Announcing SAP Screen Personas 2.0
Thank you to all the Personas customers that have provided us feedback. We have listened and I am happy to announce the availability of SAP Screen Personas 2.0.
Personas 2.0 builds on the success of it predecessors. We have incorporated feedback from the dozens of Personas 1.0 customers into the new version. This means easier operation as well as smoother installation. Personas allows customers to personalize their SAPGUI (Dynpro) screens without any programming, allowing them to streamline transactions and improve user productivity.
Personas 2.0 includes two separate Personas components, one based on Silverlight and one based on HTML. These components are not available separately. Personas 2.0 is a single download with a single installation process that installs both components. Once installed, Personas Silverlight and Personas HTML run independently and do not interact. They solve different problems in different use cases.
Building on Personas 1.0
The Silverlight component extends the existing version. It has all the same functionality, but with better performance, higher scalability, and easier day to day usage. It runs any browser that has the Silverlight plug-in. This includes IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari. Since merging tabs and automating processes using scripting are among the most common use cases, we expect most customers to use the Silverlight Personas, as only it offers this capability today.
SAP Screen Personas allows customers to modify classic SAP Dynpro screens using a web browser. It provides consumer-grade personalization features that enable IT professionals, key-users, and end-users to simplify business application screens quickly and easily without any programming knowledge. Personas screens improve the visual appeal, end-user productivity, and performance of SAP.
Something New
Some customers will be satisfied just to improve the appearance of their WebGUI screens. Personas HTML will be best for them. Benefits of this architecture include no client-side installation, no external dependencies, changes are reflected directly in the standard SAP WebGUI for users with a licence to use Personas.
The HTML component is integrated into the SAP WebGUI (this is NOT Web Dynpro). It does not require any external dependencies, and has no additional client-side installation. Its feature set is more limited than the Silverlight part. HTML Personas does only the following:
Ÿ Change color themes
Ÿ Include background images
Ÿ Hide/show controls
Ÿ Set default values
Ÿ Add tooltips and sticky notes, rename a label
Ÿ Share flavors, set as default
Both components of Personas 2.0 are available for productive use. You can choose which to use depending on your specific use case.
If you want to streamline your SAP screens to make your users more productive and happier, contact your SAP account executive.
For existing Personas 1.0 customers, the Silverlight component of Personas 2.0 is available as Personas 1.0 SP2 (service pack 2).
Hi Peter,
I was wondering when version 2.0 would be available to download from the SMP? I can see version 1.0 and SP2, but not version 2.0... the PAM suggests that is still in ramp up/limited release... can you clarify?
Thanks,
Simon
Hi Simon,
We launched Personas 2.0 in ramp-up. This provides early customers with additional support to ensure their success. It will be available on Service Marketplace (SMP) when we complete the mandated ramp-up requirements.
Personas 2.0 consists of two components. Existing Personas customers can download one of them in the form of Personas 1.0 SP2, which is functionally equivalent to the Silverlight component of Personas 2.0.
We will keep you posted on SCN when we reach general availability for Personas 2.0.
Regards,
Peter
Hi Peter Spielvogel,
Thanks for the clarification. I will keep an eye out for GA.
Just to clarify, if I go ahead now and install Personas 1.0 SP2 (Silverlight component) on my system can I then at a later time add the HTML component?
Thanks,
Simon
Yes, assuming you have the proper pre-requisites on each system.
Silverlight component requires kernel 7.21 or later.
HTML component requires 7.40 kernel.
You could install on separate systems if your Personas 1.0 SP2 is running happily on a 7.21 kernel system.
Regards,
Peter
Peter,
You've included Safari as a browser that has the Silverlight plug-in - is that correct? My understanding is that Apple's view on Silverlight is similar to Adobe Flash, ie not supported.
Love the product, keep up the good work!
Regards,
Glenn
Hi Glenn,
Yes, Personas works on Safari. We often run Personas demos on Macbooks.
If you check Microsoft's support matrix for Silverlight, you will see Safari 4+ is supported on Macintosh OS 10.5.7+ (intel-based). In addition, Mac OS can use Firefox, which also has a Silverlight plug-in.
Details here: http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/Get-Started/Install/Default.aspx
Click on the "system requirements" tab.
Thanks for the kinds words about the product.
Regards,
Peter
Apologies - was referring to Safari on iOS.
Right. There's no Silverlight for iOS so the Silverlight-based version of Personas won't work. I haven't tried the new HTML version yet, but since I know webgui works fine on an iPad I would expect the HTML version of Personas to also work OK. For the moment, though, that has a much reduced feature set compared to the Silverlight version - see the "something new" section in the blog above.
