Using BEx Web Analyzer and Web Application Designer

513 Pages·2010·22.84 MB·English

by  Peter Jones

Reviews for
Applied SAP® BI 7.0 Web Reports: Using BEx Web Analyzer
and Web Application Designer
In my opinion, it is a must-read for anyone who wants to have an
overview of SAP BOBJ reporting tools and how to implement them, virtually
in any business, in a smooth way. This book is a great asset, whether you are
planning for a SAP BW reporting career or are responsible for SAP BW BOBJ
implementation in your company.
—Thiagu Bala, Independent SAP BW, IP, BOBJ, and BPC consultant
This book is insightful, straightforward, and practical, and includes a good
balance of concepts, configuration tips, and best practices. Applied SAP
BI 7.0 Web Reports enables the developer to get actionable information to
business users in an intuitive format. That is what is needed most!
—Thomas S. Eisenhart, Independent SAP BI Consultant, Pro-Activity
Technology Group, LLC
About the Author
Peter Jones is a Platinum Principal Business Applications Consultant with SAP Professional
Services Consulting specializing in Controlling (CO), Enterprise Controlling (EC), Auditing,
Business Warehouse (BW/BI), Strategic Enterprise Management (SEM), Business Planning
and Consolidations (BPC), and BusinessObjects (BOBJ). He has over eleven years of
consulting and educational experience in a variety of strategic and leadership roles, focused
on Controlling, Profitability Analysis, Planning and Consolidations, Corporate Governance,
Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence, and Business Analytics. Peter’s diverse professional
background includes not only consulting experience but participation in the academic areas of
Finance, Controlling, Data Warehousing, Enterprise Management, and Corporate Governance.
He is serving as an SAP Principal/Platinum Business Consultant for areas including CO, BW,
and SEM. He has been involved with numerous implementations for BW and ECC, from the
Blueprint phase through to the Go-Live Process. His responsibilities include being a Subject
Material Expert (SME) in all of the areas listed above, active presenter at conferences including
ASUG, SAPPHIRE, and BI conferences, and editor/writer for FICO Expert and BI Expert. Along
with consulting and education at SAP, Peter has been involved with the academic world in
developing and presenting numerous topics for the University Alliance, which included topics
in the areas of CO, BI, Auditing, SEM, and now BPC. He has an MBA from Drexel University in
Finance and is SAP certified in the areas of FI, CO, BW, SEM, BPC, and BOBJ. Prior to working
for SAP, Peter was self-employed for 15 years in his own accounting and finance business.
About the Technical Editor
Charles Soper has worked in the industry at Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester,
New York in a variety of finance and accounting roles. He has an undergraduate degree
in Economics and an MBA in Finance from the University of Rochester. He is a Senior
Applications Instructor with SAP Educational Services specializing in the areas of
Controlling, Finance, Business Intelligence, Strategic Enterprise Management (SEM), and
Business Planning and Consolidations (BPC). He has over nine years of experience in the
Educational Group at SAP and is involved with the development of training material for
areas such as BPC and BW/BI. He has taught in areas including Finance, Controlling, BI,
SEM (CPM), and BPC. He is SAP certified in the areas of BW, SEM, and BPC.
Applied SAP® BI 7.0 Web Reports:
Using BEx Web Analyzer and
Web Application Designer
Peter Jones
This book contains references to the products of SAP AG,
Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16, 69190 Walldorf, Germany. The
names of these products are registered and/or unregistered
trademarks of SAP AG. SAP AG is neither the author nor the
publisher of this book and is not responsible for its content.
New York Chicago San Francisco
Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City
Milan New Delhi San Juan
Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto
Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976,
no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978-0-07-164027-5
MHID: 0-07-164027-4
The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-164026-8, MHID: 0-07-164026-6.
All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked
name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the
trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.
McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training
programs. To contact a representative please e-mail us at [email protected].
Information has been obtained by McGraw-Hill from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or
mechanical error by our sources, McGraw-Hill, or others, McGraw-Hill does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any
information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information.
TERMS OF USE
This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”) and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work.
Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy
of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, dis-
tribute, disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill’s prior consent. You may use the work for
your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated
if you fail to comply with these terms.
THE WORK IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS
TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK,
INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE,
AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill and its licensors do not
warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error
free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause,
in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through
the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive,
consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the
possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in
contract, tort or otherwise.
Contents at a Glance
1 BEx Web Analyzer Reporting Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Getting a Fast Start with BI Patterns in the BEx Web Template . . . . . . . . 57
3 Basics of the Web Application Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4 Advanced Configuration Using the Web Application Designer . . . . . . . . 117
5 Advanced Functionality of the Report Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
6 Developing Effective Web Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
