Skip to Content
Product Information
Author's profile photo Ruth Groene

SAP Fiori Launchpad: New Fast and Easy Option to Adapt SAP-delivered Launchpad Content (for On-Premise and Cloud, Private Edition)

Have you ever wanted to use SAP-delivered launchpad content out-of-the-box, but tweak it just a little bit? Maybe change a tile title to make it more meaningful for your business users, like renaming a tile “Count Physical Inventory” to “Do a Stocktake”?

This post covers the new adaptation of SAP-delivered launchpad content:

  • How to adapt (video with end-to-end demo)
  • Context and technical background
  • Which fields can be adapted?
  • How to translate adapted texts

 

How to Adapt (Demo of End-to-end Process)

Adapting SAP-delivered Technical Catalogs

In earlier releases, changing just the tile title of an SAP-delivered app meant that you had to copy its launchpad app descriptor item into a custom technical catalog and adjust all business catalogs, pages, spaces, groups and roles containing this app. But not anymore.

With SAP Front-end server for SAP S/4HANA 2022, you can now use an SAP-delivered technical catalog and tweak it just a little bit, e.g.

  • Adapt a tile title using the new adaptation mode in SAP Fiori Launchpad App Manager (see end-to-end demo video and SAP Help Adapting Launchpad App Descriptor Items). These adaptations are cross-client, just like the technical catalogs themselves.
  • There’s no need to copy the launchpad app descriptor item, so you don’t need to create a custom technical catalog either.

This reduces the need for custom technical catalogs and is an advantage for future upgrades: SAP’s updates to the SAP technical catalog will automatically show up on the launchpad of your business users. Except for the fields that you have adapted, of course – after all, you would not want your adapted tile title to disappear after an upgrade.

Context and Technical Background

Supported Scenarios for SAP Fiori Launchpad Content

For your launchpad content, you can decide between the following scenarios:

  1. Use SAP-delivered content out-of-the box, exactly as delivered (Basic Scenario – Use SAP Content as Delivered)
  2. Adapt SAP-delivered content to your needs (Advanced Scenario – Adapt SAP Template Content and Add Your Own Content)
  3. Create your own launchpad content from scratch.

We recommend using SAP-delivered content wherever possible – and now its adaptation has become even easier: in many cases it’s not necessary anymore to copy SAP technical content into custom technical catalogs.

Technical Background: How is launchpad content structured?

Behind the tile that you see on your launchpad page, there are technical entities including spaces, pages, groups, business catalogs, and technical catalogs.  What you see on a tile is controlled by the underlying launchpad app descriptor item in the technical catalog. For more information on launchpad content entities, see SAP Help SAP Fiori Launchpad – About Launchpad Content.

 Picture%201%3A%20Overview%20of%20launchpad%20content%20entities.

Picture 1: Overview of launchpad content entities.

Picture%202%3A%20The%20%u2018Launchpad%20app%20descriptor%20item%u2019%20bundles%20the%20entities%20for%20one%20app%3A%20one%20target%20mapping%20and%20one%20or%20more%20tiles.

Picture 2: The ‘Launchpad app descriptor item’ bundles the entities for one app: one target mapping and one or more tiles.

What exactly can you change, without copying the SAP-delivered content?

You can currently adapt the following fields of the launchpad app descriptor items.

With S/4HANA 2022 FPS1 (SAP_UI SP02), it is also possible to adapt the target mapping parameters of SAP-delivered content: create new target mapping parameters and assign default .

Group of Fields Fields you can adapt
Target Application Fields
  • Target Application Title
  • Target Mapping Information
  • Device Type – Desktop, Tablet, Phone
Tile Fields
  • Tile Title
  • Tile Subtitle
  • Tile Icon
  • Tile Keywords
  • Tile Information
  • for dynamic tiles: Refresh Interval in Seconds  

Outlook

For future releases, we plan to continue to refine features and user experience – based on your feedback.

 

Yes, you can translate adapted tile texts

The first question customers asked was: ‘Our business users will see the adapted texts on their Fiori launchpad – can we translate them?’

Yes, it’s possible to translate the following adapted texts:

  • Tile title, tile subtitle, tile keywords, tile information
  • Target application title

And what if there is no translation of an adapted text to a user’s logon language? Then this user will see the translated original text, i.e. the translation shipped by SAP.

