general_concepts_en.pdf

SAP Business ByDesign

SAP BUSINESS BYDESIGNGENERAL CONCEPTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 General Concepts ......................................................... 4

2 Working with User Interfaces ....................................... 52.1 Quick Guide for Working Efficiently with SAP Business ByDesign User Interface 5

2.2 SAP Business ByDesign User Interface (UI) Concepts .......................................... 7

2.3 Navigate SAP Business ByDesign User Interfaces with Keyboard .......................... 9

2.4 Print a Screen ....................................................................................................... 11

3 Working with Business Documents .............................. 133.1 Output Management ............................................................................................ 13

3.2 Output History .................................................................................................... 14

3.3 Document Flow ................................................................................................... 16

3.4 Attachments and Notes ........................................................................................ 22

4 Business Task Management .......................................... 244.1 Business Task Management .................................................................................. 24

4.2 Working with Tasks, Notifications, and Alerts ..................................................... 29

4.3 Working with Clarification Requests ................................................................... 31

4.4 Dates and Deadlines in Business Task Management ............................................. 33

4.5 Business Task Management Configuration .......................................................... 34

4.6 Manually Created Task Types .............................................................................. 35

4.6.1 Task: Manually Created Tasks ............................................................................. 35

4.6.2 Notification: Manually Created Notifications ...................................................... 36

4.6.3 Alert: Manually Created Alert ............................................................................. 37

4.6.4 Clarification: Manually Created Clarification Requests ....................................... 38

5 Analytics ...................................................................... 395.1 Overview of Analytics .......................................................................................... 39

5.2 Reports View ....................................................................................................... 41

5.3 Working with Reports in a Web Browser .............................................................. 43

5.4 Working with Reports and Plans in Microsoft Excel ............................................. 46

5.5 Working with Selections ...................................................................................... 52

6 Communication and Information Exchange ................ 556.1 Using the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft Excel .............................. 55

SAP Business ByDesignTable Of Contents

PUBLIC • © 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. • 2

6.2 Mashups and Web Services ................................................................................... 56

6.3 SAP Collaboration Window ................................................................................. 57

6.3.1 SAP Collaboration Window Quick Guide ............................................................ 57

6.3.2 Uploading Scanned Supplier Invoices Using Automatic Upload Service .............. 68

6.4 Microsoft Outlook Integration ............................................................................ 69

6.4.1 Business Background ........................................................................................... 69

6.4.1.1 Microsoft Outlook Integration Security Advice and Troubleshooting Guide ...... 69

6.4.2 Quick Guide for Microsoft Outlook Integration ................................................. 71

7 Personalizing SAP Business ByDesign ........................... 797.1 Personalization Quick Guide ............................................................................... 79

7.2 Personalizing My Settings .................................................................................... 81

7.3 Personalize My Background Image ...................................................................... 82

7.4 Personalizing the Overview View ......................................................................... 83

7.5 Personalizing Navigation ..................................................................................... 86

7.6 Using Sticky Notes ............................................................................................... 87

8 Incidents ....................................................................... 898.1 Solve a Problem or Report an Incident ................................................................ 89

8.2 Working with Incidents ....................................................................................... 92

SAP Business ByDesignTable Of Contents


1 GENERAL CONCEPTS

In this section, you can find more information about topics that are used across all business areas and work centersin SAP Business ByDesign.

FeaturesGeneral Concepts contains the following sections:

• Working with User Interfaces • Working with Business Documents • Business Task Management • Analytics • Communication and Information Exchange • Personalizing SAP Business ByDesign • Incidents Overview

SAP Business ByDesignGeneral Concepts


2 WORKING WITH USER INTERFACES

2.1 QUICK GUIDE FOR WORKING EFFICIENTLY WITH SAP BUSINESSBYDESIGN USER INTERFACEThis document provides you with a few useful tips and tricks that help you to work more efficiently with SAPBusiness ByDesign user interfaces. You can apply these tips and tricks in all work centers of your SAP BusinessByDesign solution.

Note that you should be familiar with SAP Business ByDesign solution before you explore the functions mentionedin this document.

User Interface Concepts

Screen Layout and Navigation PrinciplesAll SAP Business ByDesign screens are designed to provide you a simple and intuitive user interface and bring tasksand required actions to you. All business processes, business documents, and technical implementation are inte-grated seamlessly in the SAP Business ByDesign user interfaces. For more information, see here.

Keyboard NavigationYou can use the keyboard to reach active screen elements and use the associated functionality in the SAP BusinessByDesign solution. For more information, see here.

Tips and Tricks

Searching and Filtering in WorklistsThe search and filter functions within SAP Business ByDesign make it easy for you to find the information you need.

For more information, see here.

Create Your Own Queries in Worklists1. In the toolbar of the worklist, click Advanced.

2. In the advanced search screen, enter the search criteria that you want to save as a query.

3. In the toolbar of the advanced search result list, click Save Query .

4. In the Query Name field, enter the name of the query.

5. Select the Execute Query on Selection checkbox.

6. To set this query as the default query of the worklist, select the Use as Default Query checkbox.

7. To save this query in the worklist, click Ok .The query is displayed in the Show drop-down box in the toolbar of the worklist.

You can organize your queries by clicking Organize Queries in the toolbar of the advanced searchresult list. For example, you can set a new default query or delete one of your own queries.

Hide/Show a Column in Tables1. Select This Screen from the Personalize menu in the screen that you want to personalize. The personalize

panel opens.

SAP Business ByDesignWorking with User Interfaces


2. In the Screen Layout section of the personalize panel, in the Sections table, select the screen section thatcorresponds to the table that you want to personalize.In the List of Fields table, all visible and hidden columns in the table are displayed.

3. To hide a column in the table, deselect the Visible checkbox of the column.To show a column in the table, select the Visible checkbox of the column.

4. To save your changes to the current screen, click Save and close the personalize panel.

Do a Quick Sum with Tables1. From the Personalize menu of the screen where the table that you want to personalize is located, select This

Screen. The personalize panel opens.

2. In the Screen Layout section of the personalize panel, in the Sections table, select the screen section thatcorresponds to the table.In the List of Fields table, all visible and hidden columns in the table are displayed.

3. If the table contains values, for example, the total net value of a purchase order, you can configure calculationsettings by clicking Configure Calculations.

Note that if the table does not contain calculations, the list of columns in this dialog box isempty.

4. In the Configure Calculations dialog box, select a column that you want to calculate and choose Sum fromthe calculation method dropdown list.

5. To display the result row of calculations at the top of the table, select the Display Result Rows at Top ofTable checkbox.

6. To save your changes to the current screen, click Save and close the personalize panel.The table reloads the data and displays the calculation results. The calculation result section is marked in yellow.

When you filter the data in the table, the table calculates the sum of the filtered results.

Use Tri-state Checkboxes in Advanced SearchA tri-state checkbox allows you to select from three options. When used in an advanced search, a tri-state checkboxindicates that there is a joint state for your search options, besides include and exclude states. This joint state of thecheckbox is displayed as X.

For example, when you are in the Payment Monitor work center view of the Payment Management work center,for the advanced search of the Payment Monitor worklist, you have the following three options with an ExternalTransactions tri-state checkbox:

• If you select the External Transactions tri-state checkbox as a checkmark (V), the search result displays onlyexternal payment transactions;

• If you select the External Transactions tri-state checkbox as a cross (X), the search result displays externaland internal payment transactions;

• If you deselect the External Transactions tri-state checkbox, the search result displays only internal paymenttransactions.

Mark Business Documents with Sticky NotesYou can use sticky notes to add your own notes and comments to a business document that you are working on.You also can define key words as sticky notes for business documents and search these key words in the SAP BusinessByDesign Enterprise Search. It helps you find these business documents quickly and share them with other userseasily.



1. From the screen where the business document that you want to mark is located, on the top right corner, clickthe sticky note icon.

2. In the Private Note window, enter your key words for the business document.By default, the sticky note is saved as a private note. A private note is not visible to other users. To allow otherusers to view and search for your sticky note, you should make your sticky note public.

3. Mark other business documents with the same key words if needed.

4. To find the marked business documents, go to SAP Business ByDesign Enterprise Search and search with thekey words you have defined for the business documents.The documents that are marked with these key words are available in the result list. You can click a documentand display the business document.

For more information about Sticky Notes, see here.

For more information about SAP Business ByDesign Enterprise Search, see here.

Adapt SAP Business ByDesign to Your Personal StyleTo personalize the order of the work centers in the navigation area, you can drag a work center with the mouseand drop it between two work centers. You can also add work center views and tasks that you use the most to theHome work center. This helps you to quickly access work center views and common tasks without navigating toindividual work centers.

For more information about Personalization, see here.

E-mail or Phone from SAP Business ByDesignYou can email or phone a contact from SAP Business ByDesign. You can also use the Collaboration Window tocommunicate with your business partners.

Note that you need Microsoft Outlook or a telephony integration solution to use these collaboration functions.

For more information about the Collaboration Window, see here.

2.2 SAP BUSINESS BYDESIGN USER INTERFACE (UI) CONCEPTS

OverviewSAP Business ByDesign screens allow you to identify and to complete your tasks easily and quickly. All SAP BusinessByDesign screens are designed to provide you a simple and intuitive user interface and bring tasks and requiredactions to you. All business processes, business documents, and technical implementation are integrated seamlesslyin the SAP Business ByDesign user interfaces.

Screen LayoutA SAP Business ByDesign screen consists of the following areas:



Screen Layout of a SAP Business ByDesign Screen

1. Title bar: The top area of the user interface where the system displays user information, personalize menu, adaptmenu, help menu, and the log-off option.

2. Navigation area: An area of the screen that enables the user to navigate from one work center or work centerview to another.

3. Taskbar: The left-side bar where you can find the enterprise search and common tasks.

4. Infobar: The right-side bar that provides access to contextual information about the current screen.

5. Content area: The area of the application window for performing user tasks. The content area is visible on everypage and changes when the user navigates from one page to another.A content area is further divided into sections. The layout of these screen sections varies depending on thebusiness content of the screen and the typical tasks you perform on the screen:

Type of Views Sections (From Top to Bottom)

Overview view of a work center Quick links and embedded reports

Work center view A worklist and a detail section

Business document Title, basic information, actions, and business data sections

Editor Title, basic information, actions, and business data sections

Quick activity screen Title, actions, and business data sections

Guided activity screen Title, basic information, steps, actions, and business data sections

6. Navigation bar: Work center and work center view navigation menu is displayed at the bottom of the screen.You change between opened windows using tabbed navigation here.

You can also personalize your screens with your preferences or your company’s needs.

Navigation PrinciplesIn SAP Business ByDesign, the following navigation principles help you to identify and complete your business tasks:

• Push PrincipleSAP Business ByDesign solution pushes relevant information to you so that you can complete your daily work.The system delivers this information in the form of tasks, alerts, and notifications to your inbox.For more information about the Inbox view of the Home work center, see here.

• Pull Principle



You can pull relevant information from the SAP Business ByDesign solution. You can access more relevantinformation from any screen in the system. • From a worklist, you can search, filter, and sort to locate a business document. You can then click the link

to open the overview of the business document. You can also change the business document by clickingEdit in the toolbar of the worklist.

• From a business document overview, you can click Edit to open the editor screen or a quick activity. Youcan also click View All to open the editor screen.

• From any screen, you can access information of a related business document by clicking the respective link.For example, from a purchase order document, you can access overview information of a supplier by clickingthe link of the supplier.

• Collaboration PrincipleYou can use other applications from the SAP Business ByDesign solution. You can e-mail or call a businesspartner from the system. • From a SAP Business ByDesign screen, to email a contact using Microsoft Outlook, you can click on the e-

mail address of the contact to open Microsoft Outlook. Note that you need Microsoft Outlook to use thiscollaboration function.

• From a SAP Business ByDesign screen, to phone a contact, you can click the telephone number of thecontact. Note that you need a telephony integration solution and the Collaboration Window to use thiscollaboration function.

• From the Collaboration Window, you can communicate with business partners using communicationchannels such as e-mail. You can also find business context information relevant to a business partner andworkflow. Note that you need to install the Collaboration Window to use these collaboration functions.For more information about the Collaboration Window, see here.

2.3 NAVIGATE SAP BUSINESS BYDESIGN USER INTERFACES WITHKEYBOARD

OverviewThe SAP Business ByDesign solution aims to comply with the keyboard standards of your operating system. Youcan use the keyboard to reach active screen elements and use the associated functionality in the SAP BusinessByDesign solution.

Note that certain functions described in this document may be blocked by your Web browser. For more information,refer to SAPNotes 1577875.

To print this document, press CTRL + P.

Navigation FocusThe focus is the user interface element that receives the input from the keyboard. You can move the focus usingthe keyboard or mouse.

You have the following initial focus in the SAP Business ByDesign solution:

• After you log on to the system, your focus is on the Home work center in the navigation area. • After you open a work center, the focus is on the navigation area. You can press TAB to move the focus to the

content area. You can also press F6 to first go to the Taskbar and then to the content area. • When you access the content area, the focus is usually on the first selectable item. For example, when you are

in the content area of an Overview view, the focus is on the expand/collapse tray of the first section, which isusually, the Quick Links section.

In addition, when you access the content area, you should be aware of the following situations:

• Read-only fields can have the initial focus. • Active tabs do not always have the initial focus. • Add-on solutions do not have the initial focus.



http://service.sap.com/~form/handler?_APP=01100107900000000342&_EVENT=REDIR&_NNUM=1577875&_NLANG=en&_NVERS=0

Navigation KeysYou can use the following hot keys to navigate the SAP Business ByDesign user interface (UI):

Tasks Hot Keys

Advance to the next UI element. TAB

Go back to the last UI element. SHIFT+TAB

Skip to the next UI section. F6

Go back to the last UI section. SHIFT+F6

Open a link. SPACEBAR

Trigger the default action of a fieldor button; open a link.

ENTER

Move between options in a drop-down list or in a group of options,such as quick links.

Arrow keys

If you are using the Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can use CTRL+TAB instead of F6, and CTRL+SHIFT+TAB instead of SHIFT+F6.

Function KeysYou can use the following hot keys to use certain functions in the SAP Business ByDesign solution:

For keyboard shortcuts that contain two or more keys, the keys are separated by a plus sign (+). You shouldpress these keys simultaneously and let go of the last key first.

Tasks Hot Keys

Save your data and close the screen. CTRL + W

Save your data. CTRL + S

Close the screen. CTRL + Q

Refresh the worklist. CTRL + R

Open basic or advanced find in theworklist.

CTRL + G

Open filter in the worklist. CTRL + H

Add a new row in the worklist. CTRL + INSERT

Delete a row in the worklist. CTRL + DELETE

Expand a group in the hierarchy list. CTRL + +

Collapse a group in the hierarchylist.

CTRL + -

View all information in a businessdocument.

SHIFT + CTRL + A

Log off. SHIFT + CTRL + Q

Open the work center and work cen-ter view navigation menu.

WIN+S

ExamplesLog on the System



1. In the User field of the logon screen, enter your user ID. Press TAB to advance to the next field.

2. In the Password field, enter your password. Press TAB.

3. In the Language field, select a language with DOWN ARROW or UP ARROW.

4. To log on to the system, press ENTER.

Open a Worklist

1. To select a work center you want to access, from the Home work center, press RIGHT ARROW or LEFTARROW.

You can also open the work center menu in the navigation area and use UP ARROW and DOWNARROW to choose a work center.

2. To open the Overview of the work center, press ENTER.

3. To locate a worklist, in the Quick Links section, press TAB.

4. To open the worklist, press ENTER.

To select a work center view you want to access, from the work center in the navigation area, press DOWNARROW to open the work center view list and press DOWN ARROW again to locate the work center viewthat you want to open.

Open a Business Document from a Worklist

1. In the worklist, press TAB to move to the table section.

You can also press F6 to jump to the next UI section in the worklist. A worklist usually consistsof three sections: Show and Find, Group By and action buttons, and a table that contains linksto your business documents.

2. To locate the row you want to access, in the table, press DOWN ARROW or UP ARROW.

3. To locate the business document you want to access, in the row, press TAB.

4. To open the business document, press ENTER.

2.4 PRINT A SCREEN

You can print screens that summarize important read-only details of your business partners or business transactions.

You can print from any printer that is connected to your computer. You can also mark the print file with a pen ora highlighter to indicate important data on the overview screen. This helps you to record or exchange informationeasily and quickly.

Procedure1. Go to the overview screen that you want to print and choose a section if applicable.

2. Click Print .

3. In the Print Preview screen under Tools, you have the following options:

• To write down your comment or cross out some data on the print screen, click Pen . • To mark the data that you want to emphasize on the print screen, click Highlighter . • To remove the pen and highlighter marks, click Eraser .

You can also adjust the thickness of the pen and highlighter.

4. Adjust other settings as needed.

5. Click Print .



ExampleKate Jacob works as a sales representative at Akron Heating Technologies Inc. Next week, she plans to visit a customer.During the visit, Kate needs to verify some information about a currently open opportunity with the main contactat the customer site. She wants to bring a printout of the opportunity.

Kate opens the Opportunity List view under Opportunities in the New Business work center. She clicks op-portunity 704 and the overview for opportunity 704 opens. She then clicks Print .

On the Print Preview screen, Kate adjusts the size of the print page to allow all content to fit on one page. Shechecks Footer and then Date and Time to display date and time information on the page. Kate clicks

Highlighter to mark the main contact and clicks Pen to cross out the Forecast section because she does not wantthe contact to see this information.

Kate clicks Print , and the overview for opportunity 704 is printed from her local printer.



3 WORKING WITH BUSINESS DOCUMENTS

3.1 OUTPUT MANAGEMENT

OverviewOutput management comprises all activities related to the output of documents in print, e-mail, or fax format.Form-based documents can be output on an ad hoc basis or as an integrated part of a business process.

• Ad hoc output is generated when a user previews a document in Adobe Reader and either prints a paper copyor saves an electronic copy of the document in portable document format (PDF). This type of output does notrequire any configuration and can take place at any time.

• Process-integrated output means that the output of a document is triggered and performed by the system aspart of a business process. For example, a purchase order is created by an employee and sent to his or her managerfor approval. On approval by the manager, the document is sent automatically to the output channel definedin the output settings of the document. This could be print, e-mail, or fax. Default output settings and outputchannel and form template rules can be created by key users to define how a particular document is output bythe system.

For each document in your solution, SAP provides a preconfigured output scenario allowing either ad hoc and/orprocess-integrated output.

This document describes form-based output only. Note that it is also possible to print a screen using thePrint button when viewing a business document or object. For more information, see Print a Screen.

This document does not describe communication arrangements or file input runs. For more information,see the Communication Arrangements Quick Guide and the File Input Quick Guide.

Ad Hoc OutputUsers can display any form-based document in Adobe Reader by clicking the Preview button while viewing orediting the document. A PDF file of the document is displayed and can be viewed, printed or saved using the integratedAdobe Reader functions. If the document being previewed has been configured for use with process-integratedoutput, the PDF file contains a watermark to indicate that the document is a draft version. This ensures that thefinal copy of the document can only be output by the system and not manually. Note that some business processessuch as shopping carts or knowledge base articles only support output using the Preview button.

Process-Integrated OutputProcess-integrated output ensures that the documents sent to your business partners only contain complete andapproved data as part of a defined business process. It also allows the output history of the document to be tracked.

The process-integrated output of a document is triggered, for example, when a document is released by the docu-ment owner or when a manager has approved the document. This process varies depending on the underlyingbusiness process configuration. When the output of a document is triggered, the system uses the output settings ofthe document to determine which output channel and form template to use when creating the document. De-pending on the defined output channel, the document is either sent to a print queue, e-mailed as a PDF attachment,or sent by fax. The appearance and content of the document is defined by a form template. For each businessdocument type, a default output channel and form template can be configured by the key user. The employeeresponsible for a document can override the default settings of the document prior to submission.

For more information about the configuration of process-integrated output, see Process-Integrated Output Settings.

