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:
- Login to the Enterprise Portal
- http://<host>:<port>/portal
- Navigate to “Content Administration” & then “Portal Content Management”.
- Locate the “Portal Catalog“
- Select the iView of interest (from Portal standpoint) and open the context menu.
- Open the iView properties through “Open“, “Properties” and make the change for FLP (Fiori Launchpad) display.
- 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:
- Login to the Enterprise Portal
- http://<host>:<port>/portal
- Navigate to “Content Administration“, “Portal Content Management“.
- Locate the “Portal Catalog“
- Navigate through “Portal Content“, “Portal Users“, “Standard Portal Users“, “iViews“, “Fiori Launchpad“, “Fiori Launchpad Categories“.
- 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.
- Open the iView properties through “Open“, “Properties“.
- Select “Personalized Launcher” within “Category Assignment” and fill in the identifier ID’s
- 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
- Login to the Enterprise Portal
- http://<host>:<port>/portal
- Navigate to “Content Administration” & then “Portal Content Management“.
- Locate the “Portal Catalog“
- Select the iView of interest
- Open the “Properties Editor” and select “Show Category” and click “Navigation“
- 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.
Another great blog. Waiting for next.
Hey Julio
Many thanks for the great feedback I will continue contributing and will have some FLP EP updates in Part 3 shortly 😎 .
Thanks again it is greatly appreciated.
Kind Regards
Troy Cronin - Enterprise Portal Support Engineer
excellent ur blogs are giving me lot of info on fiori and new features . need more like this advanced blogs from you
Thanks Jwala
I greatly appreciate the feedback 🙂
Kind Regards
Troy
Hello Troy,
I have a small question on the Fiori Launchpad Categories iview.
Can I utilize the copied Fiori Launchpad Categories iView in Portal for adding tiles in the category.
Regards,
Narendra.
Hey Narendra
Firstly a very happy new year to you and many thanks for your comment.
In relation to your query surrounding the "Fiori Launchpad Categories iView" in simple terms this is used to define and manage the "title catalog" itself.
If you copy this iView you can assign a workset and role before setting it as an entry point. Administrators can then create categories to group applications in the tile catalog.
Kind Regards,
Troy
Hi Troy,
Happy new year!!
We have configured SAP Fiori Launchpad in SAP NW Portal 7.4, after moving the objects to quality system the applications are loading but unable to update/write in to the Fiori applications of portal lauchpad..
Basically the page appears with block() cursor overall the screen and restricting the write mode.
Regards,
Lokesh
Hi Lokesh
Many thanks for your comment and the very best wishes to you also for the coming year 🙂
Now as per your description you mentioned:
In relation to this behavior would it be possible for you include a snippet screenshot just so that my understanding is correct? Based upon your description it appears that here we are dealing with a rendering blockage of sorts?
Lastly just a point to touch base on (which is usually already taken) but I feel the need to re-emphasize the importance here as there are continued fixes being delivered to the FLP@EP.
A very important point to highlight regarding the FLP (Launchpad) on Portal and the Fiori Framework Page itself is that many subsequent and previous issues have been highlighted and covered within SAP Note: 2008931 - Known issues for Fiori Framework Page (FLP on Portal) which lists the latest Patches.
- I would highly advise ensuring that the latest Patch Level Releases have been implemented before retesting the scenario.
- Also clearing the browser/personalizations.
When patching scenarios it's also important to ensure the dependencies are met so no follow on issues are encountered as per SAP Note: 1974464 - SMP: Information on SCA Dependency Analysis for Java download objects.
- SAP Note: 2031108 - SAP Fiori Integration with SAP Enterprise Portal - Central note
Kindly update me as per your findings.
Kind Regards
Troy Cronin
Enterprise Portal Support Engineer
Active SCN Forum Contributor - Follow Me @ http://scn.sap.com/people/troy.cronin2
Hi Troy,
I have tried and created Catalog and tiles for portal 7.31, but we have multiple Roles on portal for which we have to create multiple catalogs.Is is possible to set navigation for catalog like portal.As we click on one role it shows complete navigation for particular role and for another it shows another roles details.In my case i want to set similar navigation with fiori desktop with EP portal.
Please share the steps and details or alternative to achieve this.
Regards,
SJoshi