blog.

Since last week the new version of my book SAP Analysis Office - The Comprehensive Guide is now available. You can find it only here in my shop. The book is based on Analysis Office 2.6 and covers now all about:

• Customizing Analysis Office including file system settings
• The basic stuff with Analytics Cloud
• The advanced stuff like Table Design and Group Members
• The API and formula functions
• Troubleshooting and so on

The table of content can be found here. If you have any questions feel free to write them into the comments.

One question from me:

Is it ok, that there is only Paypal as payment method or do you need more? Just write it in the comments and I will see what I can do.

Analysis Office 2.6 SP2 is available since two weeks. There are only some slight changes to Analysis Office 2.6 SP1. You are now able to set the selection type for the formula SAPSetFilterComponent to MEMBERSELECTORBYRANGE. So you can use it to define the filter dialog with range option as standard.

Also a new selection type for the VBA API SAPCallMemberSelector is now available. It is called MULTIPLEBYRANGE, which allows you to select a range of members for filtering. So if you found new functions, feel free to write them down in the comments.

Since two days the new version of Analysis Office 2.6 is available. You need as always a S-User to download the latest version. Here is a short overview what it might fix:

• AO 2.x: Table Design Formulas causes crash on initialze of Design Rules Tab if no applicable Data was found (s-note 2609841)
• Analysis Office: Existing workbook in favorites folders on BIP will not be overwritten (s-note 2614892)
• Analysis Office: Grouping crosstabs from different worksheets throws an exception (s-note 2614536)
• Analysis Office: System alias of a query defined on BIP server is overwritten (s-note 2616663)
• Filter Component results in error with Manual Calculation Mode (s-note 2605076)
• Filter on Characteristics used in Restriction is lost after additional characteristic is used (s-note 2614466)
• No drop down to select the date for between condition (s-note 2615430)
• Undo operation for restriction fails (s-note 2606838)

A overview what's new will be available next week. If you find something interesting, please feel free to post a comment.

Here is a short post about something I just found and never used until now. You can create restrictions in Analysis Office by either using the context menu of a measure or via the ribbon menu entry under Calculations >> Add Restrictions. It will display a new dialog where you can define your restrictions.

Analysis Office 2.6 SP1 is available since last week. When you look at the What's new guide from SAP, you see nothing spectacular new. You have now a new file system setting called AlwaysDoApplicationSteps. You can use this setting to write entries into the table RSDDSTAT_OLAP afer each action without the need to close Analysis Office.

There is also a new style called SAPDataRemoved, to format cells whose data was removed with the workbook property Remove Data Before Saving. Also you have now more options for scheduling a workbook on the BI platform. 

That's it. As you can see it is not much new. I think the most what was done is bug fixing.

In my current project I have a file to import, which only delivers me a string with a length of 1000. I also get a description what is in this file. Like the following points:

• Customer from 1 to 10
• City from 11 to 50

The file looks like: 0000123456London............................ So I have a file and a description how to decode this file. Now I need to find a way to separate this information into InfoObjects. I build a Z-Table which contains the decode information.

Since today Analysis Office 2.6 SP1 is available. You need as always a S-User to download the latest version. Here is a short overview what it might fix.

• AO 2.6 Table design rule: Error with Formula VLOOKUP to external excel (s-note 2590137)
• AO: Exceptions occur when loading AO after opening an AO workbook (s-note 2595959)
• Analyis Office: Text and Key are concatenated in new line attributre cells (s-note 2586756)
• Analysis Office: Saving a workbook destroys the layout of the workbook (s-note 2594627)
• Prompts dialog: Hierarchy variable shows wrong value (s-note 2587530)
• Scheduling A.O. Workbook Generates Corrupted Workbooks (s-note 2589444)
• Sheets option are lost when Excel document is opened from server repos (s-note 2593473)
• Table Design formats are not applied (s-note 2594716)

 A overview what's new will be available next week. If you find something interesting, please feel free to post a comment.

Lately, all my posts started with "In my current project", so now something else, even if it was developed in the current project. The problem we are facing with is that we get a data extraction which deliver us only the new data records, not the reverse data record.

A feature which I didn't know even it is available since Analysis Office 2.2 is to search and filter by attribute. First select a dimension you want to filter.

In my current project we have a lots of source systems which delivers our data in a key figure model. In a normal case is this not a problem. But we need the values of the key figures in a hierarchy. So there are two ways to realize it. First way would be we build a structure with restricted key figures and get our hierarchy. Here is the problem, the customer will need different queries to realize his needs. If there is a change, we need to adjust different queries (each has a light different hierarchy) and the maintainace is immense.

As you might know, Analysis Office 2.6 is available now. To download it, you need a S-User with download credentials. First SAP BusinessObjects Analysis for Microsoft Office is now called, SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office. Damn I have to rewrite my book, just kidding. Here is a short overview of What's new in Analysis Office 2.6:

• You can now copy a Table Design formula by using Microsoft Excel Fill Handling
• The formula SAPSetFilterComponent has a new selection type MEMBERSSELECTOR.
• The API Command NumberOfNewLines can now set the number of new lines for a crosstab
• According to Matthew Shaw you can now connect to/report on SAP Analytics Cloud.

