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Chapter :8 Report Painter/Report Writer

Chapter :9 Contents
Overview................................................................................................................. 82
Where is Report Painter/Report Writer Used?....................................................83
How to Access Report Painter/Report Writer?....................................................84
How s Report Painter/Report Writer Or!ani"ed?...............................................8#
How $oes Report Painter $i%%er %ro& Other Reportin! 'oo(s?..........................8#
O)tp)t and *or&at o% Report Painter/Report Writer...........................................8+
*re,)ent(- As.ed /)estions................................................................................80
Where to 1earn 2ore........................................................................................... 813
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In this chapter you will learn:
The basics of Report
Painter/Report Writer
How the Report
Painter/Report Writer tools
are organized
Answers to some of the
most freuently as!ed
uestions about the tool
2
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Overview
Report Painter and Report Writer can
be used to easily create currency" or
uantity"type reports in R/#$
%&amples of these reports include
'nancial statements( sales reports(
and in)entory reports$ *ince both
tools wor! with the same reporting
control tables( you can use either
tool to create reports on the
con'gured tables$
With the Report Painter you can report on data from multiple applications$ It uses
a graphical report structure which forms the basis for report de'nition$ When
de'ning the report( you wor! with a structure that corresponds to the 'nal
structure of the report$ With Report Painter+s intuiti)e W,*IW,- approach to
report design( you de'ne a report on a form that displays the rows and columns
as they will appear in the report output$
What Is the Difference Between Report Painter and Report Writer?
%arlier releases of the R/# *ystem were deli)ered only with Report Writer$ .ater(
the user interface of Report Writer was enhanced and o/ered to users as Report
Painter$ As shown in the graphic below( Report Painter adds an easy"to"use
graphical interface to the core functionality of Report Writer$
4raphica(
nter%ace
4raphica(
nter%ace
Report Writer
5
Report Painter
6
What Is Report Painter?
With Report Painter you can report on data from multiple applications$ It uses a
graphical report structure which forms the basis for report de'nition$ When
de'ning a report( you wor! with a structure that corresponds to the 'nal
structure of the report$ With Report Painter+s intuiti)e W,*IW,- approach to
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/ ) e r -
R / 3 R e p o r t
$ e v e ( o p & e n t
' o o ( s
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report design( you de'ne a report on a form that displays the rows and columns
as they will appear in the report output$
What Is Report Writer?
0ust li!e Report Painter( Report Writer lets you report on data from multiple
applications$ 1sing elements such as sets( )ariables( formulas( cells( and !ey
'gures( you can create comple& reports that meet speci'c reporting
reuirements$
Note: Report Writer has been a)ailable since the early 2Release 3$& and
earlier4 releases of the R/# *ystem$ 1sers could access Report Painter )ia a
transaction code in Release 3$3$ Howe)er( Report Painter was formally made
a)ailable in Release #$&$
Where Is Report Painter/Report Writer Used?
Initially( both tools were only a)ailable to the 5I/67 modules$ .ater( with the
introduction of the .ogistics Information *ystem and 5le&ible Analyses in Release
#$&( the functionality of these tools was further e&panded$ It still is not widely
!nown that the Report Painter/Writer can be used for reporting against structures
other than those deli)ered in 5I and 67 2see TechTal! on page 8"94$
A common misconception in the user community is that Report Painter/Report
Writer can only be used to report against a single table$ Howe)er( some
reporting structures do report against multiple tables$ 5or e&ample( 66** 2for
6ost 6enter Accounting4 refers to tables 67*P( 67** and more( depending on
the !ey 'gure con'guration$ *imilarly( 5I"*. 2*pecial Purpose .edger4 reporting
structures include summary and line"item tables 2the !ey 'gure set determines
where the data comes from4$
To con'gure other table :oins( )iews may be created :oining the necessary
tables( and )iews can be added to the control tables( )ia 5le&ible Analyses in .I*$
Report Painter/Report Writer can be used in almost any application area in R/# to
report on currencies and uantities$
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Data tables supported
;oth Report Painter and Report Writer can be used to report on the following
tables and tables types:
%)aluation structures set up in the .ogistics Information *ystem 2.I*4$
These structures normally begin with an <S= or <ZF.= *e)eral di/erent
tables and )iews within the R/# *ystem can be added as e)aluation
structures$
>ote: ,ou cannot add cluster tables( such as BSEG$
CCSS is used for 6ost 6enter Accounting 267"66A4( Internal 7rders 267"
7PA4( Acti)ity ;ased 6osting 267"A;64 and for cost element reports in
Pro:ect *ystems 2P*4$
GLFUNCT is used for functional area reporting in cost"of"sales accounting$
GLPCT and GLPCOP are used for Pro't 6enter Accounting 267"P6A/%6"P6A4$
FILC is used for .egal 6onsolidations 25I".64$
COFIT is used for the 6ontrolling Reconciliation .edger 267"6%.4$
ZZ tables are created for the *pecial Purpose .edger 25I"*.4$
FIMC is used for consolidations in the %nterprise 6ontrolling module 2%6"
.64$
GLT0 is used for 5inancial Accounting 2-eneral .edger4 reports by account(
company( and business area 25I"-.4$
KKBC( KKBE( and KKBU are used for the 6ontrolling Product 6osting module
267"6osting4$
New in Release 4.0A: RWCOOM is used for 67"66A( 67"7PA( and 67"A;6$
RWCOOM is used for special standard reports li!e internal order budget
reports( cost center budget reports and cost component reports$
>ote: RPPS was used for Pro:ect *ystems 2P*4$ Howe)er( it is obsolete and will
no longer be supported in Release 9$?$ In Release #$& there were only two
special reports 2@PA? and @PAB4 using RPPS$ These reports cannot be called
directly( but )ia A;AP reports RKOPLAN0 and RKOPLAN$
ow to !ccess Report Painter/Report Writer?
