Defining Crystal Reports Queries Settings

Use

The Reporting Agent allows you to precalculate BEx queries (as "useful queries") for Crystal reports in the background. This is a device used to improve system performance when executing Crystal reports.

Prerequisites

In the BEx Query Designer, you have defined a "useful query" for Crystal Reports and determined variables for the required characteristics.
You may want to apply a filter when precalculating this "useful query" using a control query (see "Parameter Filtering" in the section below). In this case, you need to have created an additional suitable query in the BEx Query Designer.
Caution
The associate variable must have the type "Changeable with Query Navigation". Other variables can have any type.

Procedure

Choose the REPORTING_AGENT transaction code.
Select Precalculating Crystal Reports Queries and choose Execute.
Navigate to the required query in the left-hand Reporting Agent Settings tree.
You have the following options for creating a new setting:

Choose New Setting from the context menu.

Choose Create New Setting.

The New Reporting Agent Setting dialog box appears.

Enter a technical name and a description.
The following information is displayed on the General tab page:

The functional area of the setting is Precalculation of Crystal Reports Queries.

Information about the query for which you are creating a setting is shown under the Query group header (description, technical name, InfoProvider).

After the setting has been saved for the first time, the system displays details of the last person who changed the setting and the time this change was made, under the Last Changed On/By group header.

Under the Setting is Used in Packages group header, the system displays information about the packages in which the setting is used, and how they are scheduled. This information can only be displayed if you have defined the setting and assigned one or more scheduling packages to it.

Choose the Parameters tab page.
Determine whether precalculation of the Crystal Reports queries are to be parameterized using a filter and using variants.
Note
For more information and recommendations for choosing parameters in a straightforward example, seeParameterizing Crystal Reports Queries Setting.

Filtering Parameters

No Filters

When you do not want to use a control query to precalculate variables, choose No Filter.

Note

You can combine this option with parameterization using Variables (see below).

Explicitly Using Query Result

If you want to use a control query when filtering, choose Explicitly Using Query Result. You can now make entries in the Control Query and Variants fields.

Specify the technical name of the control query. Input help is available. After you save your entries, the system updates the information according to your selections.

You only need to specify a variant when the control query contains input-ready mandatory variables. This does not happen very often, however.

Note

You can combine this option with parameterization using Variables (see below).

Parameter Variants

After making your setting for filtering a parameter, you can process variant for the individual characteristic values of the variables set in the "useful query".

Caution

Note: The variable screen only offers such variables when they have not already been filled by the control query. (This can also include variables of type "Changeable with Query Navigation", as long as they aren't filled by the query).

You can choose from the following functions:

Create a Variant

A dialog box appears in which you can choose values for the SAP variables used in the "useful query", in the Query Selection area. Input help is available for those InfoObjects for which SAP variables have been created.

Enter the required data.

Choose .

Change Variants

Delete Variants

If you have already created one or more variants, the system lists these in the lower part of the screen. Choose the variants you want to change or delete and choose the appropriate function.

Result

You can call up the precalculated MDX request result sets via the OLAP BAPI.