SAP BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence (File) - Import
Bridge Requirements
This bridge:is only supported on Microsoft Windows.
requires the tool to be installed to access its SDK.
Bridge Specifications
| Vendor | SAP |
| Tool Name | BusinessObjects (BO) Desktop Intelligence |
| Tool Version | 6.x to 12.x |
| Tool Web Site | http://www.sap.com/solutions/sapbusinessobjects/large/intelligenceplatform/bi/qra/desktop_intelligence/ |
| Supported Methodology | [Business Intelligence] BI Report (Relational Source, Dimensional Source, Expression Parsing, Report Structure) via COM API on Document (.REP) File |
| Data Profiling |  |
| Incremental Harvesting | |
| Multi-Model Harvesting | |
| Remote Repository Browsing for Model Selection | |
SPECIFICATIONS
Tool: SAP / BusinessObjects (BO) Desktop Intelligence version 6.x to 12.x via COM API on Document (.REP) File
See http://www.sap.com/solutions/sapbusinessobjects/large/intelligenceplatform/bi/qra/desktop_intelligence/
Metadata: [Business Intelligence] BI Report (Relational Source, Dimensional Source, Expression Parsing, Report Structure)
Component: BoReporterFile version 11.2.0
OVERVIEW
The bridge relies on the Business Objects Desktop Intelligence COM/OLE API to import the Report metadata. Therefore, BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence must be properly installed on the machine executing this bridge.
REQUIREMENTS
WARNING: This bridge uses the COM API of a Windows based tool client and/or SDK which must be (a) properly installed, (b) licensed on behalf of a Windows user capable of running this tool, and (c) capable of accessing the tool server content. In addition:
(1) As recommended by the tool vendor, the tool server must NOT be installed/coexist on the same machine where the tool client (and the bridge) is installed/running because of potential conflicts of resources, including with respect to COM API.
(2) Windows COM API based tools are notoriously unstable after repeated failures or lack of system resources, which requires a Windows reboot to make that tool COM API work properly again.
(3) If this bridge is running as an application, then it must be logged with the same above Windows user.
If the bridge is running as a Windows service, then go to the services manager of Windows, right-click on the MIMB Application Server service, and go to the "Log On" tab to define an account by name under which the service will run.
If unsure whether SAP Desktop Intelligence is installed properly, be sure to check the following:
- SAP Desktop Intelligence must be executable as a Windows application on the machine which the bridge runs on. It generally is installed as part of the BO "desktop" tools.
- For the API to work, SAP Desktop Intelligence must be executable as a COM/ActiveX component, i.e., the COM/ActiveX component must be properly registered. You may check that a key exists in the Windows registry in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\BusinessObjects.Application.
There is a tool available from SAP BusinessObjects which can test for some connectivity issues. Go to Start -> All Programs -> Business Objects XI -> Diagnostic Tool. You must login with the same credentials as you use with the MIMB bridge. Then go to the menu Tests -> Run All Tests. You should see that all tests 'Pass'.
In addition, one may customize the configuration file used to control what tests are performed. It is located at C:\Program Files (x86)\Business Objects\common\4.0\java\lib\TestClasses.xml in the default SAP BusinessObjects client installation.
If any of these tests fail, please contact the local SAP BusinessObjects Administrator to resolve these issues. Please refer to Chapter 5, 'Working with Firewalls' in the SAP BusinessObjects Administration Guide.
Also, at bridge runtime be sure that you have:
- A valid login access to a BO repository server (the bridge must login to the BO platform)
- For BO 5.x, 6.x, 11.x, 12.x, there is the option of connecting in standalone (no CMS) mode.
- For BO 11.0 there is no standalone mode and you must have a valid login.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What username and password should I supply into the BO login window?
A: If the current installation of BusinessObjects is a network installation with a BusinessObjects Repository managing users and access rights, please provide a BO username and password, exactly like you would do when opening the report document directly in Desktop Intelligence. If you are not sure about which user name and password to use, ask the BO 'supervisor' person in your company who manages the BO Repository, or ask the person who designed this report document, they should be able to help you.
Q: The bridge fails to complete for an unknown reason, what can I do?
A: Please try to run the bridge again with parameter 'Execution mode' set to 'Interactive'. The application may display an error in a pop-up window.