To access the Report Painter you may use either of the following two methods:
Transaction FGRP
5rom the *AP main menu( choose In!"#$a%i"n s&s%e$s A' (") #e*"#%s
Re*"#% *ain%e#$
Report Writer functions can be accessed from within the Report Painter$ To
access Report Writer( choose the following menu path from the *AP main menu:
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In!"#$a%i"n s&s%e$s A' (") #e*"#%s Re*"#% *ain%e# Re*"#% W#i%e#.
ow Is Report Painter/Report Writer Or"ani#ed?
Report Painter/Report Writer has four main components:
Sets: *ets are logical groupings of characteristic )alues$ 5or e&ample( a
cash line on a balance sheet is made up of a set of cash accounts or an
energy product line on an in)entory report is made up of a set of energy
products$ Cariables can also be created which are placeholders for sets( or
)alues within sets$
Libraries: .ibraries control which characteristics and !ey 'gures from a
table are a)ailable for reporting$
Reports: Reports hold a de'nition of the rows( columns( and o)erall data
selection$ They also include the header and footer te&ts and layout settings$
Report Groups: Report groups can contain one or more reports$ The
report group is what you e&ecuteDnot the actual report$ A report group is
generated to create a set of A;AP programs that produce the reports$
ow Does Report Painter Differ fro$ Other Reportin" %oo&s?
With the e&ception of row titles which ha)e te&t 'elds( Report
Painter/Report Writer reports display numerical 'elds only 2for e&ample( dollar
and uantity 'elds4$ This is not a reuirement for A;AP Euery and typical line
item reporting tools( which can display arbitrary te&t columns$
While printed Report Painter/Report Writer reports appear much the same
way on paper as they do on screen( the Frilldown reporting tool produces a
di/erent output format$ Frilldown reporting is an online analytical tool which
can be used to drill down to di/erent le)els of detail( but it is infreuently
used for printing$
Report Painter/Report Writer reports are hierarchical and ta!e ad)antage
of con'gured hierarchies 2for e&ample( with cost center hierarchies4$ ,ou can
also e&ecute Report Painter/Report Writer reports from each le)el within a
hierarchy$
Report Painter/Report Writer reports can handle multiple currency/uantity
units within a single column$
Report Painter/Report Writer is well suited to handle reports that reuire
mass production$ 5or e&ample( Report Painter/Report Writer is a particularly
e/ecti)e tool for creating month"end reports$
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O'tp't and (or$at of Report Painter/Report Writer
Report Painter/Report Writer reports can be:
Fisplayed on the screen and then printed
%&ecuted in the bac!ground and displayed or printed from the print ueue
*a)ed as e&tract 'les and )iewed at a later time
Fisplayed on the screen using *AP -raphics
Fownloaded to a spreadsheet 2for e&ample( Gicrosoft %&cel4 or a Hat 'le
The sample report shown below was created using an e)aluation structure
created in the .ogistics Information *ystem 2.I*4$ The e)aluation structure uses a
)iew from the data dictionary that combines tables +BRP 2a billing line item
table4 and MARA 2a material master record table4$
,ou may sort the output on any column in the report by using the sort
buttons$ There is also threshold capability to show certain )alues in di/erent
colors$
Report 6all 2sometimes referred to as the drilldown function4 is also
a)ailable and can be set up to call the billing document display transaction or
a standard *AP report or many others$
The report may be sa)ed as an e&tract and )iewed online later$ These reports do
not lose any of their online capabilities when sa)ed as e&tracts$
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(re)'ent&* !s+ed ,'estions
To help you better understand this tool( in this section we include some of the most freuently
as!ed uestions$
Des+top Inte"ration
,:
What sort of integration with spreadsheet applications (for example,
Microsoft xcel or Lotus !"#$ does this tool pro%ide&
!:
The integration with Gicrosoft %&cel includes a download in a special 'le format
2I$RPW4( which reuires the des!top component Re*"#% W#i%e#: MS E,)el Lin-$ It
pro)ides an %&cel add"in for na)igation and drilldown$
Report Painter/Writer reports can be downloaded/e&ported in the A*6II format$
,:
What integration is supported for xtended xport of Lists (''L$&
!:
>one$
,:
(s an external s)stem or special interface re*uired to use this report
de%elopment tool&
!:
>o$
-peed and Perfor$ance
,:
