A basic difference in the warehouse queries we work with is that only "of interest" dimensions are included in the predicate. Thus if one wants to limit the location, the join and predicate are modified to include a restriction to the location dimension and then the North American rows within that dimension. If location is not important, the relevant join and predicate fragments are excluded from the query. That effectively masks some of the issues you outline and reflects the more dynamic nature of warehouse SQL reporting and extract statements. -- Rumpi Gravenstein -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l