Up to this point, when you wanted to use Xcelsius in combination with your SAP NetWeaver BW data, you had to apply several layers of technology. You could use the option to create a universe and use the Query as a Web Service (QaaWS) tool to expose the universe as a Web service, or you could use SAP BusinessObjects Live Office and expose data from an underlying Crystal Report object or SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence object to Xcelsius. With Xcelsius 2008 (Service Pack 02) and SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0 (SAP enhancement package 1, Support Package 05), you can use Xcelsius with a direct connectivity to SAP NetWeaver BW queries.

I will provide an overview of the connectivity that is now available and allows you to connect directly to your SAP NetWeaver BW query. Before I go over the details of this new functionality, I will discuss the technical prerequisites for using this new connectivity. You need to have the following releases at a minimum:

• SAP NetWeaver BW 7.01 (SAP enhancement package 1), Support Package 05
• SAP BusinessObjects Xcelsius Enterprise 2008 Service Pack 02
• SAP Frontend 7.x installed on the client with BI 7.0 Add-On

In addition, this new connectivity is based on BI Consumer Services. Therefore, you need to have the BI ABAP and BI Java stacks deployed.

Connectivity Overview

You may be familiar with the connectivity diagram in Figure 1 and can identify some of the elements, such as SAP BusinessObjects Live Office and QaaWS. SAP BusinessObjects Live Office and QaaWS allow you to provide data to Xcelsius via Crystal Reports or SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence so that you can use it as part of your dashboard. Figure 1 also shows the new connectivity that enables Xcelsius to connect directly to the SAP NetWeaver BW system and use the SAP NetWeaver BW query layer as data source layer for your dashboard requirements.

In the following sections, I first show you how to use an SAP NetWeaver BW query based on the SAP NetWeaver Demo Model. Then, I’ll go step by step through the details of this new connectivity so that you can see how the elements from your SAP NetWeaver BW query are used in Xcelsius.

How the Connectivity Works

Table 1 provides a generic overview of some of the important SAP NetWeaver BW query elements and how these elements are used in Xcelsius Designer.

The Process

In the next few steps, I use an example query to explain how elements are available to you in the Xcelsius Data Manager. My sample SAP NetWeaver BW query is based on the SAP NetWeaver Demo Model InfoProvider 0D_NW_M01 and contains the following elements, as shown in Figure 2:

• Characteristics: Country and Region
• Free characteristic: Calendar Year
• Key figures: Net Sales and Product Costs

In addition, the SAP NetWeaver BW query also contains a variable asking for a single value for characteristic Country. I will now use Xcelsius to connect to this SAP NetWeaver BW query and create a new dashboard based on both the metadata and the actual retrieved data.

The Definition Tab

Step 1. Start Xcelsius Designer by following menu path Start > Programs > Xcelsius > Xcelsius 2008. When you are in Xcelsius, follow menu path Data > Connections to open the Data Manager.

Step 2. Click the Add button and select the SAP NetWeaver BW connection from the list of available connectivity.

Step 3. Click the Browse button to open the list of available SAP NetWeaver BW queries. After providing your SAP credentials to log on to the system, select the SAP NetWeaver BW query from the list (Figure 3).

After you connect to the SAP NetWeaver BW query, the elements of the query are presented to you in the Input Values and the Output Values areas. The Input Values area includes elements to provide input for filters and variables. The Output Values area includes elements such as characteristics information, configured filter values, the list of members for variables, and general information about the underlying data.

In my example, I have a set of characteristics to which I can apply additional filters —   that is, in addition to any filter that is already defined in the SAP NetWeaver BW query. The Variables under the Input Values allow me to send input values to the variable I am using as part of the SAP NetWeaver BW query. In the Output Values section, I can find all the information and elements from the SAP NetWeaver BW query with regard to the actual data retrieval.

Within the Characteristics option, each characteristic that is part of the SAP NetWeaver BW query is presented with several detailed fields that you can use as part of your dashboard (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Fields available for characteristics

You can see that each characteristic has a set of fields under the Members Value Help. You can use these fields to retrieve lists of members that you can then use for selector components (e.g., a drop-down box) to offer an easy way for users to select values. You can then use the selected values and pass them to a variable in the SAP NetWeaver BW query.

The Variables area of the Output Values section contains a similar list of fields (Figure 5). In the Members Value Help for each variable, there is a list of values that are valid for the defined variable. You might need this member help for a characteristic in addition to the variables because:

• You can receive a list of values for all characteristics — even those without variables — and define filtering in the Xcelsius dashboard
• You can use variables in the SAP NetWeaver BW query without actually using the underlying characteristic in the SAP NetWeaver BW query

Figure 5

Fields available for the variables

Static Filter gives you access to any defined filters in the SAP NetWeaver BW query (Figure 6). This allows you to use the information and display it as part of your overall dashboard.

