EP: The Portal & Fiori Launchpad Integration – Part 2

Introduction

Part One of this blog series covered the fundamentals behind the SAP Fiori Development and touched base on the makeup behind Fiori, Fiori Applications and the utilization of SAP Fiori Launchpad on Portal.

In this blog we will cover the integration between the Fiori Launchpad & the Enterprise Portal. As Fiori is relatively new & “fresh” in terms of large scale utilization it is beneficial to cover the basics before delving into anything too complex 🙂 .

Checks & Pre-Requisite’s

As with any installation and system landscape one of the core recommendations is to always ensure that you have the latest SP’s (Support Packages)  and Patch Level Releases applied to ensure potential issues are avoided and put to one side 😎 .

Now the SAP Fiori Launchpad on Portal is available only for newer Product Version(s) Release(s)

• Netweaver (NW) 7.31 Support Package (SP) 12+
• Netweaver (NW) 7.4 Support Package (SP) 7+

To cross reference compatibility and technical release information for further insight a review of the SAP PAM (Product Availability Matrix) is encouraged and recommended:  https://support.sap.com/pam.

Configuration Setup (Step By Step)

Phase 1 – Overview

The first point of configuration in terms of setting the SAP Fiori Launchpad on Portal up is to enable the property settings accordingly and this will be performed by a validated System Administrator who holds valid authorizations.

• To permit the enable of the Launchpad a new URL alias needs to be created and maintained.
• This “URL Alias” is used in association to the Fiori Desktop and “Master Rule Collection“.
• Through creating the new URL Alias for the “Fiori Desktop” you then need to set the conditions via the “Master Rule Collection“.
• For comprehensive guidance on the URL Setup and Master Rule Collection the following help documentation can be cross-referenced:
  • Defining URL Alias: https://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw74/helpdata/en/48/1d5d0171364269e10000000a421937/content.htm
  • Defining Portal Display Rules: https://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw74/helpdata/en/48/1f04f680093184e10000000a42189b/content.htm

Phase 2 – iViews

Now after the URL Alias has been defined and the Master Rule Collection has been reviewed and checked in accordance to business standards and requirements the next steps are regarding the iView and Page Setup.

The SAP Fiori Launchpad adds a fresh dimension to iView display as such a presentation is returned to the End-User in the form of Fiori Tiles as opposed to the familiar Portal iView standard.

In this phase we define which iViews & Pagesare going to be defined and returned to End-Users in the form of Tiles & Catalogs. There are two types of tiles which can be defined in association to iView displays with each offering their own sense of suitability for business preference:

• Static Tiles: consistent and standard information which maintains a defined display.
• Dynamic Tiles: as the name suggest the setup here is based on regularly changing information through oData.

In order to determine the Tiles (iViews) and define the setup:

1. Login to the Enterprise Portal
2. http://<host>:<port>/portal
3. Navigate to “Content Administration” & then “Portal Content Management”.
4. Locate the “Portal Catalog“
5. Select the iView of interest (from Portal standpoint)  and open the context menu.
6. Open the iView properties through “Open“, “Properties” and make the change for FLP (Fiori Launchpad) display.
7. Once the change is made you need to select “Modify Properties” and Save your changes.

Phase 3 – Catalogs & Categories

In high level terms we can refer to “Catalogs” & “Categories” as the means of grouping applications. Let us revert back for a second and re-reference the types of applications we can use in association to SAP Fiori.

• Analytical Applications
• Transaction Applications
• Fact-sheet Applications

The three application types are diverse and can be tailored dependent on your own business requirements within an organizational establishment.

• 20 Categories can be holstered within the Properties Editor (2 of which are default standard).

There are two application listing types here:

• General: unassigned applications which are not explicitly defined in correlation to a category.
• Recommended: suggested and advocated applications which appear as potential tags.

From personal experience there is a very important point to highlight here.

• A category will not be displayed if there is no applications defined in its association.

To set Catalogs & Categories:

1. Login to the Enterprise Portal
2. http://<host>:<port>/portal
3. Navigate to “Content Administration“, “Portal Content Management“.
4. Locate the “Portal Catalog“
5. Navigate through “Portal Content“, “Portal Users“, “Standard Portal Users“, “iViews“, “Fiori Launchpad“, “Fiori Launchpad Categories“.
6. Select & Open the “Fiori Launchpad Category“.

Within the editor you need to ensure that each of the following are defined:

• Category ID which is the unique identifier.
• Category Order which determines the precedence and order of categories within the tile catalog.
• Category Title i.e. the name of the catalog.

Now you need to assign an iView to the category which has just been defined in order to get it to display and return it to end-users.

1. Open the iView properties through “Open“, “Properties“.
2. Select “Personalized Launcher” within “Category Assignment” and fill in the identifier ID’s
3. Any category definition should be separated through the use of a semi-colon.

Phase 4 – Navigation & the FLP

In this section we are going to determine the way in which the FLP returns its element in window display to our end users. From a high level perspective we need to consider this in terms of work feasibility and requirement suitability.

Some of the options available here include:

• FLP within the Portal Content Area (central window element of the Enterprise Portal) where standard applications are rendered.
• Display within a separate Window (newly opened tabular window)
• Separate headerless Window (conjoined to the Portal Session, but opened within a headerless framework window) quirks mode (older)
• Separate headerless Window (conjoined to the Portal Session, but opened within a headerless framework window) standards mode (newer)

Setting the Navigation Type

1. Login to the Enterprise Portal
2. http://<host>:<port>/portal
3. Navigate to “Content Administration” & then “Portal Content Management“.
4. Locate the “Portal Catalog“
5. Select the iView of interest
6. Open the “Properties Editor” and select “Show Category” and click “Navigation“
7. Determine and define the navigation means of preference as described above and save your changes.

Phase 5 – Resetting User Displays Personalization

If you wish to reset the display settings for users i.e. personalized settings this can be done through property editing or removing the personalization property data for com.sap.portal.navigation.flp.pl.UserData.

• This needs to be performed by System Administrators

In my next Fiori blog posting I will be covering the FFP (Fiori Framework Page) and its association to the Enterprise Portal.