One easy way to find which standard delivered InfoObject to use in a transformation for a corresponding field in ECC is to look at table RSTRFIELDSH, Shadow table: Transfer Structure Fields.

Let’s say you have a field in a DataSource from ECC named BWART. Just run SE16 for table RSTRFIELDSH and enter BWART in FIELDNM –> it will return 2 possible entries in field IOBJNM, either 0OI_BWART or 0MOVETYPE.

Make sure you search in a BW system, not in an ECC system 🙂

BW is Dead – Long Live BW.

Learnings on SAP BI Analysis Process Designer APD to extract a query result to a file

While there are several limitations on the extraction process from a query to a file, the benefit is that you get a result extracted quite fast as compared with some other methods. Once valid concern is that if the query results in a large dataset you can face issues, but there are some workarounds to overcome that limitation, such a splitting into several APDs or setting the query element to divide the data collection into Packages, in the Extended Settings for the element. Here are some of my learnings:

• Unless you use a logical path / filename, you cannot specify a file termination, the APD check fails explaining that file names may only contain the characters A-Z, 0-9 and _.
• If you have a column in the report that is set as hidden, it will be extracted regardless of its show/hide status.
• The order of the fields on the file for a report I used with characteristics in rows and key figures in columns: it listed first all key figures in the file and then all characteristics: it did not follow the order of the key figures in the BEX report, it sorted the key figures by description and that was the order. For the characteristics it did respect the order as specified in the BEX report.
• The format of the key figures is ignored: for restricted key figures it used 3 decimals and for formulas / calculated key figures it used scientific notation. Also, for the restricted key figures with unit it added a column for the unit and for the calculated key figures / formulas it did not add a unit column.
• If you need to debug the extraction to understand it a little bit better, use the context menu on the query node and select the option display data after setting a breakpoint at method CL_RSCRMBW_BAPI->GENERATE_MDX.
• A way to overcome all these limitations regarding formats, column order, etc., would be to insert a routine between the query source element and the file target element. Then you can select what columns to pass as a source, removing for example the unit fields, you could also set the order of the fields and for fields the APD could not determine an infoObject for reference (hence the floating point type), you could use standard KF InfoObjects such as 0AMOUNT and 0QUANTITY.
• The BEx report cannot have display hierarchies neither as filters nor as elements in the report (rows or columns).
• If you have key figures showing inside key figures (expand / collapse), you will also get the warning “RSCRM 252 does not support display hierarchies” like in the image below.

• As an example of an MDX generated query, see below

SELECT   {
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[7ZYK7HLNG4UC6JD3PY2AH9IQK],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8AM6Y5EMB1JOWE9WS8LWOVQJG],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8CQX3HD7OFAD1KGGZWBFJ7DP8],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8EVN8TBT1T116QN17K0YDJ0V0],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[823ACTK8TIL0BPJNXLRTBL5WC],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[86CQNHHFKA2CM1WSCX6V08G7W],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8H0DE5AEF6RPBWTLF7QH7UO0S],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8J53JH8ZSKIDH305MVG026B6K],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8L9TOT7L5Y91M96PUJ5IWHYCC],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8NEJU566JBZPRFDA26V1QTLI4],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8480I5IU6WBOGVQ859HC5WT24],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8PJ9ZH4RWPQDWLJU9UKKL58NW],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[88HGSTG0XNT0R83CKKWDUK3DO],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8RO04T3DA3H21RQEHIA3FGVTO],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8TSQA51YNH7Q6XWYP5ZM9SIZG],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8VXGFH0K0UYEC43IWTP544658],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[8Y26KSZ5E8P2HAA34HENYFTB0],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[92BMVGWC506ERMN7JSTPN33MK],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[94GD0SUXIDX2WSTRRGJ8HEQSC],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[96L364TIVRNR1Z0BZ48RBQDY4],
[7VP3WTOGPDCZW6ZZAMN8SM8F0].[98PTBGS495EF756W6RYA6213W]}  ON COLUMNS,
NON EMPTY CROSSJOIN(CROSSJOIN({
[0MATERIAL].LEVELS(01).MEMBERS},
{[CRMSET_0PLANT]}),
{[0MATERIAL__0PRODH2].LEVELS(01).MEMBERS})
ON ROWS FROM [-yourProvider-/-yourQuery-]
SAP VARIABLES [-versionDate-] INCLUDING
[-calDayVar-].[20141112]
[-UOMVar-] INCLUDING  [0UNIT].[CS]
[-PlantVar-] INCLUDING [0PLANT].[plantLow]:[0PLANT].[plantHigh]

How to set up the Process Chain Execution User

Even when the start process job scheduling in a process chain shows the name of the user that scheduled it, the user that executes the process chain is generally ALEREMOTE or whatever name is given to the batch job processing user.

To check which user is set up for a specific process chain, display it / or modify it in transactions RSPC or RSPC1, and execute the menu path Process Chain →  Attributes →  Execution User.

You can then select between using the BW Background User, the current user or a specific Special User.

This information is then stored in table RSPCCHAINATTR field BATCHUSER: if empty, it will use the BW Background User, if the value is %%actual%%, it means it will run under the current user, if it set to any other value, it will run under that specific user.

Missing Element ID when transporting query elements

When transporting a BEX query, a transport fails with an error but not self-explanatory.

Fortunately there is an SAP Note that helps in this issue, 1593665 – Missing Element Id when transporting query elements.

Running report CHECK_MISSING_ELEMENTS, copy the element ID from the transport log and enter the version M

It will then tell you if there is a missing element for the specif query noted in the transport. You can also check it without query parameter to see all missing elements in the target system.

If you then get a result, check this element in the source system in table RSZCOMPDIR and / or RSZGLOBV as it is very likely to be a global report variable. This happens frequently when you share the same path in the landscape for production support and projects as some objects belonging to the project may be in development but not yet migrated to production. All this to diagnose the root cause as the problem gets solved if you collect the BEX query in the transport connection with all objects.