendants([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].&[2004]
, [Date].[Calendar].[Month])
, CoalesceEmpty([Measures].[Internet Order Count], 0)
)
SELECT {[Measures].[AvgVal]} ON 0
FROM [Adventure Works]
WHERE ([Product].[Product Model Lines].[Model Name].&[Classic Vest])

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With this, we come to an end of the MDX Time Expression Cheatsheet. To get in-depth knowledge, check out our interactive, live-online SSAS certification Training here, which comes with 24*7 support to guide you throughout your learning period. Intellipaat’s SSAS online training equips you with various analysis techniques, discovery trends, and building OLAP cubes for generating business insights.

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About the Author

Data Analyst & Machine Learning Associate

As a Data Analyst and machine learning associate, Nishtha combines her analytical skills and machine learning knowledge to interpret complicated datasets. She is also a passionate storyteller who transforms crucial findings into gripping tales that further influence data-driven decision-making in the business frontier.