Get an update on the next version of Analysis Office from Tammy Powlas
November 2014
Thorsten Ueberschaer answers common questions
December 2014
David Stocker is starting a series of blogs for application building. July 2013
The following tutorials have been developed to help you get started using the Business Intelligence Suite products. New content is added as soon as it becomes available, so check back on a regular basis.
You can submit and vote on ideas for enhancements to this product, or submit and vote on ideas for new tutorial topics or improvements to tutorial formats and delivery.
Looking for eLearning for the rest of the Business Intelligence Suite? Go to sap.com/LearnBI.
| Note |
|---|
| The majority of these tutorials are for SAP BusinessObjects Analysis 1.x, edition for Microsoft Office. However, users of SAP BusinessObjects Analysis 4.x, edition for OLAP, will also find these useful because many topics are similar between the two products. Several tutorials for SAP BusinessObjects Analysis 4.x, edition for OLAP, are also listed below. |
To view the full Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office playlist on Youtube, click here.
To view the full Analysis, edition for OLAP playlist on Youtube, click here.
To report a technical issue with a tutorial, send an email to: BI_Suite_eLearning@sap.com.
This was my second virtual SAP TechEd session. This time I took EA264 "SAP HANA Live Customizing & Consumption of Standard Information Views". I took a similar session last year Sharing the Knowledge - SAP TechEd HANA Live Using Design Studio
Last year we used Analysis OLAP and SAP Design Studio. This year, the BI tools were launched from inside the SAP HANA Live browser application. You can watch the accompanying lecture session here: EA264 - SAP HANA LIVE – Customizing and Consumption of Standard Information Views: Hands-on Session | SAP TechEd &&…
This week's session went much smoother than last week's SAP TechEd Doesn't End - Virtual TechEd Design Studio with HANA Live
I didn't experience any logon issues, I had no technical or keyboard issues.
Figure 1
The above is a screen shot of one of the exercises against an SD Billing view. This reminds me of a very nicer-looking SE16N view inside your SAP ERP system.
Figure 2
The exercise has you explore the different options of the HANA Live views. The above image reminds me of SE36 inside SAP ERP, looking at the relationship of the logical database.
Figure 3
A nice feature is the ability to launch Analysis Office from within the HANA Live view. There's no need to separately launch Analysis Office, set up the connection, re-logon with your password, etc.
Figure 4
The exercise has you add and remove rows in the Analysis Workbook.
Figure 5
Figure 5 is the end result of the launching Lumira icon from Figure 3. I am not sure why but the only option was to share the visualization/story to Lumira Server.
I am looking forward to learning more at BI 2015 and these upcoming ASUG webcasts:
Use Case:
Many times while analyzing data in Analysis For Office there is the need to change the underlining parameter(s) on which the initial query has been built
in Query Designer. Traditional approach is to navigate from Analysis For Office then call up Query Designer, log on and make the desired changes. This document will save you some few “Clicks”. By default the “launch Query Designer” option is not available in the Analysis Tab.
Before: Notice there is no “launch Query Designer”.
Follow the below steps to enable the query designer lunch
Step 1:
In the Analysis Tab select “Settings” then “Advance Setting”. Out of the options in Advance setting enable “launch Query Designer” by clicking in the check box. Then click "OK" to dismiss the dailogbox.
Suggestion:
While connecting to SAP logon dialog box for query designer you have the option to enable a desired default system by checking "Use selected System as Default".
Thank You
BC
Hi All,
I have come across one new option for selection of Client and language for SSO logon
It Supports only from AO 1.4 SP10
Scenario : When SSO logon is configured, user wants to select different client and language option while opening document
Where is the Setting : Settings-> Advanced Settings
How does this work : when option "Allow Client and Language Selection for SSO logon" is set, while Opening a document from BIP where your BW connection is configured via SSO, Then it displays a dialog to choose Client and language option, User has an option to choose different client and different language option
for more info :
http://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/2073341
Thanks and Regards,
Subhash
Hi everyone,
I would like to share with you some best practices for the installation, configuration and usage of SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office (AKA “Analysis for Office”) .
