Notifications and Subscriptions in BW4/HANA

Notifications and Subscriptions functionality is available in BW4/HANA based BW systems. In case of the Notifications, the user has a chance to receive notification either via email or to mobile devices about different events that happened in the BW system. The events are following:

Process chain run aborted

Process chain run completed

Process chain run is overdue

Process chain run is seriously delayed

Process chain run takes longer

Process chain run takes much too long

Request ended with errors

Subscriptions on other hand defines specific conditions of BW∕4HANA objects that user receives the notifications for.

Settings related to notifications and subscriptions are available SAP BW∕4HANA Cockpit – (BW Fiori Launchpad). From here the notifications/subscriptions can be enabled/disabled.

From the BW backend perspective the functions are needed first to be customized.  In a t-code SPRO there is an item called Notification Channel -> Notification Channel Provider Enablement. Here all customizing needs to be done from the Configuration and Administration perspective. To switch the function on - the customizing under Administration -> Notification Provider Settings -> Manage Notification Providers (t-code /IWNGW/VB_REG_P, maintenance view /IWNGW/VB_REG_P and table /IWNGW/B_REG_P) needs to be activated.

There are a few tables that holds data about the settings:

BW4FLPNOTIF                    BW/4 FLP Notifications, each notification has a unique ID (NOTIF_ID), TYPE_KEY identifies type of the notification (BW ones e.g.: BW4_RSPC_VERY_LONG, BW4_RSPC_LONG, BW4_RSPC_BERY_LATE, …)

BW4FLPNOTIFREC                 BW/4 FLP Notification Receivers, a list of the user per unique notification ID

BW4FLPNOTIFSUB                 BW/4 Notification Subscriptions, each subscription has unique ID (GUID), user (USER_ID) specific the user to whom the subscription belongs to, OBJECT columns defines object which the subscription is related to (e.g.: ADSO, PC, PREC, etc.), validity columns from – to, who created, when,…

BW4FLPNOTIFSUBCO               BW/4 Notification Subscriptions Conditions, condition has unique ID (SUBSCR_GUID), FIELDNAME, and SEL_LOW and SEL_HIGH define object e.g. PC tech name

Some of these tables can grow fast thus housekeeping needs to be performed on them. There are standard programs like RS_BW4_FLP_NOTIF_DELETE and RS_BW4_FLP_NOTIF_OFF to support that.

 

More information:

Online documentation

2922364 - FAQ: BW/4HANA 2.0 Cockpit Notifications

Does my BW run in cloud or on-premise?

In case there is a need to recognize programmatically whether the BW system runs in cloud or on-premise there are some options on how to check it.

First let’s see how it is regarding HANA DB. There is ABAP class CL_SHDB_HC (HANA cloud base functions). Its method IS_HANA_CLOUD fetches versions of the HANA (major, minor, revision and patch) via calling system function call DB_GET_REL. The method returns true in case the HANA DB runs in the cloud and false if it doesn’t.

Subsequently regarding SAP BW. There is the ABAP class CL_RS_UTILITIES (General Auxiliary Methods) and its method GET_IS_CLOUD_BW4_SYSTEM. The method reads table RSADMINA table for column CLOUD_MODE (domain and data element RS_CLOUD_MODE). If the value of the parameter is X it means the BW system runs in the cloud otherwise it is considered as on-premise system.

In case of other SAP systems like S/4 there is the ABAP class CL_COS_UTILITIES (Utility routines for content separation/client separation) and its method VALIDATE_GV_S4H that can be used to determine running environment of the system. The other method IS_CLOUD in the same class is set as obsolete. The VALIDATE_GV_S4H reads first the information from shared memory via parameters like s4h_public_cloud / s4h_on_premise. If that is not successful it reads table TDEVC (Development Packages) for cloud-only packages like 'SR_APS'. Finally, it calls FM 'SFW_IS_BFUNC_SWITCHED_ON' (checks what Business Functions are activated in the system) to check whether function 'SIMPLIFY_ON_PREMISE' is active.

My ABAP code snippet to check whether the BW and underlaying HABA DB runs in cloud or on-premise environment is available here.

