enterprise portal cookbook vol 2

8/7/2019 Enterprise Portal Cookbook Vol 2

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Author: Jude Lobo Page 1 02/09/02

VOLUMEVOLUMEVOLUMEVOLUME

2SAP Technical Delivery

Jude Lobo

MySAP.com

Ent erpr ise Por t a l Cook book

(Cont ent Management )(Cont ent Managem ent )(Cont ent Management )(Cont ent Managem ent )


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Table Of Contents

Topics Page No.

1. Portal Content1.1. Introduction1.2. The 4 Types Of Portal Content

1.3. mSAP.com Enterprise Portal Content2. Portal Navigation & Components

2.1. Navigation within the mySAP.com Enterprise Portal2.2. mySAP.com Enterprise Portal Components Overview2.3. mySAP.com Enterprise Portal Components In Detail

2.3.1.iViews2.3.1.1. Introduction2.3.1.2. Characteristics2.3.1.3. Structure2.3.1.4. Development Options2.3.1.5. Classification2.3.1.6. Design Considerations

2.3.2.Workset2.3.3.Business Package

3. Tools & Tackle4. References

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Portal Content

1.1. IntroductionPortals content is everything that users see and interact with through the mySAP.com Enterprise Portal to

complete their tasks.

1.2. The 4 types of Portal Content! Structured Original (Applications / Databases)Structured Systems that provide the information the user needs on Business Transactions

Example: Sales Order data stored in the R/3 System

! Structured Processed (Data Warehouse)Structured Systems that extract, process and combine data in order to get relevant information

Example: History of sales figures across products and countries on a monthly basis

! Unstructured Original (Internet)Information Sources that provide unstructured content

Example: Business news provided by a web site.

! Unstructured Processed (Knowledge Management)Information sources that combine and present unstructured documents

Example: Providing a list of white papers on a certain topic

1.3. mSAP.com Enterprise Portal ContentThe MySAP.com Enterprise Portal provides users Information / Application / Services in a role-based

environment and allow them to Drag&Relate information from disparate sources to solve business problems.

The mySAP.com Enterprise Portal Content consist of Business Packages, Worksets and iViews.

Business Packages are targeted at a set of Roles and consist of Worksets, which are a collecting of Task-

Related iViews.

A user Role can be regarded as a bundle of Worksets, which themselves bundle certain Task-Related iViews.

Business Package

Worksets

iViews


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Portal Navigation & Components

2.1. Navigation within the mySAP.com Enterprise Portal

Top-Level Navigation BarThe top-level navigation bar provides access to portal content and tools, organized into pages.

My Pages : This tab contains the default Welcome page plus the pages assigned to

all of the roles to which the logged on user is assigned.

Portal Admin : This tab contains tools for administering the portal which tools for

importing and exporting portal-related content and tool for assigning portal

permissions to the users.

Content Admin : This tab contains the tools for creating portal-related content.

Portal Monitoring : This Tab contains the tools for monitoring the In-Q-My server.

System Configuration : This tab provides the various tools for configuring the portal system

Infrastructure and maintaining users and security.

Search ToolUsed to conduct searches on structured and unstructured data, as well as on web sites. The search is not

functional until you install and configure the Knowledge Management Platform.

iPanel

Unifier projects : Unifier Projects are launched from their respective iPanel strips. They displaya hierarchical tree of component icons that enable access to database tables or enterprise application interfaces.

A user can launch a component by clicking it, or by dragging an HRNP link onto it. Dragging an HRNP link

onto a Unifier project component launches a search at the data source represented by the component, for data

related to the information dragged onto it.

Web components : Web Components are launched from the Portal iPanel strip. They are designed

to launch a specified Web site. The Web component may define a relationship between the Web site and one or

more Unifier projects. This parameter enables an end user to retrieve related information from the Web site by

dragging an HRNP link from an iView or from a Unifier project component onto the Web component.

Portal Content Area

The portal content area is the launch pad for the applications and utilities used to build the portal, It also formsthe area in which Unifier Project Component and iViews are displayed at run time.


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2.2. mySAP.com Enterprise Portal Components Overview

RoleRole is one of the central concepts of the Enterprise Portal. The role defines the contents the portal user may

access and the actions he or she may perform. It also defines how the visualization of the contents and the

navigation structure within the Enterprise Portal. A role may contain all kinds of information and combines

everything the user will see on his or her Enterprise Portal.

Workset

Worksets let you bundle services and pages in folder hierarchies. They are generic, re-usable structures or

modules that you can add to roles.

ChannelChannel provides the framework for grouping iViews into categories that can then be assigned to user roles.

PagePage is an object, which displays iViews assigned to it. It also contains the layout information.

External ServicesExternal Services are content that is located outside the iView Server and does not run on the iView Server.

This could be for example IACs that reside on the Internet Transaction Server.

External Services can have the following types:

SAP transactions

SAP reports

BEx Web applications

Simple URLs or Web addresses

Documents

Everything created based on a master iView

iViewiView is a program that retrieves data from content sources on the intranet or Internet, and displays it in the

Enterprise Portal content area.