This document is for those who are starting to use Analysis for Office but can also help those who are already familiar with the tool, since it can be used as a guideline and reference.
As a starting point to use the Analysis for Office tool, it is very important to check the Administrator Guide, which includes details regarding the installation, the settings and the supported scenarios. It is also recommended to check the User Guide which contains information related to the usage of the tool and its functionalities. Both guides are available on the link below:
SAP Analysis for Office Help Page
Analysis for Office is a really flexible tool, allowing integration with SAP NetWeaver, Business Intelligence Platform (BIP) and HANA. It is recommended that you follow the specific guides on the link above depending on the desired scenario for your company.
In order to check if your environment supports Analysis for Office, please check carefully the Product Availability Matrix (PAM) on the link below, where you will find information regarding operating system, MS Excel and MS Powerpoint versions and other requisites:
Product Availability Matrix for SAP Analysis for Office
In case you need more details or face any issue during Analysis for Office installation, configuration or usage, please read the important SAP notes and links below:
SAP Note # 1466118 - Hardware & Software requirements for Advanced Analysis
SAP Note # 1739153 - SAP BW Backend requirements for Analysis Office 1.3 or higher
SAP Note # 1906657 - Analysis Office Message Checklist
SAP Note # 2134836 - Checklist for Scheduling of Analysis for Office Workbooks
Wiki - Memory consumption and result set limit in Analysis for Office
In case you have any question during the installation and configuration process or questions related to user experience, we recommend you to use this space on SAP Community Network, where you will be able to find further information and exchange experiences with other customers and professionals.
If there is any functionality that is missing or should be improved in Analysis for Office, you can check the SAP note below and visit our Idea Place, which is the main channel for feature request in this tool:
SAP Note # 1879237 - Enhancement Request for Analysis, edition for MS Office
Last but not least, SAP recommends to always use the latest version of Analysis for Office, since improvements and corrections for Analysis for Office are delivered by SAP through support packages. Therefore, we recommend that you check periodically the SAP note below which contains the release schedule, in order to make sure that you always use the latest version:
SAP Note # 1518359 - SAP BusinessObjects Analysis Office Release schedule
If you have any questions regarding this document, please do not hesitate to leave your comment below.
Best Regards,
Filipe Zeuch
SAP Active Global Support
Q&A Session for Beta and Ramp-up Experience SAP BusinessObjects Analysis 2.0
This was the Q&A for today's ASUG webcast. Attendees asked several questions, which I share below - thanks to Joyce Butler and Alex Peter, SAP for answer questions:
Q: I have Analysis for Office 2.0 and I'm able to run it against BW 7.0 on Oracle. Is the HANA requirement true?
A: You can use Analysis on top of BW or (native) HANA. For native HANA usage, you need to be on HANA SP9. The BW use case is unaffected by this ...
________________________________________________________________
Q: Can this functionality be used with universes?
A: No. Only BW and (native) HANA sources are supported. Universe consumption is possible via Live Office.
________________________________________________________________
Q: Does Analysis for Office 2.0 support BIP OLAP SSO HANA connections (i.e. BIP/HANA SSO via SAML)?
A: Yes that's possible. We now use http to HANA and this new approach also supports SSO tickets (used to be a limitation in the former approach).
________________________________________________________________
Q: Is the ability to upload list of values for filtering available?
A: Only via clipboard at this point in time. We are aware of the csv upload requirement and are working on this.
________________________________________________________________
Q: When does BEx analyzer 7.x go away?
A: No plan at this point in time.
________________________________________________________________
Q: With SAP Fiori launchpad push as the go forward solution for launching S4/HANA applications, will SAP Analysis for Office have an interface to SAP Fiori so Analysis for Office can be launched from Fiori Launchpad?
A: yes, this is planned. There's no direct integration yet, but via URL you could launch Analysis content already at this point in time.
