Characteristic Properties 

Use

In the Characteristic Properties dialog box for a given characteristic, such as order type, there are various functions that you can set. These settings are then applied to all key figures for this characteristic in a query drilldown.

Features

The Characteristic Properties dialog box is divided into tab pages, each of which provides different settings.

Tab Page: General

Description

The name of the characteristic appears here automatically. You can overwrite this text. The newly entered text is different to the text in InfoObject maintenance and is used in the query display.

Use Standard Text: If you always want the default value to be used, set this flag. You can define the standard text in InfoObject maintenance (transaction RSD1).

Technical Name

The technical name of the characteristic is displayed here.

Tab Page: Display

Value Display

Under Display as, you can specify whether and in which format the individual characteristic values of the characteristic are displayed.

●      No Display: The characteristic display is hidden. This function is particularly useful with the currency/unit characteristic for example, since the currencies are also displayed in the key figures.

●      Key and Text: The characteristic values are displayed with their technical key and their text.

●      Text: The characteristic values are displayed with their text.

●      Key: The characteristic values are displayed with their technical key.

●      Text and Key: The characteristic values are displayed with their text and their technical key.

If you set a display type that contains text, you can choose under Text View which text type you want to set. The following options are available:

●      Standard: The shortest available text for the characteristic values is used.

●      Short Text: The short text for the characteristic values is used.

●      Long Text: The long text for the characteristic values is used.

●      Medium Text: The medium text for the characteristic values is used.

In the Display As dropdown box, you can choose from the following settings:

■       No Display and Key are always displayed.

■       Key and Text, Text, and Text and Key are also displayed if text (short, medium, or long) has been created for this characteristic.

In the Text View dropdown box, you can only select from texts that have been created in InfoObject Maintenance for the Characteristic. See Tab Page: Master Data/Texts.

Use Characteristic Setting: If you always want the default value to be used, set this flag. You can specify the default value in InfoObject maintenance (transaction RSD1).

Sorting

You can set the sorting in the characteristic according to the key or text in ascending or descending order.

If a characteristic has attributes, you can sort the characteristic by attribute. The attribute involved does not have to be selected for the display.

Under Sort Characteristic, choose the characteristic or the required attribute; under Sort By, choose Key or Text, and under Sort Direction choose Ascending or Descending.

You want to sort your articles according to specific criteria. To do this, you create an attribute for the Article characteristic that contains these criteria, and sort the articles by this attribute.

In the default setting, the values are sorted as they are defined in the query definition. If you have not specified a filter value in the query definition, the system sorts the values according to the key.

Use Characteristic Setting: If you always want the default value to be used, set this flag. You can specify the default value in InfoObject maintenance (transaction RSD1).

Results Rows

You can choose whether the results rows are Always Displayed, Always Suppressed, or Displayed If More than One Value. Display If More than One Value means that the results rows are displayed when there are at least two single values, and any results row that only aggregates one value is suppressed. The value and the result are then identical, and the results row repeats the same value.

Display Level

This allows you to categorize a characteristic in the filter. This means you can categorize purely technically filters (that are not relevant for end users) as the detail overview. These filters are only displayed in BEx Web if Detail Overview is set for the display in the Web item Info Field. You can therefore create a special view of the filtered characteristics that is tailored to end users.

More information: Info Field

The following categorizations are available:

●      in Simple Overview: The characteristic always appears in the list of static filters

●      in Normal Overview: The characteristic only appears in the list of static filters if the option Normal Overview (Default) or Detail Overview is selected.

●      Only in Detail Overview: The characteristic only appears in the list of static filters if the option Detail Overview is selected.

For more information about sorting filter characteristics, see Properties of Characteristic Restrictions and Default Values.

Tab Page: Hierarchy

You can display the characteristic as a hierarchy. Choose  to select a hierarchy). The hierarchy is flagged automatically as an active display hierarchy. If you deselect the Activate Hierarchy Display checkbox, the characteristic is not displayed in the query as a hierarchy but as a basic list.

If you restrict the characteristic to a hierarchy node, the hierarchy of the node is adopted automatically as the display hierarchy. You can also deactivate the display hierarchy here.

Hierarchy Parameters

Each hierarchy has certain properties that you specify in the hierarchy definition. You can override the following hierarchy properties for the current hierarchy:

●      Expand to Level

Choose the hierarchy level to display the hierarchy to when expanded.

Use Hierarchy Setting: If you always want the default value to be used, set this flag. You can specify the default value in InfoObject maintenance (transaction RSD1).

●      Position of Lower-Level Nodes

Select whether to position the lower-level nodes Above or Below. Choose the Above option if you want to see the overall result at the bottom of the screen for example.