SAP Business ByDesignWorking with Business Documents


Output ChannelsThe following output channels are supported:

• Print QueuesPrint queues are used to collect documents to be printed either automatically by the system or manually by auser. For more information about the printing concept, see Process-Integrated Printing.

• E-MailThe system generates the document as a PDF file and e-mails it as an attachment to your business partner’s e-mail address. E-mail output settings are configured during go live and can be changed in the Business Con-figuration work center using the E-Mail and Fax Output Settings activity in the Fine Tune phase of theactivity list. For more information, see E-Mail and Fax Output Settings.

• FaxThe system generates the document as a PDF file and sends the document as an e-mail to a fax service provider,which converts the content and sends it to your business partner’s fax number. Fax settings are configuredduring go live and can be changed in the Business Configuration work center using the E-Mail and FaxOutput Settings activity in the Fine Tune phase of the activity list. For more information, see E-Mail and FaxOutput Settings.

AttachmentsYou can choose whether attachments should be included when a business document is output. You can do thiseither when adding the attachment to the business document or by adjusting the output settings of a businessdocument that already has attachments. For documents that are going to be printed, note that the SAP Print Managerand the Collaboration Window can only print PDF attachments. For documents that are going to be e-mailed orsent by fax, all types of attachments can be included.

For business documents that are output on an ad hoc basis using the Preview button, this means that the attach-ments will be made available in the Preview screen for the business document. For business documents that areoutput as process-integrated output, the attachment is automatically added to the e-mail or fax, or, for printing, itis automatically sent to the defined print queue.

ExampleA sales employee has created and released a sales order. The system determines from the output settings of thedocument that the document should be sent by e-mail to the customer. The system creates a PDF file using theform template defined in the output settings, and then sends the PDF as an e-mail attachment to the customer. Ifno error is returned by the mail server, the output status is recorded as “Successful” in the . Output History tabof the sales order editor.

See AlsoProcess-Integrated Output Settings

Process-Integrated Printing

Forms

Output History

3.2 OUTPUT HISTORY

OverviewWhen a business document is output from the system as process-integrated output, a record of each output is storedin the document's output history. You can view the Output History tab when editing a business document.



Viewing Document DetailsYou can check the output history to see whether a document has been output successfully. The . Output History tab shows which output channel was used (the Sent By column), the status of the transmission,and the time and date the document was submitted. You can also view recipient details, the document content,and any attachments that were sent to the recipient. Click the link in the Document Name column to view thedocument. Note that if a document was output as a printed copy, then attachments are not printed.

A document can have the following output statuses:

• In ProcessThe document has been sent to the defined output channel but a status has not yet been returned.

• ErrorAn error was reported by the output channel to which the document was sent.

• SuccessfulThe output channel has reported that the output was successful or the status has been manually set to successfulby a user. For example, if the document was printed manually.Note that this status does not guarantee that the output has successfully reached its destination. This cannotbe guaranteed because there are many other steps in the delivery chain that could fail and which do notnecessarily report an error. Here, successful means that the document output has been successfully deliveredto the next component in the delivery chain.

Resubmitting a DocumentIf you need to resend a document for any reason, for example, a business partner has received a paper copy of adocument by mail but wants to also receive an electronic copy by e-mail, you can resubmit the document. To dothis, click Resubmit and adjust the output settings. You can also specify that the resubmitted document shouldcontain a watermark to show that it is a duplicate.

Retention PeriodsIn the Retained Until column, you can view the end date of the business document's retention period. Theretention period is the period of time for which the output record is retained in the output history. For moreinformation, see Document Retention Periods.

Error HandlingIf an error has occurred, click the link in the Status column to navigate directly to the Output Errors screen,where you can deal with the error. You will also have received an output error task in your inbox. To access yourinbox, navigate to the Home work center, Work view, Inbox subview. For more information about handling outputerrors, see Task - Solve Output Error.

If the status is shown as Error but you have already solved the problem, you can manually set the output status tosuccessful.

On the . Output History tab, key users can download the XML data for the selected document output.This can then be used as sample data for form adaptation.

See AlsoOutput Management



3.3 DOCUMENT FLOW

OverviewThe system stores the data of every step in an operational business process in the form of a document, for example,an opportunity, a sales quote, a sales order, an outbound delivery, or a customer invoice. Since the steps of thebusiness processes are often based on previous steps, the documents are likewise based on one another and thusform a consecutive document chain.

To monitor and analyze this document chain, every document offers a document flow which is a graphical repre-sentation of the document chain.

The initial view of the document flow highlights the document from which you start the display. It displays docu-ments preceding or following the highlighted document.

To view the overview of a specified business document, click the corresponding ID.

Example of a document flow

Explanation of Icons

Switches view to the document flow for the anchor document.

The following documents are not part of the document flow:

• Additional follow-up documents of a preceding document



• Additional preceding documents of a follow-up document

To display these documents, you must switch to the document flow to the respective document by choosing theanchor icon of the document. When you switch the anchor document, the respective document is highlighted inorange.

You can switch to the original anchor document by clicking Return to Initial View .

Opens the related output document that was successfully submitted.

Indicates that the business document has been submitted as a portable document format (pdf) file.



Opens the corresponding list of open business task items.

When you click the icon, a list of the business task management items related to the specified business documentare displayed, along with the employee responsible and the processor. You can view the details by clicking thebusiness task management item.

Opens the corresponding journal entry in Financial Accounting.



Indicates that the document led to a journal entry in Financial Accounting. For more information, see DocumentFlow into Financial Accounting.

Icons Related to Errors

Opens error details for data transfer between documents.

Indicates that there are errors related to incoming and outgoing data.

Opens error details for incoming data.



Indicates that a document cannot process an update sent by another document. In most cases, the update is sentby the preceding document.

Goods and services receipt 854 cannot process an update sent by a purchase order

Opens error details for outgoing data.

Indicates that a document cannot create or update another document. In most cases, the follow-up document isthe document that cannot be created or updated.

Purchase order 1234 cannot update goods and services receipt 854

Further Information Related to Error IconsWhen you click an icon related to an error, the system displays a list of errors related to the specified businessdocument, along with to whom the error has been addressed. Errors are addressed in one of the following ways:

• As TaskIf the error can be solved by a business user, the system creates a task and addresses it to a business user. If thisis the case, a list of the business tasks related to the specified business document are displayed, along with theemployee responsible and the processor. You can view the task details by clicking the task.

• As IncidentIf the error cannot be solved by a business user, the system creates an incident and addresses it to your serviceprovider.

Adjusting the DisplayYou can switch to an Extended View in the Show field to display additional documents, such as appointments oractivity tasks. Note that additional documents can be from other business areas. For example, preceding or follow-up documents of purchasing or sourcing documents in Supplier Relationship Management can be from SupplyChain Management or from Financial Management.

You can zoom in or out by clicking the following icons:



Zoom In

Zoom Out

You can select a part of the document flow to view by clicking the following icon:



Toggle Navigation Window

If the document flow does not fit on your screen, and you want to view a certain part of the document flow, clickthe hand icon to open the Navigation Window. You can then select the part of the document flow you want toview.

You can refresh the document flow by choosing Refresh .

See AlsoSolve Issue in Business Documents

Business Task Management

3.4 ATTACHMENTS AND NOTES

OverviewUsers can add notes and attachments to business documents. For example, when designing a product, users canstore information specific to a particular material used by adding attachments and notes.

AttachmentsFrom within a business document, users can store attachments, for example, product drafts or specifications. Theseattachments can be viewed, downloaded, deleted, or replaced by other users. When you are working on an document,you can lock attachments to indicate this to colleagues and temporarily disable the replace and delete functions.

Attachments can be locked or unlocked by any user.



When you add an attachment to a business document, you can specify whether the attachment should be includedwhen the document is sent to business partners. For documents that are going to be printed, note that the SAPPrint Manager and the Collaboration Window can only print PDF attachments. For documents that are going tobe e-mailed or sent by fax, all types of attachments can be included.

NotesTo record information specific to a business document or object, users can add notes. You can add notes and viewthe notes history on the Notes tab. You can also edit notes you have entered, or notes entered by colleagues,depending on the note category.

Notes can also be stored in several languages, for example, to store a material description in German, Spanish, French,Italian, or Chinese.

You can also add a sticky note to selected business documents by choosing the Add Note icon. For moreinformation, see Using Sticky Notes.



4 BUSINESS TASK MANAGEMENT

4.1 BUSINESS TASK MANAGEMENT

OverviewBusiness Task Management (BTM) ensures that activities related to a business process within or across your organ-ization are completed in order to fulfill defined business objectives. Using BTM, the system addresses work to usersand enables them to receive, manage, and complete business task management items related to a business processin an efficient way. The system creates business task management items when it requires input from a user about arelated business document. These items are created so that users check, change, clarify information, complete items,or make a decision as part of a business process.

Categories of Business Task Management ItemsEach business task management item is created according to a predefined task type in the system. The task typedefines a set of properties for the business task management item, such as the category, related business documenttype, priority, work distribution, and deadlines. The system creates BTM items based on one of the following tasktype categories.

Task

A unit of work assigned to a user or to a group of users.

SAP Business ByDesignBusiness Task Management


Alert

A task with the highest available priority that requires immediate user action.

Notification

An informative item that typically requires no user action.



Clarifications

A manually created task used when one user asks another user for more information about a related businessdocument or BTM item along with the reply to the request; a flexible question and answer process.



Automated Task

A technical task used to perform an action on a business document. It is created automatically when triggered bya preceding business document in the process. No input from any user is needed since the only input required isthe output from the preceding business process. Automated tasks do not appear in the worklists of business users.

Use Cases for Business Task Management Items

NotificationsA notification is sent to a user to inform him or her of preceding process steps which have been carried out in thesystem or special milestones that have been reached in a business process. Neither the user nor the system has toperform any activity to keep the business process running. Notifications always appear in the user’s Inbox subview,located in the Work view of the Home work center.

If notifications are acknowledged by the user, they are removed from the user's inbox. If the user does not ac-knowledge them, they expire after a specified amount of time. An example of a notification is Leave RequestApproval Notification.

ChecksA check task is created to inform a user to check that the preceding business process performed as expected. Theconfiguration in the system does not allow this kind of item to be suppressed. These tasks may need to be completedmanually. Check tasks appear in users’ worklists as tasks. An example of a check task is Deviating Purchase OrderAcknowledgment Check.

EscalationsAn escalation task is created to involve a more senior employee in a business process if deadlines are endangered.The business process is not interrupted by the escalation since it is created in addition to the original task. Once theoriginal task is completed, the escalation closes automatically. Escalations can appear in all task lists and are usuallyassigned to more senior employees. Escalation tasks can be identified in the system based on their subject startingwith Escalation: or Overdue:. An example of an escalation task is Overdue: Complete Compensation Data.



DecisionsA decision task is created when there are at least two alternatives possible to continue a business process. The systemrequires a decision from the user and waits for the decision before continuing the business process. Decision tasksusually appear in the users’ work center worklist. They are automatically closed once the relevant changes are madeto the business document to which the task refers. In contrast to clarifications, change, or completion tasks, decisiontasks only allow users to execute specific actions for the current decision, but do not give the user access to editother attributes of the related business document.

Approval tasks are a type of decision task used in approval scenarios. An example of an approval task is Leave RequestApproval.

Clarification TaskThe system creates clarification tasks when the business process is interrupted if the available data for the subsequentprocess step does not match the requirements. For example, if a mandatory field is not filled in correctly. The systemcreates a clarification task to inform the user to check the data. Clarification tasks typically appear in work centerworklists. They are automatically closed once the relevant changes are made to the business document to whichthe task refers. An example of a clarification task is Supplier Invoice Exceptions Clarification.

ChangesA change task is created if the data required to execute a subsequent business process step is available but needs tobe changed. Change tasks usually appear in the user’s work center worklists. They are automatically closed oncethe relevant changes are made to the business document to which the task refers. An example of a change task isto resolve product data inconsistency in a purchase request.

Revision tasks are a type of change task used in approval scenarios. An example of a revision task is Shopping CartRevision.

CompletionsA completion task is created if the data required to execute a subsequent business process step is correct but in-complete and therefore needs to be completed. Completion tasks typically appear in the user’s work center worklists.They are automatically closed once the relevant changes are made to the business document to which the taskrefers. An example of a completion task is Purchase Order Completion.

Assigning Business Task Management ItemsIn SAP Business ByDesign, business processes are automated as much as possible. Remaining work that requiresusers to interact with the system is assigned automatically to the determined persons responsible.

The system uses the exception-based working model to assign BTM items to users and provides users with worklists.This ensures that business documents that require user action are pushed into the user’s focus based on predefinedexceptions to the automated process.

To assign BTM items to users, the system distributes the workload based on the following:

• The type of business task management item. • Work distribution defined during organizational setup. • Any defined employee work distribution rules. • The access rights of the user.

For more information, see Work Distribution.

A work center worklist displays all items assigned to the user. Work centers, including the Home work center,provide the user with an overview of the workload for the business context of the work center. The system prioritizestasks within a worklist, giving users guidance in their daily work on which task should be completed first.



Processing Business Task Management ItemsAfter business task management items have been assigned, users process the items to ensure the flow of the businessprocess.

For more information, see:

Working with Tasks, Notifications, and Alerts

Working with Clarification Requests

Tasks can be completed either automatically based on defined business logic or manually by users.

• Automatic CompletionMost tasks are defined with an automatic completion condition related to the defined business logic. Once thedefined condition is reached, the status of the task is automatically set to Completed.For example, when a manager receives an open Leave Request Approval task, the manager typically approvesthe leave request; the status of the leave request is set to Approved. When the manager approves the leaverequest, the task is automatically closed, and status of the task is set to Completed, and the task is removedfrom the manager's worklist.

• Manual CompletionIf an automatic completion condition is not defined, tasks must be manually completed. After performing thenecessary actions on business document related to the task, the user completes the relevant tasks by clickingComplete. This changes the status of the task to Completed and removes the task from the open items list.Users can also view completed tasks. From the Inbox work center view of the Work work center view in theHome work center, choose the Closed Items option from the Show dropdown list .

• Acknowledging NotificationsNotifications are acknowledged rather than completed. Users can acknowledge a notification by clicking Ac-knowledge to indicate that they have read the notification. This changes the status of the notification toAcknowledged and removes it from the worklist.If the notification is addressed to several users, the notification is completed only after all users have acknowl-edged it.If the user does not acknowledge a notification manually, it is removed from the worklist once the expirationdate is reached. Whether a task is completed automatically or manually is predefined and cannot be changedin configuration.

See AlsoDates and Deadlines in Business Task Management

4.2 WORKING WITH TASKS, NOTIFICATIONS, AND ALERTS

OverviewTasks, notifications, and alerts enable you to inform another user about a business document that may requirechecking, changes, or that may need to be completed. You can create tasks, notifications, alerts with reference tobusiness task management items and business documents.

Tasks Created by the SystemWhen the system creates a task, it displays as New in the relevant user’s worklist.

You see business task management items that are associated with the work center views and access rights to whichyou are assigned. You can execute the task by opening the task, clicking the link, or can access the related documentby clicking Edit . You are then assigned as the processor of the task.

If a task is assigned to multiple persons responsible, it stays in the worklists of all persons responsible until it hasbeen completed. The multiple persons responsible can see who has taken over the task for processing.



Statuses of Business Task Managment (BTM) ItemsTasks can have the following statuses: New, In Progress, Completed, and Canceled.

Notifications can have the following statuses: New, In Progress, Acknowledged, Completed, and Canceled.

Alerts can have the following statuses: New, In Progress, Completed, and Canceled.

Manually Creating Tasks, Notifications, and Alerts1. Select the relevant business task management item or business document, click New and choose the cor-

responding option: Task, Notification, or Alert.

2. Fill in the mandatory fields. • In the To field, enter the employee ID or search for the employee using the value help.

Note that you can only enter or select employees who have access rights to the related business documentfor which you create the task, notification, or alert.

• For tasks, enter a date by when you expect a response in the Due Date field.For notifications, enter a date by when the notification is to expire in the Expiry Date field.For alerts, you cannot enter a due date since alerts require immediate action.

• In the Subject field, enter the subject for the task, notification, or alert. The subject is displayed in therecipient's work inbox.

• In the Priority, field set the priority to Low, Medium, High or Very High.For alerts, the priority is set by default to highest available priority, for example, Very High. The defaultcannot be changed.

You can enter the request details on the Notes tab page and add relevant attachments on theAttachments tab page.

3. Send or cancel the task, notification, or alert. • To send the task, notification, or alert, click Save and Close . • To close the screen without saving your changes, click Close .

You can track your tasks, notifications, and alerts from the Work work center view of the Home work center. Inthe Delegated Tasks work center view, from the Show dropdown list, choose Created by Me.

Receiving Tasks, Notifications, and AlertsYou receive manually created tasks, notifications, and alerts in the Work work center view of the Home workcenter. In the Inbox work center subview, from the Show dropdown list, choose Open Items. You can also chooseOpen Tasks, Open Notifications, or Open Alerts accordingly.

Processing Tasks, Notifications, and AlertsTo view the related business document and to make any relevant changes after you have read the detailed instruc-tions in the Description field, click the subject link of the business task management item, or click Edit .

Once you start processing a task, notification, or alert, the status of the task, notification, or alert is set to InProgress.

Tracking Manually Created Tasks, Notifications, and AlertsYou can track the progress of business task management items that you have created from the Work work centerview of the Home work center. In the Delegated Tasks work center view, from the Show dropdown list, chooseCreated by Me.

You can also view all completed tasks from the Work work center view of the Home work center. From theShow dropdown list, choose Closed Items.



Generic Task DetailsTo view the details of the task, choose the Open Details option from the context menu or from Actions .

The details of the task include information, such as the person responsible, process, status, and so on.

The Related Document link launches the screen of the related business document.

The Notes tab page shows the details of the item, and comments entered by the employee who from whom theitem is sent and any previous processors. The Attachments tab page shows any attached documents.

You can also add notes and attachments.

Depending on the task, the following actions are available.

• Change Priority • Forward

Assigns the item to another person for processingNote that you can only forward tasks to employees who have access rights to the related business document ofthe task, notification, or alert.

• Complete • Acknowledge

Notifications are acknowledged rather than completed. • Cancel

If you require further information before you can process the item, you can create a clarification request by clickingNew , and then choosing Clarification Request.

See AlsoBusiness Task Management


4.3 WORKING WITH CLARIFICATION REQUESTS

OverviewClarification requests enable you to request information about business task management items or business docu-ments from another user. You can create clarification requests with reference to business task management itemsand business documents.

Note that creating a clarification request does not affect the flow of the business process. For example, if you createa clarification request about a purchase order, the clarification request does not prevent the purchase order frombeing processed.

Recipients can open clarification requests regardless of whether they have access to the related business documentor task.

When you create a clarification request, it displays as New in the relevant user’s worklist. When the recipientprocesses the clarification request, the status of clarification request changes to In Clarification.

Clarification requests can have the following statuses: New, In Clarification, Clarified, and Completed.

Creating Clarification Requests1. Select the relevant business task management item or business document, click New and choose Clarifi-

cation Request.

2. Fill in the mandatory fields. • In the To field, enter the employee ID or search for the employee using the value help. • In the Due Date field, enter a date by when you expect a response. The default is three days from the current

date.



• In the Subject field, enter the subject for the clarification request. The subject is displayed in the recipient'swork inbox. By default, the Subject field is either filled with the name of the business task managementitem for which you require clarification, or is blank if the clarification request is for a business document.However, you can change the default.

• In the Priority, field set the priority to Low, Medium, High or Very High. By default, the priority is set toMedium.

You can enter the request details on the Notes tab page and add relevant attachments on theAttachments tab page.

3. Send or cancel the clarification request. • To send the clarification request, click Save and Close . • To close the screen without saving your changes, click Close .

You can track your clarification requests from the Work work center view of the Home work center. In theDelegated Tasks work center subview, from the Show dropdown list, choose Created by Me.

