New Features and Changes in SAP BW
3.5 
This list gives you an overview of changes made to the documentation since SAP BI Content 3.2 Add-on.
As well as adding to the existing documentation and providing information on new functions, the documentation for SAP BW 3.5 has been restructured. The Administrator Workbench and Procedure for System Administrator sections have been combined and restructured in the Data Warehousing section. BI Platform-specific topics have been removed from the various sections where they were contained before and have been integrated into the BI Platform section. The Business Explorer section has been renamed BI Suite: Business Explorer and has been restructured. The Open Analysis Interfaces section has been integrated with the documentation on the BI Java SDK and the BI Java Connectors in an Additional Development Technologies section. Documentation for SAP BI Content Add-On is delivered separately to the NetWeaver documentation.
Data Warehousing
New Features and Changes |
Link to Documentation |
Description of conversion routines used in BW |
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The Open Hub Service now enables you to extract data to non-SAP systems using third-party tools. Where you have a file as the destination, you can also specify a logical file name. |
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UD Connect uses the SAP Web AS J2EE-connectivity to enable reporting and analysis of both SAP and non-SAP data. You can use UD Connect to access practically all relational and multi-dimensional data sources and integrate this data in SAP BW. |
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The documentation on transferring data in XML format has been restructured and distributed among the general documentation for SOAP-based transfer of data and the documentation on transferring data using the SOAP service of SAP Web AS. As well as being able to use the SOAP service from SAP Web AS, you also have the option of sending data to SAP BW, SOAP-based, using SAP XI and Web Services. |
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The integration of SAP XI and SAP BW allows you to send data to SAP BW from SAP and non-SAP sources, using SAP XI. In SAP BW the data is placed in the delta queue where it is available for further integration and consolidation. Data transfer using SAP XI is SOAP-based. |
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You can generate Web services for data loading on the basis of function modules for XML DataSources. This allows you use Web services to send data to the SAP BW delta queue. |
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Description of authorizations required for planning (BW-BPS) |
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New authorization object for registering broadcast settings for execution. |
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You will find minor enhancements or changes to the documentation in the following areas of data warehouse management: ● Documents ● Transport System ● BI Content (Versions) ● Technical Content (BW Statistics) |
Documents, in particular Technical Content, in particular |
The new analysis and repair environment documentation is also available. In the analysis and repair environment of SAP BW you can run consistency checks on the data and metadata stored in a BW system. The main function of these checks is to test the foreign key relationships between the individual tables of the enhanced star schema in the BW system. |
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The new Customer and Partner Content documentation is also available. Content that is delivered to business areas by an SAP BW customer or consulting partner is referred to as customer or partner content. The customer and partner content functionality provides new options for using the Business Content delivered by SAP. The concept and technical implementation of customer and partner content are generally similar. |
Business Intelligence Platform
New Features and Changes |
Link to Documentation |
Documentation and example scenarios for aggregation have been grouped together. |
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You will find minor enhancements or changes have been made in the documentation for hierarchies. (Hierarchically structured planning is explained in the BW-BPS documentation.) |
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Detailed description of currency translation with application scenarios; description of currency translation type with time reference from variable and target currency from variable. |
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Detailed description of the Report-Report Interface with application scenarios |
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Recommendations for storing non-cumulatives in SAP BW. |
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You will find enhancements and changes to the documentation on the OLAP cache. |
● Not Using Parallel Processing ● Using the Cache Despite Virtual Characteristics/Key Figures |
You will find enhancements and changes to the documentation on the Metadata Repository. |
Metadata Repository, in particular |
New documentation on Business Planning and Simulation (BW-BPS) is now available. Business Planning (BW-BPS) enables you to create planning applications. You can either develop your own planning application or use the Business Content delivered by SAP. The areas of application range from simple data entry to more complex planning scenarios with data extraction, automatic planning preparation, manual data entry, controlling planning process, and retracting plan data. |
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The Analysis Process Designer is available for modeling analysis processes. It provides the application environment for practicing data mining models and for executing data mining models. |
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In the context of exception reporting, you can create SAP alerts in the Reporting Agent. To do this, use SAP Alert Management from the SAP Web Application Server. The Print setting makes new functions available for presenting characteristics. |
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New documentation on ICF services in SAP BW is available. Services are delivered with SAP BW that are based on the Internet Communication Framework (ICF) in the SAP Web Application Server (Web AS) ICF services are HTTP services as they serve to execute HTTP request handlers. The SAP BW HTTP services allow you to either display or exchange data using a URL. Some of these services are implemented as Web services. |
Business Explorer
New Features and Changes |
Link to Documentation |
In the BEx Query Designer documentation there are the following enhancements: ● You can distribute queries using the Publish symbol. ● In the Query Properties dialog new functions are available for suppressing zero rows and zero columns. The options for displaying document links have been enhanced. ● In the Structure Properties dialog box, you can set structure for zero suppression. ● In the Characteristic Properties dialog new options are available for presenting characteristics. |
