A Cross tabulation (also called a Cross Tab) is a non-graphical tabular structure that presents Measure data-element detail and/or summary information organized within Dimension data-elements which can represent a hierarchical arrangement of data.
They are heavily used to present actual data values for BI analysis, business, engineering and scientific research. Cross Tabs provide an effective way to understand the data as detail and summary information values that lie behind the many different graphical renderings that Analytics can produce from each Cross Tab.
Because of the value provided by the ability to look at a graphic as well as ‘under the hood’, Analytics provides a feature that allows a user to dynamically toggle between its graphical rendering and its cross-tab rendering as well as the ability to ‘Drill Down’ through a hierarchy of multiple dimensions.