More information:

BW4 – Parameters of RSADMINA table

Parameters of RSADMINA table

BW/4HANA Cockpit – Check tool (t-code BW4CHECK)

I previously wrote about the SAP BW∕4HANA Cockpit in my post here. In short, the SAP BW∕4HANA Cockpit is a web-based central hub for managing and administering an SAP BW∕4HANA system.

Setting up the Cockpit involves several activities. Below, I’ve briefly listed the relevant SAP Notes. If any issues arise during the setup, the t-code BW4CHECK (Check BW/4HANA Cockpit Setup) can be useful for troubleshooting. The BW4CHECK runs ABAP program BW4_UI5_IFC_CONSISTENCY. The program calls a method CHECK_STATUS of a class CL_BW4_FLP_HEALTH_CHECK. The method and few inner method calls read ICF services from table ICFINSTACT (service name = BW4_LAUNCHPAD, etc.) and checks if they are activate.

There are errors reported by the t-code in case some ICF/OData services that the launchpad uses are not configured.

In case the Cockpit setup is okay there is an information message: All services are active! (msg no BW4_UI5_TOOLS001).

More information:

BW/4HANA Cockpit

3405328 - FAQ: BW/4HANA 2023 Cockpit Setup

3129762 - FAQ: BW/4HANA 2021 Cockpit Setup

2918492 - FAQ: BW/4HANA 2.0 Cockpit Setup

Activating technical business content in BW4/HANA systems

As mentioned in my post What to consider while moving to BW/4HANA there is no t-code RSTCO_ADMIN (program RSTCO_ACTIVATION_ADMIN) available anymore in BW4/HANA based systems. This means that technical IOs like 0CURRENCY, 0LANGU, 0IOBJNM, 0INFOPROV, 0UNIT, etc. need to be activated differently.

There are dedicated tasks in t-code STC01 (Task Manager for technical Configuration, program STC_SCN_MAINTAIN) that need to run to be able to activate those IOs. The STCO1 is used to automate BW configuration tasks. Basically, it is a framework that runs tasks as jobs in background in order to achieve specifics system activities that otherwise needed to be run manually by scheduling those jobs. Particular tasks are organized into so called task lists. More on the t-code STC01 can be found here.

Sequence of tasks lists to activate the technical objects (technical business content) is following:

SAP_BW4_SET_OPERATION_SCOPE

SAP_BW4_SETUP_SIMPLE

SAP_BW4_AFTER_UPDATE

 

Activity of the IOs activation takes place in task list - SAP_BW4_SET_OPERATION_SCOPE and in particular in task called CL_RSTCO_200_CONF_TRIG_CONT - Set BW/4HANA Operating Scope. A number of activated IOs depends on the operating system scope.

More on operating scope can be found in this blog post.

 

More information:

Converting BW system to BW/4HANA

Automation for SAP BW configuration tasks

2665746 - Activating BW technical InfoObjects 0LANGU etc in BW/4HANA without RSTCO_ADMIN

2400585 - Collective Note & FAQ: SAP BW/4HANA Content (BW4CONT & BW4CONTB)

BW/4HANA 2.0: External SAP HANA SQL View

There is a new feature in BW/4HANA 2.0 starting with Initial Shipment Stack. In this version of the SAP BW4/HANA 2.0 is external SAP HANA SQL View introduced. The new view follows one of principles of SAP BW4/HANA, which is openness.

In older releases of SAP BW4/HANA there wasn’t dedicated SQL view to support an extraction from aDSO objects. As SAP doesn’t recommends to use active table of the aDSO for extraction (see SAP Note 1682131) due to the fact that those tables are no publicly released. In the case of SAP BW4/HANA versions lower than BW/4HANA 2.0 SAP recommends to either use the HANA Modeler to import BW InfoProvider metadata and generate a HANA Model or to generate the HANA Model for BW InfoProvider from the BW backend.

Now with the respect to BW/4HANA 2.0 the new feature brings a new SQL view that is supposed to be used for an extraction of SAP BW objects like aDSOs or InfoObjects (see SAP Note 2723506). A naming convention for the new SQL view ends *8. That means on top of other DDIC tables related to the aDSO object there is a new table /BIC/A<aDSO_tech_name>8. E.g./BIC/AZMMA_ADSO8 - View for external Access for DataStore ZMMA_ADSO.

