Master CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY: Extract Properties from OLAP Cube Members
=CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY(connection, member_expression, property)The CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY function is a powerful advanced Excel formula designed for users working with OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) cubes and multidimensional data sources. This function allows you to retrieve specific properties associated with cube members, enabling sophisticated data analysis and reporting capabilities. Whether you're building executive dashboards, financial models, or analytical reports, understanding CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY is essential for leveraging the full potential of your cube data connections. CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY operates within Excel's cube function family, working seamlessly with other functions like CUBEMEMBER and CUBEVALUE to create dynamic, interactive reports. This formula is particularly valuable in enterprise environments where organizations maintain SQL Server Analysis Services, Oracle Essbase, or other OLAP cube implementations. By mastering this function, you'll unlock the ability to create sophisticated business intelligence solutions directly within Excel, reducing dependency on specialized BI tools while maintaining data accuracy and real-time connectivity to your cube infrastructure.
Syntax & Parameters
The CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY formula follows this structure: =CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY(connection, member_expression, property). The first parameter, 'connection', is a required text string representing the name of your cube connection established through Excel's Data menu. This connection must be properly configured and active to function correctly. The 'member_expression' parameter requires a valid MDX (Multidimensional Expressions) syntax that identifies the specific member whose property you want to retrieve. This can be a simple member reference like '[Product].[Category].[Electronics]' or a complex MDX expression using functions like CURRENTMEMBER or PARENT. The 'property' parameter specifies which attribute you want to extract, such as MEMBER_NAME, MEMBER_CAPTION, MEMBER_UNIQUE_NAME, or custom properties defined in your cube. Understanding MDX syntax is crucial for success with this formula. Properties available depend entirely on your cube's structure and configuration. Always validate your connection name matches exactly what appears in your cube connection settings, as Excel is case-sensitive for this parameter.
connectionmember_expressionpropertyPractical Examples
Extracting Product Category Names from Sales Cube
=CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY("SalesCube","[Product].[Category].[Electronics]","MEMBER_CAPTION")This formula connects to the 'SalesCube' connection and retrieves the display caption of the Electronics category member. MEMBER_CAPTION returns the user-friendly name rather than the technical unique name, making it ideal for reports and dashboards.
Getting Member Unique Names for Dynamic References
=CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY("FinanceCube","[Time].[Year].[2024]","MEMBER_UNIQUE_NAME")This formula retrieves the unique name of the 2024 year member, which is essential for creating dynamic formulas that reference specific cube members. The unique name ensures accurate member identification across different cube refresh cycles.
Retrieving Custom Properties from Organizational Hierarchy
=CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY("OrgCube","[Organization].[Department].[Sales]","Department Manager")This formula accesses a custom property defined in the cube that stores the name of the department manager. Custom properties are defined during cube design and can include any business metadata relevant to your organization.
Key Takeaways
- CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY retrieves metadata and properties associated with OLAP cube members, enabling sophisticated reporting and analysis capabilities
- The formula requires three parameters: a valid cube connection name, a properly formatted MDX member expression, and the name of an existing member property
- MEMBER_CAPTION and MEMBER_UNIQUE_NAME are the most commonly used properties; MEMBER_CAPTION for display and MEMBER_UNIQUE_NAME for formula references
- Combining CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY with CUBEVALUE and CUBEMEMBER creates dynamic, intelligent dashboards that respond to changing cube data
- Proper error handling with IFERROR and validation of MDX syntax are essential practices for production-ready cube-based reports
Pro Tips
Use MEMBER_UNIQUE_NAME instead of MEMBER_CAPTION when you need to reference members in other formulas. Unique names remain consistent even if display captions change, making your formulas more robust.
Impact : Prevents formula breakage when cube administrators update member display names or apply translations. Ensures long-term formula stability in production reports.
Cache frequently used properties in helper columns rather than recalculating them repeatedly. This reduces cube server load and significantly improves workbook calculation time, especially in large reports.
Impact : Can reduce calculation time by 50-70% in complex dashboards with hundreds of CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY formulas. Improves user experience and reduces server resource consumption.
Always test your MDX expressions with a cube browser tool before embedding them in formulas. Many cube administration tools include MDX query builders that validate syntax and show available members and properties.
Impact : Eliminates debugging time and prevents #VALUE! errors in production reports. Helps you understand your cube structure more deeply and discover available properties you might not be aware of.
Document custom properties in your cube alongside their data types and valid values. Share this documentation with all users building reports, as custom properties vary by organization and aren't discoverable through Excel alone.
Impact : Enables team members to build formulas independently without constantly asking cube administrators. Standardizes reporting practices across your organization.
Useful Combinations
Dynamic Reporting with CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY and CUBEVALUE
=CUBEVALUE("SalesCube","[Product].[Category].["&CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY("SalesCube","[Product].[Category].[Electronics]","MEMBER_UNIQUE_NAME")&"]","[Measures].[Sales Amount]")This combination retrieves a member's unique name using CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY, then uses that unique name in CUBEVALUE to fetch actual sales data. This pattern is powerful for creating dynamic dashboards where member properties drive value calculations.
