NWBC - How does the sidepanel for classical dynpro screens work?

[Former Member]

Introduction

Sidepanels provide context sensitive data related to the transactions that are currently displayed in content area. Sidepanels can be enabled for both classical dynpro screens and web dynpro pages.

Implementation of sidepanels is different for both technologies. In this blog, we will discuss how the sidepanels are enabled for classical dynpro screens.

SAP system details:

Ø  SAP ECC 6.0 EHP2

Ø  NWBC 4.0 PL12

Ø  Used standard role: SAP_EP_RW_FDMN

Ø  Used standard tag table: NWBC_VS_GUI_TAG

Data flow from content area to sidepanel.

The GUI transactions running in content area and sidepanels exchange data in the form of tags. Tags are similar to parameters.

Data flow happens in below manner:

1)    A GUI script reads the values of identified tags from the transactions in content area and store them in a tag table.

2)    The sidepanel application will then read the tag table and get the values of its input tags.

There are two types of tag tables:

a)    NWBC_VS_GUI_TAG: this is standard table supplied by SAP and has tags defined for many transactions.

b)    NWBC_VC_GUI_TAG: this table is for any custom designed tags.

In this blog, we will explain the data flow, using the standard NWBC_VS_GUI_TAG table.

We will discuss the following topics:

1)   1)  Prerequisites for NWBC side panels.

2)   2)  Check whether a tag is defined for a screen element, in tag table.

3)   3)  Check whether inport tag of a sidepanel, is defined in tag table.

4)  Show the flow of data from content area to sidepanel.

1.    Prerequisites for NWBC side panels:

Following are the two prerequisites for NWBC side panels.

• Activate the parameters WDSIDEPANELREMOTECONSUMER, WDSIDEPANELREMOTEPRODUCER
• Enable SAP GUI Read-Only Scripting at application server.

Following screenshots are related to activating parameters: WDSIDEPANELREMOTECONSUMER, WDSIDEPANELREMOTEPRODUCER

Login to SAPGUI and go to Favorites menu. Select the option ‘Add other objects’

Now select the option ‘Web dynpro application’.

Enter the description and save.

Now look at the favourites folder in SAP GUI. Double click on the latest favourite that we added and check that the fields WDSIDEPANELREMOTECONSUMER, WDSIDEPANELREMOTEPRODUCER are check marked. If not, enable them and save.

After double clicking on our added favourite: WDY_APPLICATION – Configuring sidepanels, a new page will be opened with below details.

Till now, we activated the parameters at an individual user level. We can also do the same, globally at  client level. To do so, start the Web Dynpro application WD_GLOBAL_SETTING, select the checkboxes for the mentioned application parameters, and save your entries.

To do this, first open the transaction SE80

Go to Web Dynpro application -> wd_global_parameters and do a right click. Select ‘Test’ option.

It will open the ‘Cross application settings screen’; this screen has the parameters WDSIDEPANELREMOTECONSUMER, WDSIDEPANELREMOTEPRODUCER. Enable the parameters and save.

Following screenshots are related to point:  activating GUI scripting.

Scripting must be activated in the instance profile of the R/3 system. Goto transaction RZ10 and select the instance profile and open in ‘Extended Maintenance’  view.

Opening in ‘Extened Maintenance’ view.

Click the Display button and check whether the profile parameters ‘sapgui/user_scripting’  (or)  ‘sapgui/user_scripting_set_readonly’ are set to ‘TRUE’. If not, open the profile in edit mode and mark them to ‘TRUE’ and save.

1.   2.    Following screenshots are related to checking whether a tag is defined for a screen element, in tag table

Login to NWBC 4.0 and open a transaction. For example  we used the transaction : ‘Create Memo Record’. Now press the control key (ctrl) in keyboard and go to the menu option: Help -> Tools -> SAP GUI Property Collector.

Note: We need to keep the control key pressed, while selecting the options. Otherwise the menu option for property collector will not be visible.

The property collector has opened.  Now select the option ‘Select from Screen’ and  drag the mouse cursor to the field ‘Company code’, while holding the mouse’s left key pressed.

Note: If we don’t keep the mouse key pressed, while dragging it to the screen field, the property collector will not work.

Now click on button ‘Add to collection’. The gui property will be added to the propery collection table.

Properties of the selected field ‘Company code’ are visible in above screenshot. Repeating the same below

ü  Program Name:  “SAPMF40E”

ü  Screen: “100”

ü  Property:  “lid:/wnd[0]/usr/lblFDES-BUKRS.Text”

ü   Property Description: “Company code”

Now check whether we have a tag defined already for the above property in the table NWBC_VS_GUI_TAG

So,  the above property has a tag already defined in NWBC_VS_GUI_TAG table. The tag name is “/BSSP/:BUKRS”

1.

Fo3. Following screenshots are related to point:  check whether inport tag of a sidepanel, is defined in tag table

Prior to that, we have assigned a role to the user, that has a transaction ‘Create Memo Record’ and its sidepanel.  The role that we have used is: SAP_EP_RW_FDMN.

So, we have opened the transaction and showing one of its sidepanel ‘Company Code’, as a reference below. We entered the company code as ‘0001’ in the transaction area.

The side panel is shown in the right side of the screen and it displays additional compay details.

Now we will check the properties of the sidepanel and look at it inport tag. To look at the properties, click on the button, that is at the end of the right side of side panel name.

Now check that the properties of the sidepanel has the above tag, defined as inport.

So, the “/BSSP/:BUKRS is defined as the inport tag for the chip.

Hence the connection between dynpro screen and chip is established and the data can flow from dynpro screen to chip.

We will check it by launching the transaction+sidepanel twice; once with company code 0001 and then with company code 0005.

1.   4. Following screen shots are related to the point:  Show the flow of data from content area to sidepanel confirm the same.

Open the transaction and enter ‘0001’ in the company code field. Now go to the sidepanel, by clicking on the arrow mark at the centre of the right side of the screen.

So, the sidepanel received company code 0001 and displayed its context sensitive information. In this case, it displayed the company details.

Now close the side panel and enter company code as ‘0005’ in the transaction screen.

Open the sidepanel, by clicking on the arrow mark, at the center of the right side of the screen.

So, the sidepanel received company code 0005 and displayed its context sensitive information.

Thus in this blog we have seen how the data flows from content area to sidepanel.

In my next blog, I will discuss how to design a custom chip and enable data flow.