Differences Between Drag&Relate and the Report-Report Interface 

The Drag&Relate function does not replace the Goto by Report-Report Interface function. The two functions complement each other and are different in the following ways:

Drag&Relate (D&R)

·        Only one object and one key can be assigned to the same time.

·        Drag&Relate can work with transitive relations.

For example you are able to drag the characteristic Business Partner (0BPARTNER) to an SAP transaction that contains information on business partner. This navigation is possible because of the 1:1 key relationship between 0BPARTNER and the corresponding BOR object BUS 1006.

For example, you can drag the characteristic Customer Number (0CUSTOMER) to a SAP transaction that contains information on the characteristic if 0BPARTNER (business partner) is a navigation attribute of 0CUSTOMER.

To Drag&Relate between a BW characteristic and a BOR object either a 1:1 key relationship between a characteristic and a BOR object or between an attribute of the characteristic and the BOR object is necessary.

·        If the target for Drag&Relate is an ERO system, not all objects are assigned to BOR objects (time characteristics, for example). Look at the list of Characteristics Compatible with Drag&Relate. Assigning a BW characteristic to an object in any other situation outside of the SAP BW has to be assessed on the basis of consulting projects as it is not a standard function. See Working with BOR Objects and BW-InfoObjects.

·        Fields have to be assigned manually.

·        Not suitable for drilldown to line item level (lacks context).

Implement Drag&Relate for 1:1 object assignments, making sure that the objects have identical keys.

Jumping Using Report-Report Interface (RRI).

·        The complete navigation status is transferred to the target (various InfoObjects and complex selection criteria).

·        Automatic assignment of metadata using extract structures.

·        Functions with SAP systems, SAP transactions, programs and URLs. Also see Editing Sender/ Receiver Assignments for the RRI in BW.

Use the report-report interface in scenarios where the entire context has to be transferred. For more information, see Report-Report Interface.

Using Navigation in the Portal

Navigation in the portal can provide an alternative to Drag&Relate or jumping with the report-report interface. To do this, an Enhancement of the Context Menu with JavaScript is necessary. The context menu can be linked with a specific characteristic (see Adding a Menu Entry with JavaScript). In Command Processing, the Navigation API of the portal is called. The JavaScript function EPCM.doNavigate leads the navigation to other iViews or portal pages.

If iViews with BEx Web Applications are the target of navigation, you can transfer the Command URLs using the parameter target. The parameter target is the path in the Portal Content Directory (PCD). The command URL has to be attached to the path with &DynamicParameter= <URL>. Note that in <URL>, the character '=’ has to be replaced ‘%3D’ and ‘&’ has to be replaced with ‘&26’.

Command URLs for the transfer of Filters and Variables are also especially useful. Multiple objects can be transferred as filters or variables. Under certain circumstances, the complete context of a cell cannot be determined (see Web Design API for Tables).

For more information about how to determine whether the BEx Web Application is running in the portal, see BEx Web Application or Query as iView in the Enterprise Portal.