Use Reverse Loading to Substitute InfoCube Characteristic Values

Become familiar with a method for substituting InfoCube characteristic values that avoids a full data reload: reverse loading.

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Key Concept

A characteristic is an object that presents the elementary dimension component in the BW star schema model such as customer, product, company, or sales organization. Key figures of an InfoCube relate to characteristics that supply additional information to each key figure.

Many business scenarios, such as updating inconsistent data, require you to substitute InfoCube characteristic values. In this article, I’ll discuss a technique that involves a reverse load. See my July/August 2007 BW/BI Expert article “Avoid Full Data Reload: Use Selective Deletion to Substitute InfoCube Characteristic Values” for steps outlining the procedure of selective deletion and for a table outlining when you might want to use each technique.