# Fact Table Loader

The *Fact Table Loader* object in the *Data Warehouse* section of the toolbox allows you to write data to a fact table. You can connect to a deployed model and then choose a fact table that you want to write your data to.

In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how you can configure and use the *Fact Table Loader* object in Astera Data Stack.

### Video

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/f-_0XTFpvQ8>" %}

### Example

Here, we have a sample dimensional model that has been deployed on the server.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/tu15W9Uyt3kB28YVa2Mf/01-sample-dimensional-model1.png)

This model contains four dimension entities, one fact entity, and a date dimension entity. In this example, we’ll be loading data into the *Sale* fact entity using the *Fact Table Loader* object.

### Configuring the Fact Table Loader Object

1. To get the *Fact Table Loader* object from the toolbox, go to *Toolbox > Data Warehouse > Fact Table Loader*.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/V1j7qTBa3dGqXo4qKACc/02-toolbox-fact-table-loader.png)

2. Drag and drop the *Fact Table Loader* object onto the dataflow designer.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/HsZ2D5uxdXEKO8swWFBJ/adding-fact-table-loader.gif)

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/wPThA6KEwRltSFQxeUuh/03-fact-table-loader.png)

This object is currently empty because we are yet to configure it.

3. To open the properties window of the *Fact Table Loader* object, right-click on it and select *Properties* form the context menu. Alternatively, you can double-click on the object.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/DezQjNorv1XPJggmLPBR/04-fact-table-loader-properties.png)

A configuration window will appear on your screen.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/4wFa7SGxkoAM54qWVMZJ/05-configuration0window.png)

Using this window, you can configure the *Fact Table Loader* object.

4. On the *Database Connection* screen, you’ll notice that the *Data Provider* dropdown menu is limited to just one option: *Astera Data Model*. This option represents the data models that are deployed on the server and are available for usage.

![](https://docs.astera.com/projects/dwbuilder/en/latest/_images/06-astera-data-model.PNG)

Once you’ve provided your Astera Data Stack credentials and a server connection, you can select a deployed model from the *Database* dropdown menu.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/7p4QhOYEjDoK3LEga2A8/06-astera-data-model.png)

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note**: The default username is *admin,* and the default password is *Admin123*.
{% endhint %}

In this case, we’ll select *DW\_Sale*, which represents the dimensional model that we saw earlier.

5. On the *Pick Table* screen, you can pick a table from the fact entities present in the deployed model that you’ve chosen.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/SEWj9dBz4zv7ITulin5Z/07-database-dropdown.png)

The *Pick Table* dropdown menu allows you to choose from the fact entities in the model.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/VIPr1BLWZGj8RKwwuLYL/09-pick-table.png)

In this case, there’s only one fact table, titled *Sale*, in the deployed dimensional model. Therefore, we’ll pick that table from the menu.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/00WSambdkdPLXaxKKLV7/10-pick-table1.png)

Once you’ve chosen a fact table, click *Next*.

6. On the *Layout Builder* screen, you can view the layout of the entity, including the characteristics and roles of each field. However, you cannot modify the layout of the entity from this screen.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/zsAWkNwxXDUeXIxTOTGb/11-fact-layout-builder.png)

Click *OK* to close the configuration window.

The *Fact Table Loader* object has now been configured and you’ll be able to see all of the fields in the object layout.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/zE0BClK3WMykIjRsMEyQ/12-fact-table-loader-object.png)

You can now map the incoming source data to each relevant field.

7. Choose a relevant source object from the toolbox and configure it so as to extract the source data. In this case, we’ll use a *Data Model Query* object to extract data from multiple tables in the source deployment, and then map the relevant fields to the *Fact Table Loader* object.

![](https://content.gitbook.com/content/zEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2/blobs/OyZVFcGZVRRzNQNZLw8Y/13-fact-table-loader-dataflow.png)

To learn more about the *Data Model Query* object, [click here](https://documentation.astera.com/dataflows/sources/data-model-query).

You can now run the dataflow to load data into the fact table.

This concludes our discussion on the *Fact Table Loader* object.