Additional Functions in Graphic Data Flow Modeling

Functions on the Toolbar in the Data Flow Maintenance Screen

Function	Description
	Undoes the last changes made - one by one, provided that the changes do not affect any persistent objects in the data flow. Only undoes the last changes made to non-persistent objects. Does not undo the function Show Objects on Previous/Next Level for a persistent object and cannot undo a persistent object that was changed or created on the data flow maintenance screen.
	Redoes the editing steps one by one, if you have returned to a previous editing step by choosing undo.
	Displays the documentation screen area for the selected object. If no data flow object is selected, the documentation screen area for the data flow is displayed. Here you create documentation for the data flow and the associated objects. More information: Creating and Showing Documentation
	Rearranges the objects in the data flow display to make the layout clearer. The setting is applied in the dialog box and saved with the data flow.
	Displays the data flow either vertically or horizontally. The setting is applied in the dialog box and saved with the data flow.
	Zooms into the graphic.
	Zooms out of the graphic.
	Zooms in/out of the graphic or resizes the graphic to fit the screen area.
	Shows or hides the navigation window. This window makes it easier to navigate in a complex data flow that cannot be displayed in full on the screen.
	Searches for an object in the data flow. Enter a character string and select the search criteria. If the system finds an object with a technical name and/or description containing the character string, the data flow object is highlighted in yellow.
	Display the next object, if multiple matches were found.
	Prints the graphic.
	Saves the graphic as a JPEG file on a local computer. Using this function you can
	You can save documentation for the complete data flow (including metadata descriptions from the metadata repository) as an HTML file. For more information, see Saving Data Flow Documentation as an HTML File.
	Shows or hides the technical names of the objects. The setting is applied in the dialog box and saved with the data flow.
Complete Data Flow	You can add data transfer processes, transformations or InfoPackages to the data flow if their reference objects are already contained in the data flow. The reference objects for data transfer processes are transformations. The source objects and target objects are the reference objects for transformations. InfoPackages have DataSources as reference objects. Note that objects are only added to the data flow if you have not hidden their object types in the .
	In this dialog box, you can configure the following settings: You can hide different types of objects: You can hide data transfer processes or transformations from the data flow display. You can also hide InfoPackages and source systems in the display. Use the relevant checkboxes to configure further settings to display the data flow: You can display all objects as nodes, show technical object names, specify a horizontal display for the data flow and automatically customize the layout for every user action. These checkboxes are the same as these pushbuttons: , , and . If you select a pushbutton, the relevant checkbox is changed in the . The settings are saved with the data flow. The next time the data flow is opened, it is displayed with the saved settings.
	Display data transfer processes and transformations in the data flow maintenance screen as connections. You can also use this function to display the processes and transformations as nodes. The advantage of this is that the the object descriptions are visible when the objects are displayed as nodes (unlike when displayed as connections). The setting is applied in the dialog box and saved with the data flow.
	With this function, you can highlight all the objects that are located before or after a selected object in the data flow. If you then select a different data flow element, only the connections remain highlighted.
	This function removes the highlighting from the data flow connections.
	Adds existing objects to the data flow. More information: Adding Objects and Connections to the Data Flow
	Removes selected objects from the data flow. The objects are not deleted from the system. Hold down the Ctrl key to select more than one object.

Functions for Objects

Standard functions are available in the context menu for persistent objects (nodes and connections). These functions are also available in the object trees in the Data Warehousing Workbench. Double-click the object to access the object maintenance.

The following data-flow-specific functions are also available:

Use Data Flow for Object

More information: Adding Objects and Connections to the Data Flow
Show objects on previous level

Shows the objects that are connected one level directly below in the data flow - before the persistent object. This is particularly useful for composite or derived objects such as MultiProviders.
Show objects on next level

Shows the objects that are connected one level directly above in the data flow - after the persistent object.
Remove from Data Flow

Removes objects from the data flow. The objects are not deleted from the system.

Double-click non-persistent objects (nodes and connections) to open a dialog box, where you can enter or change the name and description of the object. The following functions are available in the context menu:

Remove from Data Flow

Removes objects from the data flow. The objects are not deleted from the system.
Create

Creates a persistent object from the non-persistent object.
Change

Assigns a technical name and a description to the non-persistent object.
Use Existing Object (not for data transfer processes and transformations)

Replaces a non-persistent object with an existing persistent object in the data flow.
Display (only in display mode)

Background Functions in Data Flow Maintenance

The following functions are available in the context menu for the data flow maintenance background:

Add object

Adds existing objects to the data flow.
Apply data flow template

Add existing data flows or data flow templates to the data flow.

Copying a Data Flow

To copy a data flow or data flow template, choose Copy from the data flow context menu in the data flow tree.

Use the Wizard for Data Flow Copies to copy the data flow and simultaneously create a copy of the objects contained in the data flow. You can also create a basic copy that contains the same objects as the original data flow.

Note

During a simple copy (without a wizard), non-persistent objects are copied and the technical names and desciptions are retained. The objects can only ever exist in one data flow. During a Wizard-based copy, the non-persistent objects are also copied. However these objects are not displayed in the wizard. They only become visible in the copied data flow.

For more information on wizard-based copies, see Copying a Data Flow.

Displaying Properties

Choose Start of the navigation path Data Flow Next navigation step Properties End of the navigation path to display the technical name, description, InfoArea and information related to the responsible person and the last change made.

Activating Objects in a Data Flow

If you make changes to an object, this can also affect other objects in the data flow. DataSource changes result in an inactive transformation for example, as the transformation generally has to be changed if changes are made to the DataSource structure. To take account of dependencies like this, you can directly activate the objects in the data flow in the data flow maintenance transaction. To do this, choose Start of the navigation path Data Flow Next navigation step Activate All Objects in Data Flow End of the navigation path . You can either activate all persistent objects in the dataflow or stipulate that all objects with status Inactive are activated and/or all objects whose M-version does not match the A-version.

Note

Before activating, make sure that all objects in the data flow are consistent.
3.x objects are ignored during activation and have to be activated manually.

Displaying the Content Version for SAP Data Flow Templates

You can display the delivery version for SAP data flow templates on the data flow maintenance screen. Choose D Version in the Version field, in the data flow header data.

Exporting and Importing Versions

You can export a version of a data flow or a data flow template as an XML file or import an XML file. In data flow maintenance, choose Start of the navigation path Goto Next navigation step Version Managment End of the navigation path and choose Export or Import in the context menu of the relevant version.

More information: Version Management

Deleting Objects

Objects that have been deleted - but not in data flow maintenance - are highlighted in red in data flow maintenance and must be manually removed from the data flow. Objects deleted in data flow maintenance are automatically removed from the data flow after deletion.

Deleting a Data Flow

To delete a data flow or data flow template, choose Delete from the data flow context menu in the data flow tree. The non-persistent objects are also deleted. The persistent data flow objects are not deleted.

Transporting a Data Flow

You can transport a data flow or a data flow template by using the standard transport system or BW transport connection:

To transport the data flow using the BW transport system, choose Environment Transport Using Workbench .

In this case, you can collect the objects contained in the data flow and transport them. The source system dependencies in the target system are taken into account.
To transport the data flow using the standard transport system, choose Environment Manual Transport . Specify a package and a transport request in the dialog screens that follow.

In this case, only the data flow itself (object type DMOD) is transported and not the objects contained in the data flow.

More information: Transporting BW Objects and Creating, Delivering and Installing BI Content

Displaying BW Documents for a Data Flow

Besides the documentation that you can create directly on the data flow and on data flow objects, you can also create and display BW documents for a data flow by choosing .

More information: Documents