X Tips and Tricks for Using the New Help Platform

You’ve probably noticed a huge change in the delivery of SAP Help documentation recently — the overhaul of the SAP Help Portal. While it’s an amazing upgrade from the previous delivery system, they are still working to improve it.

Search is a big area they are focusing hard on for improvements right now – both the ability to search/find topics via search engines like Google (SEO), as well as searching for content once you are in the Help Portal area.

Because all change is hard, even when it’s a good change, I thought I’d blog a few cool tips and tricks about the new Help Portal that aren’t immediately obvious. I base the selection of these tips and tricks based on the number of times I hear about something a user didn’t know how to do (not scientific, but at least indicative).

The title of this post starts with X because I don’t know how many there will be. I’ll add more as I learn them.

If you have tips you want to add to the page, please do so in the comments area. You may teach ME something, and will certainly be helping others as well.

 Tip: Download the 2.0 HANA Docs as PDFs

In the new Help Portal, each product/version has its own product page that lists the help available, grouped into categories. There is a dedicated category for downloads called Documentation Download. Links beneath it download the PDFs of the documentation, in a handy zip file.

Here are the HANA 2.0 SPS 00 and HANA 2.0 SPS 01 PDF bundles if you want to just download them from this post:

• https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/SAP_HANA_PLATFORM/2.0.01/en-US
• https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/SAP_HANA_PLATFORM/2.0.00/en-US

 Tip: Download the 1.0 HANA Docs as PDFs

You can find the HANA 1.0 PDF bundles (zip files) for HANA 1.0 releases under the Earlier Releases section of the HANA 1.0 SPS 12 product page. These are versions that pre-date the new Help Portan and were never posted there.

 Tip: View Older Versions of the HANA Docs

There’s a subtle little dropdown box called Version in the green area at the top right of a product page. Use it to move between version of the docs.

 Tip: Search Engine Search Results

While we have work to do on our side to maximize the ability of search engines to find and index our content, you can help your own searching by including things like SAP HANA in the terms you are searching for. In Google, you can also do things like site:help.sap.com.

For example: alter table statement sap hana gets you the ALTER TABLE Statement topic as hit #2.

 Tip: Improve SAP Help Portal Search Results

Searching for content from a product page like SAP HANA 2.0 SPS 01 platform page still needs some help – you might not find what you’re looking for. However, once you know generally which deliverables (books) you are really interested in, using the Search tool within them works GREAT. Click on book to open it, and then do your searches once inside.

 Tip: Leave Feedback about a Topic

Down the right side of the page, you’ll see a thumbs up icon. Don’t worry, clicking it doesn’t mean you’ll register approval of the topic. Clicking the thumbs up icon just starts up the feedback dialog. From there, you can rate all kinds of things and leave suggestions too. Your feedback is not posted to publicly, and is currently a one way conversation to us.

 Tip: Download the Book You’re Reading

If you’re on a topic in the SAP Help Portal and you decide you want to download the book it is in, use the little PDF icon on the right side of the reading window.

 Tip: Get Out of the Book You’re Reading

All of the text strings in the nice green and black header area of a page in SAP Help Portal are clickable, including the breadcrumbs and titles. Use them to get out of where you are and back to the fuller listings.

 Tip: Access Help on How to Use SAP Help Portal

Lots of hard work went into the introduction and overview items found on the main SAP Help Portal landing page. Waaay more info than I have in this tiny post. 🙂