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Customize Web-based BW reports and functionality with Business Server Pages (BSPs). Dr. Bjarne Berg & Deepu Sasidharan MyITGroup Ltd. What We’ll Cover …. Introduction Introduction to WAS and BSP Use of BSP applications in NetWeaver BI A look at some application issues and solutions - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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© 2006 Wellesley Information Services. All rights reserved.© 2006 Wellesley Information Services. All rights reserved.
Customize Web-based BW reports and functionality with Business Server Pages (BSPs)
Dr. Bjarne Berg & Deepu SasidharanMyITGroup Ltd.
2
What We’ll Cover …
• Introduction
• Introduction to WAS and BSP
• Use of BSP applications in NetWeaver BI
• A look at some application issues and solutions
• BW Web Printing
• Wrap-up
3
Introductory Slide
• In this session we will be examining how you can use BSP and other SAP provided web tools to improve on the NetWeaver user experience.
• While we will be showing some basic code examples on how thing are done, the session is intended for both programmers, managers and report developers.
• We will also be demonstrating some of the features and give you a general idea on what features you can add using simple BSP enhancements provided by SAP.
4
What We’ll Cover …
• Introduction
• Introduction to WAS and BSP
• Use of BSP applications in NetWeaver BI with demos
• A look at some application issues and solutions
• BW Web Printing
• Wrap-up
5
Evolution of WAS
6
WAS – What is included?
SAP Web Application Server (WAS) provides the basis for BW
3.0B and higher.
WAS integrates ABAP engine and a Java-2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) engine in one application server.
7
Introduction to BSP
Business Server Pages (BSP) is a page-based programming model with server side scripting for designing web applications.
The BSP programming model is similar to the server page technology like ASP, JSP etc.
BSP uses ABAP for implementing Business Logic and HTML/CSS for presentation logic.
BSP server side scripting enables direct access to all elements on the application server such as ABAP
Objects, Function Modules, Database elements etc.
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BSP Architecture
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BSP Architecture
1) User requests URL
2) BSP Engine creates related BSP object
3) BSP Engine invokes a predefined sequence of events (Event handler code of BSP object is invoked.)
4) HTML page is generated by execution of scripting code
5) BSP Engine sends back HTML page to browser and browser displays HTML page
10
Introduction to BSP and the Web Application Builder
Web Application Builder (transaction code SE80 from SAP GUI) can be used for creating BSP Applications.
Web Application builder functions:Create BSP Applications and Pages
Editing BSP layouts using ABAP and HTML
Integration of Mime Repository for mime objects
Implementing BSP Event Handlers in ABAP
Activating and Executing BSP applications
11
BSP – The web application Builder interface
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BSP - Basics
Layout settings can be used for determining the presentation logic for using server-side scripting in the layout. This means that the code is not executed on the client browser, but instead processed on the server, which has more “horse power”.
The layout processing deals with the static data, while the event
handlers deal with the dynamic data.
Event handlers allow the separation of static and dynamic code in a page.
Properties can be used for setting the general properties of the BSP web pages such as Compression, Stateful, Caching, HTTPS (secure HTTP).
13
BSP – Shared and unique page attributes
Page attributes are parameters that are declared explicitly for a page.
Page attributes can be accessed from the layout and by event handlers.
If you mark any page attributes as ‘automatic’, the attributes automatically gets the formatting and values from another web page or navigation step. This simplifies shared formatting and reuses the code.
14
Executing and activating services for BSP
Use the Web Application Builder Toolbar to execute the BSP.
The ICF service for BSP should be activated from transaction code SICF before executing the BSP application.
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What We’ll Cover …
• Introduction
• Introduction to WAS and BSP
• Use of BSP applications in NetWeaver BI with demos
• A look at some application issues and solutions
• BW Web Printing
• Wrap-up
16
Practical uses of BSP applications in NetWeaver Web Reports
BSP Applications along with SAP delivered function modules can be used for enhancing web reports.
Search Queries in role menu assigned reports and favorites
Centralized BW favorites and management
Emailing Bookmarks and comments
Metadata dictionary with on-line business definitions
We will now look at a few practical examples on how BSP can be used to enhance the NetWeaver user experience
Solution
17
Search Queries in role menu assigned reports and favorites
Users often have access to hundreds of queries and favorites “buried” in a maze of folder structures. It is hard to find what you are looking for.Issue
You can use SAP delivered Function Modules along with BSP to provide a search interface for locating reports in user roles and favorites.
