Dimensions determine how the data in visualization is grouped. In standard SQL, it is the field by which aggregation is arranged by using the GROUP BY qualifier. An example would be total sales by a salesman, with the salesman being the dimension value. Dimensions are usually qualities or categories and are characterized by discrete categorical values, rather than quantitative or continuous metrics or measures. They are typically found as slices in a pie chart or on the axis of a line or bar chart:

Let us see a comparison of amount over time:

Dimensions are created from fields in the data model tables and can be:

• A single field, as is from the data model
• Calculated fields derived from one or multiple fields from the data model
• A collection of numerous only or calculated fields represented in a drill-down group
• Can have a distinct color assigned to ensure dimension values are colored consistently across charts.