Responding to Clarification RequestsYou receive clarification requests in the Work work center view of the Home work center. In the Inbox workcenter subview, from the Show dropdown list, choose either Open Items or Open Clarifications.

Once you start processing a clarification request, the status of the clarification is set to In Clarification.

1. To begin processing the clarification request, open the details of the clarification or click Edit .The Related Document link launches the screen of the related business document. The Related Task link,which is only displayed if the requestor is referring to a specific task, launches the details of this task.The Notes tab page shows the details of the request, and comments entered by the employee who from whomthe clarification request is sent and any previous processors. The Attachments tab page shows any attacheddocuments.

2. Answer, forward, or close the clarification request. • To answer the clarification request, click Reply .

On the Notes tab page under Internal Comment, you can enter any relevant information or comments.You can also add attachments on the Attachments tab page.

• To assign the request to another person for processing, click Forward .In the To field, enter the employee ID or search for the employee using the value help.You can track your clarification requests from the Work work center view of the Home work center. Inthe Delegated Tasks work center subview, from the Show dropdown list, choose Forwarded by Me.

• To close the screen without saving your changes, click Close .

Receiving Responses to Clarification RequestsThe clarification request has the status Clarified.

1. To view the reply to your clarification request, open the details of the clarification or click Edit . • If you have further questions, you can use Reply to reply to the employee who provided the response. • To forward the clarification request to another user, under Actions , choose Forward.

You can track your clarification requests from the Work work center view of the Home work center. In theDelegated Tasks work center subview, from the Show dropdown list, choose Forwarded by Me.

2. Complete or close the clarification request. • Under Actions , choose Complete. The system then closes the clarification request.

You can track closed clarification requests from the Work work center view of the Home work center.From the Show dropdown list, choose Closed Items.

• To close the screen without saving your changes, click Close .





4.4 DATES AND DEADLINES IN BUSINESS TASK MANAGEMENT

OverviewDates can refer to an aspect of the business task management (BTM) item itself or refer to the referenced businessdocument in the BTM item, such as the start date entered in a leave request.

DatesThe following dates are relevant for business task management items.

• Activation DateThe activation date describes the date on which an item, which may have been created earlier, is activated andappears in the user’s worklist. It is used when a delay occurs between the event that triggers the item and theactual execution of the item. For example, year closing activities are triggered throughout the year, but onlyneed to be performed at year end. Most tasks are activated directly when created and are addressed immediatelyto the user.

• Latest Start DateThe latest start date of an item describes the latest date by which the item needs to change status from New toIn Progress. It can be used, for example, to monitor the initial response time and to trigger further action inthe event that the deadline passes without a change in status.

• Due DateThe due date of an item describes the latest date by which the item needs to be closed or have the status ofCompleted or Canceled.

• Expiry DateThe expiration date of an item describes the date on which items are automatically canceled because the itemis no longer valid or relevant. It is mainly used for notifications.

Deadline ReactionsIf the specific conditions relating to status are not fulfilled by the time a deadline is reached, the following reactionsare possible.

• NoneNo changes are made to the task if the required conditions have not been fulfilled by the deadline.

• Increasing Task PriorityThe priority of the task is set to the next highest level if the required conditions have not been fulfilled by thedeadline. If the default priority for the task is defined as Very High, this option cannot be chosen as deadlinereaction.

• Changing Priority to the HighestThe priority is raised to the highest level if the required conditions have not been fulfilled by the deadline. If thedefault priority for the task is already defined as Very High, this option cannot be chosen as deadline reaction.

• Escalation Task Is CreatedAn escalation task is created in addition to the original task if the required conditions have not been fulfilled bythe deadline. Only task types that are enabled for escalation will allow you to do this. The escalation task containsa link to the original task. The original task remains the responsibility of the current user, and the escalationtask is sent to a more senior employee. In addition to this reaction, the escalation status of the original taskchanges to Escalated. Escalation task types can be closed manually by the recipient of the escalation or areautomatically closed once the original task is closed.




4.5 BUSINESS TASK MANAGEMENT CONFIGURATION

OverviewConfiguration is an optional fine-tuning activity for task types enabled to be configured. Business task management(BTM) optional fine-tuning activities are automatically available as part of your scoped solution. These optionalfine-tuning activities apply to a group of related task types that form part of your dedicated scoped functionality.

Task types are delivered with predefined settings. You cannot create additional task types. Some task types areautomatically included in your scope and cannot be changed. You can however change the attributes of some BTMtask types according to your specific needs, which enables you to empower users to work on the right tasks at theright time. Adjusted deadlines and deadline reactions give transparency and guidance in daily work.

Fine-Tuning Activity DetailsWhen you select a fine-tuning activity for business task management, the task are grouped by process. A processgroup contains all available task types for a specific business context.

When you select a task type from the available task type list, the details of the task type are displayed to the right ofthe list. The details include the task subject and a short explanation of the task. You can find the configurableattributes below.

Configurable AttributesFor configurable task types, you can change the following task type attributes in the relevant BTM fine-tuningactivity.

Activation and DeactivationWhile most task types are always active to ensure process flow in the system, there are some task types, for examplenotifications, which can be activated or deactivated during configuration.

To activate or deactivate a task type, select the task type in the list of available task types in the relevant BTM fine-tuning activity and select or clear the checkbox in the Active column.

Default PriorityThe default priority is the priority a task shows once it is created. You can only configure the default priority of tasktypes for which the priority is not derived from the attributes of the referenced business document.

Available priorities are Very High, High, Medium, and Low.

DatesDates can refer to an aspect of the business task management item itself or refer to the referenced business documentin the BTM item, such as the start date entered in a leave request.

Depending on the type of task, it may be possible to configure specific dates, such as the latest start date, and thesystem reaction to a missed deadline.

Dates can be used to trigger further action in the event that the deadline passes without a change in status.

The following dates are relevant for business task management items.

• Activation DateThe activation date describes the date on which an item, which may have been created earlier, is activated andappears in the user’s worklist. It is used when a delay occurs between the event that triggers the item and the



actual execution of the item. For example, year closing activities are triggered throughout the year, but onlyneed to be performed at year end. Most tasks are activated directly when created and are addressed immediatelyto the user.

• Latest Start DateThe latest start date of an item describes the latest date by which the item needs to change status from New toIn Progress. It can be used, for example, to monitor the initial response time.

• Due DateThe due date of an item describes the latest date by which the item needs to be closed or have the status ofCompleted or Canceled.

• Expiry DateThe expiration date of an item describes the date on which items are automatically canceled because the itemis no longer valid or relevant. It is mainly used for notifications.

Deadline ReactionsIf the specific conditions relating to status are not fulfilled by the time a deadline is reached, the following reactionsare possible.

• NoneIf the deadline reaction is set to None, no changes are made to the task if the required conditions have not beenfulfilled by the deadline. The due date is still displayed for sorting and prioritization purposes.

• Increasing Task PriorityIf the deadline reaction is set to Increase Priority, the priority of the task is set to the next highest level if therequired conditions have not been fulfilled by the deadline. If the default priority for the task is defined as VeryHigh, this option cannot be chosen as deadline reaction.

• Changing Priority to the HighestIf the deadline reaction is set to Change to Highest Priority, the priority is raised to the highest level if therequired conditions have not been fulfilled by the deadline. If the default priority for the task is already definedas Very High, this option cannot be chosen as deadline reaction.

• Escalation Task Is CreatedIf the deadline reaction is set to Create Escalation of Type, an escalation task is created in addition to theoriginal task if the required conditions have not been fulfilled by the deadline. Only task types that are enabledfor escalation will allow you to do this. The escalation task contains a link to the original task. The original taskremains the responsibility of the current user, and the escalation task is sent to a more senior employee. Inaddition to this reaction, the escalation status of the original task changes to Escalated, which is also shown tothe persons responsible for the original task. Escalation task types can be closed manually by the recipient of theescalation or are automatically closed once the original task is closed.


4.6 MANUALLY CREATED TASK TYPES4.6.1 TASK: MANUALLY CREATED TASKS

OverviewYou can create tasks in any business context.

You manually create a task in regard to a related business document. You enter the subject, provide details by addinga note or attachments, and send the task to a selected recipient. The list of potential recipients available from theTo field is restricted to users who have access rights to the related business document for which you create the task.

Manually created tasks have the default priority Medium and are due within seven days. They must be completedmanually by the recipient.



RelevanceThe user receives manually created tasks in the Inbox of the Work work center view in the Home work center.

ResponseTo complete a manually created task, refer to the information provided by the sender. Open the details of the relatedbusiness document and take the appropriate actions to solve the business issue.

Manually created tasks are created outside the standard business scenario context and offer the user a wider choiceof actions. Therefore, there are no set actions that must always be used to complete a manually created task. Therecipient must decide which actions are appropriate.

Once you have carried out the appropriate actions to solve the business issue, you must complete the manuallycreated task. From the Inbox of the Work view in the Home work center, select the corresponding task. From

Actions , click Complete. You can also complete the task by opening the details of the task and clickingActions and choosing Complete.

If you do not respond to the manually created task, it remains in your work list. Manually created tasks are notclosed automatically by the system.

ConfigurationThe attributes of manually created tasks are fully predefined and cannot be configured.



4.6.2 NOTIFICATION: MANUALLY CREATED NOTIFICATIONS

OverviewYou can create notifications in any business context.

Manually created notifications are informative items that typically require no user action. and do not require anyuser action. You enter the subject, provide details by adding a note or attachments, and send the notification to aselected recipient. The list of potential recipients available from the To field is restricted to users who have accessrights to the related business document for which you create the notification.

Manually created notifications have the default priority Medium, and an expiration date of seven days.

RelevanceThe user receives manually created notifications in the Inbox of the Work work center view in the Home workcenter.

ResponseThe notification is closed automatically by the system once the expiration date is reached.

The recipient can close the notification manually before its expiration date. From the Inbox of the Work view inthe Home work center, select the corresponding notification. From Actions , click Acknowledge. You can alsoacknowledge the notification by opening the details of the notification and clicking Actions and choosingAcknowledge.



ConfigurationThe attributes of manually created notifications are fully predefined and cannot be configured.



4.6.3 ALERT: MANUALLY CREATED ALERT

OverviewA manually created alert is a task with the highest available priority that requires immediate user action. You cancreate alerts in any business context.

You manually create an alert in regard to a related business document. You enter the subject, provide details byadding a note or attachments, and send the alert to a selected recipient. The list of potential recipients availablefrom the To field is restricted to users who have access rights to the related business document for which you createthe alert.

Manually created alerts have the priority Very High and are due immediately. They must be completed manuallyby the recipient.

RelevanceThe user receives manually created alerts in the Inbox of the Work work center view in the Home work center.

ResponseTo complete a manually created alert, refer to the information provided by the sender. Open the details of therelated business document and take the appropriate actions to solve the business issue.

Manually created alerts are created outside the standard business scenario context and offer the user a wider choiceof actions. Therefore, there are no set actions that must always be executed to complete a manually created alert.The recipient must decide which actions are appropriate.

Once you have carried out the appropriate actions to solve the business issue, you must complete the manuallycreated alert. From the Inbox of the Work view in the Home work center, select the corresponding alert. From

Actions , click Complete. You can also complete the alert by opening the details of the alert and clickingActions and choosing Complete.

If you do not respond to the manually created alert, it remains in your work list. Manually created alerts are notclosed automatically by the system.

ConfigurationThe attributes of manually created alerts are fully predefined and cannot be configured.





4.6.4 CLARIFICATION: MANUALLY CREATED CLARIFICATIONREQUESTS

OverviewA clarification request is designed to support a question and answer process between users. The sender can start theprocess from anywhere in the system whenever additional information from another user to further process abusiness document or task is required. The sender enters the name of the recipient in the To field of the clarificationrequest. Any user can receive clarification requests.

RelevanceRecipients receive clarification requests in the Inbox of the Work work center view in the Home work center.

If the recipient has access rights to the related business document or task, he or she can open the relateddocument or task by clicking Details in the clarification request.

If the recipient does not have access rights to the related business document or task, he or she can still accessthe clarification request.

ResponseThe recipient of the clarification request can send a response to the sender and also forward the request to anotheruser if necessary. The sender receives the response in the Inbox of the Work view in the Home work center.

ConfigurationThe attributes of clarification requests are fully predefined and cannot be configured.





5 ANALYTICS

5.1 OVERVIEW OF ANALYTICS

OverviewAnalytics is integrated in SAP Business ByDesign to support and monitor business processes, helping you to makeinformed decisions. Reports can be accessed from the Reports work center view of work centers and are alsoembedded into Overview work center views, enabling transparency of data in system.

The data in SAP Business ByDesign Analytics is real time. There is no persistency in a separate Business Warehouselayer.

Data in SAP Business ByDesign Analytics is also access context sensitive. This means that data sources are associatedwith access contexts to ensure that data is directed to users who are allowed to view the data. For more informationabout access contexts, see User and Access Management.

Types of Objects in Analytics

CharacteristicA field according to which values are selected. Characteristics are alphanumeric, numeric, or text values. Examplesinclude Product ID, Supplier, and Purchase Order Status. Variables are often associated with specified characteristics.Variables restrict characteristics to one or more specified value selections.

Key FigureA field according to which values are selected. Key figures are numeric values that have a unit of measure or currencyassigned. Examples include Invoice Net Value and Purchase Order Quantity.

Data SourceAn object containing key figures and characteristics, which provides a multidimensional, analytical view of businessdata.

Data sources are associated with a specified access context or can be unrestricted.

Example of a data source

SAP Business ByDesignAnalytics


Key Figure StructureA group of predefined key figures for reporting on one axis. Key figures in the structure can be calculated or restricted.

The access context of a key figure structure is that of the underlying data source.

Example of a key figure structure with data

Characteristic StructureA group of predefined characteristic elements in a key figure grid. Characteristic elements are characteristics thatcan be calculated or restricted.

The access context of a characteristic structure is that of the underlying data source.

Example of a characteristic structure with data

Key Figure GridA group consisting of a key figure structure and a characteristic structure for reporting on two axes.

The access context of a key figure grid is that of the underlying data source.

Example of a key figure grid with data

ReportA compilation of data for analysis. Reports show values derived from key figures and characteristics in data sources,key figure structures, and key figure grids.



Example of a report

See AlsoAnalytical Navigation

5.2 REPORTS VIEW

OverviewSAP Business ByDesign delivers predefined content for reports that are defined in your scope. Reports can also bedefined by key users for business users. The Reports view is a central access point to reports associated with a workcenter.

The following report types are available.

• Browser-Based ReportsConsists of a compilation of data for evaluation where analysis and drill-down is supported. You can openbrowser-based reports either in a Web browser or in Microsoft Excel.

• Microsoft Excel-Based ReportsUsing Microsoft Office Excel, you can view and edit reports in spreadsheets.

To view and work with Microsoft Excel-Based reports, ensure that the SAP Business ByDesignadd-in for Microsoft Excel is installed.The add-in is available from the Download Center. In the Self-Services Overview work centerview of the Home work center, under My Computer, click Install Additional Softwarefrom Download Center.

• Formatted ReportsFormatted reports have an optimized layout to facilitate printing and presentation. You can open reports usingCrystal Reports Viewer. For more information about the Crystal Reports Viewer, see the help documentation.You can access the help documentation by clicking Help from the Crystal Reports Viewer menu.

To view formatted reports, ensure that the Crystal Reports Viewer is installed.The Crystal Reports Viewer is available from the Self-Services Overview work center view ofthe Home work center. Under My Computer, click Install Additional Software. On thefollowing screen, click the download link.



• Mobile ReportsMobile reports are browser-based reports that are enabled for mobile devices.

Overview

Features

Opening ReportsThe report names are displayed as links. To open the report, click the relevant link . By clicking View With , youcan open a report either in a Web browser or in Microsoft Excel.

You can also open reports from the Gallery work center view in which you can browse reports.

Organizing ReportsBy default, all reports associated with the work center are displayed and the Advanced find feature is closed.

From the Show dropdown list, you can choose whether to display reports by the following criteria:

• By Report Category • My Priority Reports

To include or remove a report from your priority list, select the report row, click Priority , and choose Markas Priority or Remove from Priority.

• All Reports • All Reports - Quick List

Displays a list of reports, providing only the names and descriptions of reports.

By default, the system displays reports grouped by report category.

For the Home work center, the following additional criteria are available:

• My Microsoft Excel WorkbooksShows workbooks that you save to the SAP Business ByDesign system. To create or delete a workbook from theHome work center, click Excel Workbook , and then choose the relevant option.

• By Work Center • Mobile Reports

DetailsIn the Details section below the reports list, you can find additional information about the selected report. Thereare three tab pages in the Details area of the Reports view.

• Report ViewsA report view is a modified view of the data available with a report. The Report Views tab page displays allexisting views associated with a report. These are divided into three categories: views created by you; views createdby a key user; views delivered by SAP Business ByDesign; views created by SAP Business ByDesign partners. and



Report views are displayed as links and can be opened directly from this tab page by clicking the correspondinglink.

• Report DetailsDisplays general information about a report, including creation and change data. Under Report Categories,all of the report categories to which a report is assigned are listed, for example, Supply Chain – Physical Inventory.

• Report AssignmentDisplays the work center views and subviews with which the selected report is associated. Note that the list canalso include views and subviews from work centers other than the work center in which the report is currentlydisplayed. Note that in the Home, Managing My Area, and Business Configuration work centers, reportsmay be assigned although they are not displayed in the Reports view.

See AlsoWorking with Reports in a Web Browser

Working with Reports and Plans in Microsoft Excel

Working with Mobile Reports

Working with Selections

Working with Embedded Reports

5.3 WORKING WITH REPORTS IN A WEB BROWSER

OverviewWorking with reports in a Web browser allows you to execute ad hoc analyses. You can open reports from thereports list in the Reports view and from embedded reports.

Functions in the Content Area

DisplayIn the content area for the report, data is displayed in a table or chart depending on settings. You can switch thedisplay format of the report. You can also undo a step or revert to the last saved state of the report.

Analytical NavigationIn cells of reports displayed in table format, you can use the context menu for further navigation and analysis. Usingthe context menu, you can view existing documents related to a value. When you double-click a cell, the documentsand reports to which you can navigate are displayed. For example, you can navigate to a preceding document, suchas a purchase request, an overview document that provides information about a customer, or to another report.

For more information, see Analytical Navigation.

Functions in the Navigation PaneIn the navigation pane, you can find functions to make display settings. Analysis functions are also available todisplay certain values.

The following table provides an overview of display settings and analysis functions available for key figures andcharacteristics:

Key Figures Characteristics

Display Display

Hide Hide

Decimals Adding Attributes



Key Figures Characteristics

Scaling Displaying Hierarchies

Conditions Conditions

Exceptions Exceptions

Sorting Sorting

Display SettingsBy clicking Settings , you can determine how characteristics and key figures are displayed in the report alongwith making settings for charts and tables. For more information, see the following:

• Characteristic Settings • Key Figure Settings • Chart Settings • Table Settings

Creating Exceptions and ConditionsTo create conditions and exceptions for the report, under Columns, click the dropdown list for Key Figures. Youcan create, edit, and delete exceptions and conditions by choosing Manage Exceptions or Manage Conditionsaccordingly.

For more information about analysis functions, see Conditions and Exceptions.

Selecting Key FiguresTo add additional key figures to the report from the available key figures or to remove them from the report, clickthe Select Key Figure dialog box under Columns next to the Key Figures dropdown list.

You can determine the order in which key figures appear as columns in your report by moving them up, down, tothe top and to the bottom of the list.

You can also decide if you want to display technical IDs.

Displaying Characteristics and Key FiguresYou can drag and drop characteristics and key figures in columns and rows or to the Not Currently Shown list.To drag and drop, you use the Move function. This function is available from the dropdown list from the charac-teristics and key figures. If you select Remove, the characteristic or key figure is moved to the Not CurrentlyShown list.

Quick FilterBetween the content area and the navigation pane, you can find functions to collapse the navigation pane and toexpand the quick filter.

The quick filter provides an input field in which you can enter a value for a characteristic rather than selecting fromvalues. This function is useful if you already know the value. To remove the filter, click the icon to the left of theinput field.

Note that the values entered for the quick filter are saved. If you save the current view, for example, any values setusing the quick filter are saved.

If you move a characteristic for which you have set a quick filter to the Not Currently Shown list, the values youhave set using the quick filter are still considered when navigating to another report.

By clicking the filter icon next to characteristics in rows, you can restrict characteristics to specified values. You cansearch for values and select some or all of values from the available list. To remove the filter, click the Filter icon,and then click Remove Filter .



Toolbar Functions • Close

Closes the Web browser window. • View

You can save the current report view, save the report view under a different name, and manage the report views.Under Manage Views, you can set a report view as default, rename, or delete personal report views.

• Settings You can determine how characteristics and key figures are displayed in the report along with making settingsfor charts and tables.

• Selections

You can set values for filter and variables and manage variables. You can decide whether to hide or show theselection area before starting a report.To close the selection area, click the icon to the right of the Start Options dropdown list.

• Add Fields

You can add fields, such as characteristics and attributes of a characteristic, to the report. You can also addvariables and hierarchies as variables. For more information, see Add a Field to a Report.

• Print

Allows you to print the report using one of the printers connected to your computer. • Export

Exports the report to Microsoft Excel in XML format. Note that the report opens in read only mode.To perform ad-hoc analyses, you must open the report in Microsoft Excel. From the Reports work center view,click View With , and choose the Microsoft Excel option.

• Send You can send the report as an e-mail attachment or as a link.

• ViewShows the report view that is displayed in the Web browser. The dropdown list displays the report views thatare available with the corresponding report. A report view is a modified view of the data available with a report.You can also define one or more views for a report. You define a view by saving the current status of a report.

• VariablesShows the set of value selection for Variables of the report. The dropdown list displays the saved sets of valueselection for Variables. For more information, see Working with Selections.You can save the current set of selection values for variables, save the set of selection values for variables undera different name, and manage them.By clicking Selections , and choosing the . Manage tab page, you can set selection values for variables asdefault, rename, or delete a set of selection values for variables. Note that the ByDesign Initial set of variablesand corresponding set of value selections cannot be deleted and is not available on the . Manage tab page.

• Set as Default

Sets the current report view and defined variables as default. Variables can also be set as default from the variablesscreen. For variables, the last set default is valid whether the default is set in the Web browser or from the variablesscreen.

Report HeaderThe report header is located to the right of the toolbar. By clicking the Show Report Header icon, the systemdisplays the access context, variables ID, and any filters set. You can also view technical information about the report,such as the report ID and the data source for the report.

If available, any information and warning are also displayed. For example, if the display currency is set using the keyfigure setting or Variables is displayed.

See AlsoReports View




5.4 WORKING WITH REPORTS AND PLANS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL

OverviewThe SAP Business ByDesign add-in for Microsoft Excel enables you to execute ad hoc analyses, create workbooks,create plan data, and define sales targets.

• Microsoft Excel-Based ReportingYou can open reports from the workbooks and reports list in a Reports work center view by clicking

View With and choosing the Microsoft Excel option. You can also open reports directly in Microsoft Excelby logging on the SAP Business ByDesign system.Key users for Analytics can create design workbooks and make them available for business users from theBusiness Analytics work center.

• Microsoft Excel-Based PlanningTo overcome the limitations of the conventional approach of planning in spreadsheets, business planningconsists of features to enable planners to efficiently obtain and work with planning data in business environ-ments. For more information, see Business Planning.

Analytic Features

To view and work with Microsoft Excel-Based reports and plans, ensure that the SAP Business ByDesignadd-in for Microsoft Excel is installed.

You can install the SAP Business ByDesign add-in for Microsoft Excel from the Home work center. Fromthe Self-Services Overview, under My Computer, choose Install Additional Software. On the fol-lowing screen, click the download link.

The analytic features in the SAP Business ByDesign tab enables you to save workbooks to the SAP Business ByDesignsystem. You can also use available Microsoft Excel functions. Depending on your access rights, different workbooksand reports are available. Saved workbooks are then available from different work center views. Note that thefunctions available to you depend on your access rights and work center and work center view assignments; thereports you work with in a Web browser are also available using the SAP Business ByDesign add-in for MicrosoftExcel.

The follow table provides an overview of the workbooks available.

Workbook Type Description

Personal workbook A workbook that is adapted to the individual business needs of a user. A personal work-book is only available to the user who creates it and is available from the Reports viewin the Home work center. Any change to a personal workbook is saved back to the SAPBusiness ByDesign system.

Public workbook A workbook that can be consumed by all users who have the corresponding work centerviews assigned. Public workbooks are read-only and can be adapted with personalizedviews and variables to the business needs of the user.Note that before a created workbook can be made public, key users must first save theworkbook as a design workbook.

Design workbook A workbook that only includes the layout without data and is only available from theBusiness Analytics work center. Since key users in general are not allowed to viewbusiness data, the data is deleted whenever you store a design workbook. As soon as adesign workbook is assigned to a work center view, business users can use it as a publicworkbook with real data.

Key Users for AnalyticsKey users for Analytics can create and edit public workbooks as follows:

1. Open the public or personal workbook.



2. Switch to design mode by clicking Design Workbook.If you want to view the workbook with generated test data, refresh the workbook.

3. Make any relevant changes and save.

4. Assign the workbook to the relevant work center views to make it public.Note that if the workbook has already been assigned and is public, you do not need to assign the workbookagain.

Workbook GroupThe workbook group provides functions to open and save workbooks and reports. You can also copy, remove, andprotect reports and worksheets.

• OpenDownloads and opens a workbook from the SAP Business ByDesign system.

• SaveSaves the workbook back to the SAP Business ByDesign system as a public workbook. You have the followingoptions to save workbooks to the SAP Business ByDesign system.

• Save AllThe following options are available • Save All • Save Workbook • Save Plan Data • Save Workbook As New

• Insert ReportInserts a SAP Business ByDesign report into the worksheet starting in the active cell.

• Copy ReportCopies the report and any report views and variable values in order to paste it in a different location.

• Paste ReportPastes the report and any report views and variable values that was last cut or copied into the active cell.

• Remove ReportRemoves the report and any report views and variable values in order to paste it in a different location.

• ProtectUses the Microsoft Excel function to protect the worksheet to prevent changes to all cells containing data fromSAP Business ByDesign.

Refresh GroupRefreshes the data in the report. You can also defer refreshing the report.

• RefreshRefreshes the data in the report. • Refresh Current Report

Refreshes the data in the report that is currently selected. • Refresh Worksheet When Activated

If this feature is active for a workbook, any reports on a sheet in the workbook are automatically refreshedwhen the sheet is activated.

• Refresh ReportYou can select a report to refresh from the list.

• Defer RefreshDefers refreshing the report until you refresh it manually. This function is useful, for example, if you makemultiple changes to a report, such as to the layout or you add another key figure or column.



View GroupDisplays the report views that are available with a report. You can change the current report view. In the view pane,you can save changes as a new report view. The view pane also enables you to select the characteristics and keyfigures that are shown in the report.

• Displaying Characteristics and HierarchiesFor characteristics and hierarchies, you can specify in which format the individual characteristic values of thecharacteristic are displayed. You can display characteristics and hierarchies as name, ID, or a combination thereof.

• SortingYou can also specify how characteristic values are sorted. You can sort characteristics displayed in rows andcolumns according to the description or ID in ascending or descending order.

• Results RowUsing the values from the dropdown list, you can decide how the result is to be displayed. You can decide ifresults are to be displayed or if results are to be displayed when there are at least two single values.

Variable GroupYou can display the set of value selections for variables that are available with a report. You can change the currentset of value selections. In the variables pane, you can save changes as a new set of value selections for variables.

You can also set filter values by selecting values in the report and clicking the Filter icon in the Variables group.To remove the filter, click the corresponding icon.

Header GroupEnables you to insert a report header.

You can specify if the report name is to be displayed along with technical information about the report. The headercan be inserted either as a range of cells above the report or as a text box.

Report GroupEnables you to make further display settings.

• Insert ChartEnables you to insert a chart using Microsoft Excel functions. For information about Microsoft Excel chart typesand functions, see Microsoft Excel documentation.

• Display in PivotTableEnables you to display the report as a PivotTable using Microsoft Excel functions. For information about Mi-crosoft Excel PivotTable functions, see Microsoft Excel documentation.

• Settings • Freeze Panes

Uses the Microsoft Excel freeze pane function to fix the header columns and rows. • Format Report

Formats the report using the default SAP Business ByDesign cell styles as listed under the Microsoft ExcelHome tab.

• Adjust to Complete ColumnAdjusts the width of columns to the width of the longest value in each column.

• Adjust to Report ResultAdjusts the column width to the width of the longest value in the column.

• Use Outline for HierarchiesUses the Microsoft Excel outline function to group characteristic hierarchies by expansion level.

• Expand Rows to LevelYou can choose the hierarchy level up to which the hierarchy is to be displayed when it is expanded.

• Merge Repeated CellsYou can specify whether every instance of a characteristic value is displayed in a row or column.

• Show Results First



You can specify how results are to be displayed. You can decide if they are to be displayed above rows or tothe left of columns.

• Arrange As HierarchyThe system arranges characteristics in rows and in columns as a hierarchy. The row or column further leftserves as the tree structure into which characteristics to the right are inserted.

• Invert HierarchiesThe system inverts the hierarchy so that the hierarchy is displayed from bottom to top or from right to left.You can decide to invert a hierarchy in rows and in columns.

• Suppress Zero ValuesYou can suppress columns or rows that contain zeros in your report.

• Show / Hide • View • Variables • Planning • Header • Messages

You can specify if all messages or only errors are displayed. You can also decide if messages are displayed onuser request.

Assigning WorkbooksKey users for Analytics can assign workbooks to work center views, make them available to business users. Forinformation about assigning workbooks as a Microsoft Excel-Based report, see Assign a Report.

Planning FeaturesThe planning features in the Planning Group of the SAP Business ByDesign tab enables you to create and edit plandata.

Planning GroupEnables you to plan at different levels and adjust values accordingly.

• Mark SelectedMarks cells that you select to be sent back to the system. By marking selected cells, you set the value for the cell.The value therefore does not change when you redistribute values by clicking Refresh.

• Unmark AllUnmarks all selected cells.

The following example illustrates how values are distributed.

You want to project revenue for your products and create a plan that contains the characteristics “Product” and“Customer”. Each product is sold to several different customers but you only want to see how much money youreceived for each product. You therefore choose a view that displays the aggregated revenue for your products. Anychanges that you make to the product revenue on this aggregated view are distributed down to the individualcustomers for the relevant product.

The following figures are used to illustrate how the data is distributed.

• The estimated revenue for your Product 1 is USD 1000, for Product 2 USD 2000, and for Product 3 USD 3000. Inthe system, this information is distributed down to the customer level:



• You then change the value for Product 1 from USD 1000 to USD 3000. The system recalculates the result andagain distributes all the values down to customer level in the same proportions:

• You then double the total revenue. The system distributes this over the three products in the same proportionsas at the beginning and also distributes this information down to customer level:



Note that if you have a value for equal distribution on more than one level of a hierarchy, it may not appearto be distributed equally. The system distributes the value equally on the lowest level. The remainder isthen distributed equally on the lowest level before the results are aggregated to the next highest level.

For example, You have 11 items to be distributed equally (without decimal places) on multiple levels in a hierarchy.

The higher level has two nodes; one node has one branch; the other node has two branches. Thus, the lowest levelhas three nodes.

Equal distribution results in each lowest-level node having the value 3. The remainder is then distributed on thelowest level. This results in two lowest-level nodes having the value 4, and one lowest-level node having the value3.

Once aggregated to a higher level, one higher-level node has the value 4. The other higher-level node has the value7.

The result is displayed below.



Further NotesThe functions of the SAP Business ByDesign add-in for Microsoft Excel are restricted or not available when usingthe Microsoft object linking and embedding (OLE) feature. We therefore recommend not using this feature.

See AlsoUsing the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft Excel

5.5 WORKING WITH SELECTIONS

OverviewWhen you open a report in a Web browser, the variables are in place above the content area of the report. TheSelections area consists of the variables available with a report. The value selection help for variables consists ofthree tab pages: Filter, Basic Select, and Advanced Select. Depending on how content has been defined or whetheryou have set quick filter values, the value selection help for variables changes accordingly.

You can define the start option of the report, indicating whether the Selections area is displayed. By default, theSelections area is displayed, but the report is not started. Note that if you set the start option to Hide selectionarea and start report, the next time you start the report, the system uses the existing set of variables with thecurrent value selections.

VariablesVariables are parameters that restrict characteristics to one or more specified value selections.

You must specify a value for all mandatory variables. In the system, mandatory variables are indicated by an asterisk(*).



Default SelectionsThe ByDesign Initial set of variables and corresponding set of value selections are delivered. Note that you cannotdelete, edit, or manage this set of variables.

Some variables are filled by default. You can however change the default.

Access ContextThe Access Context variable is mandatory for all reports. This variable is defaulted to the access context to whichthe you are assigned. The system fills the variable with the access context available for the report. In this case, onlyone access context is assigned, and therefore the variable is not displayed.

If the report supports multiple access contexts, you must specify which access context is to be used to select data.

In the Home work center, if you have saved the Access Context variable with different value selections, dependingin which work center you access the report, the system fills the variable with the access context value that youinitially saved.

For reports opened with Microsoft Excel, the system also fills the variable with the initially saved accesscontext.

For example, you open the Project Cost – Overview report in two work centers and have saved the AccessContext variable with different value selections in both work centers: in the first work center, you saved the accesscontext as Company; in the second work center, you saved the access context as Project. The system proposes oneof the two access contexts.

Value Selection Help for VariablesBy clicking the value selection help for a variable, you can select single values, exclude values, set an interval, or aset of values, depending on how the content has been defined, or if you have set quick filter values.

The following options are available depending on the variable selected:

• . Filter If you have characteristics that you have in rows or columns, the . Filter tab page is available.You can filter values available with a characteristic displayed in a report by selecting one or more values. Notethat any value selections you make on the . Basic Select and . Advanced Select tab pages influencethe values available on the . Filter tab page.Note that any values you select on the . Filter tab page are saved if you create a set of value selections forVariables.

• . Basic Select Allows you to restrict a specified characteristic to available values. Note that you can select multiple values byclicking the value and pressing CTRL.

• . Advanced Select • You can to restrict a specified characteristic using relational operators, such as greater than and less than. • Add More

You can enter a value or use the value selection to select a value. • Relative Select

Allows you to restrict a specified characteristic to a relative variable selection. Relative selections are basedon basic characteristics, such as Date, Week, Month, Fiscal Period, and Company. When you start the report,the system fills the cells in the report with the corresponding values. The following table provides examplesof relative selections.

Variable Relative Selection Description

Posting Date Today Shows today's date.



Variable Relative Selection Description

Invoice Creation Date Last 7 Days Shows a time range of the last 7 days, including today.

Fiscal Month Current Fiscal Period Shows the current month.

Company Multiple Default Companies Derives multiple default companies based on the user's posi-tion.

Note that if you want to display the descriptions of values that you have selected, in the Selections area, clickShow Text .

Note that if you already know the value, you can enter the value manually. You can then start the report by pressingthe Return key or by clicking Go . For example, you know that you want to restrict the Invoice Year /Month variable to the last 12 months. Therefore, you enter Last 12 Months and click Go .

Deleting Value SelectionsYou can delete value selections by clicking the X icon. The delete function is always active.

Saving Sets of Value Selections for VariablesIf you often select the same values for variables in a report, you can save the set of value selections. The set of valueselections for the variables is then available for reuse. Saved sets of value selections are only available to the user whosaved the variables.

You can save sets of value selections for variables on the . Edit tab page.

1. Make value selections for the relevant variables.

2. Click Save As.

3. Enter a name for the saved set of value selections for the variables.

The set of value selections for variables is then available from the Variables dropdown list.

The saved set of value selection for variables is also available for embedded reports.

Managing VariablesYou can set selection values for variables as default, rename, or delete a set of selection values for variables.

You can manage variables from the variables screen by clicking the . Manage tab page.

The saved sets of value selections for variables that you have saved are displayed. You can set selection values forvariables as default, rename, or delete a set of selection values for variables.

Note that the ByDesign Initial set of variables and corresponding set of value selections is not available and cannotbe deleted.

See AlsoReports View

Working with Reports in a Web Browser




6 COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATIONEXCHANGE

6.1 USING THE SAP BUSINESS BYDESIGN ADD-IN FOR MICROSOFTEXCEL

OverviewThe SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft Excel provides the integration of Microsoft Office® Excel with anSAP Business ByDesign system. Depending on where you open the Add-In for Microsoft Excel, different functionsare available.

You can use the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft Excel for the following purposes:

• To create business data • To export business data • To analyze report data

Using Microsoft Excel to Create Business DataYou can use the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft Excel to create objects, such as an account or a lead,by entering them in a predefined Microsoft Excel template and uploading them to the SAP Business ByDesign system.

Key users can also adapt the predefined Microsoft Excel template and maintain template-specific information. Formore information, see Office Template Maintenance Quick Guide.

For more information about the application-specific business data, see Create Business Data Using Microsoft Excel.

If you can log on to the SAP Business ByDesign system in a Web browser as normal, but cannot log on tothe system from the Add-In for Microsoft Excel, contact your system administrator to have him checkyour proxy server settings to ensure that the connection to the system is not blocked.

Using Microsoft Excel to Export Business DataYou can use the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft Excel to export business data, such as a list of accountsor sales orders, to a predefined Microsoft Excel template.

For more information, see Export Business Data Using Microsoft Excel.

Using Microsoft Excel to Analyze Report and Plan DataYou can use the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft Excel to execute ad hoc analyses, create workbooks,create plan data, and define sales targets. Note that the functions available to you depend on your access rights andwork center and work center view assignments.

For example, if you open the Add-In in the Reports view from the Home work center, you can create personalworkbooks by using the Analytics functions of the Add-In.

For more information, see Working with Reports and Plans in Microsoft Excel.

SAP Business ByDesignCommunication and Information Exchange


6.2 MASHUPS AND WEB SERVICES

OverviewMashups are used to integrate data from the SAP Business ByDesign system with data provided by an online Webservice or application. Users can access the content provided by these Web services and applications and use it intheir daily work. Mashups can include Web searches, company or industry business information or online mapsearches.

Mashups can be accessed either directly on the screen on which they are embedded by clicking on a link or usingthe Web Services menu button, which is visible on screens for which mashups are available. External searchproviders are integrated into the Enterprise Search function.

Preconfigured Mashups and Mashup Partner SolutionsSAP provides preconfigured mashups for Web services provided by SAP Business ByDesign partners. Before you canuse a preconfigured mashup it must be activated by a key user and made visible on the screens for which it isconfigured. This can either be done by the key user centrally for all users using the Adapt function, or after a keyuser has activated a mashup, it can be added to a screen by any user using the Personalize function. In addition, itis also possible for your organization to procure mashup partner solutions from the SAP Store. These solutions arethen installed in your system and can be activated by a key user.

The following mashups are provided by SAP Business ByDesign partners either as preconfigured mashups or partnersolutions:

Port Binding Description SAP Partner

Company Financial and Business Infor-mation by Company Name

Search for business-related informationbased on a company name.

Business Wire

Google

Hoover's

Morningstar

Reuters

Company Financial and Business Infor-mation by Industry

Search for business-related informationbased on an industry.

Hoover's

Reverse Lookup Look up a business address using partialaddress information.

Go Yellow

Reverse Lookup By Phone Look up a business address using a phonenumber.

Go Yellow

Route Planner Plan a business route based on a list ofaddresses.

Google

Falk

NAVTEQ/Map24

Search Provider Search for a search term. SAP

SAP Business ByDesign Community

Alibaba

Google

Indiamart

Click India

Social Network Display people or business partner pro-files that are listed in a social network

Facebook

Twitter

Sourcing Search for sourcing information basedon a product description

Indiamart

Web Feed by Company Name Display Web feeds filtered by a companyname.

Google



Port Binding Description SAP Partner

Web Map Display a business address on a map orget directions based on an address.

MapQuest

Google

Falk

NAVTEQ/Map24

Microsoft Bing

Preconfigured mashups and mashup partner solutions are configured for use on selected screens in SAP BusinessDesign. For more information about the screens that are enabled for each port binding, see Mashup Categories.

Note that some mashups may not be applicable to your country. Your key user should ensure that themashup is valid for your country before activating it for company-wide usage.

Key User ConfigurationKey users can manage mashups either centrally from the Application and User Management work center orusing the Adapt button on any screen enabled for mashups to access the adaptation sidecar. Key users can do thefollowing:

• Activate mashups for use by all users or deactivate unwanted mashups.For more information, see Activate a Preconfigured Mashup.

• Activate mashup partner solutions from the SAP Store.For more information, see Activate a Mashup Partner Solution.

• Change the way in which mashups are displayed, and test and publish the changes to all users.For more information, see Make a Mashup Visible on a Screen.

• Create new mashups by copying a preconfigured mashup and adapting the configuration settings.For more information, see the Mashup Authoring Quick Guide.

• Add new Web services for use in data mashupsFor more information, see the Web Service Authoring Quick Guide.

• Create new URL, HTML, or data mashups based on a mashup category provided by SAP.For more information, see the Mashup Authoring Quick Guide.

6.3 SAP COLLABORATION WINDOW6.3.1 SAP COLLABORATION WINDOW QUICK GUIDEThe SAP Collaboration Window is an additional desktop integration tool that you can install from the SAP BusinessByDesign system. It coordinates multiple aspects of your daily work into one application. It acts as a central hub forpeople-to-people collaboration and for external devices and services. SAP Collaboration Window enables you tocommunicate with business partners using communication channels, such as e-mail, and it also provides you withbusiness context information relevant to a business partner and workflow. Further, SAP Collaboration Windowprovides you with information on missed alerts, tasks, and notifications in the SAP Business ByDesign system, aswell as on missed calls if an add-in telephony integration solution has been integrated with SAP Business ByDesign.

Content Area of SAP Collaboration WindowThe content area of the SAP Collaboration Window is defined by the page you select:

• Missed ItemsWhen you log on to the SAP Collaboration Window after a period away or you disable the Do Not Disturbstatus, a desktop alert notifies you about any missed open tasks, alerts, and notifications received while you werelogged off, as well as any missed or rejected phone calls.



The Missed Items page of the SAP Collaboration Window displays missed tasks, alerts, and notifications in theSAP Business ByDesign system that need to be reviewed, as well as missed telephone calls if an add-in telephonyintegration solution has been integrated with the system. The default setting displays all missed items groupedby Type and sorted by Time, with the most recent listed first.

• ContactsThe Contacts page provides you with business contacts that are maintained in the SAP Business ByDesignsystem, such as business partners or colleagues. From the Contacts page you can begin collaborating withcontacts using features such as e-mail.

A prerequisite for working with contacts is that the contact has been maintained as a businesspartner or employee in the SAP Business ByDesign system. For more information, see BusinessPartners Quick Guide or Quick Guide for Regular Tasks (in Personnel Administration).

You can add, remove, or search for contacts, and when you select a contact from the list, the information aboutthat contact is displayed below the list. The contact information displayed depends on the information that hasbeen maintained for the business contact in the SAP Business ByDesign system — for example, if no e-mailaddress is maintained for a customer in the system, no e-mail address is listed for that particular contact in SAPCollaboration Window unless an e-mail alias has been maintained.

• Business ContextThe Business Context page of the SAP Collaboration Window provides you with information on your businesspartners. As well as the name and contact details, you can see business context information and transactions,such as service orders, installed products, or interaction history. This allows you to trigger actions that arerelated to the context of a selected business partner directly from SAP Collaboration Window without havingto navigate manually to the dedicated screen in the SAP Business ByDesign system. The actions that you cantrigger depend on the role and the work center views assigned to you in the SAP Business ByDesign system, aswell as on the business partner type. Note that if an add-in telephony integration solution has been integratedwith SAP Business ByDesign, on making or receiving a call through SAP Collaboration Window, the informationabout that business partner loads automatically on the . Business Context tab page.

PrintingSAP Collaboration Window can be set up to allow you to print documents from the SAP Business ByDesign systemfor which you are responsible — you can define your default printer in the system preferences for SAP CollaborationWindow. When a document is output in the SAP Business ByDesign system, it is collected in your Manual PrintTasks subview in the Work view of the Home work center. When you log on to SAP Collaboration Window, anydocuments waiting in the Manual Print Tasks subview are printed automatically. While you are logged on, SAPCollaboration Window searches continuously for any new documents that appear in the Manual Print Taskssubview, and prints these immediately to your default printer. This gives you full control over which printer youuse to print your documents.

Desktop AlertsSAP Collaboration Window uses desktop alerts to inform you of an activity that requires your attention, such astasks or incoming calls. Desktop alerts work in response to your behavior; if you do not respond to a desktop alertit disappears, and the status of the system tray icon changes to show a missed item. When you acknowledge a desktopalert, SAP Collaboration Window does not add the corresponding item to the list of missed items. However, if youreject an incoming call, SAP Collaboration Window adds the rejected call to the list of missed calls on the MissedItems page. If the item is an alert, task, or notification and you decide to open it, the associated quick activity opensautomatically in the SAP Business ByDesign system. If you are not logged on to the SAP Business ByDesign system,the system requests you to log on with your user ID and password.

Telephony is not part of the standard SAP Business ByDesign solution. Therefore, any telephony featuresand functions described are only available if you have purchased one of the available telephony integrationsolutions.



Automatic Upload of Scanned Supplier InvoicesYou can use an automatic upload service to upload scanned supplier invoicing documents through SAP Collabo-ration Window. On receipt of the invoicing document — usually as a TIF or GIF file — it has to be scanned as aPDF file, and also as a TXT, RTF, or DOC file. Most optical character recognition (OCR) software products providedwith scanners support these file types. This file pair is then stored automatically in a dedicated folder for furtherprocessing.

When you are logged on to SAP Collaboration Window and you are assigned to the Supplier Invoicing work centerin SAP Business ByDesign, the automatic upload service searches permanently for any new files in the defined folderand triggers upload of these files to the SAP Business ByDesign system. Based on the information received from theupload service, the system creates the invoicing document, proposes the invoicing data, and attaches the PDF andTXT, DOC, or RTF files automatically to the invoicing document. The new invoicing documents have the statusReady for Posting or Exception in the SAP Business ByDesign system, and can be processed in the same way asinvoices that are uploaded manually.

All events during the automatic upload are recorded by a status monitoring service and the information is storedin sub folders within the dedicated folder.

We recommend that you use the TXT file type with this service.

For more information about the automatic upload service, see Preferences Quick Guide and Uploading ScannedSupplier Invoices Using Automatic Upload Service.

For more information about supplier invoicing documents, see Quick Guide for Work (in Supplier Invoicing).

Telephony Integration

Telephony is not part of the standard SAP Business ByDesign solution. Therefore, any telephony featuresand functions described are only available if you have purchased one of the available telephony integrationsolutions.

If SAP Business ByDesign is integrated with your local telephony systems through an add-in telephony integrationsolution, SAP Collaboration Window acts as the interface between SAP Business ByDesign and the telephony inte-gration solution. This enables you to control inbound and outbound call functions through SAP CollaborationWindow, such as making and receiving calls by mouse-click, and enabling automatic recognition of business partnerdetails and transaction history from inbound calls.

Business Background

SAP Business ByDesign Enterprise SearchThe ByDesign Enterprise Search icon near the top of the SAP Collaboration Window screen opens SAP BusinessByDesign Enterprise Search.

SAP Business ByDesign Enterprise Search enables you to search across the entire system efficiently for businessdocuments, reports, and people.

For more information, see SAP Business ByDesign Enterprise Search.

Business Task ManagementBusiness Task Management (BTM) ensures that activities related to a business process within or across your organ-ization are completed in order to fulfill defined business objectives. Using BTM, the system addresses work to usersand enables them to receive, manage, and complete business task management items related to a business processin an efficient way. The system creates business task management items when it requires input from a user. These



items are created so that users check, change, clarify information, complete items , or make a decision as part of abusiness process.

For more information, see Business Task Management.

Business PartnersA business partner is a person or organization in which your company has a business interest. A wide range of peopleand organizations are considered business partners. For example, suppliers and customers.

For more information, see Business Partners.

Tasks

Install or Update the SAP Collaboration WindowNote that to install or update the SAP Collaboration Window, you must have administrativerights for your computer.

1. From the Self-Services Overview of the Home work center, under My Computer, clickInstall Additional Software.

2. On the Install Additional Software screen, in the Collaboration Window row, clickDownload and follow the instructions that appear.For more information, see Install Additional Software.

Note that key users can also install or update the SAP Collaboration Window from theDownload Center work center view of the Application and User Management workcenter.

For more information, see Download Center Quick Guide

Open the SAP Collaboration Window from the Desktop1. Click Start → All Programs → SAP Business ByDesign → SAP Collaboration Win-

dow → SAP Collaboration Window .The SAP Collaboration Window opens.

If you previously opened the SAP Collaboration Window and you havenot selected Exit in the context menu, the SAP Collaboration Windowicon is visible in the system tray, even if you are not logged on. Click onthe icon and select Open Collaboration Window.

2. On the log on screen, enter your user ID and password and click Log On .You are now logged on to SAP Collaboration Window.You do not need to be logged on to the SAP Business ByDesign system to work in SAPCollaboration Window. However, if you perform an action such as opening a missed task,you will be requested automatically to log on to the SAP Business ByDesign system.

To log on to a different server or to use a different user ID, exit the SAP CollaborationWindow and log on using the required details. Depending on your system settings,you may have to select a different certificate.

Open the SAP Collaboration Window from the SAP Business ByDesignSystem • In the Gold Reflection theme:

On any screen in the SAP Business ByDesign system, from the taskbar located on the leftof the screen, click the icon with the Collaborate tooltip.



• In the Blue Signature theme:On any screen in the SAP Business ByDesign system, on the menu bar at the top of thescreen click Collaborate.

Log On to and Log Off from the SAP Collaboration Window • Log On

To log on to the SAP Collaboration Window, you must enter the system URL of your SAPBusiness ByDesign system, choose a certificate, and enter your user ID and password.You can also define proxy settings, such as defining the proxy URL or the proxy port, ifnecessary.

• Log OffTo log off from the SAP Collaboration Window, from Menu , choose the Exit option.Alternatively, from the system tray, right-click on the SAP Collaboration Window icon,and choose the Exit option.

Make SettingsFrom Menu , you can make the following settings.

• General Settings

Setting Description

Server URL The server address to which you want to connect in the formatprotocol//serverID:port.The supported values for the protocol are http and https.The server address can be an Internet protocol (IP) address or anetwork name. If you change this property, you have to restart theSAP Collaboration Window.

Automatic Logon If selected, you are automatically logged on to the SAP Collabora-tion Window.

Hide When Minimized If selected, when you minimize the SAP Collaboration Window, itno longer appears in the taskbar at the bottom of screen.

Exit Without Prompt If selected, you are no longer asked to confirm exiting the SAP Col-laboration Window.

Detailed Logging If selected, detailed log entries are written to the log files and storedin the log directory.

Printer A dropdown list of available printers.

• Missed Items Settings

Setting Description

Maximum number ofitems to be shown pertype of item

You can set the number of items to be displayed.

Minimum priority oftasks to display

You can set the minimum priority of tasks to be displayed. Forexample, if you select Medium, tasks that have a Low priority arenot displayed.

Minimum priority of no-tifications to display

You can set the minimum priority of notifications to be displayed.For example, if you select Medium, notifications that have a Lowpriority are not displayed.

• Telephony Settings



Setting Description

Telephony Provider A dropdown list of available telephony integration solutions.

Telephony is not part of the standard SAP Business By-Design solution. Therefore, any telephony features andfunctions described are only available if you have pur-chased one of the available telephony integration solu-tions.

• OpenScape for SAP Business ByDesignFor information, go to the Business Center(www.sme.sap.com). Click My Business → Partner Gallery.Under Categories, click Communication and InformationExchange. In the list, you can find Siemens CommunicationEnabled Business Process. View the detailed informationprovided.

• SAP BCM

If you select SAP BCM as your telephony provider, youhave to define settings by clicking

Edit Telephony Provider .For information about settings for SAP BCM, see here.

• Invoice Scanning Settings

Setting Description

Enable Service ScannedInvoices

If selected, you can use an automatic upload service to upload scan-ned supplier invoices.

Observed Folder The source folder for uploading scanned invoices. You can enteror select the source folder.Check your scanner software to find out where the scanned filesare copied to by default, and set this default folder as your observedfolder.

To use the upload service, all documents have to be scan-ned as PDF files, and also as TXT, RTF, or DOC files. Mostoptical character recognition (OCR) software productsprovided with scanners support these file types.We recommend you use TXT files together with PDF files.The names of both files must be the same to enable theupload service to recognize them as a file pair, for exampleinvoice_001.pdf and invoice001.txt.

The upload service processes all TXT, DOC, RTF, and PDF files tothe observed folder and its sub folders. If the scanned invoice uploadservice is active, the SAP Collaboration Window continuouslysearches for changes in the default folder.To set up the default folder, you can enter the path manually oruse the Browse button to search for the folder. The SAP Collab-oration Window automatically validates the entered path. Afterconfiguring the default folder, the SAP Collaboration Window au-tomatically creates the following sub folders in the observed folder: • Retry

This folder contains files of upload jobs that have been man-ually restarted.

• Upload Error



Setting DescriptionThis folder contains all files that have not been successfullyuploaded.

• Upload SuccessThis folder contains all files that have been successfully uploa-ded.

History A history of your automatically uploaded supplier invoices. Youcan open or empty automatic upload folders.

Trigger Actions from Context MenuOn the system tray, right-click on the SAP Collaboration Window icon and in the drop-downmenu select the relevant action from the following:

Action Description

Open SAP CollaborationWindow

Opens and maximizes SAP Collaboration Window.

Home Navigates to the Home work center in the SAP Business ByDesignsystem.If you are not logged on to the SAP Business ByDesign system, thesystem requests you to log on with your user ID and password beforeit opens the Home work center.

Do Not Disturb Disables all desktop alerts from displaying on your screen.When you remove this status, a desktop alert notifies you of any misseditems received while the Do Not Disturb status is set.

Help Opens SAP Collaboration Window help content.

Exit If you are logged on SAP Collaboration Window, the system logs youoff and the SAP Collaboration Window icon is removed from yoursystem tray.You can open SAP Collaboration Window again by clicking Start →All Programs → SAP Business ByDesign → SAP CollaborationWindow → SAP Collaboration Window.This action is always visible in the context menu.

Work with Missed ItemsOn the . Missed Items tab page, the following functions are available:

• Open a Missed Alert, Task, or NotificationOn the Missed Items page, select a missed alert, task, or notification, and click Open toview the details of that missed item.The associated quick activity opens automatically in the SAP Business ByDesign system.If you are not logged on to the SAP Business ByDesign system, the system requests youto log on with your user ID and password.

• Remove a Missed Call, Alert, Task, or Notification from Missed ItemsOn the Missed Items page, select a missed item and click Remove to remove the itemfrom the Missed Items page.

Work with ContactsOn the . Contacts tab page, the following functions are available:

• Manage Contact Lists • To create a new contact list, click Lists , and choose the New option.



• To rename or delete a contact list, select the relevant list, click Lists , and choosethe relevant option.

• Create a New Contact • To create a new contact, click Contacts , and choose the New option.

On the Select Business Partner screen, search for the business partner you want toadd as a contact and click Go .All business partners that match your search criteria appear in a list.Select the business partner you want to add as a contact and click OK .

• Manage ContactsTo edit or delete a contact, select the relevant contact, click Contacts , and choose thecorresponding option.

• Manage AliasesIf you maintain aliases, the information you enter is added to the contact information inSAP Collaboration Window. This information is shown when the contact calls you orwhen you select their details. Aliases allow you to add additional phone numbers and e-mail addresses in addition to the originals stored in the SAP Business ByDesign systemwithout having to change the original information in the system. • To create or edit aliases, select a contact, click Contacts and choose the Edit option.

On the Edit Contact screen, you can then add an alias for telephony and e-mailcommunication along with the format and provider. Note that currently the only e-mail provider that is supported is Microsoft Outlook.

• Send an E-Mail, Meeting Request, or Open a Calendar

Note that currently the only Microsoft Outlook is supported.

To send an e-mail, meeting request, or open a shared calendar, right-click the relevantcontact, and choose the corresponding option.For meeting requests, note that the default duration of the meeting is 30 minutes.

Work with Business ContextOn the . Business Context tab page, the following functions are available:

• Get Business Context Details for Selected Business PartnerLook up the name of the business partner with whom you want to interact. Once thebusiness partner is displayed under My Links, click the name of the business partner thatis displayed as a hyperlink or View .The SAP Business ByDesign system opens and displays an overview of the business partneror employee.

• Create New Business PartnerFrom New , select the type of business partner you want to create — for example,Supplier.The associated screen opens automatically in the SAP Business ByDesign system, and youcan create the new business partner directly. If you are not logged on to the SAP BusinessByDesign system, the system requests you to log on with your user ID and password. Aftersaving the new business partner, the details are available immediately in SAP CollaborationWindow.For more information about creating business partners in the system, see Business PartnersQuick Guide.

• Send an E-MailBelow the Name field, click the e-mail address for the business contact.An e-mail template addressed to the contact you selected opens.

• Open Link in You Can Also • You Can Also in Your Business Context



Click the relevant link under You Can Also — for example, New Sales Order.The links under You Can Also are related to your role and the work centers assignedto you in the SAP Business ByDesign system.

• You Can Also in Business Context of Selected Business PartnerClick the relevant link under You Can Also — for example, New Purchase Or-der.The links under You Can Also are related to the business partner type in the SAPBusiness ByDesign system, as well as on your role and the work center views assignedto you in the system.

The associated screen opens automatically in the SAP Business ByDesign system, and youcan perform the required task, such as create a new sales order or a new purchase order.If you are not logged on to the SAP Business ByDesign system, the system requests youto log on with your user ID and password.For information about Activity Management tasks, such as e-mails, see here.

• Open a Related Link • Related Links in Your Business Context

Click the relevant link under Related Links — for example, My Open Sales Or-ders.The links under Related Links are related to your role and the work center viewsassigned to you in the SAP Business ByDesign system.

• Related Links in Business Context of Selected Business PartnerClick the relevant link under Related Links — for example, Open Purchase Or-ders.The links under Related Links are related to the business partner type in the SAPBusiness ByDesign system, as well as on your role and the work centers assigned toyou in the system.

A dialog box appears with a list of business documents relevant to that link, for examplea list of open sales orders. The list contains the ID, status, and account details for eachdocument. At the bottom of the list you can see the total number of documents listed.This is also shown in parentheses beside each related link.To open the document in the SAP Business ByDesign system, click on the ID in the list.The associated screen opens automatically in the SAP Business ByDesign system, and youcan view or edit the document. If you are not logged on to the SAP Business ByDesignsystem, the system requests you to log on with your user ID and password.For information about Activity Management tasks, such as e-mails, see here.

Use Telephony

Telephony is not part of the standard SAP Business ByDesign solution. Therefore,any telephony features and functions described are only available if you have pur-chased one of the available telephony integration solutions.

• Place Call

1. On any page in SAP Collaboration Window, enter a telephone number in the multi-purpose entry field at the bottom of the page.

2. Click the telephone icon to initiate the call.The add-in telephony application starts and automatically places the call.If you are not already on the Business Context page, SAP Collaboration Windowswitches automatically to it, enabling you to view or add details about the person youare calling, or take notes about the call.

