When new data is needed on the reporting layer, for example a new Region or a new Product Category, it would need to be fed from the source systems to the database. Then, MicroStrategy can execute a query to report it. However, in some scenarios, due to time constraints or because of a very specific and customized requirement, you might want to group the data in a report to create sets, bands, quartiles, or simply to combine Attribute elements without having to modify the database. We will explore two objects that serve this purpose: Custom Groups and Consolidations.

The following is a quick reference table for a MicroStrategy Custom Group:

A Custom Group is an Application Object that creates dynamic sets of data in such a way that it gives the ability to create several mini-reports inside a Report. This object is based on another familiar one: the Filter. The developer would create one or more Filter qualifications in order to define...