A full list of DDIC tables/views for my example aDSO is ZMMA_ADSO:

 

TABLES:

/BIC/AZMMA_ADSO                Inbound Table for DataStore ZMMA_ADSO

/BIC/A ZMMA_ADSO1              Inbound Table for DataStore ZMMA_ADSO

/BIC/A ZMMA_ADSO2              Active Data Table for DataStore ZMMA_ADSO

/BIC/AZMMA_ADSO3               Change Log for DataStore ZMMA_ADSO

VIEWS:

/BIC/AZMMA_ADSO6               View for Extraction from DataStore ZMMA_ADSO

/BIC/AZMMA_ADSO7               View for Reporting for DataStore ZMMA_ADSO

/BIC/AZMMA_ADSO8               View for external Access for DataStore ZMMA_ADSO

 

The views ending with 6 and 7 were generated by BW4/HANA 1.0 and view ending with 8 was generated in BW4/HANA 2.0. From my experience (based on BW4/HANA 2.0 SP05) the *8 view doesn’t get generated by aDSO activation right away. In my case it was generated at the time I loaded the data into the aDSO for 1^st time.

 

More information:

How to read/write/delete from/to aDSO objects

1682131 - SAP BW tables in SAP HANA Information Views and ABAP CDS Views not supported

2723506 - External SAP HANA SQL View with SAP BW/4HANA 2.0

BW/4HANA obsolete tools

In SAP BW4/HANA many tools that were present in earlier releases of BW became obsolete. This is has few reasons. Mostly it is because the BW/4 uses less objects comparing to classic BW. The BW/4 is simplified in many ways – see details about it here.

Below I tried to compile a list of the obsolete tools in BW4/HANA. This blog post complements my earlier post about t-codes that are obsolete in BW/4.

 

1. DB table consistency tool

Program RSDU_TABLE_CONSISTENCY is deprecated with SAP BW/4HANA, source code removed. See more information about the tool here.

 

2. aDSO tool for Activating/Repairing DataStore Objects

These are the ABAP programs that check and regenerates aDSO objects in the case of technical incompleteness or inconsistency of metadata without creating a transport.

RSDG_ODSO_ACTIVATE - obsolete

RSDG_ADSO_ACTIVATE this to be used in BW/4

RSDG_ADSO_ACTIVATE only works in dialog only RSDG_ADSO_ACTIVATE_ALL works in background too.

 

3. InfoSet tool

Program RSQ_ISET_MASS_OPERATIONS doesn't exists in BW4

 

4. Tool to activate inactive communication structures

Program RS_COMSTRU_ACTIVATE_ALL does not exists in BW4

 

5. Tool to activate transfer structures for a source system

Program RS_TRANSTRU_ACTIVATE_ALL does not exists in BW4

 

6. Tool to activate inactive update rules

Program RSAU_UPDR_REACTIVATE_ALL does not exists in BW4

 

7. Print a list of InfoProviders available in system with their layout

Program SAP_INFOCUBE_DESIGNS – obsolete as FM RSD_CUBE_MULTI_GET_ONLY_DB reads from RSDCUBE table that is empty in BW/4

 

8. Undo of DSO conversion to SAP HANA-Optimized DataStore Object

Program RSDRI_RECONVERT_DATASTORE - obsolete on BW4 (ASSERT 1 = 0.)

 

9. Program for Mass activation of Non-Badi SPOs

Program RSDG_LPOA_ACTIVATE - obsolete on BW4 (ASSERT 1 = 0.)

 

10. Optimize Conversion of Standard Objects to SAP HANA

T-code RSMIGRHANADB or program RSDRI_CONVERT_CUBE_TO_INMEMORY - obsolete on BW4 (ASSERT 1 = 0.)

 

11. SAP HANA Partitioning of DataStore Objects

Program RSDU_WODSO_REPART_HDB - obsolete on BW4 (ASSERT 1 = 0.)

More information:

Action canceled. Not supported in BW4HANA edition.