From the . Contacts tab page, you can call a contact di-rectly. For example, by entering a telephone number in the



multipurpose entry field at the bottom of the . Contacts tab page, and clicking the telephone icon to initiate the call.

• Accept or Reject Incoming CallIf you are logged on to SAP Collaboration Window and you receive an incoming call, adesktop alert appears automatically on your screen. • Click Accept to accept the incoming call.

If SAP Collaboration Window was minimized on your desktop, it is maximized andgoes automatically to the Business Context page. This enables you to view or adddetails about the person calling you, or take notes about the call.

• Click Reject to reject the incoming call.If you reject the incoming call, it is added to the Call list on the Missed Items page.You can either return the call later or remove it from Missed Items.

• Place Call on HoldOn any page in SAP Collaboration Window, in the multipurpose entry field at the bottomof the page, click the Hold icon. The call is placed on hold.To retrieve the held call, click the Hold icon again.

• Forward CallOn any page in SAP Collaboration Window, in the multipurpose entry field at the bottomof the page, enter the telephone number to which you want to transfer the call and clickthe Transfer icon.

• Send Dial Tones Over Phone LineThis feature enables you to use Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) tones to commu-nicate, for example, with a computer system. For example, some systems assign optionsto different numbers and ask you to press a number to indicate your desired option.

1. On any page in SAP Collaboration Window, in the multipurpose entry field at thebottom of the page, enter the telephone number to which you want to send dial tones.

2. When the call is accepted, click the Send Dial Tones Over Phone Line icon.

3. On the numbered keypad click the relevant keys.

Open the SAP Business ByDesign System1. To open the SAP Business ByDesign system from SAP Collaboration Window, click the

Open SAP Business ByDesign in a Browser icon at the top right of the SAP Collabo-ration Window screen.The SAP Business ByDesign system is maximized on your desktop

2. On the SAP Business ByDesign Logon screen, enter your user ID and password and clickLog On .

Use SAP Business ByDesign Enterprise SearchTo search quickly through the entire SAP Business ByDesign system from SAP CollaborationWindow, enter your search criteria in the entry field at the top right of the SAP CollaborationWindow screen and click the Search icon.

The SAP Business ByDesign system is maximized on your desktop and you receive a list ofsearch results. If you are not logged on to the SAP Business ByDesign system, the system firstrequests you to log on with your user ID and password.

For more information, see SAP Business ByDesign Enterprise Search.

Check Print Document HistoryTo view the history of your documents printed through SAP Collaboration Window, click . Printing .



On the . Printing tab page, you can check the time, name, and status of documents youhave printed through SAP Collaboration Window, as well as a history of any errors that mayhave occurred. You can also open and check the following log files:

• Document Log FileThis log file lists the documents that have been printed through SAP Collaboration Win-dow and where they were printed.

• Error Log FileThis log file lists all errors that occurred for documents to be printed through SAP Col-laboration Window.

• Printing Log FileThis log file lists all of your printing activities through SAP Collaboration Window.

The log files are located on the General Settings screen. From Menu , choose the GeneralSettings option, and click Log Directory.

Check Automatic Upload Status of Supplier Invoicing Documents1. On the system tray, right-click on the automatic upload icon next to the SAP Collabo-

ration Window icon, and select Show Upload Progress.The Upload Status screen appears and shows whether the upload of new scanned in-voices is successful. The automatic upload icon has a red cross or a yellow warning trianglein cases where the upload is unsuccessful. • If the upload is successful, the new invoice number is shown on the screen. If you

click the link, the invoice opens in the SAP Business ByDesign system. If you are notlogged on to the SAP Business ByDesign system, the system requests you to log onwith your user ID and password.

• If an error occurred, the reason for the error is displayed. Depending on the error, tryto restart the upload.

2. To view the scanned invoice files, depending on whether the upload was successful ornot: • Click Open Success Folder.

The Upload Success folder opens and you can double-click on the file you want toview.

• Click Open Error Folder.The Upload Error folder opens and you can double-click on the file you want toview.

3. To view the upload log, click View Log .The log file opens. You can view the date and time of the upload, the details about theupload, and the link to the uploaded file.

4. To remove an entry from the Upload Status screen, click Remove.

5. To remove all entries from the Upload Status screen, click Clear List .

Cancel Automatic Upload of Supplier Invoicing Documents1. On the system tray, right-click on the automatic upload icon next to the SAP Collabo-

ration Window icon, and select Cancel All Uploads.The Upload Status screen appears and shows a list of scanned invoices where the uploadwas unsuccessful. The reason for error is shown as Upload was canceled by user. Thescanned invoice files are stored in the Error Folder.

2. To view the scanned invoice files, click Open Error Folder and double-click on the fileyou want to view:

3. To view the upload log, click View Log .



The log file opens. You can view the date and time of the upload, the details about theunsuccessful upload, and the link to the file in the Upload Error folder.

4. To remove an entry from the Upload Status screen, click Remove.

5. To remove all entries from the Upload Status screen, click Clear List .

Report an IncidentIf you encounter a problem in SAP Collaboration Window, you can report an incident torequest support. This incident may be in response to an error message, a performance problem,or any unexpected response from the system.

1. From Menu , choose the About option.

2. To help the support organization resolve the incident, on the About SAP CollaborationWindow screen, save the files to a location by clicking Save Support Info.

3. Click the Open SAP Business ByDesign in a Browser icon at the top right of the SAPCollaboration Window screen.

4. Follow the instructions and information as outlined in the following document: Solve aProblem or Report an Incident.

5. Before sending the incident, ensure that you have attached the saved files.

6.3.2 UPLOADING SCANNED SUPPLIER INVOICES USINGAUTOMATIC UPLOAD SERVICE

OverviewYou can use an automatic upload service to upload scanned supplier invoicing documents through SAP Collabo-ration Window. On receipt of the invoicing document — usually as a TIF or GIF file — it has to be scanned as a PDFfile, and also as a TXT, RTF, or DOC file. Most optical character recognition (OCR) software products provided withscanners support these file types. This file pair is then stored automatically in a dedicated folder for further processing.When you are logged on to SAP Collaboration Window, the automatic upload service searches permanently for anynew files in the defined folder and triggers upload of these files to the SAP Business ByDesign system. Based on theinformation received from the upload service, the system creates the invoicing document, proposes the invoicingdata, and attaches the PDF and TXT, DOC, or RTF files automatically to the invoicing document. The new invoicingdocuments have the status Ready for Posting or Exception in the SAP Business ByDesign system, and can beprocessed in the same way as invoices that are uploaded manually. All events during the automatic upload arerecorded by a status monitoring service and the information is stored in sub folders within the dedicated folder.

Prerequisites • You have activated the Automatic Upload Service in SAP Collaboration Window. • You have defined the Observed folder for scanned invoices. • Your scanner software creates two files from a scanned invoice:

• PDF file • TXT, RTF, or DOC file.

For the best results, we recommend you use TXT files. • Both files are named the same so that they are recognized as a pair. For example, invoice_001.pdf and

invoice_001.txt.

• You are an employee of the company. • Your user is assigned to the Supplier Invoicing work center in the SAP Business ByDesign system.



Process Flow1. The automatic upload service identifies a new file pair in the Observed folder and sends the pair to the SAP

Business ByDesign system.

2. The system creates a new invoicing document in the Supplier Invoicing work center.The system classifies the scanned PDF file as the original document and the TXT, RTF, or DOC file as plaininvoice text. After classifying the files, the system attaches them to the invoice that has been created in the system

3. The system retrieves the following information from the plain invoice text: • Purchase Order ID • Supplier Invoice ID • Invoice Date • Supplier • Company

4. If the system can retrieve all information, it proposes the information in the new invoicing document, and theinvoice is ready for posting.You can process the supplier invoice in the Work view in the Supplier Invoicing work center. For ease of use,select the Scanned Documents in Process show filter.The automatic upload service moves the files that were transferred successfully to the Success sub folder in theObserved folder.

If the system cannot retrieve all information, the system returns the invoice with the attachedoriginal document and plain invoice text files, and the upload is unsuccessful. The files aremoved to the Error sub folder in the Observed folder. You can open the upload log to viewthe date and time of the upload, the details about the unsuccessful upload, and the link to thefile in the Upload Error folder

5. You can access the newly created invoicing document directly from SAP Collaboration Window. To do this

a. On your system tray, right-click on the Upload Service icon.

b. Select Show Upload Progress.

c. On the Upload Status screen, click on the supplier invoice ID link.The scanned invoice is opened in the SAP Business ByDesign system, where you can check the invoice forinconsistencies, resolve any exceptions, and post the document. If you are not logged on to the SAP BusinessByDesign system, the system requests you to log on with your user ID and password.

See AlsoSAP Collaboration Window Quick Guide

Quick Guide for Work (in Supplier Invoicing)

6.4 MICROSOFT OUTLOOK INTEGRATION6.4.1 BUSINESS BACKGROUND6.4.1.1 MICROSOFT OUTLOOK INTEGRATION SECURITY ADVICEAND TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Security AdviceMicrosoft Outlook Integration is based on A2X services communication in SAP Business ByDesign. Logging on tothe SAP Business ByDesign system from Outlook is certificate-based. This function is pre-configured so there areno additional steps to be made by the key user/administrator, or the end user.

To create a new client certificate, flag Create Client Certificate on the SAP Business ByDesign logon page. Thecertificate is created and stored in the browser. Only certificates from trusted certificate authorities are recognized.



With the initial log on, you will be prompted for your user ID and password. Set the flag Request/Map UserCertificate to map the certificate to your user. Once a certificate is mapped to your user, log on occurs automaticallyfor all future log ons. If there is more than one certificate for your user, a pop-up is displayed where you can selectone. We recommend that you always use the same certificate when using the Microsoft Outlook Integration func-tions.

The certificate provides you with unlimited access to the SAP Business ByDesign system. For this reason,we recommend that you guard against others using your computer by:

• Using a screen saver with password protection

• Setting the wait time for the screen saver to a short period of time, such as 2 minutes

The SAP Passport consists of:

• technical information, namely the certificate issuer, expiry date, version, and serial number

• user-specific data, namely the user and company names (provided by the Registration Authority), and the publickey of the user

• the digital signature of the SAP Trust Center

Troubleshooting GuideFor problems with the inbound scenario, when messages from Outlook do not reach the SAP Business ByDesignsystem, open the synchronization error and conflict folders available in the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In forMicrosoft Outlook.

For the outbound scenario, when changes in the system do not reach the Outlook side as expected, there is onlyone tool available: the XI monitor. There you can find relevant information on pooling problems. Note the differentstatuses such as:

• Waiting for pool — In this case the user may have not picked up the message • Acknowledged

A message triggered from Outlook may be ignored by the CRM application of the system and the synchronizationis not completed based on insufficient information, lack of authorization, or for underlying technical reasons. Inthis case, the system updates the conflict and error logs, or sends an e-mail with information on the error/conflictto the end user.

Here is a list of errors/conflicts which you may encounter.

Message / Problem Solution / Explanation

The Send Meeting Requests to Attendees function is notactive.

This function is activated only after you have created or up-dated the appointment in the SAP Business ByDesign system(with attendees in the To list), and the appointment issynchronized.

User is not authorized to create, update or delete an activity. Ensure that the user has a valid business user in the system.Ensure that the user's e-mail address is unique and has notbeen assigned to other users.Ensure that the user has been assigned the Account Man-agement and/or Service Deskwork centers.

Old / Unacknowledged messages are cluttering up the XImonitor.

These are not deleted automatically. You must delete themmanually.

The certificate logon is not working. Check the certificate mapping for the user.

If you are logged on to the SAP Business ByDesign system viathe add-in for many hours without any action, you may re-ceive an authorization error when trying to use a Microsoft

Simply log off and log on again.



Outlook Integration function. In this case, your user cookiesmay have expired.

You cannot update or delete an activity from Outlook. The system sends an e-mail notification. Ensure that the ac-tivity has not been untracked.

You cannot update an e-mail from Outlook. The system sends an e-mail notification. It is only possible toupdate the account or associated business document fields ofan e-mail activity.

You cannot update or delete an appointment from Outlook. The system sends an e-mail notification. An attendee cannotupdate or delete an appointment if the organizer is an em-ployee of the same company.

You cannot update or delete a task from Outlook. The system sends an e-mail notification. You cannot updateor delete a task in Microsoft Outlook if there has been a morerecent change to the task in the Business ByDesign system.Completed tasks cannot be deleted.

6.4.2 QUICK GUIDE FOR MICROSOFT OUTLOOK INTEGRATIONMicrosoft Outlook Integration allows you to exchange information between Microsoft Outlook and the CRMapplication of your system. You can synchronize your contacts, e-mails, appointments, and tasks to and fromOutlook; create service requests in the system from incoming e-mails; and associate e-mails, tasks and appointmentswith SAP Business ByDesign accounts, campaigns, opportunities, and leads.

Microsoft Outlook Integration supports Microsoft Outlook 2007 and 2010.

Business Background

Microsoft Outlook Integration Security Advice and Troubleshooting GuideFor more information, see the Microsoft Outlook Integration Security Advice and Troubleshooting Guide.

Activity ManagementAs part of your daily work you need to deal with various activities throughout the day, such as tasks, appointments,phone calls, letters, faxes, or e-mails. To ensure productivity and efficiency, Activity Management enables you tooptimize all activities relating to Customer Relationship Management and ensures that you do not spend too muchprecious sales time on coordinating routine tasks and activities.

For more information, see the Activities Quick Guide and Activity Management.

Important tasks

Pre-Installation ActivitiesBefore you can install and use the Microsoft Outlook Integration functions, a key user must grant you authorizationfor the Account Management work center where all data relevant to Microsoft Outlook Integration is maintained.For further information on this work center, refer to documentation available in the Help Center.

Next, the key user must make the necessary Business Configuration settings:

1. Activate Microsoft Outlook Integration.In the standard system, Microsoft Outlook Integration is not in scope. Activate this function in the scopingphase by selecting Communication and Information Exchange then the Office and Desktop Integra-tion business option. Select the Outlook Integration check box. Microsoft Outlook Integration withActivity Management, Account Synchronization to Microsoft Outlook and Account Synchronizationfrom Microsoft Outlook are now automatically included in your scope.Answer the related scoping questions for synchronizing accounts and contacts to and from Outlook. Two-waysynchronization is proposed as default. The settings here are valid for all Microsoft Outlook Integration users.



2. Select Service Request Management.This step is optional. You can enable manual or automatic creation of service requests from incoming e-mailsby going to scoping for Service → Customer Care and selecting Service Request Management. Answer therelated scoping questions under E-Mail Integration with Service Request Management and AutomaticCreation of Service Requests.

3. Assign accounts to Microsoft Outlook Integration users.In order to synchronize an account, or associate activities to that account, the user must be the employeeresponsible. For this step, there is an optional fine-tuning activity as well as a required activity for assigningaccounts to users.Optional — If you want to assign accounts without using or changing normal employee responsible determi-nation, go to fine-tuning for Sales → Party Role Definition (Business Option Sales: Account and ActivityManagement: Account Management: Party Role Definition). Create a new party role with responsibility role,ensuring that the description indicates that it is specifically for Microsoft Outlook Integration users.Required — There are two ways to assign an account. • Create a responsibility rule (recommended)

Go to the Task Distribution view (Application and User Management work center). In EmployeeWork Distribution, mark the Account Responsibility by Party Role line and click Edit . Add a rulefor each responsibility role relevant to Microsoft Outlook Integration.

• Edit the responsibility directly in the accountGo to the Accounts view in the Account Management work center. Click Edit then select Contacts.On the . Relationships and Responsibilities tab, add a new row in the Responsibilities section. Select aresponsibility type, enter the user ID of the user for whom this account should appear in My Accounts,and set the Direct Responsible checkbox.

Finally, you must maintain a business e-mail address in the Home work center (Home → Self Service → Edit MyContact Data).

Ensure that this e-mail address is assigned to one and only one user.

Install and Log On to the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft OutlookIntegration

OverviewThe SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft Outlook modifies your Outlook screens to include MicrosoftOutlook Integration functions that allow you to synchronize data between Outlook and your system.

Procedure1. Install the add-in.

Go to Home > Self Services. Under My Computer, you can check your computer settings to ensure you havethe minimum requirements, and install the add-in.

For information on how to install, and un-install the add-in, as well as background information on this andother front-end components, see Install Additional Software.

2. Restart Outlook.

Restart Outlook to activate the add-in. When you restart Outlook, the SAP Business ByDesign tool bar is addedto your Outlook screen. This tool bar contains buttons for logging in and out of the Business ByDesign system,adding activities, creating service requests, and for accessing the SAP Business ByDesign Help Center.

3. Log on to the SAP Business ByDesign system.

From Outlook, log on to the SAP Business ByDesign system by clicking Log on in the SAP tool bar.

The logon is certificate-based and runs automatically in the background.



If there is a problem with the certificate for your user, or if you are not working with certificates, a dialog boxopens where you can enter your user ID and password. Enter your URL in the SAP System field, leaving outthe /irj/portal/ portion. For example, you log on with URL http://Test.sap.corp:7000 and not http://Test.sap.corp:7000/irj/portal.

When you are working offline and cannot log on to the system, any changes to relevant e-mails,appointments, and tasks, or new items for synchronization to the SAP Business ByDesign systemare kept in a pool in Outlook. Actual synchronization of these items occurs automatically assoon as you log on to the SAP Business ByDesign system via the add-in.

If you are logged on to the SAP Business ByDesign system via the add-in for many hours withoutany action, you may receive an authorization error when trying to use a Microsoft OutlookIntegration function. In this case, your user cookies may have expired. Simply log off and logon again.

4. Check the SAP Business ByDesign folder locations

From the Outlook menu, choose Tools > SAP Business ByDesign Settings in Outlook 2007, or click on theAdd-Ins ribbon then SAP Business ByDesign Settings in Outlook 2010.

Here, the add-in automatically creates the folders used for synchronization, including the:

• Default folder:This is the main SAP Business ByDesign folder, where error and conflict information is stored.

• Accounts folderThis folder contains the accounts downloaded from the SAP Business ByDesign system.

• Contacts folderThis folder contains the contacts downloaded from the SAP Business ByDesign system.

To change any of these folders, click on the folder link, choose a new folder, and click OK.

5. In the Advanced Settings section, set the following:

a. Flag the Display Synchronization Notifications checkbox if you want the system to display synchroni-zation related notifications in a message pop-up in the Microsoft Windows task bar.

b. Flag the Display Synchronization Errors checkbox if you want the system to display synchronizationrelated errors in a message pop-up in the Microsoft Windows task bar.

c. Click Download Contacts to perform an initial synchronization.The system synchronizes only accounts in your direct responsibility, so you must ensure that, for thecontacts you wish to synchronize, the relevant accounts are listed in My Accounts in the Accounts view(Account Management work center).Hereafter, accounts and their contacts in your direct responsibility are synchronized automatically to Out-look when added or changed.

Right click on the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In icon in the Microsoft toolbar. Here,you can display synchronization errors and notifications directly, access the error andconflict folders, open the activities list, and send meeting requests.

ResultAfter synchronizing your accounts and contacts to Outlook, you can now synchronize e-mails, appointments, andtasks.



Synchronize ContactsThe system synchronizes to and from Outlook those contacts that have been assigned to your accounts in the SAPBusiness ByDesign system.

To synchronize a contact to Outlook do the following:

1. In the Account Management work center, go to the Accounts view and show All Accounts.

2. Click on the required account and select View All .

3. Go to . Relationships tab.

4. In the Responsibilities section, add a row.

5. Enter a party role.You may want to choose a role that is specific to Microsoft Outlook Integration.

6. Enter your employee ID.

7. Save and refresh.This account will now show in My Accounts. The system synchronizes the account and contact, as well as anyattachments, to Outlook where you can find them in the contact list under My Contacts → SAP BusinessByDesign Accounts or SAP Business ByDesign Contacts. Any future changes to this contact in the systemor in Outlook are synchronized automatically.

To synchronize a contact to the system, do the following:

1. Select a contact in the contact list view in Outlook and click Add Contact .

You can select multiple contacts for synchronization.