So I just downloaded Analysis Office 2.6 and maybe I can write a little bit more in the next days.

In the last month I was very busy with my thesis and my project at work, so I had no time to write a lot of blog posts. So here is a short overview what Analysis Office 2.5 SP2 fix. But keep in mind, Analysis Office 2.6 is up coming.

•  An execption is thrown when grouping crosstabs (s-note 2530837)
• Formula SAPGetVariable does not return value for BASEINFOOBJT if variables are merged (s-note 2529886)
• Group Crosstabs / Compact Display does not work properly (s-note 2527113)
• Native date, date time and time span rendering (s-note 2482546)
• Not able to change presentation of attribute (s-note 2525435)
• Refresh in Open dialog does not work (s-note 2536320)
• Launching a second workbook starts an empty Excel (s-note 2551513)

There are a lot more bugs which are now patched, so install the latest version.

Today Alexander Peter showed in the ASUG Webcast Analysis Office 2.6. The expected GA is in three weeks. New in Analysis Office 2.6 are the following things:

• Table Design Improvements (auto complete enhancements)
• Improved handling of new lines in planning applications (SAP BW 7.5 SP11)
• Open Analysis Office workooks using variables (BI Platform 4.2 SP5)
• Editing schedule jobs (BI Platform 4.2 SP5)
• Scheduling based on events (BI Platform 4.2 SP5)
• Publications (BI Platform 4.2 SP5)
• More features with SAP Analytics Cloud such as exception aggregation
• Access repository of all (native) cloud models
• Exception aggregation on the fly
• Use Dynamic Calculations Rank and Rank Olympic (planned for SP1)
• Launch Workbooks directly from the BI Platform with variables (BI Platform 4.2 SP5)
• Rescheduling Jobs on the BI Platform 4.2 SP5
• Scheduling workbooks with events (e.g. successful/failed data load to BW)
• Use VLOOKUP with Table Design
• Filter by Range is now possible
• New Parameter such as EnableNativeFormatting or UseNewLinesLegacyMode

In my current project I created with a collegue a really cool function to analyze a string with 1333 characters. We are using a BW 7.4 SP 17 on HANA. First we have to build an Advanced DataStoreObject with a Field which has a length of 1333. For further understanding, we call the field Field_1333. As data type I used SSTRING.

A really cool feature of Analysis Office 2.5 can you see in the "backend" under File >> Analysis. The function Customize Analysis offers now new options. Besides the Customize User Interface from Analysis Office 2.4 which allows you to change the ribbon menu of Analysis Office, you now can directly modify the technical settings of Analysis Office.

This week is very short in case of the day of German unity and we have sprint change next week, I haven't time to write a lot so here is just one goodie. When you insert a DataSource in Analysis Office 2.5 you see the recent inserted DataSource. Now in Analysis Office 2.5 you also see the technical name of the query and the system. I think this is nice if you are testing a query on different systems.

In my current project I work a lot in the backend of a BW 7.4 on HANA but I finally found time to look into Analysis Office 2.5. Here is a short explanation about the feature that the scaling factor works now with conditional formatting. If you configure your conditional formatting like the following screenshot and apply after that your favourite scaling factor. It automatically adjusts.

Analysis Office 2.5 is finally available since the end of August for everyone. After I submit my diploma thesis last week, I have now time to see whats new in Analysis Office 2.5. Here is the first short overview of the new feature:

• You are now able to connect to SAP BusinessObjects Cloud
• Customize User Interface has new options
• New different troubleshooting modes
• New options with Table Design
• A new API method SAPCallMemberSelector
• Changes on the grouping Crosstab function
• New file system setting ShowUtcTimeStampsInDataCells

This is a first view on the What's new Guide. I am also published Analysis Office - The Comprehensive Guide (2nd edition) as a Kindle ebook on amazon. Feel free to choose where to buy it. So stay tuned.

At the moment it is very quiet about new blog post. This is maybe the summer break everybody talks about. ;)

I am at the final phase of my diploma thesis and have no time to do cool stuff and also SAP doesn't release Analysis Office 2.5. It is still in ramp up and nothing new at the moment.

So I could only say, my current project is a BW on HANA and I am testing how HANA SQL Script (AMDP) works and how fast we could build some stuff. First tests show a transformation with routines for 800.000 records about 1:55 minutes. The same transformation with AMDP (ABAP Managed Database Procedures) only need between 15 - 23 seconds. This is really impressive. 

So stay tuned, if SAP will release Analysis Office 2.5 and some examples with AMDP.

Mobile Application is the big thing in management. If you want to create a mobile application in SAP Design Studio, SAP have some recommendations:

• Keep the application simple and don't use too many components
• Don't use crosstab components for smartphone applications
• Limit the total number of cells in your crosstab to 500 for tablet applications

I hope everybody stick to this recommendations or we will see people looking like that: