Get the most out of your trial and discover the potential of Enterprise Glossary.
Catalog, comment and control your SAP metadata.
Create custom catalog entries and document your whole BI.
Requirements
Get access to the application either with an on-premises installation or via a remote access that we can provide for testing purposes.
Register on our bluetelligence portal for more information on how to access the application: http://portal.bluetelligence.de
If you choose to test with an on-premises installation, you will need to install the application and synchronisation service in your environment. Follow the installation instructions in the user guide:
https://manual.enterprise-glossary.de/installation
Please also note the specific requirements for the SAP integration if you plan to test in an on-premises installation.
Introduction
In the Enterprise Glossary, you may encounter SAP Entities and Custom Entities. The former are created by the application when synchronizing with an SAP system and represent an SAP object that exists in the SAP system. The latter are manually created Entities that contain only user-defined information and represent anything the user wants to include in Enterprise Glossary, such as a report from an unsupported BI system.
All Entities, including SAP Entities, are based on templates that can be customized by changing the layout and adding or removing fields or categories. By customizing your content, you can ensure that the information presented meets the needs of your audience.
In order to get the best idea of the application potential, below are descriptions and illustrations of the features you should be familiar with.
Getting started
You should start by setting up your Enterprise Glossary with some basic settings and creating the basic content to explore all the useful features.
BASIC SETTINGS
To ensure that the correct time is displayed within the application the default time zone can be set for new Users. In the User profile each User can set his own time zone and override the default setting.
Note that this setting will only affect newly created users. To change the time zone for the logged in user, go to your user profile (see further down below).
Go to the settings via the cog icon in the upper right corner of the application.
You should be directed to the general settings, where you can set the default time zone.
Save your changes.
To ensure that the Enterprise Glossary visually matches the corporate design of the company, the User can edit the Customization in the settings and, for example, colors and logos can be changed.
Go to the settings via the cog icon in the upper right corner of the application.
Go to Customization, the third setting from the top on the left side.
Change the color settings and logo to fit your corporate design.
Save your changes.
By adding an Active Directory, existing Users of the domain can be imported. Users with a link to the Active Directory can use Single Sign-On for easier login.
Go to the settings via the cog icon in the upper right corner of the application.
Go to Active Directory, the fifth setting from the top on the left side.
Choose “Add Domain“ to add your Domain.
Switch “Automatic user login“ ON to activate the Single Sign-on with added domains.
Switch “Create new users at login“ ON to allow domain users to login without a manual creation. Automatically created user will have the default role, specified in the corresponding domain.
Best Practice: Single Sign-On
For easy access to the Enterprise Glossary, you should connect your relevant Active Directories and enable automatic user login and user creation at login. This will make it very convenient for new users to access the Enterprise Glossary using a domain user. You should use a domain's default role to control what users automatically created from that domain can see in the glossary.
In the Profile, Users can make personal settings (Avatar (displayed Icon), E-Mail, Language, etc.).
Go to your user profile via your avatar icon in the upper right corner of the application.
Edit your profile to adjust personal data, your profile picture or other settings.
Save your changes.
Tipp
Users can set their preferred format for displaying SAP BW object names in their user profile. For example, you can display objects by their description only, or include elements such as the technical name or UID.
BASIC CONTENT
Entities in the Enterprise Glossary can be organized in Folders via a Directory that is displayed in the Sidepanel.
Go to the Sidepanel and right click the Enterprise Glossary folder.
Select “Add to Folder > New Folder“ and create a new folder benath the Enterprise Glossary folder.
Synchronized SAP Entities and manually created Custom Entities can be linked in Folders.
You can also create links to other websites and dispaly them either in an iFrame within Entperise Glossary or in a new tab.
Tipp
Authors can move and delete multiple elements in the folder structure by clicking the checklist icon at the top right of the sidepanel.
Best Practice: Folder Structure
The following approach to creating a folder structure has worked well:
Map business departments in the first folder level.
Map projects or other organizational units in the second folder level.
Map technical object types to the third folder level.
You can also create Custom Entities at higher folder levels to help users navigate and understand the folder structure.
Users can have multiple Roles assigned. With them you can define what a user can see and access. You can restrict the folders that a user can see or edit, you can limit the entity types that are accessible by a user or that can be edited by an author.
Go to the Roles via the cog icon in the upper right corner of the application.
Create a new Role.
Go to the role authorization via the key icon in the actions column or the button in the function panel.
Adjust the settings to fit your needs.
Best Practice: Roles
Use the Default Author roles for Authors who should always be able to access and edit all Entities. Use the Default Visitor role for Visitors who should always be able to access all Entities. Create custom roles if you want to enforce restrictions for some users. You can restrict access to Entities based on templates, folders, and even the contents of specific fields.
SAP integration
By integrating your SAP systems, Enterprise Glossary enables you to build a library of your SAP BW, BO, SAC and HANA metadata. This allows you to document, analyze, and catalog your BI elements in a transparent and accessible way. Everyone who works on or with your BI will have the same understanding of the existing queries, reports, key figures, characteristics, variables and other BI elements.
Requirements
When you are testing with an on-premise installation, you will first have to setup your SAP connection. Please follow the instructions in the manual to create a SAP connection and synchronize your SAP objects.
Create the desired SAP Connection https://manual.enterprise-glossary.de/sap-connections
For SAP BW systems consider the required permissions https://manual.enterprise-glossary.de/permissionsCreate and execute Synchronization Jobs for the connected systems https://manual.enterprise-glossary.de/synchronization-jobs
TERMS
SAP Entities: Glossary entries, each of which describes an SAP object such as a BW Query or SAC Story. SAP Entities are created by the Enterprise Glossary when a connected SAP system is synchronised.
SAP Templates: SAP Entity types, such as BW Queries or SAC Stories, have their own Template that determines the layout of the information presented. The layout can be customised and Custom Fields can be added. SAP Templates are shipped with the application.
SAP Fields: SAP Fields represent some of the information that makes up an SAP Entity, for example the description or the . The value of the SAP Field is filled by the synchronization with the SAP system.
BASIC FUNCTIONS
SAP Entities have their own section in the main navigation. They are listed in a grid with several filter functions. Here you can identify and open the required SAP Entity based on criteria such as technical name, description, connection and many more.
Go to “SAP Entities“ in the main navigation.
Enter an appropriate key word to filter the name of the SAP Entities.
Click the magnifying glass icon in the filter bar to change the filter condition to, for example, "Starts with".
Click the filter icon at the top of the “Object Type” column and select an appropriate object type to filter by.
Click on the “Column Chooser” button and drag another column into the grid, like “Technical Name” for example.
Click on a column head to change the corting by that column.
You can add a text comment to each SAP Entity that can be read without opening the SAP Entity eg. in the context of another SAP Entity. That way you can for example read about an Variable in the context of a Query without leaving the Query.
Go to “SAP Entities“ in the main navigation.
Click the Comment icon in the Actions column for the SAP Entity you want to comment on.
Enter your comment and save.
OR
Open the SAP Entity you want to comment on.
Click the “Comment” button in the function panel.
Enter your comment and save.
Tipp
You can use the Excel Interface to import comments in a batch process. See “Excel Interface“ below.
Most of the synchronised SAP Entities can be opened from the Enterprise Glossary in the respective SAP application, e.g. in Eclipse.
Open the SAP Entity you want to comment on.
Click the “Open in SAP” button in the function panel.
Synchronized SAP Entities can be linked as a shortcut in one or multiple folders.
Go to the sidepanel and right click a folder.
Select “Add to folder > Link SAP Entities“.
Select the desired Entities from the popup and click on “Add“.
Tipp
Users can check the folders in which an Entity is linked by clicking “Shortcuts” in the function panel of the Entity.
Important Entities can be marked as favorite for easier access and highlighting in the search. On the home screen, a dedicated area lists all the user's favorite Entities.
Open the SAP Entity you want to add to your favorites.
Click the “Favorite” button in the function panel.
OR
Right click the SAP Entity you want to add to your favorites in the sidepanel.
Select “Favorite” in the context menu.
All users can post discussions about any accessible Entity, no author rights required. This allows questions to be asked and answered, additional information to be provided, and so on.
Open an Entity you want to discuss.
Open the discussions panel on the lower left border of the Entity.
Post a new discussion or reply to an existing one.
Tipp
Discussions can be turned off in the Entities settings, if your company does not want to allow any users to post discussions about Entities. The option to give likes to posts in discussions can be turned off separately.
Entities in the Enterprise Glossary have versions that are saved when changes are published. These versions can be browsed, revealing previous states of the Entity.
With version 2023.2 also the synchronized SAP metadata will be included in the versioning. Older versions olny include manualy entered information in the created versions. SAP information will always show the most recent state.
Open an Entity whose versions you want to browse.
Open the versions panel on the lower left border of the Entity.
Select a version that you want to view.
Tipp
The Entity settings allow different behavior of comments when publishing a new version of an Entity. You can set the number of characters allowed, make comments mandatory or optional, or disable them altogether.
To make your additional files available, such as documentation, presentations, etc., it is possible to upload and attach such files to your Entities.
Edit the Entity to which you want to attach files.
In the properties, enable attachments.
Open the Attachments tab and add files by clicking the “Add” button.
Optionally, add a comment to your files and save the attachment to the entity.
Publish your changes.
In addition to the relationships between SAP objects that are determined by the definitions in the system, you can create additional relationships manually. For example, you could list the characteristics that are valid for use with a particular key figure.
Edit the Entity to which you want to link other Entities.
In the properties, enable linked Entities.
Open the Linked Entities tab and add Entities by clicking the “Add” button.
In the popup select the desired Entities and confirm your selection with “Ok”.
Optionally add a relationship comments to the added Entities.
Publish your changes.
ANALYSIS FUNCTIONS
As a typical analysis in the SAP environment, the Enterprise Glossary provides a where-used list for supported object types on a separate tab. This allows you to quickly get an overview of the Entities in which a certain SAP object is used.
Open an Entity whose usage in other Entities you want to analyze.
Navigate to the Where-Used tab.
Fields list all the Entities that use the Entity.
The Where-Used Analysis is available for the following obejct types:
Business Warehouse
Basic Key Figures
Characteristics
Navigation Attributes
Queries
Restricted Key Figures
Variables
HANA
Calculation Views
Tipp
The Where-Used Analysis can also display the usage across different system types. For example you can analyze the usage of a Query in SAC Stories or BO Lumira. In order to enable this feature, you must create a connection mapping between the systems by editing the SAP HANA and SAC connection.
The Enterprise Glossary allows you to perform an analysis of the elements used by an SAP object. This gives you a quick overview of the structure of an SAP object.
Open an Entity whose usage of other Entities you want to analyze.
Navigate to the Used Elements category on the overview tab.
The Used Elements Field lists the Entities that are used.
The Where-Used Analysis is available for the following obejct types:
Business Warehouse
Analysis for Office
Design Studio
Business Objects
Analysis for Office
Design Studio
Lumira
Web Intelligence
SAP Analytics Cloud
Analytic Applications
Stories
Tipp
The buildup and the used elements of BW Queries can be found in the Rows and Columns Field and Calculation Views offer the Columns Field. The default Templates displays such information with separate Fields in the Detail Information category.
The Enterprise Glossary allows you to view formulas of Calculated Key Figures and local formulas of BW Queries in mathematical notation. You can also resolve nested formulas and understand the entire calculation with all its levels.
Open an Entity whose formula you want to analyze.
Navigate to the Formula category on the overview tab.
Optional: click on Calculated Key Figures or Local Formauls inside the formula to resolve them or right click and either resolve or open them.
The Formula Analysis is available for the following obejct types:
Business Warehouse
Calculated Key Figures
Local Formulas in Queries
CUSTOMIZATION
Want to change the layout of the information displayed? Want to add your own Fields to an SAP Entity? Do you want to reduce the amount of information displayed or rename a Field to a more common term? You can do all this by customizing the SAP Templates used to display SAP Entities.
You can change the layout of SAP Entities by editing the corresponding SAP Template. You can change the position, size and orientation of Fields. Fields that are shipped with the application can also be renamed.
Go to “Templates > SAP Templates“
Edit the SAP Template corresponding to the object type you want to adjust.
Drag and drop Fields to a new position.
Drag the border of a Field to change the size.
Right click a Field to change the label position and alignments.
Click the pen icon to rename a Field.
You can remove unwanted Fields from the layout of an SAP Template to limit the dispalyed information.
Go to “Templates > SAP Templates“
Edit the SAP Template corresponding to the object type you want to adjust.
Right click a Field to delete the Field.
OR
Drag the Field out to the right of the layout area.
You can add previously removed SAP Fields or create new Custom Fields to add more manual information to your Entities. Custom Fields allow you to add any manual information to your SAP Entities.
Go to “Templates > SAP Templates“
Edit the SAP Template corresponding to the object type you want to adjust.
To add a previously removed SAP Field, drag and drop the Field from the field selection into the layout.
To add a new Custom Field, click the button “Add Field“ above the field selection.
Specify and save your Field.
To add the new Custom Field, change the tab in the field selection to “Fields“. Then drag and drop the Field from the field selection into the layout.
Tipp
You can also choose to create new categories and tabs to give your SAP Entities a different structure.
Custom Content
The creation of Custom Entities allows you to include any element into your Enterprise Glossary. For example, you may want to include information about your projects, your organization, or even technical content that is not supported for synchronization.
Custom Entities: Glossary entries that can describe any element that the user intents to describe. Custom Entities are created by the user.
Custom Templates: SAP Entity types, such as BW Queries or SAC Stories, have their own Template that determines the layout of the information presented. The layout can be customised and Custom Fields can be added. SAP Templates are shipped with the application.
Custom Fields: SAP Fields represent some of the information that makes up an SAP Entity, for example the description or the . The value of the SAP Field is filled by the synchronization with the SAP system.
The first step in creating your first Custom Entity is to create the Fields that will make up your Custom Entity. You can choose from several different types of Fields to display the information you want. You can either use a text-based Field (text, long text, rich text) where the Author of the Entity can later enter text freely. Or you can use a value-based Field (checkbox, radio button, drop-down list, token, user selection, date & time) where the Entity author can later choose from a list of predefined values.
Go to “Templates > Custom Fields”.
Create a new Custom Field.
Choose the settings and layout you want.
Publish the Field.
Tipp
You can easily create multiple Fields in a row by selecting the checkbox in the Function Panel.
The second step in creating your first Custom Entity, is to create a Custom Template that defines the layout of your Entities. You can select your previously created Fields and drag and drop them into the layout of your Template.
Go to “Templates > Custom Templates”.
Create a new Custom Template.
Fill in the mandatory properties such as name and icon.
Move the Fields into the layout and adjust position and size of the Fields.
Publish the layout.
Tipp
You can right-click the Fields you have added to the layout and take advantage of other options, such as changing the placement of the label or the alignment within the Field. These changes are Template specific and do not affect the Field itself or its use in other Templates.
The third and final step is to create your first Custom Entity. To do this, use one of the Templates you created earlier.
Go to “Custom Entities” in the main navigation.
Create a new Custom Entity.
Fill in the mandatory and unique name.
