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IngoH
Active Contributor

In the previous four updates we looked at how Crystal Reports for Enterprise 4.0 is able to leverage BEx queries from your SAP NetWeaver BW system and is able to provide hierarchical reports and reports with custom structures.

 

Now lets take a look at how SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence 4.0 is able to leverage such BEx queries with hierarchies and custom structures.

 

After we created the OLAP Connection as part of our SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise environment - which is identical to the connection for Crystal Reports for Enterprise 4.0 - we can start our new Web Intelligence report and we are being asked what kind of data source we would like to leverage.

 

The option BEx allows us to connect directly to BEx queries inside the SAP NetWeaver BW system without the need to create - actually author - a Universe.

 

Web Intelligence 4.0 is able to leverage a connection based on an InfoProvider and shows then all BEx queries for this InfoProvider...

 

 

....or the user can leverage a connection pointing to one particular BEx query.

 

 

After we selected our BEx query we are presented with the Web Intelligence query panel and the meta-data provided by SAP NetWeaver BW.

 

 

All Key Figures are presented with the Unit and the Formatted Value...

 

 

... and characteristics are presented with all available information.

 

 

In the example above we can see characteristic Product with Display Attributes such as Product Group, with several hierarchies such as Product Hierarchy 1 and 2, and with the short and medium text and the key.

 

Now for our report we are using the characteristic hierarchy Country Hierarchy 1 from the charactersitic Country and the key figure Net Value.

 

 

In the query panel we can then open the member selector for the Country Hierarchy 1 and are presented with a real hierarchical member list and are also able to leverage multi-dimensional concepts like children and descendants for our member selection.

 

 

In the report we can then leverage the hierarchy and open / close levels.

 

 

 

In addition we are able to leverage the hierarchy also for sections, which then allows us to have report elements like a table or a chart in each of the hierarchical elements - like World and Europe.

 

 

 

 

SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence 4.0 now allows you also to leverage the hierarchies as part of your charts, but you will notice that when dragging and dropping your chart onto a chart that it might look first like the image shown below.

 

 

 

Charts in Web Intelligence 4.0 do not provide you a hierarchical drill down and therfore you need to define - before creating the chart - which elements of the hierarchy should be shown. The easies way to create a hierarchical chart is to create the table first....

 

 

... expand the table to the level you would like to see in the chart...

 

 

... and then use the menu Turn into...

 

 

 

 

... and turn you hierarchical table into a hierarchical chart.

 

 

I hope everyone enjoys the journey on understanding how SAP BusinessObjects 4.0 integrated with your SAP landscape.

 

 

In case you are more a "visual" person you can also follow me on iTunes here.

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