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2.3. mySAP.com Enterprise Portal Components In Detail

iViews

IntroductionAn iView refers to any kind of information, application or service that can be visualized in a Web browser

frame. In the MySAP.com Enterprise Portal environment, iViews are selectively distributed to users through

portal channels and pages in the following manner

! Each iView in the portal content repository is assigned to a single Channel. In turn, channels are assignedto any number of user roles. A user then has access to all iViews contained in the channels to which his or her

roles have been granted access permissions.

! Each iView can also be directly associated to portal Pages. In turn, portal pages can be assigned directly touser roles. A user then has access to the iViews contained in a page to which his or her roles has been granted

access permissions, regardless of whether his or her role has been assigned permission to the channels assigned

to the iViews in that page.

CharacteristicsStateless : Not permanently connected to the SAP System

Embedded : Non-dominant, parallel to other iViews

Preview : Provides preview on underlying processes, data

Simple : Very limited, one-screen interaction (Palmtop-like)Essential : Includes only key functionality

Direct : Provides direct access without navigation

Active : Pushes information refreshes periodically

Open : Integrates third-party software

Personal : Allows user to modify appearance

StructureAn iView consists of two parts: The actual application written by a development team and a framework or

container encapsulating the application. This framework or container is implemented through a design element

called tray, which offers certain functionality for using and adapting the iView. A tray consists of a Header

Bar and a Content Area

Header Bar

Content Area


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Development Options

There are several types of iViews in the Enterprise Portal environment

iView Type Description

.NET iView .NET iViews are pieces of content that are displayed in a page of the Enterprise Portal.

.NET iViews are written in a number of interoperable programming languages, whichsupport the .NET platform, typically, XML and ASP. The SAP Portals iViewServer, which

supports the .NET framework, runs .NET iViews.

Different types of .NET iViews exist:

! Custom iViews (Rendered iViews) - iViews based on content from almost anystructured or unstructured information source.

The data processed by the iView Server is in XML Tag format which is parsed and

displayed in HTML format on the Web Browser

(Refer Table 1.1)

! Unifier iViews (NonRendered iViews) - iViews based on data obtained from a SAPPortals Unifier Project (Data Source Query)

The data processed by the iView Server is in HRNL Tag format, which is displayed on

the Web Browser.(Refer Table 1.2)

Yahoo! Categories from Corporate Yahoo! can be imported into the Enterprise Portal

content bank as .NET Custom iViews.

The iView Catcher tool in the Enterprise Portal enables you to capture predefined HTML

content objects from your organizations internet, intranet, and internal Web-based

applications, and to create .NET iViews based on these objects.

Java iView Java iViews are pieces of content that are displayed in a page of the Enterprise Portal.

Java iViews are typically written in JSP or Java and run on the Java iView Runtime servlet

engine. A Java iView inherits its properties from the Master iView (see below) upon which

it is based. SAP Portals ships Java iViews with its Business Packages; it is also possible to

develop your own iViews in Java or JSP, using PDK (Portal Development Kit)

Java iViews were formerly known as SAP MiniApps.External

Service

External Services are pieces of content that are displayed in a page of the Enterprise Portal.

External Services are similar to Java iViews. They also inherit properties from the Master

iView upon which they are based. External Services are normally displayed in the Portal as

full-page iViews, unlike most Java iViews.

Unlike .NET iViews and Java iViews, External Services cannot be assigned or directly

linked to a Portal page. They are assigned to Portal users through role, directory, or

workset assignments. In addition, External Services do not run on the iViewServer or Java

iView Runtime servlet engine. For example, an External Service presenting an R/3

transaction runs on an Internet Transaction Server (ITS).

Master iViews Master iViews are not displayed in a page of the Enterprise Portal. Master iViews are Java-

coded elements that enable the following applications and objects to run in the EnterprisePortal as Java iViews or External Services:

R/3 transactions

R/3 reports

BW (Business Warehouse) reports

Internet and intranet sites (via Web-based URLs)

Documents

Both Java iViews and External Services inherit their properties from the Master iView

upon which they are based.

A Master iView is a portal component that is written in Java and that is deployed to the

PCD as a portal archive (PAR file).

Master iViews have 3 components

Java Code (Java classes) Resources (Images, HTML pages and JSP pages)

Profiles (Configuration and Personalization properties)
http://service.sap.com//enterpriseportalshttp://service.sap.com//enterpriseportalshttp://service.sap.com//enterpriseportals


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Table 1.1

XML Tags

Description Tag

Free Text HRFreeText

Single Line HRField

Matrix HRRow

Control Strip ControlStripScript HRScript

Table 1.2

HRNL Tags

Description Tag

Info of host machine DBHost

Info of db server DBServer

Info of current user logged on DBUser

Allows Extraction Of Parameters from URL ME_INPUT

Enables Data Display in Multi-Languages NLS


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ClassificationThe following iView classification is based on the dominant interface element that an iView contains

Alert : Contains status information

An alert iView notifies users of certain critical events. Typically, alert iViews use status icons or graphics in

order to attract attention and guide it to the relevant information.