 

How to translate adapted texts:

After the first adaptation has been done, e.g. with logon language English, texts in other languages can be created in three different ways. You can switch between the three options since, in all cases, texts are stored in the same database tables.

  1. Creating adaptations in different languages:

    The launchpad administrator can log on to SAP Fiori App Manager in another language and create an adaptation in that language. Since there is no translation involved, it’s not necessary to have a particular translation authorization.

  2. Translating single apps:

    Translators or launchpad admins with translation authorization can use the functions ‘Translate’ and ‘Translate Tile Texts’ in SAP Fiori App Manager:

Picture%204%3A%20Translation%20Menu%20in%20Adaptation%20Mode%20of%20SAP%20Fiori%20App%20Manager

Picture 4: Translation Menu in Adaptation Mode of SAP Fiori App Manager

 

Translate Tile Texts’, for example, opens the Translation Editor and directly displays the translatable tile texts of the current app:

Picture%205%3A%20Translation%20Editor

Picture 5: Translation Editor

 

  1. Translating adaptations for one or many apps:

    Translators can also use the standard Translation Editor (transaction SE63):

    • Start transaction SE63
    • Use menu Translation –> ABAP objects –> Short Texts
    • Select Meta objects –>TABL
    • Enter table name SUI_UIAA_TILET for tile texts (or SUI_UIAAT for target application texts) and click Edit

Picture%206%3A%20SE63%20Translation%20Editor%20%28Initial%20Screen%29

Picture 6: Translation Editor (Initial Screen of Transaction SE63)

  • On the following screen, you can choose which texts you want to translate:
    • leave fields App ID and Tile ID blank to get a list of all texts
    • Select an App and/or Tile ID to restrict the selection to a specific app or even to a single tile.

Picture%207%3A%20Translation%20Editor%20%28Selection%20Screen%20of%20Transaction%20SE63%29

Picture 7: Translation Editor (Selection Screen of Transaction SE63)

 

  • Start translating in the Translation Editor.

Picture%208%3A%20SE63%20Translation%20Editor

Picture 8: Translation Editor (Transaction SE63)

 

Further Information

This is not all that SAP Fiori Launchpad in ABAP Platform 2022 has to offer. Please check out our updated What’s New for more features and details. Also worth reading: the overview blogpost by Thomas Reiss and this overview for administrators by Annette Braun.

Find more on the community topic page for SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA or ask a question related to SAP Fiori.

For information about SAP Fiori launchpad, see our product page on the SAP Help Portal or directly jump into our documentation. Looking forward to your feedback!

Assigned Tags

      9 Comments
      You must be Logged on to comment or reply to a post.
      Author's profile photo Samir Dutta
      Samir Dutta

      Thanks Ruth.

      Thats a great feature and save lot of time of Developer/Administrator.

      Quick check, do we need to adjust it again post upgrade to higher release i.e 2023.

       

      Regards

      Samir

      Author's profile photo BHARANIDHARAN S P M
      BHARANIDHARAN S P M

      SAP’s updates to the SAP technical catalog will automatically show up on the launchpad of your business users. Except for the fields that you have adapted, of course – after all, you would not want your adapted tile title to disappear after an upgrade.

       

      Regards,

      Bharanidharan S P M

      Author's profile photo Ruth Groene
      Ruth Groene
      Blog Post Author

      Hi Samir,

      >do we need to adjust it again post upgrade to higher release i.e 2023.

      No, you don't . The adaptation will still be there after you have upgraded to the new release.

      best regards

      Ruth

       

      PS: SAP content is constantly being refined. Before an upgrade, you may want to check for potential successor apps using the Upgrade Impact Analysis in our SAP Fiori Apps Reference Library

      Author's profile photo Benni Perzy
      Benni Perzy

      Hi Ruth,

       

      You show ABAP objects translation. What about non-ABAP objects? this is challenge because there is no on-site tool like TX SE63.

       

      BR,

      Benni

      Author's profile photo Ruth Groene
      Ruth Groene
      Blog Post Author

      Hi Benni,

      it's possible to translate the launchpad content (tile texts and target application title), even if the app is non-ABAP (e.g. app types SAPUI5 Fiori App or URL app).