Figure 6

Fields available for the static filter

The Information area provides access to more detailed information about the SAP NetWeaver BW query (Figure 7). You might be familiar with these items from the BEx Analyzer tool, where they are called BEx Textelements.

Figure 7

Fields available for the Information section

The Messages area allows you to include upcoming error messages, such as missing values for variables or runtime error messages, from your SAP NetWeaver BW system and display this information as part of your dashboard (Figure 8).

Figure 8

Message options for your dashboard

The Data Preview Tab

After finishing with the Definition tab, click the Data Preview tab (Figure 9). Here you can preview the data as well as rearrange the elements from the SAP NetWeaver BW query to form the data structure for your Xcelsius dashboard.

In my example, the characteristics are shown as I placed them in the SAP NetWeaver BW query:

• Country and Region in Rows
• Calendar year in Free Characteristics 

However, you can use drag-and-drop functionality or the buttons at the bottom of the left side of the screen to place the objects where you need them for your dashboard. You can also overwrite the original SAP NetWeaver BW query structure and define which elements you want to receive as part of the dataset. (This part of the Data Preview makes it one of the most-used options in the connection.)

In addition, the Data Preview tab shows you which elements from the characteristics are available for your query. In Figure 9, the characteristic Country is in two columns and the characteristic Region is in one column. The new Xcelsius connectivity uses the display settings from the underlying SAP NetWeaver BW query, this means that when you activate the display of key and text, you see two columns as in my example for the Country characteristic.

The Usage Tab

Now navigate to the Usage tab, where you can configure when to load or refresh the data for your dashboard (Figure 10). The Refresh On Load option allows you to load the data at the start of your dashboard when the user of your dashboard opens it for the first time. Combined with the Use Default Query Data option, you can ensure that the initial run of the SAP NetWeaver BW query uses the default values you defined in BEx Query Designer.

Figure 10

Set when the system should load the data

When you want to use the dataset that you defined using the SAP NetWeaver BW query and the Data Preview in Xcelsius, navigate back to the Definition tab (Figure 3) and select the Cross-Tab Data element in the Output Values. You can use the insert in icon   in Figure 3 to select the range in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that represents your data coming back from SAP NetWeaver BW.

At this point it is important to understand the structure of the returning data. In addition to the Data Preview tab and the number of columns that you define, your dataset will also have at least two rows of data that provide more detail (Figure 11).

Figure 11

Sample data set

The first two rows of data contain additional information about the dataset by providing the labels, information about the unit, and the scaling of the key figure. Keep this in mind when creating your Xcelsius dashboards — at least the first two rows are always part of your dataset, in addition to the actual results. Finally, the result set includes a row that represents the overall result. If you prefer that your dashboard not include this information, you need to set the property Result Rows to Always Suppress for each characteristic in BEx Query Designer.

On top of the options mentioned so far, you can also choose which type of values you want to retrieve for all your key figures. For example, selecting the Raw option results in the retrieval of the plain number values. Selecting the Formatted option allows you to retrieve a string object with the formatted number based on your user preferences configured in transaction SU3.

Global Dashboards

In addition to the direct connectivity with SAP NetWeaver BW, the integration with Xcelsius offers a translation capability to prepare your dashboards for a global audience. This functionality allows you to push the used strings from your dashboard into the translation system of your SAP landscape. At runtime, the system uses the translated strings.

Go to SAP > Translation Settings (Figure 12). Select the Enable Support for Translation option and then use the Add and Remove buttons to create or remove definitions of the strings you want translated. These strings are then transferred to the SAP NetWeaver BW system and you can use transaction SE63 to translate them.

Figure 12

Set the translation settings for your dashboard

Create a simple table as part of your embedded Xcelsius spreadsheet and enter the actual string and a numeric value for the maximum number of characters. The maximum number of characters is helpful for the translation system because it allows the person translating the string to receive an indication of the maximum string length.

After you integrate all your strings from the dashboard into the translation settings, you can publish the Xcelsius file to the SAP NetWeaver BW system. Go to SAP > Publish and save your Xcelsius design file (*.xlf) to the SAP NetWeaver BW system. This allows you to use all the common workflows, such as transporting an Xcelsius dashboard from your development environment to your QA system and then to your production environment.

After you publish the Xcelsius file to your SAP NetWeaver BW system, go to SAP > Launch to start your Xcelsius dashboard using BEx Web runtime. The link to the dashboard is stored in the role menu, and you can easily include this URL as part of your favorites or in any customer or portal application to display your Xcelsius dashboard.