Q: What report file formats does this bridge support?
A: This bridge can read the report formats supported by SAP BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence:
- BusinessObjects documents (*.rep)
- BusinessObjects document templates (*.ret)
- BusinessQuery Files (*.bqy)
- WebIntelligence 2.x documents (*.wqy)
Q: What report file formats are not supported?
A: BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence and this bridge do not support:
- WebIntelligence 6.x documents (*.wid)
- Crystal reports (*.rpt)
- Crystal OLAP Analysis reports (*.car)
Q: How should I understand the warning message: Could not import reference to universe '' for Data Provider 'Query 1'?
A: If the report being imported depends on a universe that is stored in the BO repository and you specify the 'Repository authentication mode' bridge parameter to be 'Standalone', it is not possible to retrieve the dependencies on the universe. To retrieve the dependencies of a report based on a universe located in the BO repository, it is necessary to set this parameter to one of the login values and provide a Repository username and Repository password.
Q: Can this bridge run from an application server as a Windows service?
A: No, Desktop Intelligence is a desktop application, running the COM API and this bridge as a service is not supported. Please make sure that if running from a remote bridge server, it is configured to run as a regular desktop application, not as a service.
LIMITATIONS
Refer to the current general known limitations at MIMB Known Limitations or bundled in Documentation/ReadMe/MIMBKnownLimitations.html
SUPPORT
Provide a troubleshooting package with debug log. Debug log can be set in the UI or in conf/conf.properties with MIR_LOG_LEVEL=6
Q: How do I provide information to help the support team reproduce an issue?
A: Provide the following files:
- For BusinessObjects 5.x and 6.x, open the document in Desktop Intelligence, select 'Save for all users', and save it as an REP file.
- For BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence 11.x and 12.x (XI), create a Business Intelligence Archive file (*.BIAR) using the BusinessObjects Import Wizard utility (ImportWiz.exe) and include the document in it.
Bridge Parameters
| Parameter Name | Description | Type | Values | Default | Scope | |||||
| System | Enter here the name of the BusinessObjects repository to login to. - For BusinessObjects version 11.x and 12.x (XI), it is the name of the Central Management Server. This server will be used to login, by default on port 6400. E.g. localhost If the CMS server is configured in a Cluster environment, the cluster name may be specified with the following syntax: cms:port@cluster. E.g. localhost:6400@MYCLUSTER - For BusinessObjects version 5.x and 6.x, it is the name of the repository defined by the Supervisor application. E.g. bomain If this parameter is empty, Desktop Intelligence will perform an Offline login. A standalone installation of BusinessObjects does not require you to login. |
STRING | ||||||||
| Authentication mode | Select the login authentication method. This parameter is only applicable to version 11.0 and greater. For versions 5.x and 6.x, this parameter is ignored. 'Enterprise' BusinessObjects Enterprise login. 'LDAP' Login using an LDAP server. 'Windows AD' Login using a Windows Active Directory server. 'Windows NT' Login using a Windows NT domain server. 'Standalone' Standalone (no CMS). |
ENUMERATED |
|
Enterprise | ||||||
| Username | A repository installation of BusinessObjects (BO) requires the user to identify himself/herself using a login. A standalone installation of BO does not require such identification. E.g. supervisor If you omit the username or password, a BO Login dialog box will be displayed, in which you should enter your usual BO login username and password. In order to avoid Desktop Intelligence to prompt the Login dialog box when running this bridge remotely on a server, you should fill this parameter value. |
STRING | ||||||||
| Password | A repository installation of BusinessObjects (BO) requires the user to identify himself/herself using a login. A standalone installation of BO does not require such identification. If you omit the username or password, a BO Login dialog box will be displayed, in which you should enter your usual BO login username and password. In order to avoid Desktop Intelligence to prompt the Login dialog box when running this bridge remotely on a server, you should fill this parameter value. |
PASSWORD | ||||||||
| File | The import path name corresponds to the name of the Document file to import. | FILE |
|
Mandatory | ||||||