2. Associate the contact to an account.

3. Click Submit .The contact is synchronized to the system. Any future changes to this contact in the system or in Outlook aresynchronized automatically.

Synchronization information for this contact is displayed In the bottom frame of the contact in Outlook.Simply select the Click here for more details link to open a CRM system session navigated directly to theselected contact.

To create a contact or account for synchronization to the system do the following:

1. Create a new contact, for example by selecting SAP Business ByDesign Contacts in the Outlook contacts listview. Right click and choose New Contact.

2. Enter your data, save and select the . SAP Business ByDesign tab directly in the contact screen. ClickAdd Contact .

3. In the Add Contact pop-up, you can associate the contact to an existing account by clicking Associate With

and selecting an account from the list, or entering a search term to find a specific account.If the account does not exist in your system, you can create a new one from Outlook by clicking Create then

Account .Enter your details and click Create . Associate the contact with this new account.The new contact and new account are synchronized to the system. Any future changes to the contact or accountin the system or in Outlook are synchronized automatically.

Contacts must be assigned to an account in order to synchronize.

The ability to create and synchronize accounts and contacts depends on your system authorizations, aswell as your synchronization settings. Contact your key user if you have any questions or difficulties.



The user who creates and synchronizes a new account from Outlook is automatically the employee re-sponsible for that account.

There is an automatic check for duplicates. In case of a conflict, the user is informed by e-mail and theconflict log is updated. On the Business ByDesign side, there is an option to Reject/Cancel or Ignore/Save duplicate entries.

Although it is possible to delete a contact both in Outlook and in the system, the deletion is not synchron-ized. If required, you must manually delete the contact in the opposite system.

After you synchronize contacts from Business ByDesign to Outlook, the street number may appear beforethe street address.

Synchronize E-MailsYou can designate any e-mail for two-way synchronization between the SAP Business ByDesign system and MicrosoftOutlook.

To add an e-mail for synchronization, do the following in Outlook:

1. Select and open the e-mail in your inbox.

2. Click Add E-mail in the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In toolbar.Note that you can add an e-mail directly, without opening it. Right click on the e-mail in your inbox, and chooseAdd E-mail from the displayed options. Or simply select the e-mail or multiple e-mails in the list and click

Add E-mail .

3. Associate an account if desired.

4. Click Submit .An e-mail activity is created in the SAP Business ByDesign system based on information in the Outlook e-mail.

To open an e-mail activity in the system that was added from Outlook, go to the Account Management workcenter and choose the Activities view.

To view your synchronized e-mails in the fact sheet of the relevant account:

1. Go to the Account Management work center and choose the Accounts view.

2. Select the account of the contact whose e-mail you want to review.

3. Click on View All , then You Can Also → Open Overview.You can find the e-mail in the Activities section.

E-mails in the system contain information taken directly from the Outlook e-mail header and body, and includeattachments. They are ordered by date. Filter and search options are available.

To create an e-mail activity in the system for synchronization to Outlook, do the following:

1. Go to the Account Management work center.

2. Click on Common Tasks and select New E-Mail.

3. Fill in the required and optional fields and save.Your new e-mail activity is synchronized to Outlook.

Any future changes to the e-mail in the system or in Outlook are synchronized automatically.

To deactivate synchronization, click Untrack in the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In tool-bar in Outlook.

To delete the e-mail entirely, click Remove in the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In tool-bar in Outlook.

Synchronize AppointmentsYou can designate any calendar appointment for two-way synchronization between the SAP Business ByDesignsystem and Microsoft Outlook.



To add an appointment for synchronization, do the following in Outlook:

1. Select and open the appointment in your calendar.

2. Click Add Appointment .Note that you can add an appointment directly, without opening it. Right click on the appointment in yourcalendar, and choose Add Appointment from the displayed options. Or simply select the appointment ormultiple appointments and click Add Appointment .


4. Click Submit .An appointment activity is created in the system based on information in the Outlook appointment.

To open an appointment activity in the system that was added from Outlook, go to the Account Managementwork center and choose the Activities view.

Synchronized appointments can also be viewed in the fact sheet of the respective account:


2. Select the account of the contact whose appointment you want to review.

3. Click on View All , then You Can Also → Open Overview.You can find the appointment in the Activities section.

To create an appointment activity in the system for synchronization to Outlook, do the following:


2. Click on Common Tasks and select New Appointment.

3. Fill in the required and optional fields

If you maintain attendees in this appointment, a meeting request will be sent to the attendeesfrom Outlook when the appointment is synchronized.

4. Save.Your new appointment activity is synchronized to Outlook.

It is not possible to synchronize recurring appointments.

Any future changes to the appointment in the system or in Outlook are synchronized automatically.


To delete the appointment entirely, click Remove in the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In tool-bar in Out-look.

Synchronize TasksYou can designate any task for two-way synchronization between the SAP Business ByDesign system and MicrosoftOutlook.

To add a task for synchronization, do the following in Outlook:

1. Select and open the task in your To-Do List.

2. Click Add Task .Note that you can add a task directly, without opening it. Right click on the task in your task list and chooseAdd Task from the displayed options. Or simply select the task or multiple tasks and click Add Task .


4. Click Submit .



A task activity is created in the system based on information in the Outlook appointment.

To open a task activity in the system that was added from Outlook, go to the Account Management work centerand choose the Activities view.

To view synchronized tasks in the fact sheet of the respective account:


2. Select the account of the contact whose task you want to review.

3. Click on View All , then You Can Also → Open Overview..You can find the task in the Activities section.

To create a task activity in the system for synchronization to Outlook, do the following:


2. Click on Common Tasks and select New Task.

3. Fill in the required and optional fields and save.Your new task activity is synchronized to Outlook.

If you change a task in the system, the changes are automatically synchronized to Outlook. However, thereis no automatic synchronization if you change a task in Outlook that has already been synchronized! Inthis case, you must add it again to trigger synchronization to the system.


To delete the task entirely, click Remove in the SAP Business ByDesign Add-In tool-bar in Outlook.

Associate ActivitiesYou can associate e-mails, appointments and tasks to any of your Business ByDesign accounts, campaigns, oppor-tunities, or leads.

To associate an activity to an account (in this example, an e-mail activity), do the following:

1. Click Add E-mail in Outlook to synchronize an incoming e-mail to the system.

2. The SAP Business ByDesign Add-In for Microsoft Outlook determines if there is an account based on the e-mailaddress of the sender, and if so displays it in a pop-up.

3. Click Associate Account to link this account to the e-mail, or choose another account from the list.

4. An e-mail activity is created automatically in the system for the account that you choose. The system derivesthe contact for this e-mail activity from the e-mail address.

To associate an activity to a business document (in this example, an e-mail activity), do the following:

1. Click Add E-mail in Outlook to synchronize an incoming e-mail to the system.

2. Associate the e-mail to an account if desired.

3. Click Associate With .Choose the type of business document, for example campaign, opportunity, or lead, and select the relevantdocument ID from the resulting list. Or enter a search term to find a specific document.

4. An e-mail activity is created automatically in the system as a follow-up document to the campaign, opportunity,or lead that you have selected.

Synchronization information is displayed In the bottom frame of the activity in Outlook. Simply select theClick here for more details link to open a CRM system session navigated directly to the selected document.



Create Activities for an OpportunityYou can create, update, and synchronize activities for an opportunity. This can be done from your system, as outlinedin this example, or from Outlook.

1. In the New Business work center, go to the Opportunity List view, select an opportunity and click Edit .

2. On the . Sales Activities tab, create a new task, for example, or add one from Suggested Activities ifproposed by the system.

3. Save the activity.Your new activity is automatically synchronized to Outlook with an association to the opportunity.

For more information on creating activities in an opportunity, see the Opportunities Quick Guide.

Create Service Requests from E-MailsIf your system has been configured for this function, you can create a service request directly from an e-mail inMicrosoft Outlook. The details from the e-mail are added to a new service request and a new e-mail activity in thesystem.

To create a service request, do the following:

1. From your Outlook inbox, identify the e-mail that you want to follow-up with a service request.

2. Select and open the e-mail.

3. Click Create Service Request .Note that you can create a service request directly, without opening the e-mail. Right click on the e-mail inyour inbox, and choose Create Service Request from the displayed options. Or simply select the e-mail ormultiple e-mails and click Create Service Request .

4. An activity and service request are synchronized to the system, and associated to each other. You can check thisassociation in the document flow.Details in the e-mail activity and service request are taken from the Outlook e-mail: • The title of the e-mail activity is taken from the subject of the Outlook e-mail. • The notes of the e-mail activity are taken from the body text of the Outlook e-mail. • The incident description of the service request is taken from the body text of the Outlook e-mail.

To open a service request, go to the Service Requests view of the Service Desk work center.

You can also open the document in the fact sheet of the relevant account.


2. Filter and select the relevant account.

3. Click on View All , then You Can Also → Open Overview, and navigate to the Services tab.

See AlsoBusiness Configuration for Microsoft Outlook Integration

Business Configuration for Automatic Creation of Service Requests



7 PERSONALIZING SAP BUSINESS BYDESIGN

7.1 PERSONALIZATION QUICK GUIDEYou can personalize the SAP Business ByDesign solution with your preferences. You can personalize system settings,navigation settings, content and layout settings of a screen, and the Home work center.

When you select This Screen from the Personalize menu in the title bar, the personalize panel opens on the rightside of the screen. The personalize panel contains the following sections:

• Personalize Layout: A list of available content for the current screen is displayed. • Mashups and Web Services: A list of all available mashups for the current screen is displayed.

Note that any changes that you make to screen sections, tables, or fields are under your responsibility. Ifyou change the name of a field or section, the help documents do not reflect your changes.

Tasks

Hide a Screen Section1. From the Personalize menu in the screen that you want to personalize, select This Screen. The personalize

panel opens.

2. In the Screen Layout section of the personalize panel, in the Sections table, select a screen section that youwant to hide.

3. To hide the screen section, in the Sections table, deselect the Visible checkbox.

Under the Sections table, you can adjust the title of the screen section.


Display and Rename a Field1. From the Personalize menu in the screen that you want to personalize, select This Screen. The personalize

panel opens.

2. In the Screen Layout section of the personalize panel, in the Sections table, select the screen section wherethe field that you want to personalize is located.

Note: If you are on an Overview view screen, use the Personalize Overview section for thesame function.

3. In the Fields table, select the field that you want to display.

4. To display the field in the screen, in the Fields table, select the Visible checkbox of the field.

5. To adjust the display sequence of the field, in the Fields table, use the arrow buttons to move the field up ordown.

6. Under the Fields table, rename the title of the field as needed.


SAP Business ByDesignPersonalizing SAP Business ByDesign


Personalize a Table1. From the Personalize menu in the screen that you want to personalize, select This Screen. The personalize

panel opens.

2. In the Screen Layout section of the personalize panel, in the Sections table, select the screen section thatcorresponds to the table that you want to personalize.In the Fields table, all visible and hidden columns in the table are displayed.

3. To display a hidden column in the table, select the Visible checkbox of the column.

4. To adjust the display sequence of the column, use the arrow buttons to move the field up or down.

5. To adjust the appearance of the table, click Display Settings.In the Display Settings dialog box, you can define the number of rows that should be displayed, select a tabledesign and show or hide grid lines.

6. To configure the sort order of each column, click Configure Sorting.In the Configure Sorting dialog box, select a column for which you want to define a sort order and use thearrow keys add it to the list. Select a sort option from the dropdown list.

7. If the table contains values, for example, the total value of a sales order, you can configure calculation settingsby clicking Configure Calculations.In the Configure Calculations dialog box, select a column that contains a calculation and select one of thefollowing options: • Count Table Entries: When you group the table by a given value, the number of items found belonging

to each grouping value is displayed on the grouping row. • Display Result Rows at Top of Table: Display the result row of calculations at the top of the table instead

of at the bottom. • Display Intermediate Results for Sorted Columns: Display calculation results for grouped rows. • Display Intermediate Results Only: Display intermediate result rows only.

Note that if the table does not contain calculations, the list of columns in this dialog box isempty.


Personalize a Mashup1. From the Personalize menu in the screen that you want to personalize, select This Screen. The personalize

panel opens.

2. In the Mashpups and Web Services section of the personalize panel, a list of all mashups used in the currentscreen is displayed. Click on a mashup to view more information and adjust settings.

3. To make a hidden mashup visible, select the Visible checkbox.Note that the mashup will be made visible on the screen the next time you open it.

4. Under Properties, you can change the appearance of the mashup.You have the following options. Note that the options available to you vary, depending on the mashup. • Web Services Menu: The mashup can be accessed from the Web Services menu button that is typically

located in the menu bar at the top of a screen. • Web Services Menu in Section <Section Name>: The mashup can be accessed from a Web Services

menu button located in a section of a screen. • Link in Section: The mashup can be accessed using a link directly embedded in a screen section. • New Screen Section

The mashup is embedded directly into the screen as a new section. • Embedded Near Section <Section Name>: The mashup is embedded directly into the screen as a new

section. This section is located beside or below the named section.

5. Save your changes and close the personalize panel.For more information, see Mashups and Web Services.



Personalize My SettingsYou can personalize your system settings, such as data and time formats in My Settings from the Personalizemenu. For more information, see Personalizing My Settings.

Personalize the Overview ViewYou can personalize quick links, the latest news, and embedded reports in the Overview view of a work center. Formore information, see Personalizing the Overview View.

Personalize Work Center and Work Center View NavigationYou can personalize the order of the work centers in the navigation area. Using the mouse, you can drag a workcenter and drop it between two work centers. Note that you cannot change the position of the Home work center.

You can add work center views and tasks that you use the most to the Home work center. This allows you to quicklyaccess them without navigating to individual work centers. Note that you can only personalize navigation fromthe Home work center. For more information, see Personalize Navigation.

Add Sticky Notes to a ScreenYou can use sticky notes to add your own notes and comments to a business document. You can keep your stickynotes private or make them public to all users. For more information, see Using Sticky Notes.

Discard Your Personalization ChangesYou can discard all personalization changes that you have made to a screen.

1. Navigate to the screen, and from the Personalize menu, select This Screen.The personalization panel opens.

2. Click on a section of the personalization panel, for example, Mashups and Web Services or Screen Layout.

3. Click Discard .This discards all changes that you have made to the current screen from the selected section. For example, ifyou are currently in the Mashups and Web Services section and click Discard , all changes to embeddedmashups are discarded.

If you click Discard from a work center view in the Home work center, you will discard allchanges that you have made to all work centers, the order of work centers, and any settingsyou have made under My Settings.

7.2 PERSONALIZING MY SETTINGS

OverviewYou can personalize your system settings by selecting My Settings from the Personalize menu. Note that if youchange your settings, you have to log off the system and then log on again in order for your changes to take effect.

Regional SettingsYou can adapt the default system settings for the display of dates and times.

You can also select a system language. This language is used only when you log on to the system with no languagepreference in your Web browser and without specifying any language on the logon screen.



Change PasswordYou can change the password that you use to log on to the system. To change your password, enter the old passwordand then enter a new password twice to confirm that you have typed it correctly.

Onscreen HelpBy default, you are shown onscreen explanatory texts to assist you in using ByDesign. Onscreen explanatory textsconsist of text boxes that are shown at the top of a screen or screen section, and short help texts that are displayedwhen you move the cursor over a field that is underlined.

By deselecting the Display Additional Onscreen Explanatory Texts checkbox you can hide these texts.

In addition, you can activate country-specific help and learning content. This means that the standard help andlearning content will be supplemented with additional information specific to the country in which you are located.To activate country-specific content, select a country from the list.

AccessibilityYou can choose to add additional accessibility tags to PDF files that are generated when you preview a businessdocument. This makes the PDF files compatible with screen readers.

Tabbed NavigationBy default, when you click on a link in the SAP Business ByDesign system or, for example open a document forediting, the new screen is opened in a new tab at the bottom of the browser window.

If you want new screens to be opened in a separate browser window or browser tab, deselect the checkbox. Notethat if you do this, the way in which new browser windows or tabs behave depends on your individual browsersettings.

Personalize My Background ImageYou can personalize your background image and related settings to change the look and feel of your SAP BusinessByDesign solution. You can set an image as your personalized background image and adjust the color and trans-parency settings associated to the background image. For more information, see Personalize My Background Im-age.

Note that you can personalize your background image in the Gold Reflection theme only.

7.3 PERSONALIZE MY BACKGROUND IMAGE

OverviewYou can personalize your background image and related settings to change the look and feel of your SAP BusinessByDesign solution. You can set an image as your personalized background image and adjust the color and trans-parency settings associated to the background image.

Your changes take effect immediately and are only visible to you.

PrerequisitesYou must use the Gold Reflection theme.

Procedure1. From the Personalize menu, select My Background Image.



2. To upload your background image, in the My Background Image window, click Browse and choose an imagefile.

The image file should be in .png or .jpg format. We recommend that the size of the image is the size of yourscreen resolution. The size of the image cannot exceed 1MB.

You can also drag and drop an image file or a ByDesign Background image file (.ByDbkg) tothe image area.

3. Choose the position of your background image. By default, the image fills the background screen.

4. In the Color and Transparency field, open the color pane and choose a color as a layer on top of yourbackground image. By default, the color is black and remains invisible.

In the Select Color screen, you have the following options:

• In the color pane, click to select a starting color and move to select the color that you want to use. • Under the color pane, choose a recently used color. • Adjust the HSB or RGB settings for the color. • Enter a hexadecimal color code of the color. For example, enter #FF0000FF for blue.

5. Adjust the transparency of the color layer. By default, the color layer transparency is set to 0%.

6. Adjust the transparency of the sidebars. By default, the sidebar transparency is set to 100%.

7. To save your changes, click OK .

You can also drag and drop one or more images or ByDesign Background image files (.ByDbkg)to a SAP Business ByDesign screen and use one image or file for your background image settings.

You can export your background image and related settings as a ByDesign Background imagefile (.ByDbkg). To do this, in the My Background Image screen, click More and then

Export… .

To remove your background image and related settings, in the My Background Image screen,click More and then Reset All .

7.4 PERSONALIZING THE OVERVIEW VIEW

You can personalize the SAP Business ByDesign solution with your preferences. You can personalize quick links,the latest news, and the embedded reports in the Overview view of a work center.

From the Overview view of a work center, when you select This Screen from the Personalize menu in the titlebar, the personalize panel opens on the right side of the screen. The personalize panel contains the following sections:

• Personalize Overview: A list of available content for the current screen is displayed. • Mashups and Web Services: A list of all available mashups for the current screen is displayed. • Personalize Navigation: Lists of all available work center views and tasks for the Home work center are

displayed.

Note that the Personalize Navigation section is only visible in the Overview view of theHome work center.

Any changes that you make to screen sections, tables, or fields are under your responsibility. If you changethe name of a field or section, the help documents do not reflect your changes.



Personalize Quick Links

1. From the Personalize menu in the Overview view that you want to personalize, select This Screen. Thepersonalize panel opens.

2. In the Personalize Overview section of the personalize panel, select Quick Links from the Available Con-tent list.

If you want to hide the Quick Links section in the Overview view, deselect the Visible checkboxof Quick Links in the Personalize Overview section.

3. Under General Properties, adjust the title, if required, and specify whether the section should be expanded orcollapsed when you launch the Overview view.

4. Under Quick Link Groups, you can show and hide groups of quick links from the work center views that youare assigned to. The available quick link groups depend on your authorizations of the current work center.For each quick link group, you can show and hide an individual quick link.

5. Save your changes and close the personalize panel.

Personalize Latest News

1. From the Personalize menu in the Overview view that you want to personalize, select This Screen. Thepersonalize panel opens.

2. In the Personalize Overview section of the personalize panel, select Latest News from the Available Con-tent list.

If you want to hide the Latest News section in the Overview view, deselect the Visible checkboxof Latest News in the Personalize Overview section.

3. Under General Properties, adjust the title, if required, and specify whether the section should be expanded orcollapsed when you launch the Overview view.

