Datasheet

Formatted reporting overview
With the BW MDX Query driver, you can design formatted Crystal reports that are based on the data
that is stored in SAP Business Information Warehouse (BW). You base these reports either on the
queries that you create with SAP's Business Explorer (BEx) Query Designer or directly on cubes. Once
you have designed your Crystal reports, you can save them to SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise and,
if required, target them for translation in order to make them available to users in multiple languages.
This section focuses on Crystal Reports and the task of using the MDX Query driver to select BW
queries and cubes as data sources for Crystal reports. This section ends with a series of tutorials that
guide you through the creation of reports off a sample query.
Note:
It is recommended that you complete the tutorials in sequential order because each tutorial builds on
the query and report you built in the previous tutorial.
SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise allows you to share Crystal reports over the Web so that all users can
view your formatted content. For details about publishing reports to SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise,
see Publishing Reports.
Your BW queries may contain SAP variables that appear as parameters in BusinessObjects Enterprise
and Crystal Reports. To accommodate these variables in BusinessObjects Enterprise, BusinessObjects
Integration for SAP Solutions employs dynamic pick lists. A dynamic pick list provides you with a list of
possible values to choose for a parameter (variable). Additionally, the values that are displayed in a
dynamic pick list correspond to your user rights—you see only the pick list values that you have the
rights to as defined by SAP BW security settings.
Note:
In Crystal Reports, the pick lists are static but in SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise they are dynamic.
Creating new queries for Crystal Reports
You can use "Programs" menu to open the "Query Designer".
To create a BW query directly from the BEx Query Designer
1.
Go to Start > Programs > Business Explorer > Query Designer.
2.
When prompted, log on to your SAP BW system.
3.
On the Query Designer's toolbar, click New Query.
The "New Query: Select InfoProvider" dialog box displays the InfoAreas and InfoProviders that are
available on your system.
4.
Select the InfoProvider on which you want to base your query, then click OK.
5.
Define your query by selecting measures and characteristics from the Key Figure and Dimensions
lists and dragging them to the Columns area.
Note:
When you create a new query for reporting purposes, it is recommended that you place Key Figures
in the Columns area of the Query Designer and Characteristics in the Rows area.
2011-05-16561
Integrating Business Applications with Crystal Reports