How to Upload Backend Roles to SAP Netweaver …...How to Upload Backend Roles to SAP NetWeaver Portal 7 Please check the link above, in the following we will only concentrate on the

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How to Upload Backend Roles to SAP NetWeaver Portal

Author: Thomas Veith

Company: SAP AG

Created on: 21 September 2012

2 How to Upload Backend Roles to SAP NetWeaver Portal

Table of Contents

1 WHY THIS GUIDE? ................................................................................................................... 3

2 PREREQUISITES ....................................................................................................................... 4

3 CONFIGURATION OF THE ROLE UPLOAD SERVICE IN SAP NETWEAVER PORTAL ......................... 5

3.1 Configure the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0x .......................................... 5

3.2 Configure the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.3x .......................................... 5

3.3 Settings for upload to portal .................................................................................................... 6

3.4 Restart the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0x .............................................. 8

3.5 Restart the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.3x .............................................. 8

4 UPLOADING BACKEND ROLES TO THE PORTAL CONTENT DIRECTORY ...................................... 10

4.1 Uploading roles using SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0x .................................................................. 10

4.2 Uploading roles using SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.3x .................................................................. 11

5 BUILDING NWBC ROLES FOR UPLOAD TO THE PORTAL ........................................................... 14

5.1 Default Page.......................................................................................................................... 14

5.2 Single Top Level ..................................................................................................................... 15

5.3 Link Collection ....................................................................................................................... 18

5.4 Service Map .......................................................................................................................... 20

5.5 OBN – Object Based Navigation ............................................................................................. 21

5.6 Invisible Folder ...................................................................................................................... 24

5.7 Remote Objects ..................................................................................................................... 24

5.8 Web Dynpro ABAP Page Builder Integration into the Portal .................................................... 25


1 WHY THIS GUIDE?

This guide explains best practices how to upload roles from SAP Backend (e.g. SAP ERP) to SAP NetWeaver

Portal (PCD). After the delivery of EHP6 for SAP ERP, SAP changed its delivery strategy for Portal Roles,

better known as Business Packages. SAP is standardizing its SAP ERP offering on Web Dynpro ABAP UI

technology. To simplify the delivery channels and the integration with the main SAP UI clients (i.e. SAP

NetWeaver Portal and SAP NetWeaver Business Client), SAP has enhanced the interoperability between the

portal and the ABAP role repository (PFCG). Going forward, SAP will be focusing on delivering SAP content

via a single delivery channel – PFCG roles, consumed by both the SAP NetWeaver Portal and the SAP

NetWeaver Business Client. In the application documentation of the role you can read more details about

the integration across SAP UI clients. Please also see chapter Prerequisites for further details.

Caption 1: New Portal Content delivery process


2 PREREQUISITES

You need to install the following NetWeaver SP level in your Portal system to get the required role upload

enhancements:

NW 7.00:

SP26 Patch level 6, SP27 Patch level 1, SP28 and higher SP versions

NW 7.01:


NW 7.02:

SP10 Patch level 14, SP11 Patch level 6, SP12 and higher SP versions.

NW 7.30:

SP07 Patch level 6, SP08 and higher SP versions

NW 7.31:


If you are using AJAX Framework Page, you should consider implementing note 1728860 for proper

navigation display.

This information can also be found in official note 1685257 (check for any updates).

You also have to ensure that your user has sufficient backend authorization and the connection to the

backend systems is setup properly in the Portal. For these steps see official documentation:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/7b/135540e4c79354e10000000a155106/frameset.h

tm

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/7b/135540e4c79354e10000000a155106/frameset.htm

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/7b/135540e4c79354e10000000a155106/frameset.htm


3 CONFIGURATION OF THE ROLE UPLOAD SERVICE IN SAP NETWEAVER PORTAL

To get the best results for uploading roles delivered by SAP, you first have to adjust the role upload service

in the portal system administration.

3.1 Configure the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0x

You can find the configuration service in the Portal Navigation under System Administration System

Configuration Service Configuration Applications 'com.sap.portal.pcd.rolemigration'

Caption 2: Configure service for Portal 7.0x

Do a right mouse click on ‘service’ and press ‘Configure’. The properties and its values will be shown in the

content area.

3.2 Configure the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.3x

If you installed SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.30 or above, you have to call NW Administrator to access the

service configuration. For this, call URL http(s)://<server>:<port>/nwa.

Go to Configuration Infrastructure Application Modules.

In the ‘Module List’ filter for ‘com.sap.portal.pcd.rolemigration’ select the result column. Under

‘Components’ the entry ‘service’ should be selected. In the box at the bottom you will find the

corresponding properties and its values.


Caption 3: Configure service for Portal 7.3x

3.3 Settings for upload to portal

The settings for the role upload service are described in the application help.

