CUBESET function

This article describes the formula syntax and usage of the CUBESET function in Microsoft Excel.

Description

Defines a calculated set of members or tuples by sending a set expression to the cube on the server, which creates the set, and then returns that set to Microsoft Excel.

Syntax

CUBESET(connection, set_expression, [caption], [sort_order], [sort_by])

The CUBESET function syntax has the following arguments:

• Connection    Required. A text string of the name of the connection to the cube.

• Set_expression    Required. A text string of a set expression that results in a set of members or tuples. Set_expression can also be a cell reference to an Excel range that contains one or more members, tuples, or sets included in the set.

• Caption    Optional. A text string that is displayed in the cell instead of the caption, if one is defined, from the cube.

• Sort_order    Optional. The type of sort, if any, to perform and can be one of the following:

Integer	Enumerated constant	Description	Sort_by argument
0	SortNone	Leaves the set in existing order.	Ignored
1	SortAscending	Sorts set in ascending order by sort_by.	Required
2	SortDescending	Sorts set in descending order by sort_by.	Required
3	SortAlphaAscending	Sorts set in alpha ascending order.	Ignored
4	Sort_Alpha_Descending	Sorts set in alpha descending order.	Ignored
5	Sort_Natural_Ascending	Sorts set in natural ascending order.	Ignored
6	Sort_Natural_Descending	Sorts set in natural descending order.	Ignored

• The default value is 0. An alpha sort for a set of tuples sorts on the last element in each tuple. For more information on these different sort orders, see the Microsoft Office SQL Analysis Services help system.

• Sort_by    Optional. A text string of the value by which to sort. For example, to get the city with the highest sales, set_expression would be a set of cities, and sort_by would be the sales measure. Or, to get the city with the highest population, set_expression would be a set of cities, and sort_by would be the population measure. If sort_order requires sort_by, and sort_by is omitted, CUBESET returns the #VALUE! error message.

Remarks

• When the CUBESET function evaluates, it temporarily displays a "#GETTING_DATA…" message in the cell before all of the data is retrieved.

• If the connection name is not a valid workbook connection stored in the workbook, CUBESET returns a #NAME? error value. If the Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) server is not running, not available, or returns an error message, CUBESET returns a #NAME? error value.

• If the set_expression syntax is incorrect or the set contains at least one member with a different dimension than the other members, CUBESET returns a #N/A error value.

• If set_expression is longer than 255 characters, which is the limit for an argument to a function, CUBESET returns a #VALUE! error value. To use text strings longer than 255 characters, enter the text string in a cell (for which the limit is 32,767 characters), and then use a cell reference as the argument.

• CUBESET may return a #N/A error value if you reference a session-based object, such as a calculated member or named set, in a PivotTable when sharing a connection, and that PivotTable is deleted or you convert the PivotTable to formulas. (On the Options tab, in the Tools group, click OLAP Tools, and then click Convert to Formulas.)

Examples

=CUBESET("Finance","Order([Product].[Product].[Product Category].Members,[Measures].[Unit Sales],ASC)","Products")

=CUBESET("Sales","[Product].[All Products].Children","Products",1,"[Measures].[Sales Amount]")