Formatting of Web Applications

SAP's Unified Rendering Framework is used for formatting Web applications (with the SAP NetWeaver 7.0 format). The Unified Rendering Framework is used in SAP NetWeaver Portal and Web Dynpro; it supports multiple Web browsers simultaneously. See Creating First-Class User Interfaces .

The portal theme editor is used to adjust the formatting of Web applications within the Unified Rendering Framework. The theme editor enables you to create themes. These themes determine the visual appearance of the user interface elements of a portal desktop with respect to control elements, font sizes, colors, and contrasts.

Style sheets are also created within the Unified Rendering Framework; however, they are generated by the theme editor and cannot be changed manually. In the Unified Rendering Framework, it is therefore not possible to use style sheets to adjust the formatting for Web applications. You can use the theme editor to change style classes however. Formatting information for background color, font type, and so on, is stored in separate style classes; these style classes can each be changed individually in different areas of the theme editor.

In SAP NetWeaver 7.0

The appearance of an HTML element is no longer defined using just one style class, but using multiple style classes:

<td class="urText, urBackground, urBorder">

In this example, multiple style classes define the appearance of a table cell in a Web application. Text, background, and border are distributed across different classes and merged in one tag. You cannot change the style classes directly; you change them using the theme editor.

Prior to SAP NetWeaver 7.0

<td class="SAPBExStdItem">

Style class SAPBExStdItem defines the appearance of a table cell in a Web application. The semantic information is therefore merged in one style class.

Using the theme editor, you can easily create and introduce a corporate design across various applications. The following information provides an overview of the theme editor:

• The theme editor is a cross-application tool that can be used for all portal applications.
• The theme editor is an easy-to-use tool for editing styles. You do not need to use external tools or text editors anymore. The editor contains a preview function that allows you to display the effects of changes instantly. If you move the cursor over the format names, the corresponding area in the preview is highlighted.
• The theme editor generates style sheets automatically. Style sheets cannot be changed because manual changes that are made can potentially be overwritten by the next change in the theme editor.
• Using the theme editor, you can define individual formats such as font, color, or background color, but you cannot directly define individual style classes. The theme editor uses one or more of these formats to generate a style class. One or more style classes are then used to specify the appearance of an HTML element.
  Tip

  Using the theme editor, the Font format can be used for all elements. This means that you do not need to maintain fonts for several classes anymore. It is not possible to specify different fonts for specific elements however.

Themes determine the colors and appearance of the portal desktop. In the portal, BEx Web applications are always displayed with the current user theme. Web applications are created using Web items that use elements from the Unified Rendering Framework. The formatting for these elements, which are also used in the portal, is specified using the theme editor. This enables you to format the Button Group, Link, and Analysis Web items by selecting the relevant Button, Link, or Table elements in the left area of the theme editor.

For BEx Web applications from SAP NetWeaver 7.0, portal formats are used. The appearance of Web items is determined by different formats, for example by the complex Table element or by the simple Pushbutton element.

For information about how to modify and use portal themes for Web applications, see Adjusting and Assigning Portal Themes for SAP NetWeaver BW .

For information about the formats used in various Web items, see Using Portal Themes in SAP NetWeaver BW .

More information: Understanding Portal Themes and Working with Portal Themes .