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The documentation for Web Application Design contains the following new features and changes: ● A number of new Web items are available. ● The generic navigation block Web item has a number of new attributes. ● The list of documents Web item has been changed. ● The general attributes of the Web items have been enhanced. ● The text mode in Web Application Designer allows textual editing of Web templates that cannot be opened in layout mode. Previously, these could only be edited by exporting them to an external HTML editor. ● The publish menu in Web Application Designer has a number of new entries. ● Web item chart has a number of new attributes. ● A new tool called Chart Designer is available for editing charts. ● The map renderer contains a new attribute that improves automatic distribution of color shading (GENERATE_BREAKS). ● An ABAP report is available for the mass maintenance and conversion of Web Templates. |
New Web items: Web Application Object Catalog
Using Documents in Web Applications |
The following changes and new features have been added to the documentation for the Web API Reference. ● The Call Broadcaster command has been added to the commands for Web templates . ● The Call Ad-hoc Query Designer command has been added to the general data provider commands. ● The data provider command export data has been enhanced with the XML format. ● The command Reset Data Provider and Reinitialize has a new parameter (RRI). ● The command URLs have been now include commands for calling the open dialog and calling the save query view dialog. ● The Data Provider Properties contain new features for the zero suppression parameters. ● More examples have been added to the Complex example applications for implementing the Web API Reference. ● The documentation on the Web Design API for Tables has been expanded. |
Calling the Ad-hoc Query Designer Resetting and Reinitializing Data Providers More Complex Examples of Applications Web Design API for tables: Creating and Using ABAP Classes
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The following new features and changes have been added to the documentation on analysis and reporting in Web applications. ● A new standard Web template is available for ad-hoc analysis. ● With BEx Web Analyzer you can use an independent Web application for data analysis in the Web including the query definition. ● In the Ad-hoc Query Designer enhancements are available for the presentation of characteristics, zero suppression, displaying document links. These are available in the appropriate property dialogs. ● At the runtime of Web applications, enhancements are available for the presentation of characteristics, zero suppression, and displaying document links. ● The Web browser dependencies have been adapted to the previous release and renewed. |
Standard Web Template for Ad Hoc Analysis Ad-hoc Query Designer: Web Applications:
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The following new features and changes have been added in the general analysis functions in BEx area: ● The zero suppression function has been enhanced. ● The documentation on conditions has been edited and now contains new example scenarios. |
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Information broadcasting allows you to precalculate queries, Web applications and workbooks, as well as generating online links from queries and Web applications. You can distribute precalculated documents and online links by e-mail or publish them to the Enterprise Portal. |
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The integration of SAP BW and SAP EP offers you a wide range of options for publishing content from SAP BW in the Enterprise Portal and in Knowledge Management. |
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A new Web service is available for accessing query data. |
Additional Development Technologies
New Features and Changes |
Link to Documentation |
BI Java SDK allows you to create analytical applications to access multidimensional (Online Analytical Processing or OLAP) and tabular (relational) data. You can also edit and display this data. |
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The BI Java connectors are a group of four JCA-enabled (J2EE Connector Architecture) resource adapters. They implement the APIs for the BI Java SDK and enable you to connect the applications that you have created with the SDK with different data sources. You can also use BI Java Connectors to make these data sources available in SAP BW using UD Connect. |
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The documentation for the Open Analysis Interfaces has been expanded and slightly modified. |
Open Analysis Interfaces, in particular |
The following additions have been made to the documentation for SAP BW 3.5 SP 11 as a result of SAP NetWeaver 04 SP Stack 11:
BI Suite: Business Explorer
New Features and Changes |
Link to Documentation |
The documentation for Web Application Design contains the following new features and changes: ● The Chart Web Item has been enhanced with the attribute “Display Database Table“. ● The documentation on Web Design API for Tables has been edited and enhanced for the following areas: Creating and using table interfaces and ABAP classes, manipulating the contents of cells, dialogs, JavaScript functions ● The documentation on command URLs and BW stylesheets has been added to and enhanced. ● The documentation on dialogs has been enhanced. |
Creating and Using ABAP Classes |
In Information Broadcasting, small changes have been made to the documentation regarding searching for scheduled broadcast settings. |
Finding, Displaying, and Deleting Scheduled Broadcast Settings |
The following additions have been made to the documentation on the Integration of SAP BW and SAP EP: ● The way in which parameters are displayed in the Repository Managers has changed and the documentation has been modified accordingly. ● Some additional areas of the configuration guide for the integration of SAP BW and SAP EP have been enhanced. ● Additions have been made in the administration guide for the integration of SAP BW and SAP EP with regard to the following topics: BW documents as iViews, calling using KM folders, and the portal cache in the Portal Content Studio. ● The documentation on Drag&Relate of BW content to SAP Enterprise Portal has been restructured, and detailed procedure documentation has been added. |
Repository Manager:
Configuration Guide:
Administration Guide: Content from SAP BW in the Navigation Panel: BEx Web Application or Query as iView in the Enterprise Portal BW Documents in Knowledge Management as an iView Integration Using the Portal Content Studio Drag&Relate: |
Repository Manager for
BW DocumentsThe following additions have been made to the documentation for SAP NetWeaver 04 SP Stack 22:
BI Suite: Business Explorer
New Features and Changes |
Link to Documentation |
The Query Design documentation contains a new example scenario. This shows you how to use the cell definition in BEx Query Designer to calculate key figures for cash flow statements. |