| Silent execution | Specify whether to execute in interactive or silent mode. 'Silent' The application runs in silent mode, pop-up windows and message boxes are blocked. This mode does not require user intervention, but may cause execution termination with unknown error. 'Interactive' The application runs in interactive mode, allowing pop-up windows and message boxes. This mode may require user intervention to acknowledge pop-up windows, and allows the user to resolve issues during execution. |
ENUMERATED |
|
Silent | ||||||
| Close after execution | Close the Business Objects application after importing the model. By default the tool will be closed. 'False' The application is left open on the desktop after the bridge has run. 'True' The application is closed after the bridge has run. Note that the application is started on the same machine where this bridge is running. If running this bridge remotely on a distant server, this parameter should be set to 'True', otherwise the application will be left running on the server. |
BOOLEAN | True | |||||||
| Include List of Values | This parameter controls how the bridge should import the List of Values associated to Objects. Since the target tool may not be able to display such a list, this algorithm is not enabled by default. Importing the List of Values via the BusinessObjects API also requires more time to perform the import. | BOOLEAN | False |
Bridge Mapping
| Meta Integration Repository (MIR) Metamodel (based on the OMG CWM standard) |
"SAP BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence (File)" Metamodel BoReporter |
Mapping Comments |
| Attribute | Column | A Table Column may be inferred from the parsing of a SQL DataProvider query |
| Name | Name | |
| BaseType | Object Type | |
| DataType | See datatype conversion array | |
| Name | Based on the datatype | |
| PhysicalName | Derived from the datatype | |
| Class | Table | A Table may be inferred from the parsing of a SQL DataProvider query |
| Name | Name | |
| ClassifierMap | ClassifierMap objects are used to hold the lineage of DataProviders, Queries, DocumentVariables | |
| Operation | expression text | can be a BO native expression or a SQL statement |
| Condition | Universe Filter | |
| Name | name | |
| DataAttribute | DataProvider Column, Query Column | |
| Name | name | |
| Position | position | |
| DataSet | DataProvider, Query | Each DataProvider is imported as DataSet. Each of its queries is also imported as lower-level DataSet |
| Name | name | |
| DatabaseSchema | Database schema | May be inferred from the parsing of a SQL DataProvider query |
| Name | Name | |
| DerivedType | List Of Values | The import of Objects' ListOfValues is controlled by a bridge option |
| DataType | See datatype conversion array | |
| DesignPackage | Universe Class | DesignPackages reflect the reporting objects organization hierarchy as in the Reporter tool, as well as the Class structure of objects used from a Universe |
| Name | name | |
| UserDefined | set to True for Universe Classes | |
| Dimension | Universe Class | |
| Description | description | |
| Name | name | |
| UserDefined | set to True | |
| DimensionAttribute | Universe Object | other types of objects as imported as regular dimension attributes |
| Description | description | |
| Name | name | |
| FeatureMap | FeatureMap objects are used to hold the lineage of DataProvider columns, Query columns and DocumentVariables | |
| Operation | expression text | can be a BO native expression or a SQL statement |
| Filter | Universe Filter | |
| Description | description | |
| Name | name | |
| Measure | Universe Object | Objects of type measure are imported as measures |
| Description | description | |
| Name | name | |
| OlapSchema | Universe | Represents the universes this document depends on |
| Report | Document | |
| Description | Description | |
| Name | Name | |
| ReportAttribute | Formula, Variable, Constant | |
| Name | Name | |
| ReportAxis | Chart Axis | Corresponds to the Pivot information of each Block displayed on pages |
| ReportChart | Chart | |
| Name | Name | |
| ReportDataSet | Formula, Variable, Constant | Groups of Formulas, Variables, and Constants |
| ReportField | Cell | |
| ReportMatrix | CrossTab | |
| Name | Name | |
| ReportPage | Report | |
| Name | Name | |
| ReportPageBody | Report main section | |
| ReportPageFooter | Report footer | |
| ReportPageHeader | Report header | |
| ReportRectangle | Section | Generic report item representing presentation structure |
| ReportTable | Table | |
| Name | Name | |
| ReportText | Cell | |
| Value | textual value | |
| StoreConnection | Database | May be inferred from the parsing of a SQL DataProvider query |
| Name | Name | |
| StoreModel | Document | |
| Comment | comments | |
| Name | name | |
| TypeValue | List Of Values | The import of Objects' ListOfValues is controlled by a bridge option |
| Value | value |