Converting BW system to BW/4HANA

BW on HANA - tables consistency check program

SAP BW/4HANA (B4H) – what is it?

SAP BW/4HANA (B4H) versions

SAP BW4/HANA related t-codes

Enhanced Master Data Update

One of a new BW features that were introduced in BW4/HANA version is Enhanced Master Data Update. It can be enabled for a characteristics (attributes and/or texts) type of Info Objects. Only the characteristics that do have master data is supported. This feature brings a possibility of parallel loading of data to the IO. There are new tables created for the IO in case the feature is enabled. The tables are similar to inbound and active tables like aDSO object has. Like in the aDSO case also here the data is loaded first to inbound table. Upon the data activation the attribute and/or text tables of the IO are updated.

Advantage of this feature is while a huge portions of MD is being loaded and/or from multiple sources. It means that the data can be loaded in parallel. Delta mechanism is also supported.

The feature can be enabled in BW Modeling Tools of SAP Hana Studio on IO maintenance screen on general tab.

Technically the flag is stored in table RSDCHABAS column ENHANCED_MD_UPDATE. Its values referring to domain RSDMDUPDATEENH that has following 2 values:

0        Does not use enhanced master data update

1        Uses enhanced master data update

 

Once the enhanced MD updated is enabled for the characteristics the settings related to that can be maintained in t-code RSDMD_SETTINGS. The t-code refers to class CL_RSDMD_SETTINGS_CTRL and method MAINTAIN_SETTINGS.

In case of issues with the IO activation that error message complains about the Enhanced Master Data Update cannot be used for Char. X due to ... (e.g. message no R7B420, R7B428 etc.) there is an ABAP program RSD_CHA_ADAPT_DEFAULT_ENHMDUPD that fixes those.

 

More information:

Online docu BW/4 2.0

Online docu BW/4 2021

BW4 - Parameters of RSADMIN table

Many BW’s functional parts can be influenced by parameters. BW has few tables that store those parameters. Most prominent among them is RSADMIN one. With the introduction of BW/4HANA a suite of new parameters were introduced in the RSADMIN table.

 

Some of the RSADMIN parameters valid for BW/4HANA are having a BW4 prefix. However, that can’t be an guiding rule to distinguish between parameters valid for BW4 and prior BW’s versions. Thus there is a wide range mix of the parameters introduced in older BW versions that are still valid for BW/4HANA based systems.

Below I just mention few most important params that I came across.

 

ADSO_NE__XYZ (2950922) if values is set to X a zero elimination during aDSO request activation is activated. XYZ stands for particular aDSO technical name. This is same as param ADSO_NULL_ELIM__XYZ (2931468) that is valid for BW 7.5 systems.

 

ADSO_MDC_MODE_FOR_BEXFL_NEVER (3024244) parameter to decide what master data check mode is to be used by default for an InfoObjects in aDSO if the source object is a classic DSO.

 

Overview of BW/4HANA’s RSADMIN table parameter can be found in SAP Note: 2769125 - Composite Note: RSADMIN Parameter for SAP BW/4HANA

 

Related posts:

Parameters of RSADMINC table

Parameters of RSADMINA table

How to work with RSADMINA, RSADMINC and RSADMINS tables

How to work with RSADMIN table

Finally there is a list of RSADMIN table parameters (classic BW)

What to consider while moving to BW/4HANA

There are few areas that need to be considered while moving an SAP BW Classic system to BW/4HANA based system. Just in general it always helps if the BW system undergone a cleanup up of unused objects before the migration.  It is useful if a whole the data flows, all the objects that are there sitting and not being used are deleted. 3.x fashion BW objects should really not be present in BW 7.x based system. Sooner they are migrated/removed less problems will pop up during the BW/4 move. SAP BW statistics can be used to see what objects are not used. Objects are to be deleted manually in t-code RSA1 or in automated way via ABAP prg RS_DELETE_TLOGO. Other things that can be done much prior before the migration are:

·        BW/4 Sizing report (ABAP prg /SDF/HANA_BW_SIZING), see Note 2296290

·        Custom code scan (ABAP prg RS_B4HANA_CODE_SCAN), see Note 2577045

·        BW Authorization concept status review

See my other blog post Converting BW system to BW/4HANA for details on those activities.