+oes this reporting tool create reports that o,er real-time processing of
data&
!:
The reports are real"time so long as the data is real"time$ Gost data used by Report
Painter/Report Writer is real"time$ %&tract management establishes a !ind of cache
to the database 2oJine selection4$
,:
.ow does the speed of report execution change as the data load
increases& /hat is, do reports created with this tool get %er) slow as
s)stem data increases&
!:
>o( Report Writer/Report Painter is designed for mass production of reports and is
especially well suited for batch processing$
,:
0re there an) methods (for example, 1SS notes, con2guration, or others$
which users can emplo) to optimi3e or enhance report execution speed&
!:
Performance depends on a number of factors$ 5ine tuning performance often
reuires a sound understanding of Report Painter/Report Writer and the databases$
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Inte"ration with -tandard R/. -*ste$
,:
.ow is R4# data integrated for use b) this tool&
!:
Report Writer/Report Painter primarily supports 5inancial accounting and 6ontrolling
modules 2'nancial controlling( treasury( controlling( in)estment management(
enterprise controlling( and some industry solutions4$ Howe)er( refer to boo! 3(
Re*"#% .e/el"*$en% T""ls for more information on how to integrate .I* data with
Report Painter/Report Writer$
,:
What is the a%ailabilit) of reports created with this tool as deli%ered with
standard R4#&
!:
.argely( the a)ailability of standard reports created with this tool depends on the
application area$ 5or e&ample( there are standard reports for 67"7G but there are no
standard 5I"*. reports that were deli)ered with the Report Painter/Writer$
/now&ed"e 0eve& Re)'ired for Report Deve&op$ent
,:
(s it di5cult to learn how to de%elop reports with this tool&
!:
Fe'ning a report with the Report Writer reuires a longer time to learn( whereas the
Report Painter is much easier to use$ Howe)er( the Report Painter only co)ers
appro&imately 8?"K?L of Report Writer+s functionality$
Report Painter/Report Writer also o/er He&ibility in designing title page and header
lines with te&t )ariables 2including customer"de'ned ones4$
,:
(s there an ade*uate number of characteristics (6e) 2gures$ and drilldown
le%els a%ailable for programming with this tool&
!:
In general( the technical limitations for this tool are:
B?? characteristics
B?? le)els/characteristics
B??? sections
M?? columns/section
Howe)er( it is possible to add 2)irtual4 characteristics/!ey 'gures$
,:
(f meta data is used b) the reports de%eloped with this tool, is it di5cult to
integrate or program new data structures for use with this tool& (7ote:
Meta data refers to information about the data$
!:
There is no special meta data programmed$ In con'guration( you can determine
which data are read( including meta data 2such as .I* info structures4$
,:
.ow 8exible is this tool for modif)ing reports (de%eloped with this tool$&
!:
%&tremely He&ible$ Howe)er( reporting structures should be properly con'gured
before <going li)e= 2perhaps most important with -eneral .edger 2-/.4 and Pro't
6enter Accounting4$
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User (riend&iness
Does the Tool Offer
Frag and drop capabilityN >7
*ortingN ,%*
*ummationsN ,%*
*election screen )ariantsN ,%*
*a)ed results 2cached uery4N ,%*
Adhoc ueriesN ,%*
6olumn or row sizingN ,%*
,:
(s there a common loo6 and feel among reports de%eloped with this tool&
!:
,es$
,:
(s there an eas) learning cur%e for users to use this tool&
!:
,es$
12ec'tion 3ana"e$ent
,:
(s authori3ation control programmable with this tool&
!:
,es( an authority chec! is done for:
Report 2de'nition4
*election criteria 2sets4
*elected data 2and a user e&it is possible here4
,:
+oes this tool pro%ide an alert and monitoring capabilit)& (9or example, to
let users 6now when output is out of a certain range:$
!:
>o$
,:
+oes this tool o,er batch ;ob processing and bac6ground report
execution&
!:
,es$
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Where to 0earn 3ore
6hapter #( Re*"#% Pain%e#0Re*"#% W#i%e# in boo! 3( Re*"#% .e/el"*$en%s
T""ls( in the Re*"#%in1 Ma'e Eas& guideboo! series$
The R/# online documentation for Report Painter and Report Writer: In the
R/# .ibrary for Release 9$?;( go to: AC2Finan)ials FI Finan)ial A))"3n%in1
FI S*e)ial P3#*"se Le'1e#( then follow the lin!s for Re*"#% W#i%e#$
*AP training courses o/ered by *AP %ducation and Training:
6AA?M for Report Painter
6AAB? for Report Writer
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