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/43/0caa807dad6e72e10000000a422035/frameset.h

tm

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/43/0caa807dad6e72e10000000a422035/frameset.htm

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/43/0caa807dad6e72e10000000a422035/frameset.htm


Please check the link above, in the following we will only concentrate on the newly introduced settings and

on recommendations.

Best fit leaf level

Please set this to an empty value. The property defines on what navigation level a service map

iView should be added. This is no longer necessary as the option to add a service map to a folder

can be explicitly set in PFCG on folder level. With the enhancement of the role upload tool in the

portal, this option is now considered during the upload.

Single Top Level

If you are using 2 levels as Top-Level Navigation (TLN) in a NW 7.0x portal (default setting), set this

value to 'true'. If the flag ‘Single Top Level’ is set on the root folder in the NWBC role (mostly the

case for SAP delivered roles), in NWBC the second level appears in the Detailed Navigation (DTN)

on the left and not in the 2nd Top Level Navigation (which is hidden in NWBC in this case).

If you would upload this to the portal, the menu item which is intended to be used in the DTN, will

be shown in the TLN. With the property value set to true, a dummy 2nd level entry will be generated

that the DTN is filled with the right navigation entries.

For details and example see 5.2 Single Top Level below.

Caption 4: Overview of Navigation levels

Use default alias or selected alias as system identifier (NW Portal 7.0x only):

Recommended setting is 'selected' if you would like to use the system alias (e.g.


SAP_ECC_Manufacturing) for identification instead of the logical system name (e.g. Q12CLNT002).

This provides you more flexibility for reacting on changes in your system landscape. When

searching for the role in the backend, you have to select the system alias (see 4.1 Uploading roles

using SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0x).

3.4 Restart the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0x

After you have saved the changes, do a right mouse click on ‘com.sap.portal.pcd.rolemigration’. Click on

‘Administrate’ and restart the service.

Caption 5: Restart of configuration service in Portal 7.0x

3.5 Restart the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.3x

Go to NetWeaver Administrator (/nwa). Open Configuration --> Infrastructure --> Application Modules and

filter for service 'com.sap.portal.pcd.rolemigration'. Click on ‘More Actions’ and press ‘View Corresponding

to Application’.


Caption 6: Access service administration in Portal 7.3x

On the following screen keep 'com.sap.portal.pcd.rolemigration' selected and press ‘Restart’ button.

Caption 7: Restart of the service in Portal 7.3x


4 UPLOADING BACKEND ROLES TO THE PORTAL CONTENT DIRECTORY

4.1 Uploading roles using SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0x

You can find the role upload tool under System Administration Transport Role Upload. Select the

system alias of the backend system and search for the role ID (role ID that is used in transaction PFCG).

Keep in mind, that in order to be able to upload the role, you must have the required backend

authorization and the system connection to the backend must be created properly (see 2 Prerequisites).

Caption 8: Call role upload tool in Portal 7.0x

From the result list add the requested roles for upload. We would recommend not to upload several roles

at one time, because in this case you cannot use role specific upload parameters, which might be required

for individual roles. Press ‘Next’ to continue.

On the following screen you can keep the checked options selected. The ‘Target folder for Roles’ defines

the PCD path where the role object should be placed. The ‘PCD Migration Folder’ is the path where the

created iViews will be placed. This path can only be defined in the service configuration (see chapter

Configure the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0x). If you would like to better distinguish

between the uploaded roles, you should define an ‘ID prefix’ for every role.


Caption 9: Start Upload in Portal 7.0x

Press ‘Start Upload’ for uploading the objects. On the upcoming ‘Log Viewer’ screen you can see if the

upload succeeded.

After successful upload you can find the uploaded objects under the selected path in Content

Administration Portal Content

4.2 Uploading roles using SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.3x

In contrast to 7.0x, the upload tool is not a separate menu entry but integrated into the Content

Administration. To call the tool, go to your folder in the PCD and do a right mouse click New Role

Role from Backend


Caption 10: Call role upload tool in Portal 7.3x

Select the system alias of the backend system and search for the role ID (role ID that is used in transaction

PFCG). Keep in mind, that in order to be able to upload the role, you must have the required backend

authorization and the system connection to the backend must be created properly (see 2 Prerequisites).

Caption 11: Select roles for upload in Portal 7.3x

From the result list, add the requested roles for upload. We would recommend not to upload several roles

at one time, because in this case you cannot use role specific upload parameters, which might be required

for individual roles. Press ‘Next’ to continue.


On the following screen you can add an ‘ID prefix’ for the role, by this you can better distinguish between

the uploaded roles, e.g. for doing mass changes later on. Only the role object will be placed to the folder,

the corresponding iViews will be created in the ‘Root Path for migration objects’. This folder path can only

be defined in the service configuration (see chapter Configure the role migration service in SAP NetWeaver

Portal 7.3x).

