# What to Check When Renaming Dimensions or Measures in a Cube Model

**URL:** <https://community.embeddable.com/t/what-to-check-when-renaming-dimensions-or-measures-in-a-cube-model/155>\
**Category:** FAQs\
**Created:** [January 8, 2026, 10:57am UTC](https://community.embeddable.com/t/what-to-check-when-renaming-dimensions-or-measures-in-a-cube-model/155 "2026-01-08T10:57:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nauman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/779978/32.png) [@Nauman](https://community.embeddable.com/u/Nauman)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 10:57am UTC](https://community.embeddable.com/t/what-to-check-when-renaming-dimensions-or-measures-in-a-cube-model/155/1 "2026-01-08T10:57:57Z")

</div>

### ⚠ Important: Prefer `title` property Over Renaming (Best Practice)

If your goal is **only to change how a dimension or measure appears to end users** , **do not rename it**.

Instead, use the `title` property.

The `title` property is a **non-breaking way** to update display names without affecting:

- Cube model references

- Joins and pre-aggregations

- Embeddable dashboards

#### How the `title` Property Works

- `name` → Internal, stable identifier (used in all references)

- `title` → Display label shown to end users only

```yaml
cubes:
  - name: orders
    sql_table: orders

    dimensions:
      - name: customer_id
        sql: customer_id
        type: number
        title: "Customer ID"

    measures:
      - name: total_revenue
        sql: amount
        type: sum
        title: "Total Sales Revenue"

```

👉 **Only rename `name` when a true semantic change is required.**

If you must rename, follow the checklist below.

* * *

### 1. References Within the Same Cube

**Derived measures**  
Check measures that reference other measures or dimensions.

```yaml
measures:
  - name: profit_margin
    sql: 100.0 * ({profit} / {revenue})

```

**Computed / filtered dimensions**  
Look for dimensions that reference other dimensions or measures.

```yaml
dimensions:
  - name: is_completed
    sql: "{CUBE}.status = 'completed'"

```

* * *

### 2. References in Joins and Across Cubes

**Join conditions**  
Update all join SQL that references the renamed field.

```yaml
joins:
  - name: customers
    sql: "{CUBE}.customer_id = {customers}.id"

```

**Cross-cube references**  
Check other cubes that reference this field.

```yaml
sql: "{orders}.status"

```

* * *

### 3. Pre-Aggregation References

If the renamed field is used in a pre-aggregation, update:

- `measures`

- `dimensions`

- `time_dimension`

- `partition_dimension`

```yaml
pre_aggregations:
  - name: orders_by_month
    measures: total_revenue
    dimensions: status
    time_dimension: created_at

```

* * *

### 4. Embeddable Frontend Usage

If the renamed field is used as a **time dimension** in an Embeddable FE component:

- Ensure the **generated query in the Embeddable Builder** uses the new name

- Otherwise, the component will error due to a stale reference

### 5. Testing Process

After completing the rename:

1. **Global search**  
Search the entire project for the old field name to catch missed references.

2. **Direct usage tests**  
Run queries that reference the renamed dimension or measure directly.

3. **Indirect dependency tests**  
Test queries that rely on the renamed field indirectly (joins, derived measures, filters, pre-aggregations).