 

1. Modelling/Administration

BW development/modelling moved to Eclipse (SAP HANA Studio) and similarly BW administration moved to web. There is not much of emphasis for using SAP GUI anymore for BW related tasks. In most of the cases, you can still use the SAP GUI but main SAP BW’s t-code the all mighty RSA1 has a limited scope in is BW4/HANA based systems. Anyhow even with a relatively new t-code like RSMNG for data target administration the web for administration and Eclipse modelling are the preferred tools.

On the attempt to use traditional SAP BW t-codes on BW Transformation object you can only get to display mode while system throws a following information message popping up:

Transformations can only be edited in the BW Modeling Tools in Eclipse

 

2. Queries

Usage of BEx Query Designer in BW/4HANA system is obsolete and on an attempt to do so you end up with following information message:

Info: BEx Query Designer not supported in SAP BW/4HANA – use BW Modelling Tools.

Message no. R9E065

While using the BEx Query Analyzer in the same system may end up with following messages:

Workbooks cannot be maintained or created in BW4HANA edition

Themes cannot be maintained or created in BW4HANA edition

In short, you can still view the queries definition in BEx Query Designer but no changes are allowed. Similarly BEx Query Analyzer of BW 7.x version only version within the versions of BW 7.0 to BW 7.51. Needless to say that SAP HANA Studio (Eclipse) BWMT are replacing the BEx Query Designer and Analysis for Office (AfO) is a preferred the tool of choice for reporting in BW/4HANA. See details here. Moreover, there is a pure cloud based solution SAP Analytics Cloud that can consume BW/4 objects too.

Other old front-end objects are not available in BW/4HANA:

·        SAP Crystal Reports (published to SAP BW)

·        SAP Xcelsius Dashboards (published to SAP BW)

·        BW Enterprise Reports

 

3. Analysis Process

T-code RSANWB for Analysis Process Designer (APD) is not present in the BW/4HANA system. All APDs needs to be converted to new HANA optimized objects. Those can be either HANA views or HANA Analysis Processes (HAP). Then perhaps Open Hubs or BW transformations can be considered for replacement too.

 

4. Source Systems

A large set of different source systems was simplified in the BW/4HANA system edition. SAP and BW source systems are replaced by ODP one (ODP_SAP and ODP_BW). There are no DB Connect, UD Connect, External or Web source systems. SAPI based extraction framework is replaced by the OPD. The BW/4 does not support SAP source system anymore.

5. 3.x Data Flows

Old flows in 3.x fashion that haven’t been migrated when system was moved to 7.x version do not run any more in BW/4HANA based system edition. These flows involves legacy transfer or update rules within the data flows and have to be converted to 7.x fashion of the data flows. There are an automatic migration tools available to support that. See Tools for migrating to SAP BW/4HANA (B4H).

 

6. Generic Data Sources

There are usually plenty of generic data sources in every BW system. Those are either table, view domain or custom function module based data sources. They are sometimes called as Service API data sources. Are the generic DS supported in BW4/HANA? In short, an answer is no. T-code RSO2 is still around but you can only see existing DS and not maintain new one anymore. However if you “migrate” such the DS during a period that BW/4 system is switched to Compatibility Mode (see for details here) in BW/4 Transfer Cockpit then it will run later when you move B4H mode too. However, it is not advisable. Here are options how to replace those type of datasources:

·        ABAP CDS (allowing for some logic as well)

·        HANA Calculation Views (e.g. on top of External Views of InfoProviders)

·        BADI Provider as ODP-BW Provider

 

7. Export Data Sources

Export Data Sources were used in classic BW systems to transfer data from a source BW system into a target BW system. It was possible to generate them on top of cube, DSO or infoobject – in names space 8<object_name>. These export Data Sources are obsolete and invisible in BW/4. ODP-BW context is to be used in instead. That means in case of:

·     BW/4 InfoProv there is the ODP-BW provider capability that allows transferring data to other SAP BW or SAP BW/4HANA via ODP.

