Difference: display attribute and navigational attribute?

[Former Member]

In an exercise, a Customer ID is created and customer name is created as an attribute (characteristic) of the Customer ID. I understand checking the “Attribute Only” checkbox to make it a “display attribute” , that is not a “navigational attribute”

a) My question is what actually is the implication?

b)Does it mean that when in BEx you can drill down from Customer ID to Customer name?

c)Or, does this have nothing to do with report?

d) What will be the consequences of creating the InfoObject Customer Name as a characteristic in its own without making it an attribute of Customer ID.

[former_member188975 · Accepted solution]

Hi Amanda,

You can refer to these for more discussion on the topic of your question:

Hope this helps...

[Former Member]

From the online help:

InfoObject is Exclusively an Attribute (Not Used in ICs)

If you mark the characteristic as an exclusive attribute, it can only be used as a display attribute for another characteristic, but not as an navigation attribute.

In addition, the characteristic cannot be transferred into InfoCubes.

However, it can be used in ODS objects, InfoSets and characteristics as InfoProviders. In queries using these InfoProviders the characteristic can only be changed as a display attribute.

For information about generating SIDs for characteristics see Table of Master Data IDs.

Additional info:

a. The implication is this infoobject cannot be set as a navigational attribute

b and c. This means the you cannot display just customer name. You must have customer id in the drilldown to display customer name. Also, you are unable to "Select Filter Value" on Customer Name.

d. Typically the name would be loaded as text of customer id, not master data directly, but if you wanted to be able to filter on it directly, you could make it a navigational attribute of customer id.