Offline Reporting with the SAP BW 3.x Reporting Agent SAP AG

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Offline Reporting with the SAP

BW 3.x Reporting Agent

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What We’ll Cover …

Precalculation: online vs. offline scenarios

Precalculation of static Web templates

Enhanced precalculation features

User-specific precalculation

PDF generation with Adobe Acrobat

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SAP AG 2004, 3

Learning Objectives

After this lecture, you will:

Understand the concept of precalculation

Know the difference between online and offline scenarios

Be familiar with the features available in BW 3.0

Be able to design the different scenarios within BW

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SAP BI – For All User Types

Authors and analysts

... Need advanced analysis functionality and ad-hoc data

exploration capabilities

... Require useful, manageable tools

Executives and knowledge workers

... Require personalized information in context via an

intuitive user interface

... Want predefined analysis paths and the option of

in-depth analysis of summary data

Information consumers

... Need a snapshot of a particular data set to perform their

operational tasks

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Precalculated and offline data

BEx Query Design Ad-hoc Analysis BEx Analyzer BEx Web Analyzer

Information Consumers and Precalculated Web

Applications

BEx Web Application Design AUTHORS and ANALYSTS BEx Analyzer Workbooks BEx Web applications Mobile applications Example: An occasional user downloads precalculated Web application to his laptop via the Download Scheduler

Precalculated Web applications especially meet the needs of

Alerting

Benefits:

• Offline access to

BW data

• Intuitive and limited

offline navigation

INFORMATION CONSUMERS

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BI Suite: Business Explorer (BEx) 3.5

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SAP AG 2004, 7 Weekdays Sunday Sunday MoMo TuTu WeWe ThTh FrFr Reporting Agent RA data storage

OL

AP

The data that was run as of 18:00 on Sunday is called up for reports run during the week

BW

Precalculated Web Templates

Precalculated

Precalculated batchbatch run

run at 18:00at 18:00 hourshours

The

The queryqueryisis launchedlaunched withwith

precalculated

precalculated datadata,, oror cancan bebe

downloaded

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Precalculation: Online Scenario

Precalculated Web applications can be accessed

online

via a BW

server connection or

offline

via the BEx Download Scheduler

For online access, three different data modes exist:

data_mode = NEW

OLAP processor

data_mode = STORED

RA data storage

data_mode = STATIC

BW Content

Management repository

Reporting authorizations are active

Access to BW Content Management repository via

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Access Modes for Web Templates

BW Server OLAP Engine Reporting Agent Log Content Management Framework Web Framework

InfoProvider RA Data Storage CMF Repository

Web Application Server

BEx Web Service Doc Web Service

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Access Modes for Web Templates (cont.)

BW Server OLAP Engine Reporting Agent Log Content Management Framework Web Framework SAP GUI

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SAP AG 2004, 11

Access Modes for Web Templates (cont.)

BW Server OLAP Engine Reporting Agent Log Content Management Framework Web Framework SAP GUI

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Offline Scenarios: The BEx Download Scheduler

Offline scenarios are supported via the BEx Download Scheduler

Precalculated templates can be downloaded to a computer and/or into synchronization folders for PDAs

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Using the BEx Download Scheduler

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Using the BEx Download Scheduler (cont.)

1.

Packages can be

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What We’ll Cover …

Precalculation: online vs. offline scenarios

Precalculation of static Web templates

Enhanced precalculation features

User-specific precalculation

PDF generation with Adobe Acrobat

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SAP AG 2004, 17

Precalculation of Web Templates

Scenario 1:

Basic precalculation with cartography

Data modes

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Weekdays Tu

Tu WeWe

Sends

Sends resultresult setsettoto template

template

Top 10 customers

Precalculate a Static Web Template

Sunday Sunday MoMo Reporting Agent RA data storage ... ... 13213 EUR Mast AG 34342 EUR Stern AG 35325 EUR Becker Conversion Customers Static

Static templatetemplate cancan bebe

viewed

viewed oror downloadeddownloaded Precalculated

run at 18:00at 18:00 HoursHours

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Combine the Benefits

Visualize geographic (location-based) business data on maps

Provide an easy and intuitive way to detect and analyze ...

Regional patterns (e.g., market trends)

Customer clustering

Allow interactive information analysis on maps

Select and filter (e.g., regions or customers)

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Storage of Objects

Store in BW

All shapefiles connected to BW data (e.g., country, region, etc.)

Store directly on Internet Graphics Server (IGS)

Images used for cartographic background (rivers, national parks, highways)

Description files for cartographic backgrounds

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Usage of Map Cartography

• Maps in a BEx Web application are rendered by the IGS

• The IGS allows you to display additional cartographic

information. This information is displayed under

different semi-transparent map layers

•This additional cartographical information is read and

interpreted from an AXL file (a special ESRI XML format)

•The AXL file and its referenced shapefiles must be found on the

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Usage of Map Cartography (cont.)

Integrating the AXL files into the Web application

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Usage of Map Cartography (cont.)

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Usage of Map Cartography (cont.)

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Create the Precalculation Settings

After creating a Web template, maintain the precalculation settings by:

• Starting the Administrator Workbench and choosing the

Reporting Agent function area

• Select Web templates in the navigation frame and choose

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Create the Precalculation Settings

Now you can…

• Select your preferred output formats • Choose Logon Language for

pre-calculation

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Create the Precalculation Settings (cont.)