________________________________________________________________
Q: Can you change header names ?
A: Currently only in query design. We're looking into this request when we extend Table Design.
________________________________________________________________
Q: Today it is possible to create calculation with the measures. Is it possible to use calculation with the dimensions (E.g., YEARS is a dimension, and I want to compare this year and last year)Dimensions
A: Currently only in the query design. As of the next release (2.1), we'll be supporting this (create restrictions) on NATIVE HANA. We're working with the BW colleagues if it'll be possible to offer this also on BW in future.
A: The next release 2.1 planned for Q2
________________________________________________________________
Q: Can you have workbooks on ERP system that connect to your BW system?
A: might work, but most probably transporting/LCM would not work.
________________________________________________________________
Q: Any Fix of the "Ease of Deployment" of this plug-in on MANAGED DESKTOPs that have Office 2013 restructions..? We have had problems with moving this out from our desktop team (eg. conflict with other excel plug-ins like BPC, etc).
A: Next release is combining Analysis Office and EPM client in a single installer to avoid any conflicts between these 2 clients. For other add-ins, I cannot guarantee co-existence.
________________________________________________________________
Q: What version, schedule for the combined AO and EPM client...?
A: Planned for Analysis Office 2.1 -H2 this year
A: Release 2.1, planned Q2 2015
________________________________________________________________
Q: precalc palnned with 2.1 as well?
A: Precalc there on BI platform - missing pre-calc of new workbooks due to table design
A: there now since 1.4 on BI platform. 2.1 has pre calc 2.0 workbooks
________________________________________________________________
Q: can you talk about the scheduling of workbooks saved on the BI platform
A: AO into the existing frameworking on BI Platform like a WebI report
________________________________________________________________
Q: Scheduling/Publishing coming? With prompt support?
A: Enhanced scheduling with prompting features - you require SP5 of BI4.1 platform, and SP11 of AO 1.4
________________________________________________________________
Q: if we are interested in getting involved with the EPM ramp up, how do we get involved?
A: All open ramp-ups can be found at service.sap.com/rampup
________________________________________________________________
Q: Is "not" value filtering in the works?
A: Prompt has not but not in filter, if that is question
________________________________________________________________
Q: Do we still have the option of storing workbooks in either the BI platform or in BW itself?
A: yes
________________________________________________________________
Q: equivalent to where xxxx <> 'A'.
A: Not in the filter but in the prompts
________________________________________________________________
Q: which version of the BI platform supports workbook scheduling? 4.1 SP?
A: 4.1 in general, prompts are supported as of 4.1 SP5
________________________________________________________________
BI pre-conference session at ASUG Annual conference
Monday, May 4. (extra registration fees apply). This includes hands-on with SAP BusinessObjects Analysis for Office 2.0
Featuring Hands-on SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 w/ SAP NetWeaver BW Powered by SAP HANA – Deep Dive
See details here: http://bit.ly/ASUGPreConBI
Focus on Analysis Office, Lumira, and Design Studio.
ASUG BI Annual Conference Schedule with Abstract Links
Also see Upcoming ASUG Business Intelligence Community W... | ASUG
At ASUG BI Annual Conference 2015 Schedule | ASUG there is an Excel version of the grid schedule - also see ASUG BI Schedule 2015.xlsx | ASUG
Analysis for Office gives an error when the user tries to report on too many cells – Default is set to 500.000 cells. The error which then pops up says that there is a ‘Size limit of result set exceeded’.
Users need to restrict their report output in some form! Analysis for Office in general is used to report on aggregated basis, not to show 600.000 records in a full Excel Sheet.
This aggregation can be done by restricting a time interval, a set of customers etc.
In some cases, Analysis for Office initially retrieves many cells from the SAP BW server but only shows a few.
This is due to a setting in the query itself which suppresses empty columns and rows, and therefore only shows columns and rows with at least one value. In this case the error message will popup as well since the initial number of cells shown is still too high.