·      For any database tables that sits on top of BW/4 system an ABAP CDS Views for data transfer. Such the data source then appears in ODP-CDS Source System target system. To get more flexibility of the BW/4 system you can define the CDS view with parameters.

 

8. Reporting: Customer exits

Classic customer exits for BEx variables (RSR00001) called via Function Module EXIT_SAPLRRS 0_001 are not supported anymore. Exits for the variables need to be handled via BADI. Enhancement spot RSROA_VARIABLES_EXIT_BADI (RSROA_VARIABLES_EXIT) is designated for the migration.

 

9. Authorizations

Old reporting authorizations in 3.x fashions are not supported in BW/4. Nevertheless, that was valid even for 7.x version based systems. That means that 3.x reporting fashion of authorizations needs to be replaced by Analysis Authorizations. Moreover if there are objects used in the roles that are not supported anymore in BW/4 (e.g. infocubes, PSA, HybridProv, MultiProv, TransietProv, VirtualProv, InfoSet) then need to be replaced with corresponding objects mostly type of aDSO.

 

10. Add-ons compatibility

As BW/4 aims to simplify BW Classic’s complexity, some add-ons installed onto BW system may not be compatible with the BW/4. See SAP Note 2189708 for particular list of what add-ons are/are not supported. In case the add-on is not supported there is a chance that the add-on can be de-installed. See post: How to uninstall SAP ABAP add-on.

 

11. Impact on planning solutions

The BW/4HANA does not support planning functionality (SEM, BPC), as we know it from SAP BW Classic (based on SAP NetWeaver platform). There are versions of SAP Business Planning and Consolidation based on BW/4HANA (including BW-IP/PAK). However, in case of some planning add-ons that are not supported they need to be migrated while the system is being upgraded - when BW/4HANA Starter Add-on is installed.

 

12. Business Content (BCT)

Software components BI Content (BI_CONT) and BI Content Extended (BI_CONT_XT) are not present in BW/4 systems. Instead there are objects of the Business Content that are optimized for BW/4HANA. They are separated into two software components (add-ons):

·   SAP BW/4HANA Content BASIS Add-On (BW4CONTB): contains InfoAreas, Application components, InfoObjects, Variables, Conversion exits and Master data read classes.

·        SAP BW/4HANA Content Add-On (BW4CONT): SAP HANA optimized BW content (aDSOs, Composite Providers), InfoSources and transformations.

Notice that there are no Data Sources as part of the BCT anymore as the DS are maintained in source system like S/4 HANA.

Check also what Business Function are used in the BW system. 

13. Technical Business Content

Technical content in BW/4 was replaced by the ABAP CDS views. See online docu for details. Old tech BCT objects can be deleted using program RS_DELETE_TECHNICAL_CONTENT.

14. Technical InfoObjects

Technical BW InfoObjects (e.g. 0IOBJNM, 0LANGU, 0INFOPROV, 0UNIT, 0CURRENCY, etc.) are still needed to have a functioning BW4/HANA system. However, activation procedure for those IOs has changed in BW/4HANA. T-code like RSTCO_ADMIN (and subsequently ABAP program RSTCO_ACTIVATION_ADMIN) are not to be used anymore to for those IOs. The t-code RSTCO_ADMIN even does not exist anymore in SAP BW/4HANA.

Following task lists are supposed to be used for activation of the tech IOs:

SAP_BW4_SET_OPERATION_SCOPE: only technical IOs needed for this Operating Scope

SAP_BW4_SETUP_SIMPLE: tech IO activation plus many other tasks are performed

SAP_BW4_AFTER_UPDATE: is used after importing new support packages to sync any changes or additional technical InfoObjects coming in with later Support Packages

 

15. BW statistics

Good old tables that stores BW statistic data like RSDDSTAT are still in place plus new tables are introduced in BW/4HANA system.

 

16. Dependency on S/4 as source system

There are many objects that have been changed in S/4. Just to name a few. Simplified data model (many new tables e.g. in FI module BSEG -> ACDOCA), domain extended (e.g. MATNR from 18 to 40 characters). These changes needs to be reviewed and impact on BW assessed. For BW extractor in S/4 overview see SAP Note 2500202 - S4TWL - BW Extractors in SAP S/4HANA.