18
How is it done? – Query searching in the role menu using BSP
1) Use a JavaScript function for calling the BSP application from the BW Web template.
2) Read the search term entered by the user in the BSP page.
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How is it done? – Query searching in the role menu using BSP
3) Use SAP delivered Function Module ‘BX_SEARCH_OBJECT’ to
search the User role with the search term entered by the user.
Make sure that the search text matches the attribute name
(i.e. “searchstring”).
Note: the attribute name is not case sensitive
20
Using BSP to create centralized BW Favorites
Centralized favorites allow users to manage favorites in a central repository. These favorites are not browser specific and can be accessed through the BW role menu web item.
A ‘Save Bookmark’ icon can be made available from the BW Toolbar.
Standard web bookmarks are stored in the web browser and is therefore not available on all PCs. Also, the NetWeaver BI administrators does not know what views users are really accessing.Issue
21
Using BSP to create centralized BW Favorites
We can add simple features, so that the users have the option to create sub folders inside favorites to manage bookmarks better.
This allows users to save their versions of the BW query with the variables that they have selected.
22
How is it done? - Centralized BW Favorites
BW Web API and JavaScript function is used to create the bookmark on the BW server by passing the Bookmark Id to the BSP application to insert the Bookmark to User favorites.
To save Bookmark with current data use the command 'BOOKMARK_DATA=X'.
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Centralized BW Favorites
Users can access the Bookmarks from BW Role menu and does not need to use the favorites in their internet browser.
The favorites created in the current user session will be available only the next time the users logs into the system.
Better S
olution
24
Using BSP to create centralized BW Favorites
‘Manage Favorites’ Icon from the BW Toolbar allows the users to
delete, rename,
move and email
favorites.
25
BSP applications are used for the various functions like Delete, Rename and Move.
Email bookmark function can also be designed to open up e-mail applications like Outlook Express.
How is it done? - Centralized BW Favorites
The delete Favorite function deletes the Bookmark from the user favorites and
also deletes the physical bookmark from the BW server.
26
Centralized BW Favorites
27
Email Bookmark
Sometimes we want to only send a quick link to a person or a mail group in a simple manner without having to use the steps Broadcaster wizard (available in BW 3.5 or higher).Issue
‘Email Report’ Icon from the BW Toolbar and
Manage Favorites allows the users to email
favorites using standard SMTP.
28
How is it done? - Email Bookmark
‘Email Report’ creates a Bookmark in the BW system and passes on the Bookmark ID to the Email application.
29
How is it done? – Create an email bookmark application with BSP
A custom BSP application is build for emailing Bookmarks based on the SAP delivered BSP (BSPTUTORIALMAIL).
30
Email Bookmark
You can also use MS Outlook for Emailing Bookmarks.
JavaScript function is used for emailing the Bookmark.
SAP/BW/BCT/JAVASCRIPT/BCTTASK.JS SAPBCTSendPageTip
31
Email Bookmark
32
In a typical BW system 30-40% of all measures presented to the end users does not exist in the source system. These are calculated key figures (CKF), restrictive key figures (RKF) and virtual key figures (VKF).
Users often have a mistrust of these numbers since they cannot see how they are calculated and what they mean.
Also, a typical BW system may also have hundreds of characteristics and masterdata elements that users are unfamiliar with.
Definitions
Issue
Access to definitions and explanations are critical to successful adaptation of BW in an organization
33
Definitions – What can be done?
Build a simple application for BW definitions and provide access to business definitions for all the terms used in a report (including the report itself).
Let users access the definitions directly from the standard context menu of any characteristic or key figure.
34
How is it done? - Definitions
The definitions are stored in a Z table in the BW System, the Z table has the following fields.
OBJ_ID Unique Identifier
OBJ_NAME BW Object Name
OBJ_DESCRIPTION Definition
35
How is it done? - Definitions
This simple BSP Page is used for accessing the Definitions stored in the Z Table inside BW (no new servers needed).
Since the match is on each infoObject, the definitions entered is available in all queries where the infoObject is used, and also in any new queries being created.
36
BW Report branding
BW Documentation apps
BSP applications can be used to build:
Custom logon application
Custom Role menu
Admin interfaces
Reading Table data
What else can you use BSP for? - Some ideas
Bex Query Designer
Business Server Pages (BSP)
Cool Applications and Features
37
What We’ll Cover …
• Introduction
• Introduction to WAS and BSP
• Use of BSP applications in NetWeaver BI with demos
• A look at some application issues and solutions
• BW Web Printing
• Wrap-up
38
BW Online Help and Training
BW and OLAP can be quite confusing to a first-time user.