Hi Peter,
conratulations to the team which made this possible ! One question which I am hearing getting repeatedly is "What's the difference between SAP Fiori and SAP Screen Personas - when and why do i need both ?" You answered that question nicely on this blog SAP Screen Personas and SAP Fiori are Complementary. So my question now is - with the HTML option of Personas available now - is there any change in the guidance when to go for Personas and when for SAP Fiori ?
regards
Oliver
SAP Screen Personas and SAP Fiori are Complementary
Hi Oliver,
Our guidance remains the same.
If you are interested in simplifying routine tasks that are performed by most employees, then Fiori may be a good option for you. If your employees access SAP across a range of devices (desktop or laptop in the office, tablet and phone elsewhere), Fiori is probably the right choice.
If you want to streamline more specialized SAP functionality or you have invested in customizing fields or transactions, then Personas is the right option. Personas allows you to make any SAP GUI transaction screen more intuitive.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Peter
I think you've already answered this question where you say "the Silverlight and the HTML component do not interact", I just want to check my understanding...If you develop a flavour using the Silverlight component, can you view it using the HTML component?
Regards,
Tony.
Tony,
Your interpretation is correct. If you build screens using one component of Personas, they are independent of the other one.
To answer your specific question, if you develop a flavor using the Silverlight component, you cannot view it using the HTML component. The opposite is also true.
Regards,
Peter
I really love what you can do with SAP Screen Personas and the possibilities it gives you to create user friendly experiences ande streamline the work processes.
There are several videos on Youtube where you get examples and a flavor of the look and feel, below is a link to all SAP Screen Personas videos:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=SAP+Screen+Personas+2.0&oq=SAP+Screen+Personas+2.0&gs_l=youtube.3...0.0.0.230710.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1ac..11.youtube.
Hi Peter ,
I need some enhancement in my Cockpit ( TCode COPOC ).
Can I think of using Personas over here ?
Please put your opinion.
Thanking You All.
How do you usually launch this transaction? I received a message that I could not launch it from the Easy Access Menu.
Hi Peter,
This Transaction is launched, like the other transaction, put the Transaction "COPOC"
and press Enter.
There after it wil ask for Cockpit Name and Plant Name, which finally displays a HTML page within SAP Screen.
This HTML page comes from user specific customization.
My requirement, is to add some additional logic for the HTML page displayed.
Just wanted to know, whether Personas will help me out ?
Thanking You All.
I've just tried COPOC and the error message Peter gets, in its long text, explains that COPOC is not compatible with SAPgui in HTML. Now Personas isn't exactly HTMLgui but I guess the test COPOC is using can't tell the difference. It is possible that whatever means it won't work in HTMLgui isn't a problem in Personas, but I have no idea. I don't have COPOC configured in my systems so I can't run it to see.
In any case, you say that you want to change the displayed HTML. I'm pretty sure Personas won't do that.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the reply.
Let me wait for Personas Team's reply.
Thanking You All.
COPOC is not compatible with Personas. We cannot modify information inside the HTML control.
Regards,
Peter
Hi Peter,
Thanks a lot for the help. 🙂
Well, now I will have to look for some thing else inside SAP World......!!!!!! 🙁
Thanking You All.
QUESTION
Hi,
It is not clear for me if this software would allow me to create several simplified screens, let's say for TCode VA01, corresponding to business cases, let's say "inspection service", "tool renting", for which many mandatory fields will be filled in with default values (even non visibles for user). The idea would be to limit keying-in to just few fields for non back-office employees of our company (technicians, warehouse clerks, other occasional users).
Is it actually a possible feature of this solution?
I could not confirm this while watching YouTube demo.
A.Krason
Good question. Personas does let you create multiple "flavors" for the same transaction. Each flavor can specify different defaults for fields and even have a different layout with different fields visible, etc.
Hi,
Is it possible to add a "web services" link in SAP Personas?
Thank in advance.
Best Regards,
Marino
Hi Marino,
Personas allows you to create you own JavaScript snippet that can be integrated into a script. In JavaScript, you can trigger a call to a web service.
Cheers,
Tobias.
Hello Peter,
As expained in the blog , Personas 2.0 includes two separate Personas components, one based on Silverlight and one based on HTML. How to access them separately ? How to create two diffrent flavor one based on silverlight and other one based on HTML? I do have silverlight plug-in in.
Regards,
sagar
Hi Sagar,
You choose which component you want to use, based on your use case. The download package includes both Silverlight and HTML Personas. We are seeing most customers using the Silverlight component.
Regards,
Peter
Hi Peter, quick question. Is it possible with personas to access the GOS and for example add a picture on the screen? (e.g. MM03 -> display material picture, similar to GuiXT before with SAP Web Catalog or file)
thanks, Daniel
HI Daniel,
It should work with Personas. If you need to upload the image, then you have to use elevated trust mode (Note#2025591).
Thanks
Chinthan
I'd assume the picture is dynamic, depending on the material selected.
As long as you can build a URL for the image object, you could display the corresponding picture for each material using an HTML viewer and update its URL via scripting.