After the template has been precalculated, the result files will be stored in a folder in the BW Content Framework

The folder includes:

• HTML pages

• Icons, stylesheets • Mime objects

• JavaScripts

• Users then can immediately download the packages precalculated for them via the Download Scheduler1

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Precalculation of Web Templates

Demos (Screencams)

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What We’ll Cover …

Precalculation: online vs. offline scenarios

Precalculation of static Web templates

Enhanced precalculation features

User-specific precalculation

PDF generation with Adobe Acrobat

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Precalculation of Web Templates

Scenario 2:

Precalculate different variants

Filter navigation via dropdown boxes

Precalculate hierarchies

Text elements

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Scenario 2: Precalculating Templates

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Weekdays Tu

Tu WeWe

Fills

Fills dropdrop--downdownmenumenu with

with filterfilter valuesvalues

Top 10 customers

Control Query for Precalculated Web Templates

Sunday Sunday MoMo Reporting Agent RA data storage ... ... 13213 EUR Mast AG 34342 EUR Stern AG 35325 EUR Becker Conversion Customers Template

Template withwith filterfilter navigationnavigation can

can bebedownloadeddownloaded Precalculated

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Filter Navigation with Control Queries

• The control query is necessary if you want to precalculate filter navigation • Create drop-down boxes for Material and Distribution Channel in your Web

template, which will contain the values from the result set of the control query

• That means you need a query that drills down according to both

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Filter Navigation with Control Queries (cont.)

The drop-down boxes are populated with characteristic values resulting from the control query

Note: You can also precalculate the ALL option for the two drop-down boxes

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Precalculation Setting Maintenance

After you have created the control query, you have to specify it in your precalculation setting

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Using Variants

If a query you want to precalculate includes variables, you must create variants for these variables before you can precalculate the Web template

In our query example, we are using a hierarchy variable

You can create the variants within the precalculation setting maintenance

Existing variants can also be specified in the

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Sunday

Sunday MoMo TuTu WeWe

Query

Using Variants (cont.)

... 43899 10023 10001 0Material Precalculated

Download

Download precalculatedprecalculated template

template

Filtered

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Using Variants (cont.)

Before precalculating, create the variants for the hierarchy variable within the precalulation setting maintenance for the actual query AND for the control query

Also, specify existing variants in the

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Precalculation Setting Maintenance (cont.)

Next, select the variant for actual

Web template. The variable values for this usually are identical to those used for your control query variant.

Do not forget to execute the

variable pop-up after selecting the values. Then specify a technical name and a description.

Using multiple variants often

makes sense if you precalculated only the data but not the Web template.

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Precalculating Web Templates: Scenario 3

Part 3: Offline features in this scenario include:

Multiple data providers

Precalculate different variants

Filter navigation via dropdown boxes (data-provider dependent)

Tables, charts, news ticker, and context-dependent text elements

Embedded documents

This scenario combines most of the precalculation features available

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Scenario 3: Precalculating Templates (cont.)

In this offline scenario, a

Regional Brand Manager (e.g., for France) could see the aggregated sales for each country in the news ticker. Below in the chart and table he can see the specific data for France.

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Scenario 3: Precalculating Templates (cont.)

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What We’ll Cover …

Precalculation: online vs. offline scenarios

Precalculation of static Web templates

Enhanced precalculation features

User-specific precalculation

PDF generation with Adobe Acrobat

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SAP AG 2004, 49

Precalculating Templates

Sometimes it makes sense to work with variables that are

filled via an authorization- or user-exit

Scenario:

You want to precalculate data for different sales regions, e.g.,

“France” and “Germany,” and you want to give the data for

France to another recipient than the data for Germany

In such a scenario the usage of authorization variables

makes sense

If you use authorization and/or user-exit variables, you can

reduce the need for “hard-coded” variants

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Precalculating Templates (cont.)

* PM Exit Variable for Reporting Agent

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Precalculating Templates (cont.)

• Use the flag

“Precalculate-User Specifically” and

choose the users that you have maintained in the user exit

• The Web template will be

precalculated with the individual user

authorizations and user exit settings

• The Web template will be

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Precalculating Templates (cont.)

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What We’ll Cover …

Precalculation: online vs. offline scenarios

Precalculation of static Web templates

Enhanced precalculation features

User-specific precalculation

PDF generation with Adobe Acrobat

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How to Generate PDFs out of BW Queries and Web

Applications

In BW 3.0/3.5

Generation of HTML, HTML for Pocket IE, .XLS-Files

Currently the Creation of PDF files is possible only manually via

features within Adobe Acrobat 5.0 (How-to paper on SAP Marketplace)

In BW Release 2005

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PDF Generation

Even navigation that is provided via SAP_BW_URLs is possible during the

PDF generation process BW Web applications can be

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What We’ll Cover …

Precalculation: online vs. offline scenarios

Precalculation of static Web templates

Enhanced precalculation features

User-specific precalculation

PDF generation with Adobe Acrobat

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BI Suite: Business Explorer (BEx) 3.5

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SAP AG 2004, 59

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Key Functions: Information Broadcasting

Information Broadcasting allows the distribution of BI information

... Via different channels ...

( ) E-mail (works independently from an EP installation) ( ) Enterprise Portal (EP)

... In different formats ...

( ) HTML, MHTML

( ) BEx Analyzer workbooks ( ) ZIP files

… Of different sources …

( ) BI Web applications – dashboards, cockpits ( ) BEx Analyzer workbooks

( ) Queries

… In different modes…

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Key Functions: Information Broadcasting (cont.)

Information Broadcasting supports different business scenarios

( ) Event based (“intelligent push”)

Integration into process chains

e.g., if new data is loaded into the data container (InfoCube)

( ) Ad hoc

BEx broadcasting wizard for one-step distribution

( ) Scheduled

BEx Broadcaster

Guided scheduling times (for end users/information consumers) Ensures system performance because of better load balancing Scheduling at any time (for power users/administrators)

Create scheduling slots for specific user groups No time restriction and no target restriction