Netweaver Visual Composer User guide
The SAP Netweaver Visual Composer ( VC ) compiler generates packages that can be deployed to any SAP Enterprise Portal ( EP ) using the standard deployment procedure. Once deployed, the pages and iViews created by Visual Composer can retrieve data from the SAP Enterprise Portal runtime connectivity framework and display this information just like any other hand-coded portal pages and iViews.
Visual Composer provides access, through the portal connectivity framework, to a range of function modules residing in SAP and third-party back-end systems. The Visual Composer installation is comprised of the following components:
• Visual Composer Server, made up of the following: Web Server (IIS), Storage Layer (MS SQL), Visual Composer Storyboard (the Visual Composer interface used for portal content development)
• Visual Composer Addons to SAP Enterprise Portal (connects Visual Composer to portal)
Being a fully Web-based application, Visual Composer users can access the Storyboard from any client machine.
The following is a list of the abbreviations used in this manual. Where needed, a short explanation is also provided.
API Application Programming Interface
BAPI Business API
BI Business Intelligence
BW Business Information Warehouse
EPCM Enterprise Portal Client Manager
An object defined by the portal Client Framework to handle functions such as client eventing
GML Generic Modeling Language
IDES SAP Internet Demo and Evaluation System
IGS Internet Graphics Service
Used to display results of BI queries in Heatmap format
J2EE Java 2 Enterprise Edition
The portal operates on top of the J2EE engine
JDBC Java database connectivity
MDX Multidimensional Expression language
Used for manipulating multidimensional data
OLAP Online Analytical Processing
A means of processing and presenting multidimensional data for analysis and management
PAR Portal Archive file
Contains all resources of a portal application
PCD Portal Content Directory
RFC Remote Function Call
SQL Structured Query Language
A standardized language for retrieving data from and updating a database
SVG Scalable Vector Graphics
A language used to describe two-dimensional vector and mixed vector/raster
graphics in XML
UI User Interface
URL Uniform Resource Locator
The address of a site on the Internet
URN Uniform Resource Name
A persistent identifier for information resources
XMLA XML for Analysis
A set of XML message interfaces used to define data access interaction
between a client and an analytical data provider working over the Internet
Contents of this SAP Netweaver Visual composer user guide are
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer: User Guide………….. 8
Abbreviations Used in this Manual ………………………. 10
System Requirements……… 11
Logging On to Visual Composer………………………….. 12
Understanding the Visual Composer Desktop……….. 13
Workspace… 14
Task Panel…. 15
Main Menu and Toolbar .. 16
Customizing the Visual Composer Desktop ………….. 16
Customizing the Main Toolbar and Toolbox Buttons ……………. 17
Modifying the Location of the Task Panel Toolbar. 17
Customizing Visual Composer Storyboard ………… 18
Getting Help ….. 20
Quick Start - A Sample Work Session ………………….. 21
Create a New Model…….. 22
Create a Page and an iView…………………………….. 22
Design the iView Logic …. 23
Import the Function…… 23
Test the iView Function ……………………………….. 25
Add the User Input Form ……………………………… 26
Define the Output……… 28
Customize the iView Layout …………………………….. 29
Deploy the iView to a Portal …………………………….. 30
Model Management - The Basics ………………………… 32
Creating a New Model….. 33
Opening an Existing Model ……………………………… 33
Navigating the Model……. 34
Navigation Icons ………. 37
Searching through the Model………………………… 38
Rearranging the Model Hierarchy …………………….. 39
Saving a Model……………. 39
Exporting and Importing a Model ……………………… 40
Printing a Model ………….. 41
Creating or Changing a Model Password ………….. 41
Managing Models ………… 42
Closing a Model…………… 42
Closing Storyboard………. 42
Creating Portal Content …… 43
Model Hierarchy ………….. 44
Adding Main Components to a Model ……………….. 45
