About This Guide

Report Development Tools xvii About This Guide Contents Why This Guide xix How This Guide Is Organized .xix Who This Guide Is For xxiii How to Use This Guide .xxiii Navigating the System xxiii Special Icons xxiv Typographical Conventions xxv About This Guide Why This Guide Reporting Made Easy xviii Welcome to Report Development Tools, the second book in the three-volume Reporting Made Easy series. In book 1, we presented the tactical approach to reporting and explored basic R/3 reporting concepts. Building on the material covered in the first book, this book focuses on creating reports with standard R/3 tools. In this book, we begin by reviewing the process of choosing a report development tool. Later, we provide information on each of the reporting tools to help you use them efficiently. In this book, we not only cover the core report development tools that were highlighted in book 1, but also several tools you may have only heard about. Additionally, we discuss several reporting-related functions such as web reporting, ABAP List Viewer (ALV), and Extended Export of Lists (XXL). Other guides in the Reporting Made Easy series The other two guidebooks in the Reporting Made Easy series are: < Book 1: Fundamentals of Reporting < Book 3: Commonly Used Reports: Illustrations and Perspectives These guidebooks are intended to bridge the gap in R/3 reporting knowledge and training. The guidebook series is geared toward users, implementation teams, and consultants who need a deeper understanding of how reporting works in the R/3 System. For availability and ordering information, refer to the order form included with the guidebooks or visit our web site: http://www.saplabs.com/rme. Reporting Made Easy Guidebooks Fundamentals of Reporting Report Development Tools Commonly Used Reports 1 1 2 2 3 3 About This Guide Why This Guide Report Development Tools xix Why This Guide The primary goal of this guide is to help you create your own reports in R/3. Each application area provides ways to retrieve information and develop reports. By using the report development tools in an efficient manner, you can quickly create reports that fit your needs. This guidebook will help you: < Understand the nuts-and-bolts of R/3 report development tools such as Logistics Information System, Report Painter, ABAP Query, Business Information Warehouse, and more < Learn how to use the report development tools using step-by-step examples to help you get started < Discover “tips and tricks“ on getting the most out of the report development tools (for advanced developers) < Use program templates to create your own ABAP reports How This Guide Is Organized This guidebook is organized as follows: < Part 1: Core Report Development Tools (chapters 1 through 6) < Part 2: Business Information Warehouse (chapters 7 through 11) < Part 3: Other Report Development Topics (chapter 12, appendices A through F) Part 1: Core Report Development Tools The first part of this guidebook focuses on the core report development tools identified in book 1. These core tools include: < ABAP Query < Report Painter/Report Writer < Drilldown Reporting < Logistics Information System—Standard Analyses < Logistics Information System—Flexible Analyses As mentioned in book 1, the tools listed above are not the only tools available to develop R/3 reports. The list includes only tools that are used exclusively to retrieve information. Tools such as the Business Information Warehouse (BW) or ABAP (the programming language of R/3) are not considered core reporting tools because they are not exclusively intended for report development; they do much more than data extraction for reporting purposes. You will find more information on these topics in Part 2. About This Guide How This Guide Is Organized Reporting Made Easy xx The chapters in this section are organized as follows: Chapter What you will learn Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Report Development Tool < Choosing the right report development tool for your needs < Identifying report development tools that support application areas in Release 4.0B < Using the Tools Summary Matrix to evaluate different report development tools Chapter 2: ABAP Query < Creating a functional report in ABAP Query < Building a basic functional area using a logical database < Maintaining a user group < Creating a report using a functional area and a user group < Improving your usability of ABAP Query Chapter 3: Report Painter/Report Writer < Differences between Report Painter and Report Writer < How to create a simple report with Report Painter < Helpful hints and information on the Report/Report Interface, formula variables, and creating your own evaluation structures Chapter 4: Drilldown Reporting < Organization of the components of Drilldown reporting < Differences between Drilldown and other reporting tools < How to create and execute a form (drilldown) report Chapter 5: LIS Standard Analyses < Selecting data for standard analysis < Navigating within an LIS standard analysis < Choosing which key figures to display < Customizing or controlling how the data is displayed (for example, formats) < Running a statistical analysis (for example, an ABC analysis) Chapter 6: LIS Flexible Analyses < Defining an evaluation < Generating and executing an evaluation < Modifying the report layout of a flexible analysis About This Guide How This Guide Is Organized Report Development Tools xxi Part 2: Business Information Warehouse The second part of this guidebook focuses on SAP’s Business Information Warehouse. The chapters in this section are organized as follows: Chapter What you will learn Chapter 7: Overview of Reporting in the Business Information Warehouse < How the Business Information Warehouse (BW) works as an enterprise-wide information hub < The overall architecture of the Business Information Warehouse environment < Important concepts and terminology related to the Business Information Warehouse Chapter 8: Creating Workbooks < How to create a workbook template using the BEx Analyzer < How to insert a query (or queries) into a workbook < How to save a workbook template to the InfoCatalog < How to add pushbuttons and textboxes to a workbook template using simple Visual Basic commands Chapter 9: Creating Queries < How to create and save a new query < How to define filters in a query < How to create restricted key figures and calculated key figures in a query < How to create new formulas in a query < How to work with drilldown, currency conversion, charts, and other BW query functions Chapter 10: Working With the BEx Browser < How to create channels in the InfoCatalog < How to assign users to channels < How to add workbooks to Favorites < How to execute workbooks in the BEx Browser < How to create and populate clusters < How to create SAP