 

For general FAQ on BW/4 see SAP document.

 

More information:

2473145 - BW4SL - SAP and BW Source Systems

2603634 - BEx Query Designer not supported in SAP BW/4HANA; use BW Modeling Tools R9E 065

2817202 - BEx Analyzer 7.0 on BW4HANA

When SAP BEx will die?

Overview of BW 3.x to 7.x migration possibilities per BW objects

Tools for migrating to SAP BW/4HANA (B4H).

Something about BEx’s variables

2478384 - BW4SL - Reporting Authorizations

2468657 - BW4SL - Standard Authorizations

2458521 - Conversion of obsolete customer exits (CMOD) to enhancement spots in SAP BW

2684463 - FAQ: User-Exit/BAdI in data loads from ODP SAPI source systems

2626183 - Generic datasource in BW/4 HANA

2443863 - BW4SL - S-API DataSources (SAP BW/4HANA as Source)

How to uninstall SAP ABAP add-on

2189708 - SAP BW/4HANA Add-On Handling and Usage

2673734 - BW4SL - BI Content

2500202 - S4TWL - BW Extractors in SAP S/4HANA

2467074 - BW4SL - Administration Cockpit and Technical Content

BW statistic

Transformations can only be edited in the BW Modeling Tools in Eclipse

While working with a newer versions of SAP BW like e.g. BW4/HANA 1.0 SP08 on HANA you may encounter following information message popping up:

Transformations can only be edited in the BW Modeling Tools in Eclipse

Message no. RSTRAN898

Diagnosis

The SAP GUI Editor for a transformation is used to display/change a transformation.

System Response

Change mode can't be enabled.

Procedure

Use the Editor in the BW Modeling Tools in Eclipse to edit the transformation. Using the SAP GUI Editor is not allowed, as it could cause inconsistencies in the transformation.

If you get this message, it means that you are still glued to SAP GUI. As BW development/modelling moved to Eclipse and similarly BW administration moved to web it is a high time to abandon good old SAP GUI and start to use those tools too. The Eclipse tools for developing BW objects are called BW Modeling Tools (aka BWMT). It is a plugin into the Eclipse IDE that can be downloaded from tools.hana.ondemand.com/#bw

 

On other hand, you may also get below message that is slightly similar to above one. 

The transformation has to be adjusted to make it editable in Eclipse

Message no. RSTRAN899  

Diagnosis

The transformation cannot be edited in Eclipse because it contains incompatible rules

System Response

The transformation is opened in the SAP GUI Editor instead

Procedure

Please check if the transformation contains any rules or settings that are described here. Change the transformation as suggested below to make it compatible for the Eclipse Editor:

•In an ABAP routine, the second global part is used

◦Please move the code of the second global part to the first global part, so that the second global part does not contain any coding

•The ABAP Routines contain coding that is not compatible for ABAP Objects (for example internal table definitions with header lines)

◦Please change the coding and substitute the code to make it compatible with ABAP objects

•Rule type 'Routine with Unit' is used.

◦This rule type is not supported in the BW Modeling Tools. Use rule type 'Routine' instead and fill the currency/unit via a constant (this new feature is only available in Eclipse). If that is not possible because the field has to be filled dependent on other fields, use an end routine to fill the field.

•For more details, see SAP Note 2639435

 

In most of the cases, this message is appearing during migration projects to BW4/HANA. While classic BW objects are being converted to BW/4 objects. This means that the transformation in question contains some parts (e.g. rules) that are not editable in in the Eclipse yet. Such rules are not compatible with the BW/4 (mostly ABAP code not compliant with ABAP OO) and need to be adjusted before the transformation can be maintained in the Eclipse.

In short, the t-code RSTRANGUI can still be used to in display mode to see the transformation. While editing it can only take place in the Eclipse BWMT.

 

More information:

2766760 - Transformations can be edited only in the BW modeling tools (no editing in SAP GUI)

2639435 - Transformations are opened in SAP GUI instead of in Eclipse

2654109 - Conversion of ABAP/AMDP routines/exits in SAP BW/4HANA to the processing in Eclipse