Since there are many features and navigation options, users often gets lost in the terminology and ‘explanations’ from power users and other experts.
An on-line help system for end users with training material and on-line demos is a great tool to make sure that the system is well received by the user community
Issue
39
BW Online Help – What can you do?
• Make sure that your on-line help application provides many ways to find the information.
• Organize the content based on a folder structure as well as by an index.
• Create many internal links inside the help text and use many images.
40
How is it done? - BW Online Help
Tools like Camtasia Studio, SnagIt and Dreamweaver studio can be used to develop these help animations.
People can relate to demos and ‘movies’, and there are many low-cost tools that can help you quickly create a set of BW help animations
Note
41
How is it done? - BW Online Help
BW Online Help files (HTML, Images, Video files etc.) can be stored in the WAS Mime Repository (SE80).
Use the ‘Import Mime Objects’ function to add files to the Mime Repository.
42
How is it done? - BW Online Help
The files can be accessed directly via URL
<Path to the Mime Object Repository>/BWHelp_files/home.html
Maintaining different folder structure inside the Mime Repository makes maintenance easier.
43
What We’ll Cover …
• Introduction
• Introduction to WAS and BSP
• Use of BSP applications in NetWeaver BI with demos
• A look at some application issues and solutions
• BW Web Printing
• Wrap-up
44
Web Print formatting with Excel
Formatting options for BW web reports have been very limited in the past unless you used Crystal reports.
However, Excel has many good formatting features and in the past BW users often relied on the BEx Excel interface to format their reports and bypassed the whole web delivery.
Many has asked why SAP did not provide better web formatting options for the queries that were published to the web.
Issue
??
?
45
Web Printing with Excel
We can now implement an Excel based interface for printing web reports.
Depending on the size of the report users may have three different options available:
Portrait
Landscape
Landscape Legal
Pre-requisite - Import ABAP Package and Classes provided as part of ‘How To…Web Printing with Microsoft Excel’.
46
How is it done? - Web Print formatting with Excel
The data will be exported to Excel and ‘Fit-to-page’ depending on the options selected by the user.
Customization options include options for specifying a print specific template and stylesheet.
Users can use rich Excel print
settings for printing.
47
Another option is a pure web solution with no Excel….
A JavaScript based solution can be used for providing the users options for printing reports in one page.
Depending on the size of the report users have 3 different options available for ‘Fit-to-page’ :
PortraitLandscapeLandscape Legal
If user’s want a pure web solution, this is a better option
48
How is it done? – pure web printing with no Excel
Use BW Web API along with JavaScript for opening up the current report in a print template.
JavaScript function and stylesheet can be used for dynamically changing the font size of the report. The JavaScript loops through the page with different font sizes to find a size that fits the size of paper selected (portrait, landscape or legal).
Since the web browser may override the format suggested, users must also make sure that the paper format selected is
consistent with the format selected in the browser
49
What We’ll Cover …
• Introduction
• Introduction to WAS and BSP
• Use of BSP applications in NetWeaver BI with demos
• A look at some application issues and solutions
• BW Web Printing
• Wrap-up
50
Resources
• SDN: SDN BSP Forum https://forums.sdn.sap.com/forum.jspa?forumID=49&start=0
Web Log: BSP – a Developer Journal https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/550
• SAP online help http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04/helpdata/en/e9/bb153aab4a0c0ee10000000a114084/
content.htm
• SAP Press BooksAdvanced BSP Programming
http://www.sap-press.com/product.cfm?account=&product=H1903
SAP Web Application Server http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592290132/
BSP Extensions: How to Master Web Reporting http://www.sap-hefte.de/katalog/hefte/titel/gp/titelID-952
Whereto
FIND it
51
7 Key Points to Take Home
• Expect to use BSP for user enhancements and added features
• BSP is not a total custom solution, SAP supports many features
• Make sure you have both BW and web developers on the team
• Build a solid help and training system (user’s expects this).
• Favorites and bookmarks stored on the browser are not a great features.
• On-line definitions for every infoObject will reduce support calls
• Consider developing admin applications such as tracking data load performance using BSP as well
52
Your Turn!
How to contact us:Dr. Bjarne Berg Deepu Sasidharan
bberg@myitgroup.com dsasidharan@myitgroup.com
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