transaction, Internet, and workbook shortcuts Chapter 11: Business Information Warehouse: Special Topics < How to use the Administrator Workbench < How to work with SAP-delivered DemoCubes < How to organize workbooks in the InfoCatalog < How to get the most out of BW (tips and tricks) About This Guide How This Guide Is Organized Reporting Made Easy xxii Part 3: Other Report Development Topics Chapter or Appendix What you will learn Chapter 12: ABAP Report Templates < The basic structure of an ABAP report < Differences between traditional and interactive reports < How to build traditional and interactive reports using the report template < Useful tips and tricks on ABAP report development Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV) < Some of the time-saving features of ALV, as well as its ability to enhance information display < Differences between reports written with and without the ALV < Technical information (sample code) to help you build reports with ALV “functionality” Appendix B: Extended Export of Lists (XXL) < What is the Extended Export of Lists (XXL) < What is the XXL List Viewer < How to use XXL to export an R/3 list to Microsoft Excel ® Appendix C: SAP Open Information Warehouse < What is the SAP Open Information Warehouse (OIW) < How is the SAP OIW organized < How to prepare OIW source and meta data < How to download an OIW report into Microsoft Excel Appendix D: Web Reporting < The functionality behind web-reporting < The remote function calls necessary for web reporting interaction with R/3 < The function modules you can incorporate into your ABAP programs to enable web-based reporting Appendix E: LIS Information Structures List of available information structures within the “SAP name space”—structures numbered between S001 and S500. Structures are listed according to the application area for which they were created. Appendix F: Creating a Drilldown Report in Executive Information System < How to create a form for an EIS report < How to create an EIS report using a form < How to execute and analyze an EIS report About This Guide Who This Guide Is For Report Development Tools xxiii Who This Guide Is For The target audience for this guide includes end users, consultants, and implementation teams. This publication is intended to benefit a wide range of users—with varying levels of familiarity with the R/3 System. This guide assumes that you are: < Familiar with R/3 System logon procedures, menu-tree program selection, and general navigation < Familiar with basic Windows ® or Macintosh ® system operations < Familiar with Microsoft ® -based applications such as Word and Excel How to Use This Guide While reading this book from cover to cover may make sense for some R/3 users, others could easily scan, skim, and select portions that are of most interest. You can use it as a reference or as a handbook. Not all chapters are for all users; the guide seeks to accommodate different needs. Report Examples Use IDES Data Almost all documentation in this guide uses sample data from SAP’s International Demo and Education System (IDES) Release 4.0B. To use these report examples (with the specified data and results) as a tutorial, you will need access to an IDES system. If you are not sure how to access the model company data in IDES, ask your SAP system administrator for assistance. For more information about IDES and its current availability, visit the SAP web site at http://www.sap.com. Training and Documentation This material may be reprinted or reused for user training or to develop internal company documentation. However, no part of this guide may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the written permission of SAP AG and the R/3 Simplification Group of SAP Labs, Inc. Navigating the System You may navigate the R/3 System using menu paths, transaction codes, or shortcut and function keys. If you use transaction codes, remember that you can enter the codes from the main SAP R/3 screen. About This Guide Special Icons Reporting Made Easy xxiv But if you wish to jump from one transaction to another, you must precede the transaction with either /n or /o, as follows: /n<trans code> Example: /nVA01 Use /n to exit the current transaction and start a new transaction. Your current transaction gets replaced by the new one. /o<trans code> Example: /oVA01 Use /o to open a new session (window). Your current transaction is maintained, while a new window opens with the new transaction. Before you use /n<transaction code>, make sure you have saved all information. Otherwise, when you jump from one transaction to another, all unsaved information is lost. If you wish to review transactions side-by-side, you may want to start a new session by entering /o<transaction code> in the command filed. Special Icons Throughout this guide you will see special icons indicating important messages. Below are brief explanations of each icon: Exercise caution when performing this task or step. An explanation of why you should be careful will be included. This information helps you understand the topic in greater detail. It is not necessary to know this information to perform the task. This information provides helpful hints and shortcuts to make your work faster and easier. About This Guide Typographical Conventions Report Development Tools xxv Typographical Conventions The table shown below lists the typographical conventions and symbols, and icons used throughout this guide. Word What it Means Click Click the left mouse button to perform the action. “Click” or “double-click” are used when the mouse is the only way to perform a certain function. “Choose” is always used for actions involving on-screen buttons or icons. Example: Click the node for Production Planning. Choose When you see the word “choose,” you will either perform certain actions by choosing particular buttons on screen (using the mouse or a shortcut key, for example) or follow given menu paths. Examples: 1. Choose File → Save. 2. Choose Back. 3. Choose Enter. Select Used with instructions for radio buttons and checkboxes. Example: Select Generate Enterprise IMG. Typeface Style What it Means User input Type in the text exactly as shown. Example: Enter 14287 in Personnel Number. Object Style Shown in italics, this word is usually an on-screen object, for example, button, field, screen title, book or chapter title, screen text or message. Example: In the User Maintenance screen, enter SAP* in User. About This Guide Typographical Conventions Reporting Made Easy xxvi . Used Reports 1 1 2 2 3 3 About This Guide Why This Guide Report Development Tools xix Why This Guide The primary goal of this guide is to help you create. an EIS report About This Guide Who This Guide Is For Report Development Tools xxiii Who This Guide Is For The target audience for this guide includes