4. Under List of Feeds, Adjust the visibility of the existing RSS feeds, if applicable.

5. To add a new feed, Under List of Feeds, click Add Feed .

6. Under Feed Properties, enter the URL of the feed and specify the maximum number of displayed items. Toconfirm your entries, click OK .


Personalize an Embedded Report

1. From the Personalize menu in the Overview view that you want to personalize, select This Screen . Thepersonalize panel opens.

2. In the Personalize Overview section of the personalize panel, select a report that you want to personalize fromthe Available Content list.

If you want to hide the report, deselect the Visible checkbox of the report in the AvailableContent list of the Personalize Overview section.

3. Under General Properties, adjust the name of the report and specify whether it should be expanded or collapsedwhen you launch the Overview view.

4. Under Properties, if applicable, select the default view format and variant.


Add an Embedded Report




2. In the Personalize Overview section of the personalize panel, in the Add a Report list, select the report thatyou want to display in the Overview view.The available reports depend on your authorizations of the current work center.

3. Under General Properties, adjust the name of the report and specify whether it should be expanded or collapsedwhen you launch the Overview view.

4. Under Properties, if applicable, select the default view format and variant.

5. To add the report to the Overview view, click Add .The report is added to the Available Content list and is visible in the Overview view of the current workcenter.


Personalize Screen Layout


2. In the Personalize Overview section of the personalize panel, click Personalize Layout .

3. In the Visible Content list, select the screen section that you want to personalize.The screen section can be quick links, latest news, reports, or other sections available in the Overview view.

If you want to hide a screen section in the Overview view, deselect the Visible checkbox of thescreen section in the Personalize Overview section.

4. To adjust the layout of a screen section, you have the following options: • To display the section across the full width of the Overview view, select both boxes under Layout. • To display the section on the left half of the Overview view only, select the left box under Layout. • To display the section on the right half of the Overview view only, select the right box under Layout.

5. To adjust the display sequence in the Overview view, select the screen section and then use the arrow buttonsand move it up or down.


To personalize the content of the Overview view, you can click Add Content .

Personalize a Mashup


2. In the Mashpups and Web Services section of the personalize panel, a list of all mashups used in the currentscreen is displayed. Click on a mashup to view more information and adjust settings.

3. To make a hidden mashup visible, select the Visible checkbox.Note that the mashup will be made visible on the screen the next time you open it.

4. Under Properties, you can change the appearance of the mashup.You have the following options. Note that the options available to you vary, depending on the mashup. • Web Services Menu: The mashup can be accessed from the Web Services menu button that is typically

located in the menu bar at the top of a screen. • Web Services Menu in Section <Section Name>: The mashup can be accessed from a Web Services

menu button located in a section of a screen. • Link in Section: The mashup can be accessed using a link directly embedded in a screen section.



• Embedded Near Section <Section Name>: The mashup is embedded directly into the screen as a newsection. This section is located beside or below the named section.

5. Save your changes and close the personalize panel.For more information, see Mashups and Web Services.

Personalize NavigationYou can add work center views and tasks that you use the most to the Home work center. This allows you to quicklyaccess them without navigating to individual work centers. Note that you can only personalize navigation fromthe Home work center.

For more information, see Personalize Navigation.

7.5 PERSONALIZING NAVIGATION

OverviewYou can add work center views and tasks that you use the most to the Home work center. This allows you to quicklyaccess them without navigating to individual work centers. These views and tasks are linked in the Home workcenter and are not removed from the existing work center.

Add a Work Center View to the Home Work Center

1. Navigate to the work center view that you want to add to the Home work center.

2. From the Personalize menu, select Add this View to Home.

3. The work center view is added to the work center view list of the Home work center in the navigation area.You can find it under the existing work center views in the Home work center. In the Signature theme, thework center view is also displayed in the navigation panel in the Home work center.

Add Work Center Views to the Home Work Center

1. From the Overview view of the Home work center, from the Personalize menu, select This Screen.

2. In the personalize panel, select the Personalize Navigation section.In the Available View list, you find all work centers that can be assigned to the Home work center.

Note that the work center views that are added to the Home work center are included in theAvailable View list.

3. To add a work center view to the Home work center, select the Visible checkbox of the work center view. Thework center view is added to the work center view list of the Home work center in the navigation area. Youcan find it under the existing work center views in the Home work center.In the Signature theme, the work center view is also displayed in the navigation panel in the Home work center.

4. To rename the work center view, click the work center view and rename it in the Title field.

5. Save your changes.

Remove Work Center Views from the Home Work Center


2. In the personalize panel, select the Personalize Navigation section. In the Available View list, you find allwork centers that are assigned to the Home work center.

3. To remove a work center view from the Home work center, deselect the Visible checkbox of the work centerview.




Add Tasks to the Home Work Center


2. In the personalize panel, select the Personalize Navigation section. In the Available Common Tasks list,you find all tasks that can be assigned to the Home work center.

Note that the tasks that are added to the Home work center are included in the AvailableCommon Tasks list.

3. To add a task to the Home work center, select the Visible checkbox of the task. The task view is then added tothe Common Tasks in the Home work center. You can find it under the existing tasks in the Home workcenter.

Tip: In the Gold Reflection theme, you can find common tasks in the Taskbar; in the Signaturetheme, you can find common tasks in the navigation panel.

4. To rename the task, click on the task and rename it in the Title field.


Remove Tasks from the Home Work Center


2. In the personalize panel, select the Personalize Navigation section. In the Available Common Tasks list,you find all tasks that are assigned to the Home work center.

3. To remove a task from the Home work center, deselect the Visible checkbox of the task.


Note that you cannot change the name or the visibility of the default work center views or tasks in theHome work center.

Note: If you click Discard in a work center view in the Home work center, you reset all changes that youhave made to all work centers, the order of the work centers, and any settings you have made under MySettings.

7.6 USING STICKY NOTES

OverviewSticky notes allow you to add your own notes and comments to a business document that you are working on.Sticky notes can either be private, meaning only you can see your notes, or public, meaning that other users cansee them.

For example, you are processing a sales order and want to leave a reminder for yourself. You can create a privatesticky note and attach it to the sales order. Alternatively, if you want to add a note to a document that is going tobe processed by another employee in your company, you can add a public note to inform the employee of importantinformation that cannot be included in the document itself.

Adding a Sticky NoteYou can add a sticky note to a screen by clicking once on the sticky note icon in the top right corner of the screenor by selecting Add Note from the stick notes menu button. To enter text, click on the sticky note and start typing.



Note that when you create a sticky note it has the status private. If you want to make a sticky note public, click onthe public icon.

You can position a sticky note anywhere on the screen by dragging and dropping it to the required location.

Minimizing Sticky NotesYou can minimize a sticky note so that it is not displayed directly on the screen. Instead it can be accessed from thesticky note menu button by selecting the note you require from the menu, or by clicking Restore All Notes tomaximize all notes available for the screen.

Removing All Sticky NotesYou can delete all sticky notes that you have created on a screen by selecting Remove all Notes from the stickynotes menu.

Searching for Sticky NotesYou can search for the content of a sticky note using the basic or enterprise search, or by using the search functionin a relevant work center view.



8 INCIDENTS

8.1 SOLVE A PROBLEM OR REPORT AN INCIDENT

OverviewIf you encounter a problem in the application, you can search existing knowledge bases for a solution. If no solutionis available, you can report an incident to your key user to request help in solving the problem. The system collectscontext data, such as system information and relevant business data, and attaches it to the incident. This givesinformation about the system at the time at which the incident occurred and helps your provider to better under-stand the problem if your key user cannot solve the incident. The context data is only useful if you report theincident from the screen on which the problem occurred, however, since it includes information that is specific tothis screen. It is important, therefore, that you always report application-related incidents from the screen on whichthey occur. To do so, click HELP CENTER → Solve Problem or Report Incident.

If you encounter a problem when exporting or uploading business data to or from Microsoft Excel, you can alsoaccess the Solve Problem or Report Incident screen from the SAP Business ByDesign tab of Microsoft Excel byclicking Help → Report an Incident.

To report a problem that is not related to the application, for example, if you encounter hardware resource issues,go to Home → Self-Services Overview and click New Incident under Service and Support.

PrerequisitesYou have configured your computer settings correctly by choosing Check My Computer Settings from the logonscreen. For more information, see Check My Computer Settings.

Procedure1. Navigate to the Solve Problem or Report Incident screen as described above.

If you cannot access this screen, contact your key user by telephone or e-mail or ask yourmanager to report an incident on your behalf as described below under Exceptional Case: Reportan Incident on Behalf of an Employee.

2. In the Search for Solution step, in the Find field, enter key terms relating to the incident (for example, salesorder).

To refine your search, click Advanced and define additional search criteria, such as the work center view onwhich the problem occurred.

Click Go .

The system searches the following repositories for solutions to the problem:

Repository TypesRepository Description

Business Center Fo-rum

The Business Center is a platform for users to build a community within which they can exchangeknowledge. It includes discussion forums in which users can post questions and discuss topicsrelated to SAP Business ByDesign.

SAP Business ByDesignIncidents


Case Library The SAP Business ByDesign Case Library is a collection of problems along with their solutionsand workarounds.

Built-In Help Built-In Help comprises the documents in the SAP Business ByDesign Library and the learningcontent.

If you enter keywords in a language other than English and you receive too few hits, repeatyour search using English keywords to increase the chance of receiving a larger number of hits.

3. Click the title of the document you want to read and determine whether it solves the problem.

If you cannot find a solution to the problem, click Next to report the incident to your key user.

4. In the Enter Incident Information step, specify the information that your key user requires to solve theincident:

a. In the Subject field, enter a brief description of the problem.

b. Select the priority of your incident based on the following information.

Business Impact for Incident PrioritiesBusiness Impact Priority

Critical business processes are affected and crucial tasks cannot be carried out. The incidentrequires immediate attention because it could result in business downtime for the organiza-tion. Security-related incidents must always be assigned this priority.If you want to report an incident with this priority to SAP outside of your standard localbusiness hours, enter the incident information in English to ensure that it can be processedby after hours support, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Very High

Key business processes are affected and important tasks cannot be carried out. The incidentrequires prompt attention because it could delay business processes.

High

Business processes are affected, but the incident has only a minor impact on business pro-ductivity.

Medium

The issue has little or no effect on business processes. Low

c. Select the appropriate category for your incident.

Incident CategoriesCategory Description

Help Material In-correct or Missing

You cannot find information about a part of the system, or the information you find isinaccurate.

How-To Question You have a question about how to complete an activity in the system.

Insufficient SystemPerformance

The performance of your system has a negative effect on business processes.

Integration Issuewith Another Sys-tem or Service

You are having problems configuring data exchange between the system and other applica-tions.

Issue with Addi-tional SAP Software

You are having problems with additional SAP software, such as the software that key userscan download under Application and User Management → Business Flexibility →Download Center .For more information, see the Download Center Quick Guide.

Issue with Outputor Communication

You are having problems integrating the solution with output or communication devicessuch as your printer or e-mail program.

Issue with User Ac-count

You are having problems related to your user account.If you cannot access the system, ask your manager to report an incident on your behalf. Formore information, see Exceptional Case: Report an Incident on Behalf of an Employee below.



Missing or Incor-rect Functionality

Part of the solution does not work as expected, or essential functions or data are missing (thismay be due to authorization issues).

Missing or Incor-rect Data or Text

Data or text that appears on the screen is incorrect.

Service Request You want to request a service such as an add-on form or report.

Unexpected Termi-nation or SystemCrash

A fatal error has occurred in your system.

Warning or ErrorMessage

An error message is issued that requires key user support, for example, an error messageinforming you that master data is missing that you are not authorized to maintain yourself.

d. In the Incident Description field, enter a detailed description of the problem that includes the followinginformation: • The events or actions that led to the problem, that is, details of how to reproduce the problem • The results you expected (for example, different values or a more detailed error message) • If you are not reporting the incident from the Help Center, also include the following information in

your description: • Your user name • The work center and view in which the issue occurred • The documents or object IDs in which the issue occurred • The system behavior (for example, the error message displayed)

For security reasons, never include your password anywhere in the incident.

If you are a key user and you want to send the incident directly to your provider,select the Forward to Service Provider checkbox.

e. Optional: To help your key user understand your problem quickly, you can provide screen shots or otherrelevant information as attachments. In the Attachments section, click Add , then choose File orLink to upload or link any relevant screen shots or files to the incident.

f. To save your entries, click Finish .

5. In the Confirmation step, choose one of the following options:

• Click Close to return to the screen from which you reported the incident. • Click Edit Incident Information to change your entries or add information to the incident.

ResultThe incident is submitted to your key user, who either solves your problem directly or forwards the incident to theprovider for further analysis.

You can track the progress of the incidents you have reported from one of the following locations:

• Go to Home → Self-Services Overview and click Track My Incidents under Service and Support. • Go to HELP CENTER → Track My Incidents.

For more information, see Working with Incidents.

Exceptional Case: Report an Incident on Behalf of an Employee

Use this function in emergencies only, because it does not allow valuable context information to be attachedto the incident.

If you are a manager, you can report an incident on behalf of one of your employees if he or she is unable to do so.



1. Go to the Managing My Area work center. In the taskbar, click Common Tasks and choose Call EmployeeServices On Behalf.

2. Select the name of the employee on whose behalf you want to report an incident and click New Incident underService and Support.

3. Search for a solution to the problem as described above and if no solution is available, report the incident toyour key user.

8.2 WORKING WITH INCIDENTSYou can track the progress of the incidents you have reported from one of the following locations:

• Go to Home → Self-Services Overview and click Track My Incidents under Service and Support. • Go to HELP CENTER → Track My Incidents.

The My Requests view is displayed with a list of all the incidents you have reported. Only the open incidents aredisplayed by default, but you can change the filter settings of the list to display completed incidents only.

To view the details of an incident, click its ID or subject. To open an incident for editing, select it from the list andclick Edit .

Business Background

Incidents OverviewAn incident is a non-standard occurrence in the system that interrupts the operation of a service, or may reducethe quality of a service immediately or in the near future. An incident appears to the user as unexpected systembehavior, such as:

• An unexpected or unclear error message on the screen • Incorrect or missing data • System performance problems

If you encounter a problem in the application, you can search existing knowledge bases for a solution. If no solutionis available, you can report an incident to your key user to request help in solving the problem.

For more information about searching for solutions and reporting incidents, see Solve a Problem or Report anIncident.

Tasks and NotificationsWhen the processor or provider makes a change to your incident, you receive a task or notification. You also receivea notification if an incident requires action on your part but you have not made any changes to it for 30 days.

To view your tasks and notifications, go to Home → Inbox. You can receive the following types of task andnotification:

• Task — Check Incident [for Requester]You receive this task when the processor returns the incident to you with a request for more information or aproposed solution.

• Notification — Incident Updated [by Processor]You receive this notification when the processor adds new information to the incident without changing itsstatus.

• Notification — Incident Updated [by Provider]You receive this notification when the processor forwards the incident to the provider and the provider addsnew information to the incident.

• Notification — Incident Overdue [for Requester]You receive this notification when an incident requires action on your part but you have not made any changesto it for 30 days to inform you that the incident will be completed automatically in a further 60 days if no changeshave been made to it.



For more information, see Business Task Management.

Configuration Settings

Configuration settings are normally performed by a key user. If you do not have the required authorization,contact your key user.

It is possible to configure certain elements of some of these notifications in the Business Task Management forIncident Management business configuration activity. To find this activity, go to the Business Configurationwork center and choose the Implementation Projects view. Select your implementation project and click

Open Activity List . Select the Fine-Tune phase, then select the Business Task Management for Incident Man-agement activity from the activity list.

If the Business Task Management for Incident Management activity is not displayed in the activity list, makesure you have selected All Activities from the Show dropdown list. If the activity is still not displayed, you can addit to the list by clicking Add Optional Activities and selecting the In Activity List checkbox for the Business TaskManagement for Incident Management activity. This activity is only available for selection if the Built-In Serv-ices and Support activity group is in scope for your project.

Tasks

Track Your IncidentsThe list in the My Requests view shows the ID and subject of each incident to help you locate the incident you areinterested in and also indicates the date on which the incident was reported, the date on which it was last changed,its processor, and its status.

If you select Incidents — Open from the Show dropdown list, the system displays all incidents that have one ofthe following statuses:

Incident Status DescriptionsStatus Description

New You have recently reported the incident and no key user has yet taken it over for processing.

In Process The incident is being processed by a key user.

Requester Action Action is required on your part.

Solution Proposed The processor has proposed a solution to the incident and you must now decide whether the acceptor reject it.

In Process – Reop-ened

You have rejected a proposed solution and returned the incident to the processor for further analysis.

If you select Incidents — Completed from the Show dropdown list, the system displays all incidents that haveone of the following statuses:

Incident Status DescriptionsStatus Description

Completed You have canceled the incident, the processor has completed it manually, or no changes have beenmade to it for 90 days and it has been completed automatically.

Completed — Solu-tion Rejected

You have rejected a proposed solution and then canceled the incident because it is no longer validor you have solved it by other means, or the processor has completed the incident manually afteryou rejected the proposed solution.

Completed — Solu-tion Accepted

You have accepted a proposed solution and the incident is resolved from your point of view.

If an incident has one of the three statuses in the above table, you cannot make changes to it or reopen it for furtherprocessing.



Edit an Incident Without Changing Its StatusYou can make various changes to an incident without changing its status, for example, if you have already submittedthe incident to your key user but then realize that you have not provided all of the relevant information:

• On the . General tab, in the Note field, you can enter additional information for the key user. • On the . Incident Information tab, you can modify the priority of the incident (but not its subject, category,

or description). • On the . Attachments tab, you can and add files or links to the incident. In this case, you must also enter a

brief explanation of your changes on the . General tab in the Note field.

Click Submit .

The status of the incident does not change.

Your changes are transferred to the processor of the incident, but are not visible to the provider if the processorforwards the incident to him or her. The provider can view the incident description and notes entered for him orher by the processor, but cannot view notes exchanged between you and the processor.

Reply to a Question from the Processor1. If the processor requires more information about the incident, he or she returns it to you with a question. To

view the processor's question, click . General .

2. Enter your reply in the Note field.Click Submit .The status of the incident changes to In Process.Your changes are transferred to the processor of the incident, but are not visible to the provider if the processorforwards the incident to him or her. The provider can view the incident description and notes entered for himor her by the processor, but cannot view notes exchanged between you and the processor.

Cancel an IncidentIf an incident you have reported is no longer valid, for example, because you have managed to solve it by othermeans, you can cancel it by clicking Cancel Incident .

A note entitled Remark for all processors with the text Incident canceled by requester is added tothe incident automatically and the status of the incident changes to Completed.

Use the Trace Function

Do not use this function unless instructed to do so by the processor, since it can be performance-intensive.

If the processor requires more information about the steps you carried out immediately prior to the issue occurring,he or she returns the incident to you with a note asking you to provide this information by clicking Start Trace

and repeating the steps that resulted in the issue.

View the Solution Proposed by the ProcessorYou can view the solution proposed by the processor on the . General tab. The solution comprises a note fromthe processor and any documents he or she has found that may help to solve your problem. To open a documentand determine whether it solves your problem, click its title.

Accept a Proposed Solution and Complete the IncidentIf the solution proposed for your incident solves the problem, enter a text in the Note field if relevant and thenclick Accept Solution to complete the incident.

The status of the incident changes to Completed — Solution Accepted.



Incidents are set to Completed automatically if no changes are made to them for 90 days.

Reject a Proposed SolutionIf the solution proposed for your incident does not solve the problem, enter a text in the Note field explaining whythe solution does not work and click Reject Solution .

The status of the incident changes to In Process — Reopened and the incident is returned to the processor forfurther analysis.

If the incident is no longer valid, for example, because you have managed to solve it by other means, you can cancelit after rejecting the proposed solution by clicking Cancel Incident .

A note entitled Remark for all processors with the text Incident canceled by requester is added tothe incident automatically and the status of the incident changes to Completed — Solution Rejected.



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