Import Objects from SAP

In the “Import Entities from SAP” section, InfoObjects and InfoProvider from SAP BW-Systems can be imported. The exact procedure is described in the following chapters.

Import of InfoObjects

InfoObjects can be copied from SAP BW unmodified or with a new Technical Name. To start the import, an SAP-system including the data that needs to be imported is chosen. The Object list on the left in the system has to be filtered by Object Type. Click "Apply selection" to see all objects for your selection. Additionally, active Objects or Objects from the Business Content can be imported in the Delivery Version. This selection is made in the drop-down menu choosing “Version”.

Afterward, all needed Objects have to be marked and moved to the box on the right using drag and drop or the -button. Where appropriate, name changes can be altered here.

In case objects are not valid for import, the tool-tip of each line indicates why an Object is not valid.

In this case, all Technical Names exceed the permitted length. One possibility could be to replace the first character of the Technical Name with “ZM_” (see below).

Furthermore, it is manually possible to change each “New Technical Name” of an InfoObject in the column.

Finally, the New Technical Name is shortened to the correct length of 9 characters.
Easier: Use the "Cut Technical Names"-button, which cuts off the exceeded length of the New Technical Name from all Objects in the list.

By cutting off the names, Objects might become yellow which means that a duplicate with the same Technical Name was created (see below).

As a result, the Technical Names have to be edited manually to ensure that each InfoObject has a unique name. Alternatively, as mentioned above, the names can also be shortened from the start of an Object's name.

Only InfoObjects will be imported, which are verified by the system. Those are indicated using the checkbox in the first column. After a change is made, Objects are automatically checked for duplication. Nevertheless, it is not possible to enter a Technical Name which is too long. The “Start Import”-button is activated as soon as no more discrepancies exist.

 Maximum Depth Level 

A highly important function is the setting of "Level of Dependencies" for all Objects to import (see figure below).

In the beginning, the Maximum Depth Level is set to 0, which means that Objects will be imported with any depth.

Changing the setting to 1 would result that only dependent and directly assigned attributes, as well as parentheses, are included in the import (if they are not part of the Modeling Project already).

E.g. the Object InfoObject 0COMP_CODE is supposed to be imported with a “Maximum Depth Level” of 2. It does not refer to another Object or has any parentheses.  

0COMP_CODE has the following attributes:

All attributes will be imported as long as they are not part of the Modeling Project yet.

As the depth level is set to 2, the next level, meaning the attributes from underlying InfoObjects will be imported as well, e.g. Attribute 0OFPER has the following assigned attributes:

If “Maximum Depth Level” is 0 the import may take quite long. In this case, an additional notification will be shown by the system.

Please note: All parentheses and references are included in the “Maximum Depth Level”.

Renaming Attributes

Attributes can be renamed by following the same procedure as used for InfoProvider below.

Import of InfoProvider

The import of InfoProvider is structured the same way as 1868497162.

“Import as” – Functionalities

The drop-down menu for importing InfoProvider includes three options:

1. Keep Object Type
2. DataStore (applies to Cubes and MultiProvider)
3. BW/4HANA object types

If the first and also initial setting is chosen, each InfoProvider with the same InfoProvider Type from the same SAP Source System is imported.

The second selection leads to InfoCube and MultiProvider imports to the Docu Performer in form of DSOs.

The final option does the following:

In doing so, provider-specific configurations are set automatically. For example, the setting “All Characteristics are Keys” for ADSOs generated from InfoCubes.

Rename included InfoObjects

By double-clicking an already imported InfoProvider in the Import or the “Modeling Entities” view all InfoObjects included can be renamed or even newly added. The edit mode can also be reached by right click on the relevant InfoProvider and choosing “Edit” from the menu.

In order to rename all contained entities use the “Rename included InfoObjects”-button (see screenshot below).

Maximum Depth Level

Again, a prefix can be used to replace a certain number of leading characters. This process follows the structure described 1868497162. “Level determines the depth to which Objects are renamed (see “1868497162”). Changing the Level setting leads directly to an updated list of elements in the table below.

SAP Core-Objects, like 0FISCPER, are not allowed to be renamed and therefore can’t be selected by the checkbox in the first column. Entities whereas aren’t preselected but can be chosen or renamed.

As soon as all inconsistencies are eliminated from the table the saving option becomes active. Renamed elements are now elements in the Modeling tool, including their updated name in the InfoProviders definition.