Press ‘Start Upload’ for uploading the objects. On the upcoming ‘Log Viewer’ screen you can see if the

upload succeeded.


5 BUILDING NWBC ROLES FOR UPLOAD TO THE PORTAL

The NetWeaver Business Client and the NetWeaver Portal do not handle navigation structure in the exactly

same way. Therefore the following description explains you, what needs to be considered if you would like

to create roles which can be consumed by the NetWeaver Business Client (created in transaction PFCG) and

the NetWeaver Portal (through upload to the portal) at the same time. In addition, some general features

are explained that are now considered by the role upload tool.

5.1 Default Page

Default pages are based on the concept that when selecting a folder, the work area is filled with content.

You can define default pages for each folder at every possible menu level. A default page for a folder means

that when the folder is selected, the associated default page is displayed in the work area; e.g. usually the

applications will provide an overview screen.

Caption 12: Setting application as default page in PFCG

Default page nodes are filtered out of the navigation tree and are not displayed with the navigation

hierarchy (see picture below). In order to implement the default page behavior on portal side, the two

attributes ‘com.sapportals.portal.navigation.FolderEntry’and ‘com.sap.portal.navigation.Invisible’ are set to

‘true’ during the upload for the corresponding iView marked as default page in the PFCG.


Caption 13: Application is displayed in the content area but the entry is hidden in the navigation tree

5.2 Single Top Level

The standard Navigation levels in the portal are the following: the first two levels appear in the Top Level

Navigation (TLN) and all following levels will be rendered in the Detailed Navigation (DTN) on the left side.


Caption 14: Overview of Navigation levels

For NWBC roles you can keep the TLN restricted to one level by setting the flag ‘Single Top Level’ on the

root folder. The second level of the role will then be already part of the DTN. On the following 2 pictures

the checkbox ‘Single Top Level’ is set for root folder ‘EPM Demo role’:

Caption 15: Flag ‘Single Top Level’ in PFCG


Caption 16: Mapping of navigation structure for NWBC and PFCG for single top level

In the portal you have by default two levels in the TLN. This can be changed as global setting to one level,

so it would be valid for all roles in the portal.

If you would like to stick to 2 levels as TLN in the portal and want to upload a role with flag ‘Single Top

Level’, the menu which was created with the intention to be used in the DTN, would be shown in the TLN

level 2 (see picture below).

Caption 17: Portal TLN with configuration setting ‚Single Top Level‘ to false


To avoid this you have to set in the configuration service of the role upload tool (see 3.3 Settings for upload

to portal) the value of ‘Single Top Level’ to 'true'. With the property value set to true, a dummy 2nd level

entry will be generated that the DTN is filled with the right navigation entries (see picture below).

Caption 18: Portal TLN with configuration setting ‚Single Top Level‘ to true

If you use Portal version 7.3x in combination with AJAX framework page, the number of TLN levels can also

be set individually on role level.

To achieve only one level in TLN, the property ‘com.sap.portal.navigation.levels’ (Number of Levels in Top-

Level Navigation) has to be set to ‘1’ for the item which is the entry point for the role. For Portal 7.3x, this

setting is done automatically during the upload, if the flag “Single Top Level” is set in the PFCG role. The 2nd

level in the portal will then also be hidden for this role entry like in the NWBC. Please ensure in this case

that the general configuration setting ‘Single Top Level’ in the portal is set to ‘false’.

If you would like to have two TLN levels for this role (like in portal version 7.0x), set the configuration

setting to ‘true’ and set the property ‘com.sap.portal.navigation.levels’ (Number of Levels in Top-Level

Navigation) manually to empty or ‘2’ for the entry point of the role.

5.3 Link Collection

Link Collections typically contain links to create business objects. When setting in PFCG a folder as Link

Collection, all sibling items (applications and folders) react on this in NWBC. When the sibling is clicked, the

link collection items appear in the DTN menu below the general menu structure.


Caption 19: Set folder as ‚Link Collection‘ in PFCG

Caption 20: Link collection appears in NWBC when ‘Home’ folder is clicked

In the Portal the same behavior cannot be achieved. Link Collections can only be defined on application

level and not on folder level. So during the role upload, only sibling iViews will react when clicked, folders

do not render the link collection to the navigation when clicked. You can also not set it manually in the

portal, so the only workaround would be to design your role structure in a proper way. For example, you

should then use link collections for role structures where only sibling applications and no folders exist (see

picture below).


Caption 21: Link collections with application siblings (no folders)

In addition you can check if a separate folder is really needed, e.g. if you have a folder called ‘Home’ with

one application as default page, you could also directly add the ‘Home’ application without a folder (see

picture below). This displays exactly the same navigation entry during runtime.

Caption 22: Using only application instead of folder in PFCG

5.4 Service Map

A service map folder generates an overview of the navigation structure of the next levels of the navigation

tree, allowing the user to get a better overview of the business process represented by the folder.