Report : Contains a report

A report iView displays a report, typically as a table, or report results; these may also be a table or a chart

Application : Contains form elements

An application iView is a small and very simple application where users may have minimal editing facilities.

Typically, such applications are small tools that enhance the users' working environment.


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Text : Contains larger pieces of text

A text iView displays primarily text information.

Chart : Contains a chart

A chart iView displays data that are relevant for the user in a graphical representation so that the

characteristics of the data and their relations are easy to capture for the user.

Graphics : Contains an image

A graphic iView displays a graphical image. This may be a photo, a diagram, or even a sketch. The graphic

may also be animated or a video


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Design Considerations

How Can I Identify Potential iViews?The best way to identify potential iViews is to watch users at work and to study their behavior. A user's work

place tells a lot about which information and transactions a user needs on a regular basis.

For example, a user may stick Post-Its along his or her monitor with the names of transactions or reports. Or he

or she may stick such lists on the wall or put them elsewhere.

Generic vs. Role-specific iViewsUsers also often use small tools, such as calculators, currency or unit converters, or reference books, such as

dictionaries, address books, and phone directories. All these tools and information sources are possible

candidates for iViews. Some of these tools are useful for many users; they may be offered as "generic iViews".

Other tools may be specific to a certain role and thus are candidates for role-specific iViews.

Examples for generic iViews: Calendar, currency converter, calculator, notepad

Note: A list of possible generic iViews is presented in Generic iViews.

"Helper" iViewsIn addition, watching the work practice may provide useful hints about which information the users needs in

untypical situations in order to overcome errors or problems. Again, the tools and information sources may becandidates for iViews, even though these are rarely used.

Examples for Helper iViews: Emergency phone directory, personal code storage, instructions

Which is a Useful iView, Which iView Does not Make Sense?

Useful iViewsAny information or transaction that is used on a regular basis or that must be easily accessible in problem

situations is a potentially useful iView. In addition, there are many pieces of information that users need every

morning when they start work, every evening when they quit work, or in certain recurring situations.

Examples: Recurring tasks, startup tasks, finishing tasks, birthday reminder

Useless iViews

iViews that provide information or functionality that is only rarely used do not make sense.Example: There is no point in creating an iView that is used for customizing a function once because the user

needs such an iView only once and then never again.
http://../EXAMPLES/gen_app_ma.htmlhttp://../EXAMPLES/gen_app_ma.htmlhttp://../EXAMPLES/gen_app_ma.html


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WorksetA workset is a collection of task-related iViews that are arranged and interrelated in ways that make sense to

the user.

Example

"My Staff" is divided into the following folders:

" Overview

" Team Information

" Personnel Change Requests

" HR Cockpits

" Employee Interview

" Headcount

Business PackagesBusiness packages are predefined portal applications targeted to a set of related roles. Business packages

consist of Worksets that form a unit from the content perspective.

Example : The business package for managers is aimed at team leads or project leads and heads of

departments. It provides functions for people management (such as team overview, HR cockpits, compensationplanning, and recruiting), budget management (such as cost centre monitors, budget alerts, and web queries for

travel and training budgets), and project management (such as budget consumption and status queries).


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Tools & Tackle

Tool : Role EditorPath : Content Admin -> Roles

View Area: The View Area displays the existing content objects, such as Roles, Worksets, Master iViews

and External Services. In the view area you see all the objects that the Role Editor user can see

and use.

Edit Area: In the Edit Area you can create and change new and existing Roles, Worksets, and External

Services. The edit area contains the objects that you are currently editing.

Tool : iView EditorPath : Content Admin -> iView

The iView Editor is a tool to manage iViews on a portal Server. It consist of

Elements

iView Search (For searching for iViews in the Content Repository)

Toolbar (For maintaining Channels and iViews)

Channel List (For Listing Channels)Creation Tools

iView Catcher .Net iView Wizard

Java iView Wizard

External Services Wizard

Tool : Page EditorPath : Portal Admin -> Pages

The Page Editor is a tool user to

Create New Pages

Import Pages

Edit Pages

Delete Pages


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Tool : Import / ExportPath : Portal Admin -> Import / Export

The Import/Export tool is used to Import and Export Objects and Relationships to and from the mySAP.com

Enterprise Portal to an external Application.

Object Dependencies ExtensionsRole Roles, Worksets, Pages, External

Services, iViews, Portal

Components, Resource Files

.rol

Workset Workset, Pages, External Services,

iViews, Master iViews, Portal

Components

.fld

Page iViews, Master iViews,Portal

Components

.pag

External Services Master iViews,Portal Components .piu

IViews iViews, Portal Components,

Resource Files

.ivu

Master iViews Portal Components .tplPortal Component .par

Resource File .* (eg : .gif)


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References

http://help.sap.com

http://www.sapdesignguild.org
http://help.sap.com/http://www.sapdesignguild.org/http://www.sapdesignguild.org/http://help.sap.com/