7 Developing High-Impact Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
8 Migrating 3.x to 7.0 BEx Web Reports and the WAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
9 Integration of SAP BusinessObjects Components
into the BI Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
v
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
1 BEx Web Analyzer Reporting Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Status of Reporting Tools in SAP BI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Introduction to the BEx Web Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Accessing the BEx Web Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Navigation Options in the BEx Web Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
2 Getting a Fast Start with BI Patterns in the BEx Web Template . . . . . . . . 57
Introduction to BI Patterns and the BEx Web Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Using BI Patterns with the Pattern Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Configuration of the BI Patterns in the Web Application Designer . . . . . . . 60
Small Web Template with Analysis Web Item and 1 DP . . . . . . . . . . 62
Small Web Template with Chart Web Item and 1 DP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Small Web Template with Chart, Analysis Web Item and 1 DP . . . . 70
Information Consumer Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3 Basics of the Web Application Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Introduction to the Web Application Designer (WAD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Example WAD Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Overview of the WAD Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
The WAD Screen Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
The WAD Menu Bar and Toolbar Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
0ANALYSIS_PATTERN: Standard Web Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
0ANALYSIS_PATTERN Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
0ANALYSIS_PATTERN EXPORT Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4 Advanced Configuration Using the Web Application Designer . . . . . . . . 117
Setting Up the Initial Web Template for Use in the WAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Web Template Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Web Template Formatting Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Creating a Web Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Configuration of Web Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Configuration of a Web Template with Two Web Items . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Groups of Web Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
vii
vviiiiii AApppplliieedd SSAAPP BBII 77..00 WWeebb RReeppoorrttss
Formatting with Web Template Layouts Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Command Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
XHTML Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
JavaScript Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
5 Advanced Functionality of the Report Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Functionality of the Report Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Static and Dynamic Sections in a Report Designer Report . . . . . . . . 240
Row Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Tips and Tricks for Using the Report Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Using Hierarchies in Your Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Using Templates in the Report Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Positioning Queries in the Report Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Example Using the Functionality of the Report Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
6 Developing Effective Web Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Overview of Web Report Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Introducting the Chart Web Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Automatic Axis Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Editing Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Chart Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Formatting Charts Using the Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Defining Chart Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Examples of Improved Chart Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Configuration of Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Commands for Web Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Commands for Web Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Commands for Data Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
7 Developing High-Impact Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Overview of the Development of Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Process of Developing a Dynamic Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Required Details of the KPIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Tips on Visualization of Dynamic Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
The Architecture of the Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Examples of Effective Dashboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
8 Migrating 3.x to 7.0 BEx Web Reports and the WAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Overview of the Migration Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Approach to Migration of Web-Based Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Contents ix
Migration Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Standard Business Content for Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
WAD Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Web Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
WAD Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
Steps in the Migration Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
9 Integration of SAP BusinessObjects Components
into the BI Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Overview of the Integration and Positioning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
Components of SAP BusinessObjects (BOBJ) for Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Choosing the Right Tool for the Right Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Web Intelligence (WebI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
Xcelsius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Crystal Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
BusinessObjects Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493