Building an iView …………. 46
Defining Data Services 47
Adding Data Services to Your Model ………….. 49
Testing the Data Service (Optional)……………. 50
Defining the Properties of the Data Service…. 51
Using the BI Query Wizard…………………….. 53
Selecting a System……………………………. 56
Selecting a Query Template ……………….. 57
Count (OLAP) 60
Configuring Count Parameters ……… 61
Cumulative Total (OLAP) ………………… 64
Configuring Cumulative Total Parameters ………. 65
Grand Totals (OLAP) ……………………… 68
Moving Average (OLAP) …………………. 69
Configuring Moving Average Parameters ……….. 70
Percentage Growth (OLAP) …………….. 73
Configuring Percentage Growth Parameters …… 74
Percentage Share (OLAP) ………………. 76
Configuring Percentage Share Parameters …….. 77
Planned vs. Actual (OLAP) ……………… 79
Configuring Planned vs. Actual Parameters…….. 80
Rank Change (OLAP) …………………….. 84
Configuring Rank Change Parameters……………. 85
Top N (OLAP) 87
Configuring Top N Parameters……… 88
Trend Over Time (OLAP) ………………… 90
Configuring Trend Over Time Parameters ………. 91
Zero Activity (OLAP)……………………….. 93
Configuring Zero Activity Parameters……………… 94
All Data (Relational) ……………………….. 96
Count (Relational) ………………………….. 97
Freeform (Relational) ……………………… 98
Heatmap (Relational) ……………………… 99
Configuring Heatmap Parameters.. 101
Minimum/Maximum (Relational)……… 103
Configuring Minimum/Maximum Parameters …. 104
Selecting a Cube……………………………… 106
Defining Filters 107
Selecting a Table …………………………….. 109
Selecting Fields……………………………….. 110
Selecting Fields - Count……………………. 111
Selecting Fields - Heatmap……………….. 113
Configuring Joins …………………………….. 114
Configuring Filters……………………………. 116
Specifying the Sort Order …………………. 118
Previewing the Result ………………………. 119
Working With BW Query Views …………. 120
Selecting a Query…………………………. 121
Selecting a Query View…………………. 122
Configuring Queries Directly in Data Services …………. 123
Using the MDX Editor ………………………….. 125
Using the SQL Editor…………………………… 128
Working With Queries………………………….. 130
Modifying Existing Queries ……………….. 131
Query Properties……………………………… 132
Further Configuring Your Query ………… 133
Creating BI Queries 136
Adding Siebel Data Services …………………… 136
Defining the UI Logic . 138
Adding UI Components…………………………… 138
Defining Input to the Data Service…………. 139
Defining Output from the Data Service…… 141
Adding Fields to a View……………………….. 144
Adding Operators ……………………………….. 145
Performing Data Binding Between UI Components ….. 147
Defining UI Component General Properties . 148
Defining UI Component Field Properties …… 149
Dynamic Expressions Editor ……………………. 151
Overview of Dynamic Expressions………… 152
Using the Expressions Editor ……………….. 152
Frequently-Used Dynamic Expressions …. 153
Defining a Chart ….. 161
Defining an HTML View……………………………… 162
Defining Eventing Between iViews ………………. 164
Tracing Dependencies……………………………….. 166
Validating the iView Logic…………………………… 167
Customizing the iView UI……………………………. 167
Selecting Objects in the Layout Workspace . 168
Defining iView Display Properties …………….. 169
Customizing the View Layout and Behavior . 170
Customizing the Controls Displayed in a View ……………. 172
Customizing the Position and Size of iView Components ……………………………….. 174
Previewing the iView ….. 176
Generating Model Documentation ……………………… 177
Automatically Generating Model Documentation . 177
Defining Documentation Properties for Model Components… 178
Deploying the Model ……… 180
Debugging the Model…….. 182
Accessing the Debugger ……………………………….. 182
Viewing a Log of Portal Server Actions……………. 183
Using the Events Monitor ………………………………. 184
Using the Data Inspector……………………………….. 185
Importing Visual Composer Content into the Portal 186
Performing Backup and Restore………………………… 186
Customizing the Design Workspace…………………… 187
Design Toolbox …………. 188
Graphic Symbol Properties List………………………. 189
Troubleshooting ……………. 190
Using Log Files for Troubleshooting ……………….. 191
Appendix: Examples ……… 193
Example 1: Customer Address iView………………. 194
Example 2: Expanded Banks iView ………………… 197
Example 3: Salesorder iView …………………………. 200
Example 4: BI iView …… 205