Conditional Formatting Based on Member Properties
=IF(CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY("OrgCube","[Department].[Sales]","Department Manager")="John Smith",CUBEVALUE("OrgCube","[Department].[Sales]","[Measures].[Budget]"),0)Combine CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY with IF statements to conditionally display values based on member properties. This creates intelligent reports that filter or highlight data based on metadata attributes like manager names or cost centers.
Building Member Lists with CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY and IFERROR
=IFERROR(CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY("MyCube","[Product].[Category].["&A1&"]","MEMBER_CAPTION"),"Member not found")Wrap CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY in IFERROR to gracefully handle invalid member references. This prevents #VALUE! errors in dashboards and creates user-friendly error messages when members don't exist or connections fail.
Common Errors
Cause: Excel doesn't recognize CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY, typically because the Analysis Services Client Tools are not installed or the formula is misspelled. This error also occurs if you're using an Excel version that doesn't support cube functions.
Solution: Verify that you're using Excel 2007 or later with Analysis Services connectivity enabled. Install the SQL Server Feature Pack if necessary. Check the exact spelling of the function name. Ensure your cube connection is properly established through Data > From Other Sources > From Microsoft Query.
Cause: The member_expression parameter contains invalid MDX syntax, or the property name doesn't exist in your cube. This error also occurs when the connection name is spelled incorrectly or the connection is not active.
Solution: Validate your MDX expression syntax using a cube browser tool. Confirm the property name exists in your cube by checking the cube metadata. Verify the connection name matches exactly (case-sensitive). Test the connection status by using a CUBEMEMBER formula first to ensure basic connectivity works.
Cause: The cube connection has been deleted or the workbook link to the cube server has been broken. This typically happens after workbook recovery or when moving files between systems without updating connection references.
Solution: Reestablish the cube connection through Data > Connections. Edit the connection properties to ensure the server address and cube name are correct. If the file was moved, update all connection paths to point to the correct server. Consider using relative paths or connection names that reference your organization's standard cube server locations.
Troubleshooting Checklist
- 1.Verify the cube connection name is spelled exactly as it appears in Data > Connections (Excel is case-sensitive)
- 2.Test basic cube connectivity by creating a simple CUBEMEMBER formula first to isolate whether the issue is connection-related or formula-specific
- 3.Validate MDX syntax using your cube browser tool or Analysis Services client to ensure member_expression is correctly formatted
- 4.Confirm the requested property exists for the specified member by checking cube metadata or testing with a known working property like MEMBER_CAPTION
- 5.Check that Analysis Services Client Tools are installed and that your Excel version supports cube functions (2007 or later)
- 6.Ensure the cube connection is not set to offline mode and that network connectivity to the cube server is active
Edge Cases
Member name contains special characters or spaces
Behavior: MDX requires special characters to be escaped or the member name to be enclosed in brackets. Without proper escaping, the formula returns #VALUE! error.
Solution: Enclose member names in brackets: [Product].[Category].[Electronics & Computers] or use proper MDX escaping syntax. Test in cube browser first.
Different cube systems handle special characters differently; verify your specific OLAP implementation's escaping rules
Requesting a property for a calculated member
Behavior: Calculated members may not have all properties available. Some properties like MEMBER_UNIQUE_NAME may return the calculation expression instead of a simple identifier.
Solution: Test which properties are available for calculated members in your cube. Use IFERROR to handle missing properties gracefully. Document which properties work with calculated vs. regular members.
Calculated member properties depend entirely on how they were defined in the cube design
Cube connection becomes temporarily unavailable
Behavior: CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY returns #N/A or #VALUE! error depending on when the connection fails. Formulas don't automatically retry or cache previous values.
Solution: Implement error handling with IFERROR or IFNA. Consider caching results in helper columns during times when connectivity is stable. Set up network monitoring to alert when cube servers are unavailable.
Enterprise environments should implement redundant cube servers and failover configurations to minimize connectivity issues
Limitations
- •CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY only works with OLAP cube connections; it cannot retrieve properties from flat data sources, relational databases, or Power Pivot models without OLAP configuration
- •Performance degrades significantly when used in large arrays or across thousands of rows; each formula call requires a server round-trip to the cube, making bulk operations slow compared to cached data approaches
- •Custom properties must be explicitly defined in the cube design; you cannot create new properties or modify existing ones from Excel, limiting flexibility for ad-hoc reporting
- •The formula requires an active connection to the cube server at calculation time; offline workbooks cannot recalculate CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY formulas, and cached results are not automatically maintained
Alternatives
Simpler for basic member references; doesn't require property extraction. Works well when you only need member values rather than their properties.
When: Use when building basic cube reports that don't require displaying member metadata or custom properties. Combine with Excel's formatting capabilities to achieve similar visual results.
More flexible for complex queries; allows filtering and transformations before data reaches Excel. Better performance for large datasets.
When: Use when you need to combine multiple cube properties, apply complex filtering, or work with very large result sets. Requires more technical MDX knowledge but offers greater control.
Compatibility
✓ Excel
Since 2007
=CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY(connection, member_expression, property) - Fully supported in Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 365✗Google Sheets
Not available
✓LibreOffice
=CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY(connection, member_expression, property) - Supported in LibreOffice Calc with Analysis Services connections configured through Tools > Options > Database