      When you create a launchpad app descriptor item in SAP Fiori App Manager, you also define tile texts and target application title there. These texts are put into a table that can be translated using SE63.

      The same mechanism is used when you adapt texts using SAP Fiori App Manager, only a different table is used to store the texts. So again you can translate the adapted texts for all app types.

      For more info, see SAP Help Adapting Launchpad App Descriptor Items and Translating Launchpad Texts.

      If you are looking inside an app (e.g. column names or button texts inside an app), these translations have to be covered by the apps themselves.

      • SAP-delivered apps are typically delivered including translations.
      • If you develop apps yourself, you have to take care about translating the texts inside your apps, depending on the technology you use. Only the launchpad content for your custom app (tile texts, target application title) can be translated using the mechanisms provided by SAP Fiori App Manager and SE63.

      best regards

      Ruth

      Author's profile photo Benni Perzy
      Benni Perzy

      Hi Ruth,

      Thanks for quick response. So, we steel suffer from non-ABAP translation (column names or button, texts inside an app). For example: incorrect translation: customer open incident, SAP accept and correct, then deliver in next SP. This is very long process. Example 2: customer want to replace SAP standard translation into customer terms (we support this functionality for ABAP objects).

      BR,

      Benni

      Author's profile photo Ruth Groene
      Ruth Groene
      Blog Post Author

      Hi Benni,

      I guess you are referring to translation capabilities like described in Fiori for S/4HANA – Translating Terminology in SAP Fiori apps via Key User tools | SAP Blogs

      Discussing your options directly with the application or product from your example might be a good starting point. They may also be aware of wider possibilities for their case.

      best regards

      Ruth

      Author's profile photo Christophe Fleury
      Christophe Fleury

      Hi Ruth,

      First at all, thanks for your blok and all sharing !

      Here my question :

      • Before 2022 release, when we've created a specific catalog refered to a standard catalog, we couldn't change tile name, text, icon, etc...without having the "dereferenced" warning message (indicate that we "cut" the link with the standard). With 2022 release, if I well understood, we are able to change for EVERYBODY the Tile title, add informations on it, change icons,etc...without having to deferencing this tile ? is that correct ? But we always have to TRANSLATE the "change" topic. So what is the advantage ?

      Thanks

      Author's profile photo Ruth Groene
      Ruth Groene
      Blog Post Author

      Hi Christophe,

      you wrote:

      > With 2022 release, if I well understood, we are able to change for EVERYBODY the Tile title, add informations on it, change icons,etc...

      > without having to deferencing this tile ? is that correct ?

      Yes, that is correct. You can do changes for everybody without having to change the references to the tile or target mapping.

       

      > But we always have to TRANSLATE the "change" topic.

      Yes, you still have to translate the custom texts you create, there’s no way around that. You only have to translate the fields that you change, not all fields.

       

      > So what is the advantage ?

      There’s no need to copy the launchpad app descriptor item, so you don’t need to create a custom technical catalog either.

      This means that you only have to change the fields you want changed, and only for the app descriptor items you actually want to adapt.

      If you look at the steps in the Advanced Scenario - Adapt SAP Template Content and Add Your Own Content, you save on the following steps:

      • Set up Custom Technical Catalogs: you don’t need to do create custom technical catalogs at all, you can simply use the SAP-delivered technical catalogs.
        • Note: Of course you can still use custom technical catalogs for your own apps, but you don’t need custom technical catalogs for adapted SAP-delivered apps.
      • Using SAP technical catalogs also makes the step ‘Set up Custom Business Catalogs’ easier:
        • You can use SAP-delivered business catalogs out of the box.
        • If you follow SAP’s recommendation and use custom business catalogs, you can simply copy the SAP business catalogs and only make the changes you actually need. There’s no need to go through the business catalog content and replace apps from SAP technical catalogs by apps from custom technical catalogs.
      • When it comes to authorizations and launchpad spaces and pages, you can also copy or use SAP-delivered content without having to exchange apps or technical catalogs.

      You also have an advantage during future upgrades: SAP’s updates to the SAP technical catalog will automatically show up on the launchpad of your business users. Except for the fields that you have adapted, of course – after all, you would not want your adapted tile title to disappear after an upgrade.

       

      Best regards

      Ruth