BusinessObjects Board

Business Objects Design Studio

other Xcelsius - Crystal Dashboard Design
#1

Can we create dashboards using Business Objects Design Studio based on non-SAP data ? I know it can get data from InfoProvider/BEx queries.

Thanks

Developer_Designer (BOB member since 2009-08-09)

#2

As to my knowledge regarding SAP BusObjects Design Studio (code name: SAPzen) as of version 1 SP2: only SAP BW and SAP HANA data sources are supported.
See also help.SAP.com and the PAM at [color=blue]service.SAP.com/pam [/color

For other data sources such as relational DBMS (e.g.: Oracle, Teradata, IBM UDB, Sybase, MS SQL Server, etc.) you still might consider DashboardDesign (formerly known as Xcelsius) or will have to wait for SAPzen to catch up (as announced in the SAPzen roadmap as a Future Direction/access via Semantical layer/universes).

Andreas :de: (BOB member since 2002-06-20)

#3

I would seriously consider delaying any dashboard projects until Design Studio has been expanded to accomodate other data sources. I am now doing a project using Design Studio and it is a very impressive product. Unlike Xcelsius, it can deal with very, very large data sets. Although it does not have all the features of Xcelsius just yet, it is very capable in what it can do. It is also completely HTML5 and will render fine on any modern platform or device.

Compared to Design Studio, I find Xcelsius to be very clumsy and its Flash graphics seem so outdated compared to the crisp, business-like presentation of Design Studio. Not to mention the fact that Design Studio can consume any existing BEx query without any modifications. Also the Eclipse editing environment has a very mature feel to it, is very easy to use and seems really stable (at least so far for us).

Xcelsius (Dashboards) and Design Studio are set to “merge” in the future. If that means that Design Studio gets all the functionality and Xcelsius will be dumped - I’m all for it!

ErikR :new_zealand: (BOB member since 2007-01-10)

#4

Hi Erik,

Can we perform all the functionalities of Xcelisus in Design Studio?

In your opinion as a Design Studio and Xcelsius developer, which tool is good for dashboarding in both Xcelsius and Design Studio?

rbogireddy :india: (BOB member since 2011-06-13)

#5

Yes. We can develop dashboards using Design Studio on non SAP Backend from version 1.2 onwards.

There is an option to connect to .Unx universes from Design Studio 1.2, so we can develop them on relational databases too

Naveen.SAP (BOB member since 2012-11-16)

#6

[quote:44b2790c7c=“Naveen.SAP”]Yes. We can develop dashboards using Design Studio on non SAP Backend from version 1.2 onwards.
There is an option to connect to .Unx universes from Design Studio 1.2, so we can develop them on relational databases too
[/quote]

Xcelsius and Design Studio both have their own positives and negatives. But at this point of time since SAP has stopped investing in developing Xcelsius and started promoting Design Studio as the dashboarding tool, it’s definitely a better option to start building your dashboards with design studio if you can.

Naveen.SAP (BOB member since 2012-11-16)

#7

It is mentioned above and in some other places that Design Studio is able to connect to relational sources from version 1.2 on. Well, I have installed this version and I don’t find a way to do so.

In the tool’s help, it says: “SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio 1.2 only supports universe access for BI Platform 4.1.” and further more that “With SAP Business Objects Design Studio 1.2, only single source, relational .unx universes on Microsoft SQL or Sybase IQ as underlying database are supported.”

My problem is that even these strong limitations don’t seem to be right: We have a 4.1 Platform and I created a single source UNX based on MS SQL Server 2012 and am still unable to chose this as a source. The only options seem to remain BW and HANA. Can anyone share his experience on this subject with me?

Thanks,

Frank

heckerf (BOB member since 2004-08-24)

#8

Just grabbing at straws:
Are you on 4.1 SP2? Are you using ODBC or OLE for your UNX to database connection? Does the unx work in Webi? …

Andreas :de: (BOB member since 2002-06-20)

#9

[quote]Just grabbing at straws:
Are you on 4.1 SP2? Are you using ODBC or OLE for your UNX to database connection? Does the unx work in Webi?[/quote]

Yes, we are on 4.1 SP2. Connection was made using ODBC (because that was described as the way to do it for HANA). And yes, the connection works fine in WebI, which - as a side note - really impresses me on its mobile version now.

heckerf (BOB member since 2004-08-24)

#10

Try to change Preferred Startup Mode at Design Studio:

  1. Open Design Studio
  2. Go to Tools -> Preferences -> Application Design -> General -> Preferred Startup Mode. Choose “SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform”.
  3. Click OK.
  4. Close Studio Design.
  5. Open Studio Design and type Web service URL where the universes are stored.

Note: add on (DS_BIP_ADD_ON) must be installed on BI server.

Rozina :slovenia: (BOB member since 2006-03-29)

#11

Thanks Rozina,

This has worked … :slight_smile:

I have been searching all over just to find how to connect to a Universe from Design Studio

FrikkieNagel (BOB member since 2006-12-20)