>> Workaround: Update the individual user’s system registry or NAD
Push a registry (seenextsteps)
Doing this registry update does not mean that there is no restriction at all. BW and HANA will still have a maximum number of cells, but at least it can be controlled from BW or HANA to decide what the max number of cells to be shown is.
Keep in mind that doing a registry update will decrease system performance as it is a not recommended system setting!
Step 1 > Open regedit.exe
Step 2 > Add the string"ResultSetSizeLimit"="-1" to the followingkey;
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SAP\AdvancedAnalysis\Settings\DataSource]
Step 3 (for 32-bit OS) > Add strings"ShowBicsSample"="True”"ResultSetSizeLimit"="-1” to the followingkey;
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\SAP\AdvancedAnalysis\Settings\DataSource]
Step 4 (for 64-bit OS) > Addstrings"ShowBicsSample"="True”"ResultSetSizeLimit"="-1” to the followingkey;
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\SAP\AdvancedAnalysis\Settings\DataSource] 
Learn about a customer's experience in the beta program for SAP BusinessObjects Analysis 2.0, edition for Microsoft Office. Learn how the company: - Exploits new and enhanced capabilities delivered in the latest release of SAP BusinessObjects Analysis 2.0, edition for Microsoft Office, such as flexible and dynamic grids and new display panel - Uses reports by role - IT developer, business analyst, and report consumer - Integrates and utilizes SAP BusinessObjects Analysis with other SAP BI tools, such as SAP Crystal Reports, SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence, and SAP Design Studio.
Hi All,
I could see that some customers are describing an error when executing Analysis for Office by the transactions RAAOE or RAAOP so we made an investigation and we created a KBA (Knowledge Base Article) that explain why Analysis for Office is not launching when executed by RAAOE or RAAOP.
Usually this is a security warning that is disabling Analysis for Office. Check at the below KBA:
2155712 - RAAOE / RAAOP not launching AO (Office security warning)
Tks,
Diego Ferrary
Hi All,
As workbooks on 2.x format cannot be scheduled on Analysis Office BIP ADD ON 1.4, we created a document explaining how to scheduling a workbook of Analysis Office 2.0 on SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform with Analysis Office BIP ADD ON 1.4 on .x format.
You can check all the information and how to do it by the SAP KBA (Knowledge Base Article) 2155555.
Thanks,
Diego Ferrary
Hi All,
As Analysis Office 2.0 now supports connecting to HANA system via http(Ina), follow these steps in order to enable HANA Http in BIP Platform
Pre requisite : BIP 4.1 SP05, Analysis Office 2.0 SP2, HANA should be on SP9 (Rev >=90)
go to the path C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0\java\pjs\services\MDAS\resources\com\businessobjects\multidimensional\services and property has to be set to “multidimensional.services.enable.hana.http.connections=true “ where your BOE is installed
now you should be able to see SAP HANA http in BIP OLAP Conncetions(above figure)
Now create a connection by selecting "SAP HANA Http" and give valid hana server name and port 80xx(xx-instance number)
Then you are good to go to connect HANA system via http in Anlaysis Office
Best regards,
Subhash
Hi All,
Here are the glimpse of features available in Analysis Office 2.0(2.0 SP2) and a short description for it, detailed discussion follows soon
Table Design :
You can create new empty rows for dimension values
You can Create new empty columns between Measures
Table Design Styles:
You can create styles using Format dialog dynamically for each and every cell/row/column
Property View in Design Panel :
additional display panel to chnage the properties for Dimension and measures
InA Access - Connection to HANA system through HTTP :
have an option to connect to HANA system through HTTP
Configuration Settings :
maintaining registry keys for settings now replaced by config files
system settings can access from %Programdata%\SAP\Cof
User Settins can access from %Appdata%\SAp\Cof
Save as 1.x/2.x :
have an option to choose to save a documents either in 1.x format or 2.x format
System Replacement :
Now existing system can be replaced with another system
SAML SSO to HANA:
most awaited feature connecting to HANA system through SSO is possible from 2.0 SP2
migration from ODBC to HANA http:
Migration dialog to convert from ODBC to HTTP
