Drag&Relate 

Use

HRNP is the protocol that enables Drag&Relate navigation. The Drag&Relate function drives a type of data navigation the result of which is the inter-relating of two sets of data. It uses an HRNP link dragged from an open Web Application page, and dropped onto an iPanel presentation component, to retrieve data related to the data behind the link.

Note that an HRNP link is metadata about a specific InfoObject, representing that InfoObject’s attribute and the attribute’s value, not the InfoObject’s entire context. For example, when you drag an Order link, you are dragging the Order ID, not the customer who placed the order, or the suppliers of its contents, or the date it was shipped.

Of the iPanel components available to users in a BW project, only Web Applications and Queries can launch a page that displays InfoObjects with Drag&Relate links. Launching other components, such as Workbooks or Crystal Reports, opens static reports.

In addition, a link can be dropped only on Web Application and Query presentation components. If the target node component is not a Web Application or Query, the cursor changes into Ø, to symbolize that this component has not been assigned “drag target” capabilities and will produce no meaningful results. This functionality is added to the iPanel during its creation.

The iPanel is an integral feature of Enteprise Portal 5.0. It is not part of portal version 6.0. For information about how Unification Server works with the different portal versions, see Unification: With Enterprise Portal 5.0 or 6.0.

Features

The following is an overview of a viable Drag&Relate operation from the perspective of the back end and as experienced by an end user working in SAP Enterprise Portal:

In a Drag&Relate scenario, there are always conditions imposed by the filter. When all conditions are resolved positively, the Web Application is launched without additional user input. However, other times, user input is necessary before the Web Application can be launched.

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       1.      A user drags an HRNP link from a Web Application page onto a Web Application node in the iPanel.

       2.      The unifier sends a unique identifier of this Web Application to the BW system, and retrieves from the BW system a list of related InfoObjects that comprise the target Web Application.

The list includes the following information about each InfoObject:

¡        Name

¡        The role of the InfoObject in the Web Application (Variable or Filter)

¡        Variable type (single, list, range, and so on)

       3.      The unifier checks if the dragged InfoObject has any relationship to any InfoObject in the retrieved list.

Resolving List of InfoObjects

¡        If no relationship is found a message appears to that effect.

¡        If there is a relationship to only one InfoObject, go to step 5.

¡        If there is a relationship to more than one InfoObject, the unifier checks the weight of each relationship, and uses the relationship with the lowest weight. If there are two or more InfoObjects whose relationships to the dragged item are of equal weight, the unifier displays this list of optional InfoObjects and their relationships to the user. For complete information about relationship weights, see Unification Server Administration Guide ® Editing Relationships.

Resolving the Relationship

       4.      The user selects the relationship through which the query should be launched and the InfoObject to which the query should relate.

       5.      The unifier executes the query or queries.

Resolving List of Values

It is possible that after the user resolves the relationship through which the query is executed, there is more than one value (record) in the result set. In some cases the dragged-on Web Application variables can receive only a single value and not a list of values.

       6.      The unifier checks the result set. If it is a single record, go to the last step.

       7.      If the result is not a single record, the unifier checks whether the dragged-on Web Application can receive multiple values.

¡        If the dragged-on InfoObject accepts multiple values, go to the last step.

       8.      If the dragged-on InfoObject does not accept multiple values, the unifier displays a list of up to 50 values, with their descriptions. It is possible to configure a different maximum number in the project properties screen. See Project Properties Editing for further information.

       9.      The user chooses one value.

   10.      The unifier launches the Web Application/Query URL with the selected value(s) as an additional parameter(s).

Activities

The BW server adds HRNP links while creating a Web Application page.

Users can drag an InfoObject link from a Web Application page and drop it onto a Web Application or Query component in the iPanel.

The query behind the link is passed on as a URL. The Drag&Relate function interrelates the data behind the link with the data behind the iPanel component, resolves all relationships, and returns a result set.