Select one of your previously created Templates.
Fill in the information in the available Fields.
Publish your Custom Entity.
You can manually create and describe relationships between Custom Entities.
Edit the Entity to which you want to link other Entities.
In the properties, enable linked Entities.
Open the Linked Entities tab and add Entities by clicking the “Add” button.
In the popup select the “Custom Entities” tab, then select the desired Entities and confirm your selection with “Ok”.
Optionally add relationship comments to the added Entities.
Publish your changes.
To make your additional files available, such as documentation, presentations, etc., it is possible to upload and attach such files to your Entities.
Edit the Entity to which you want to attach files.
In the properties, enable attachments.
Open the Attachments tab and add files by clicking the “Add” button.
Optionally, add a comment to your files and save the attachment to the entity.
Publish your changes.
Excel Interface
You can import information from excel files, using the Excel Interface. Custom Entities can also be exported as an Excel file. You can use this to import existing documentation to your Enterprise Glossary. Entities can also be updated from an Ecxel file. For SAP Entities, only Custom Fields can be filled with information from an Excel.
Requirements
To import information from Excel, the Excel file must meet certain requirements:
The Entities must be in rows and the properties of the Entities must be in columns, starting in the first row and in the first column.
There must not be any connected cells, images or diagrams.
The first row must hold the names of the columns/properties.
All data must be on the first sheet.
You can use Excel Import to quickly create Custom Entities. This is useful if you already have an Excel file with relevant information. Existing Entities can also be updated in the same way.
Go to Custom Entities in the main navigation.
Click the dropdown button “Excel Interface“ in the function panel and select “Import Custom Entities“.
Select your Excel file and contiune.
Select a column to derive Entity names from.
Select a Custom Template.
Map the desired columns to the appropriate Fields.
When mapping columns to value-based Fields, make sure that the values from Excel exactly match the values in the Field.
Optional: Select one or more folders from the directory to link the Entities.
Start the import with the button in the function panel.
Confirm the following popup with “Start Import”.
You can add manual information to SAP Entities from an Excel file. Use this feature to combine the technical information provided by synchronization with the business and organizational information available in an Excel file. You can also upload global comments to SAP Entities this way.
Go to SAP Entities in the main navigation.
Click the button “Mass Edit“ in the function panel.
Select your Excel file and contiune.
Select a Connection.
Only SAP BW connections are supported for the Excel Import.
Select a Template.
Select the reference type depending on the content of the Excel file you are using. Leave Technical Name selected if your SAP objects are referenced with a technical name in your Excel or change it according to the reference type used.
Map the SAP reference column, for example, the column that contains the technical name.
Optional: Select one or more folders from the directory to link the Entities.
Map the desired columns to the appropriate Fields.
When mapping columns to value-based Fields, make sure that the values from Excel exactly match the values in the Field.
Start the import with the button in the function panel.
Confirm the following popup with “Start Import”.
The content of Custom Entities can be exported to Excel. This allows the content of the Enterprise Glossary to be shared even when access is not possible or desired.
Go to Custom Entities in the main navigation.
Click the dropdown button “Excel Interface“ in the function panel and select “Export Custom Entities“.
Select a Template in the dropdown on top of the popup window.
Select the Entities that you want to export.
Click on Export at the bottom of the popup to start the export.
Click on Download once the export is done.
Search
The Enterprise Glossary allows you to search its Entities with great precision and control. You can perform either a simple search of Entity titles or a advanced search of Entity content. The advanced search also allows you to search in specific Fields.
To find an Entity by its title, you can simply use the search in the main navigation.
Enter your keywords in the search bar in the main navigation.
Pick the desired Entity from the search dropdown.
For your specific search needs, you can use the advanced search.
Open the search dropdown from the search bar in the main navigation.
Select “Advanced Search Options” at the bottom or press Enter.
You can now add custom filters to customize your search.
Abbreviations
Best Practice: Overall