Deatiled discussions for each topic follows soon
Best Regards,
Subhash
Hi All,
Continuation to my previous posts
Whats New In Analysis Office 2.0
How to create HANA Http in BIP and consume in Analysis Office 2.0
Here i am going to talk about maintaining configuration settings for analysis office 2.0
Configuration settings is not the new term, it is our well known thing as registry keys in 1.4(regedit). In Anlysis Office 2.0 we are maintaining settings using file systems
Administrator Level(System/machine level) :
if you install Analysis office 2.0, automatically the following files get created under C:\ProgramData\SAP\Cof (%programdata%\SAP\Cof)
Ao_app.config and Cof_app.config files contains all the predifined settings relevant for Analysis Office. Whenever you launch Analysis Office,all predefined settings are being read from Ao_app.config and Cof_app.config. Administrator can also change any setting from these files by just adding value=true or value = false according to requirements
e.g: by default acces mode setting is false like below in Ao_app.confg file
<!--default: value="False" --> // comment line
<AllowChangingAccessMode />
Now administrator can change this setting to true or false in Ao_app.config file and save it. so that user can use Access mode option.
<AllowChangingAccessMode value="True" />
Note : When ver new patch installed in machine these settings will be overwritten with new setup file settings. So before installing new path make sure to have back up of these files to have the settings which you changed
User Level :
Apart from administartor, User also may want to change these settings according to user requirements. After install analysis Ofice 2.0, below files will get generate in path C:\Users\<user_id>\AppData\Roaming\sap\Cof (%appdata%\Sap\Cof)
if the baove files did not present, you can generate by changing any settings in analysis office settings dialog(e.g File->Analysis->Settings chnage any setting and click on OK button and then files will get generate) or you smply create files manually
e.g : User can change settings by just adding settings in Ao_user_roaming.config file like(settings can copy from Ao_app.config)
<ShowPlanningToolbar value="true" />
so whenever user launch Anlaysis Office Planning tool bar is visible always for that user
Best Regards,
Subhash
Hi all,
Here i am going to talk about Handling 1.x documents using Analysis Office 2.x
In analysis office 2.0 whatever the workbooks you saved to Netweaver/BIP Platform it saves as 2.0 format by default. If you open 2.0 workbooks in 1.4 version then it will display below message and Analysis Office features will become inactive and disable
but still you want to use analysis office 2.0 and also want to enable the workbooks to work normally in 1.4 also, then you have an option to choose whether workbook should save as 1.x format or 2.x format while saving workbook to Netwevar/BIP Platform.for this you need to enable settings
<SaveAs1xByDefault /> &<SupportsSaveAs1x /> to True like below
<SaveAs1xByDefault value="True"/>
<SupportsSaveAs1x value="True"/>
Please have a look at document more info on settings How to maintain Analysis Office 2.0 settings
<SaveAs1xByDefault value="True"/> enables the "Save workbook in 1.4 format by default" option in advanced settings
Once the option "Save workbooks in 1.4 format by default" set, if you save workbook using 2.0, it saves as 1.4 by default
<SupportsSaveAs1x value="True"/> enables the option "Save as 1.x Format" in save dialog
If you set "Save As 1.x Format", while saving workbook in 2.0 it saves as 1.4 format
If you uncheck "Save As 1.x Format"option workbook saves as 2.0 format
Note :
Other Documents :
Whats New In Analysis Office 2.0
How to create HANA Http in BIP and consume in Analysis Office 2.0
How to maintain Analysis Office 2.0 settings
Best Regards,
Subhash
Hi All,
I had an icon crash after upgrade Analysis for Office from 1.4.x to 2.0.x.
I had created an icon on desktop to easy access to Analysis for Office and after the upgrade to 2.0.x version I got the error below:
This is caused by a folder changed on 2.0 version. Below you can check the path on the icon:
1.4.X
“C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\Analysis\BiSharedAddinLauncher.exe" /app XLS
2.0.X
"C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\Office AddIn\BiOfficeLauncher.exe" /app XLS
So, in order to fix your icon you just need to change icon properties and set to a new folder.
Thanks,
Diego Ferrary
Hi all,
I received an error message when enabling AO from Add-on office manage screen (Installing Office customization).
After some installs changing Analysis for Office versions (upgrade 1.4.x to 2.0.x and downgrade to 1.4.x again) I started to face a strange error (above) when enabling Analysis for Office on Excel’s manage Addons panel.
When I checked the Addon on the manage panel I was able to see 2 Analysis for office options as you can see below:
In order to activate Analysis for Office you just need to leave the correct one and remove the second one as you can see by the location path. Check below the 1.4.x and the 2.0.x places.
1.4.x:
2.0.x
Thanks,
Diego Ferrary
Hi,
Here i am going to talk about How to create HANA Http connection in locally and consume HANA models in Analysis Office 2.0
Prerequisite : HANA should be on SP9 (Rev >=90)
In Analysis Office ->Insert Data Source->Right click in Select data source dialog and select "Create SAP New HANA Connection"
Then it displays Below dialog, Just give sufficient details
Fill Below details :
Description : System Name
Select HTTP
Give valid Host name
Port Should be 80xx(xx-instance number)
click on Create button/Create and Logon
This creates a connection name in your Select data source dialog, You are good to go to use the system to consume your HANA models in Analysis Office 2.0
Related Documents :
How to create HANA Http in BIP and consume in Analysis Office 2.0
How to maintain Analysis Office 2.0 settings
Saving workbook as 1.x format using 2.x
How to migrate ODBC reports to HANA HTTP reports
Main fetaures in 2.0 :
Whats New In Analysis Office 2.0
Hi,
Here i am going to discuss about How do we migrate HANA Reports/Workbooks from ODBC to HANA HTTP
We already know in Analysis Office 1.4, we need to install HANA ODBC driver in local machine in order to connect to HANA system/data source
Problem :
Now Analysis Office 2.0 does not support ODBC. Here comes the question, if Analysis Office 2.0 does not support ODBC what about already existing HANA reports/workbooks which are created on ODBC based ?
Solution : In analysis Office 2.0, you have an option to migrate from ODBC to HANA HTTP data source
How :
As soon as you open any report/workbook which contains HANA systems based on ODBC in Analysis Office 2.0 , It will display SAP HANA Data Source Migration dialog like below
Under ODBC Tab : It displays all HANA systems present in your Workbook based on ODBC
Under HTTP System Tab : It has a drop down which offers all HANA HTTP connections present in Analysis Office 2.0(if you added already)
you can also create immediately any HANA Http system by clicking on Create button which displays Create SAP New HANA Connection dialog (picture can seen in this document How to create HANA Http connection in local and consume in Analysis Office 2.0)
Select respective HANA Http systems from Dropdown against ODBC system and click on OK button. It asks for the credentials for HANA HTTP system, once after valid Credentials given, you will get successful message for migration process.
Related Documents :
How to create HANA Http connection in local and consume in Analysis Office 2.0
How to create HANA Http in BIP and consume in Analysis Office 2.0
Saving workbook as 1.x format using 2.x
How to maintain Analysis Office 2.0 settings
Main fetaures in 2.0 :
Whats New In Analysis Office 2.0
Subhash
Hi All,
I had an icon crash after upgrade Analysis for Office from 1.4.x to 2.0.x.
I had created an icon on desktop to easy access to Analysis for Office and after the upgrade to 2.0.x version I got the error below:
This is caused by a folder changed on 2.0 version. Below you can check the path on the icon:
1.4.X
“C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\Analysis\BiSharedAddinLauncher.exe" /app XLS
2.0.X
"C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\Office AddIn\BiOfficeLauncher.exe" /app XLS
So, in order to fix your icon you just need to change icon properties and set to a new folder.
Thanks,
Diego Ferrary