Use Hierarchy Setting: If you always want the default value to be used, set this flag. You can specify the default value in InfoObject maintenance (transaction RSD1).

●      Values of Posted Nodes

Select whether you want to Always Show or Hide the values of posted nodes.

In hierarchies, nodes always display the aggregated values of the lower-level nodes and leaves. If a node has a posted value, it is not obvious to the user. To display this posted value, an additional leaf is inserted with the same name as the node. This leaf displays the value posted to the node.

In the following example, an additional leaf has been added for Cost Center A.1., which displays the value of Cost Center A.1. itself (10). This additional leaf does not exist in the hierarchy. You can show or hide this leaf (with the value of the posted node).

Use Hierarchy Setting: If you always want the default value to be used, set this flag. You can specify the default value in InfoObject maintenance (transaction RSD1).

●      Nodes with Only One Lower-Level Node

Select whether you want to Always Show or Hide nodes with only one lower-level node. Hiding nodes with only one lower-level node helps you to access detailed information quickly.

In the following example, Cost Center A and Cost Center A.1. contain the same information, since Cost Center A has only one lower-level node in the hierarchy. If you are interested in the detailed data for the individual cost centers, you can hide the top node with only one lower-level node, which does not contain any additional information.

The Hide setting is not executed while the query is input ready.

Use Hierarchy Setting: You can specify that the default value is always to be used. The default value is then the hierarchy setting for the characteristic as specified in InfoObject maintenance.

Sort Settings

In the hierarchy, you can set the sorting according to the key or text in ascending or descending order. If you do not make any entries, the system sorts the values as specified in the hierarchy.

Use Characteristic Setting: If you always want the default value to be used, set this flag. You can specify the default value in InfoObject maintenance (transaction RSD1).

Tab Page: Planning

Planning on Hierarchy Nodes

Here, you can make settings for budgeting input-ready queries in the context of BI Integrated Planning.

●      No Budgeting

●      Bottom-Up Budgeting (Roll Up Value)

●      Top-Down Budgeting (Posting to Higher-Level Nodes)

●      Top-Down Budgeting (Posting to Root Node)

Budgeting and the corresponding settings have not been implemented for use yet. The selection options listed above are therefore visible, but not active.

More information: SAP Note 994853.

Tab Page: Advanced

Access Type for Result Values

You can restrict the display of query result values:

●      Posted Values

When the query is executed, a row of data is only displayed for the characteristic if there are posted values for this characteristic.

You can use the Use Characteristic Setting indicator to specify that the default value is always used. The default value relates in this case to the Posted Values setting. You cannot define the default value in InfoObject maintenance.

This setting is only the default value if the characteristic is used in a reusable filter and a setting was made there.

●      Characteristic Relationships

When the query is executed, a row of data is generated for the characteristic if you have modeled corresponding characteristic relationships in the planning modeler.

For more information about this access type, see Form-Based Planning.

●      Master Data

When the query is executed, a row of data is always displayed for the characteristic. For the display, it is sufficient that values for this characteristic are maintained in the master data. The display does not depend on transaction data.

This access type allows you for example to generate list of slow-moving items. More information: Example: List of Slow-Moving Items.

Filter Value Selection During Query Execution

You can define how filter values are selected for query execution:

●      Only Posted Values for Navigation

The system displays posted values only.

●      Only Values in InfoProvider

The system displays only values contained in the InfoProvider.

●      Values in Master Data Table

The system displays all characteristic values from the master data, independently of transaction data.

●      Characteristic Relationships

The system uses the current restrictions from the filter of the query and only displays the characteristic values that are valid according to the characteristic relationships.

Use Characteristic Setting: If you always want the default value to be used, set this flag. You can specify the default value in InfoObject maintenance (transaction RSD1).

Refresh Variables

Here, you can define how to refresh the variables that you use in default values or for defining presentation hierarchies.

●      Refresh Dynamically

If you choose this option, the system refreshes the workbook or Web application using the settings from the current navigation view.

●      Refresh as Designed

If you choose this option, the system refreshes the workbook or Web application using the hierarchy and filter settings from Query Designer.

Use Characteristic Setting: If you always want the default value to be used, set this flag. The default option for this setting is normally Refresh Dynamically.

Tab Page: Content

You can make the characteristic switchable in the context of the Switch framework. To do this, enter a name in the Switch field. The characteristic is thus assigned a switch in the Switch framework. More information: Switchable Query Components in the Framework.

Activities

Drag a characteristic over to a directory in Query Designer (rows, columns, free characteristics, or filters) and select it. The property dialog box for the characteristic appears under Properties. You can also select multiple characteristics and set the properties for these characteristics simultaneously. If you enter an invalid value, a warning is displayed beside the property, and the system displays a message to help you resolve the error. To save your settings, choose Query → Save.