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Procedure documentationCreating Business Content Providers Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

You use this procedure to create business content providers that can be used to retrieve data for reports and charts.

Procedure

  1. On the navigation bar of Mobile System Maintenance (MSY), choose   Business Content Provider   Details  .

    The Business Content Provider/Details tile set appears.

  2. Choose New and enter the required information.

    You can create a business content provider by using either a business query or an existing business content provider as a template.

    Note Note

    You can set the status of the business content provider to Completed only after selecting at least one business object property or a related business object.

    You can enter language-specific descriptions for the business content provider.

    End of the note.

  3. Choose Design Content.

    Note Note

    If you want to change an existing business content provider, choose Modify Content.

    End of the note.

    The Business Content Provider/Content Generator tile set appears. It consists of the following tiles:

    • Business Content Provider Structure

      Contains a hierarchical structure of the business content provider with the business object of the selected business query as the main business object.

    • Business Object Properties

      Contains a list of bound properties of the selected business object and the formulas that you create for the business content provider.

      If the bound properties are related to a combo engine, then the long text name also appears as a business object property.

    • Related Business Objects

      Contains a list of the related business objects with a parent-child and normal relationship.

      Note Note

      When a business object is deleted, if the subordinate business object is also deleted, the objects have a parent-child relationship (activities and related notes, for example).

      End of the note.

      When a business object is deleted, if only the link to the other business object is deleted and not the business object itself, the objects have a normal relationship (activities and business partners, for example).

      For more information, see Business Object Relationships.

    • Relationship Properties

      Contains a list of additional properties that are not part of the main business object, but may be present in the query BDoc type that retrieves the main or related business object.

      Note Note

      Relationship properties are created at the BDoc type level and indicate joins between BDoc types.

      End of the note.

      For more information, see Business Query.

  4. On the Related Business Objects tile, select the required business object and choose Add to Structure.

    The Relationship Details dialog box appears prompting you to enter a unique name for the relationship.

    Note Note

    You must enter a relationship name because the main business object can have more than one relationship with another business object. The BONOTES business object, for example, can be split into various categories of notes, such as general and activity notes; therefore, BONOTES is uniquely related to each of these categories.

    End of the note.

    The Relationship Parameters tile of the dialog box contains a list of the input parameters that are passed from the main business object to retrieve the related business object. The parameters that appear here are defined in Mobile Application Studio and are both bound and unbound properties of the main business object.

    • If the parameter is a bound business object property, the value for Parameter Type is Business Object Property. The other fields have default values; you cannot edit them.

    • If the parameter is an unbound business object property, the value for Parameter Type is Formula Parameter.

      You must select a value for the formula parameter and specify the formula name. The value can be one of the following:

      • Constant Formula

        You select this value when you want the value to be a fixed value. You may want, for example, the descriptions for a business object to appear always in English regardless of the logon language.

      • User Data Dictionary

        This is a global space provided at runtime by the Business Framework and allows you to store data known as name-value pairs (for example, “currency – Dollar” or “currency – Euro”, where currency is the user data dictionary key). If you select this value, you must specify the user data dictionary key.

  5. Choose OK.

    The related business object is added to the structure of the business content provider.

  6. Repeat step 4 to add more related business objects to the main business object.

    Note Note

    You can create only two levels of related business objects under the main business object.

    End of the note.

  7. On the Business Object Properties: All Properties tile, select the required business object properties of the main business object or the related business objects.

    When you choose any one of the related business objects from the business content provider structure the corresponding business object properties appear. If you select a parent business object property, the subordinate business object property is selected automatically. If, for example, you select a long text property, the short text property associated with the long text is also selected.

    Example Example

    The business object for the Activities BSACTIVITY contains a business object property called Transaction Type, which is of the type, long text. This property depends on another business object property called Activity Status, which is of the type, short text.

    End of the example.

    Note Note

    Choose the Show Selected pushbutton to view the selected business object properties.

    End of the note.

  8. Select the required relationship properties from the Relationships Properties: All Properties tile.

    Note Note

    If necessary, you can now add formulas to the business object properties list.

    For more information, see Defining Formulas for Business Content Providers.

    End of the note.

  9. Choose Finish.

    The Business Content Provider/Details tile set appears.

  10. Set the status of the business content provider to Completed and save your entries.

Result

You have created a business content provider. You can now perform the following activities:

  • On the Business Content Provider Structure tile, you can view the structure of the business content provider graphically. The view includes the business objects that are involved and the relationships between these business objects.

    By clicking the secondary mouse button on this tile you can view the selected business object properties, relationship properties, and formula parameters.

  • You can use the business content provider for a report or chart.

    For more information, see Designing Charts and Report Creation.

  • If required, you can change the business content provider using the Modify Content pushbutton.

    Note Note

    The Reload Structure pushbutton on the Business Content Provider Structure tile in the Business Content Provider/Content Generator tile set allows you refresh the content of the business content provider.

    Any new properties and relationships added to the business object since it was last used for a business content provider are now available for selection. The properties that are already selected remain intact.

    End of the note.

    Caution Caution

    You cannot change a business content provider if it is used as a source of data for a report, because the data is already embedded in the report.

    You can, however, change a business content provider if it is used as a source of data for a chart.

    End of the caution.