Web Interface Builder 

Use

You can create Web-enabled planning applications in the form of Business Server Page applications (BSP applications). You can execute this type of planning application in the Web browser. You do not require additional software installed on client work centers; you just need an HTTP connection to an application server.

Web-enabled planning applications are a useful alternative to applications that are executed in the SAP GUI since applications created with the Web Interface Builder always contain exactly those functions that are necessary for a specific planning task.

In principle, you can also create BSP applications - as generated by the Web Interface Builder - in the ABAP Workbench. However, the Web Interface Builder allows you to create Web applications much more easily and quickly due to its predefined components. If necessary, you can revise the applications created in the Web Interface Builder in the ABAP Workbench.

The Web-enabled planning applications are described by Web interfaces. On the basis of the Web interfaces, the Web Interface Builder generates ABAP, HTML, and JavaScript code for an executable BSP application.

A Web interface encapsulates the elements of a Web-enabled planning application in the form of components that have a name and other attributes.

Planning layouts, pushbuttons for executing functions and selectors for characteristic values are all examples of components. Further components such as page, link, text or standard pushbutton for saving and exiting are additional components that are required for executable BSP applications.

The values of properties can be fixed values (constants) or references to the properties of other components.

For example, the “planning area” property of a package selector contains the technical name of a planning area. In comparison, the “package” attribute of a layout contained in the Web interface can refer to the technical name of the package selector.

Integration

The planning applications created with the Web Interface Builder are based on the planning objects (planning area, planning levels, planning functions and so on) that you edit in the BW-BPS planning environment.

For example, you have to have created a planning layout for manual planning in the planning environment before you can reference the layout and set parameters using an appropriate component in the Web Interface Builder.

You can use the Status and Tracking System to bundle planning applications that have been created with the Web Interface Builder into enterprise-wide planning projects and monitor their progress.

You can generate a Web interface on the basis of a planning folder and process this further in the Web Interface Builder.

Prerequisites

In order to create planning applications with the Web Interface Builder, planning objects must already have been created in the planning environment:

●     For a simple planning application that is only used for manual data entry you require at least one planning area, one planning level, one planning package as well as a manual planning layout.

●     For more complex planning applications, you require planning functions and parameter groups as well.

Furthermore, the necessary authorization must be entered in your authorization profile. For more information, see Authorizations.

Features

You create planning applications with the Web Interface Builder and execute them in the Web browser.

Working with the Web Interface Builder includes two basic steps:

...

       1.      Compiling the Web interface from components that represent BW-BPS planning objects.

       2.      Generating the executable Web application on the basis of the Web interface you created.

You can choose whether you want to create a Web interface manually or with the help of the integrated wizard. The wizard leads you through the creation process in several steps and helps you to create an application in as little time as possible. You can edit the Web interfaces created with the wizard manually.

An individual planning application can access various planning areas. It can span one or more HTML pages. For applications that contain several pages, a predefined navigation button is available. You use this to switch between pages when you execute the application.

Enhancement for Web Interfaces

When you create a Web interface using the BW-BPS Web Interface Builder, the system generates a BPS page in accordance with the specified Customizing. BSP event handlers are implemented in ABAP OO class CL_UPWB_BSP_APPL. You can change the standard behavior and add new functions by deriving your own sub-classes and redefining their methods (see Enhancement for Web Interfaces).

Goto Menu

You can display a list of the available Web interfaces, along with information on the change history, by choosing Goto → Interface Overview.

You can choose between different variants for splitting the screen into different work areas by choosing Goto → Settings.

Finally, the Web Interface Builder allows you to branch directly to the areas of the SAP system where the relevant objects are managed when you are creating and editing Web interfaces:

●     BW-BPS planning environment (Goto → Business Planning and Simulation)
Here you create and edit the objects that you require to access BW-BPS data: planning areas, levels, packages, layouts.

●     ABAP Workbench (Goto → ABAP Workbench)
Here you can manually revise/rework the BSP application generated by the Web Interface Builder for a Web interface.

●     Class Builder (Goto → Class Builder)
In the Class Builder of the ABAP Workbench you can revise the automatically generated class or edit a class that you have created yourself and assigned to a Web interface.

●     MIME Repository (Goto → MIME Objects)
For each BSP application that you generate from a Web interface, the system automatically generates a folder with the same name in the ABAP Workbench MIME Repository. Here you can edit the multimedia-based objects (like graphics) that belong to a Web interface.

You can use cascading style sheets (CSS) to modify the appearance of the planning applications created with the Web Interface Builder to suit your own requirements. To do this, you import the centrally delivered style sheet into the folder automatically generated for your application in the MIME Repository as a MIME object and make the required modifications. The style sheet contains all the style classes that the Web Interface Builder uses.

●     HTTP service maintenance (Goto → HTTP Service Maintenance)
In this transaction you make security-relevant settings for your Web interface. For example, you can ensure that a trusted transfer protocol is used or activate and deactivate a Web service.

●     Online text repository (Goto → OTR)
In this transaction you maintain the UI texts for your Web interface that are relevant for translation (for example, pushbutton labels, static texts). In the appropriate attribute of the component, you enter a reference to the corresponding OTR text element instead of a plain text.

●     Translation of OTR text elements (Goto → OTR → OTR Translation)
In this transaction you translate the OTR text elements created for a Web interface into other languages.

●     Translation (Goto → Translation)
In this transaction you translate the short texts for the Web interface descriptions. This is only relevant to the input help texts in transactions BPS_WB and BPS_WIF0.