I’ve been responsible for administering Analysis Services (SSAS) on a regular basis for the past 7-8 years via SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), but developing is a whole different ball game (and set of tools). I only recently started doing development work with SSAS on a regular basis. Prior to that I dabbled once every two to three years, enough to be able to say, “Yes, I can do that, but I can’t remember exactly how.” Fortunately the tool used for SSAS development is a tool that I am very familiar with, Visual Studio (or as we data professionals now call it, SQL Server Data Tools).

I recently had to change some security for our cube and was tasked with modifying the role membership. Now this most likely seems like a no brainer and it is, as long as you know where the buttons are. What buttons am I referring to? Those precious Add and Remove buttons that allow us to modify the members. When doing development work in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT), there are all these nice menus and toolbars at the top or on the left hand side. So when I went to do some work on the role membership, imagine my dismay when I could find no way to add/remove users to the role via the menu or toolbar.

I must have spent a good 10 minutes looking through all the menu options and toolbars, only to discover there is no way to add/remove members in any of those. So I of course freak out mode ensued. I must have the wrong version of SSDT, I must not have the right permissions to be able to add/remove users, the list goes on and on. I took another look, I mean look at all that screen real estate. You have that HUGE white space that is just dying to be used and no way to use it.

Then it happened, I the saw the light (or buttons as it were), hiding way down there at the bottom of my screen.

Like I said, this may seem like a no brainer, especially for someone who does SSAS development work on a daily basis, but for those that are new or only use it every so often, it’s frustrating. After seeing someone ask where the buttons were via #sqlhelp on Twitter, I decided I needed to write this up.

I hope this saves some other unsuspecting soul the frustration that I experienced.