Caption 23: Setting folder option ‚As Service Map‘ in PFCG

In order to support the service map folder functionality at portal side, an additional iView (service map

iView) is added under the service map folder hierarchy during the role upload process.

Caption 24: Role with Service Map iView

Caution: The Service Map iView is not working if a Default Page exists for the folder. In that case, the

default page is shown when clicking on the folder level (see 5.1 Default Page).

5.5 OBN – Object Based Navigation

If you use OBN as navigation between or within your applications, you have to consider a special parameter

for the usage in the portal.


The following parameters are used to handle OBN navigation:

Object Type (PFCG) / Business Object = BO (Portal). Example: search

Method (PFCG) / Operation (Portal). Example: display

System Alias (Portal). Example: SAP_ERP_Procurement

Usually all 3 parameters are fired by the calling application. But NWBC only reacts on the first two

parameters (Object Type and Method) and not on the system alias as the NWBC is not designed for heavy

remote system usage. If you would like to upload the role to the portal, the system alias parameter has to

be additionally maintained in the PFCG to the OBN target otherwise the OBN call will fail in the portal.

Caption 25: Add OBN target information to application in PFCG

This picture shows the settings for an OBN target application which would be sufficient for NWBC usage:


Caption 26: OBN information without system alias (sufficient for NWBC usage)

Before uploading to the portal you have to add the parameter for the system alias. Please add as parameter

assignment portal_bo_alias = <your alias>:

Caption 27: OBN information with system alias (needed for Portal usage)


In the portal you can see after the upload the system alias as a prefix for the respective Business Object

(Content Administration Portal Content Business Objects com.sap.portal.migrated <System

Identifier used for upload> <Bo Name>)

Caption 28: Business Object with prefix in the PCD after upload

Note:

If you upload Business Objects which already exist in the PCD, no new object will be created under the

migrated folder in the PCD, but non existing methods / operations of this Business Object will be added to

the existing Business Objects.

5.6 Invisible Folder

If a folder in PFCG contains only application items that are set to invisible in navigation, NWBC

automatically hides the folder itself during runtime. The Portal behaves differently during runtime, no

check is performed and the folder is displayed in the navigation area. During the role upload the check is

also not performed, so for achieving the same result as in NWBC, you have to set the folder to invisible

manually. For this, go to Content Administration in the portal and navigate to the corresponding folder

within your role object and set property ‘com.sapportals.portal.navigation.Invisible’ (Invisible in Navigation

Areas) to ‘Yes’.

5.7 Remote Objects

For some applications it could be necessary to define that the application can be executed against a

foreign/remote system. Although the role is defined locally, the actual execution of the entry is done in the

remote system.


Caption 29: Adding remote system to an application in PFCG

When uploading the role to the portal, the value in field ‘Target System’ is mapped to property ‘System’ in

the Portal. If you use more generic system aliases (e.g. SAP_CRM) in the portal, you should consider to use

this alias also during PFCG role creation. For execution of the role, it is necessary that the system alias with

that value is defined in the system landscape of the portal. For applications from application type

transaction, it is required that the system alias is already defined in the portal during the upload of the role.

The role upload will otherwise fail for these objects because the objects are fetched from the remote

system for this application type already during upload.

5.8 Web Dynpro ABAP Page Builder Integration into the Portal

Some of the SAP delivered NWBC roles contain pages which are built with the Web Dynpro ABAP Page

Builder. The content on the pages can be arranged and enriched with so called CHIPs. For more information

on Web Dynpro ABAP Page Builder see official documentation

(http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/20/361af8255f4a33a2e8441956cc8f63/frameset.ht

m). A recommended document if you would like to use the Page builder for your development can be

found on SCN (http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-19962).

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/20/361af8255f4a33a2e8441956cc8f63/frameset.htm

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp2/helpdata/en/20/361af8255f4a33a2e8441956cc8f63/frameset.htm

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-19962


Caption 30: Web Dynpro ABAP Page in the Portal

With regard to Portal Role Upload or Portal integration in general, you have to consider that you cannot use

CHIPs that have a dependency to the PFCG role. E.g. you could use a PFCG Link List CHIP to have a Link List

on your page. Problem here is that the entries of the list are read from a corresponding PFCG role. If you

run the page in the portal, you do not have the role context of the PFCG. If you intend to use the page in

the portal, you should use the Report Launchpad CHIP for link lists. The Launchpad (transaction LPD_CUST)

is role independent and can be consumed from portal as well as from NWBC.


Caption 31: Example of Launchpad CHIP

Documents

How to Upload Backend Roles to SAP Netweaver …...How to Upload Backend Roles to SAP NetWeaver Portal 7 Please check the link above, in the following we will only concentrate on the