XML viewer UI element

[Former Member]

I have a requirement to display XML, where users can collapse / expand and analyse the data. At first, the static method CL_WD_RUNTIME_SERVICES=>ATTACH_FILE_TO_RESPONSE was perfect when a new browser window is opened. But I needed to display a couple of more UI elements (such as BUTTONS) on the screen with the XML, so I cannot used the new browser window approach.

That said, my question is, is there a UI element that I can use on WDA that will display XML the way a browser will display it (with collapse/expand capabilities, colors, etc....) ? Thoughts ?

Thanks in advance.

V

[thomas_jung]

I would suggest using an iFrame. In the past I would have hesitated to suggest that UI element because it was depricated, but now in 7.02 we will remove the depricated status. It still has limitations on the eventing and state management; but that shouldn't be a problem for displaying XML. Just make the XML stream the content of the iFrame. You can probably just place the content into the ICM cache and use the temporary URL that gets generated by that action as the source URL for the iFrame.

[Former Member]

Never used that UI before.

Interesting though, in our ECC system (ver 7.0), I can see that UI under Integration category. But in our PI system (version 7.1), where I'm developing the WDA, that UI element is not there. --- I should have said right from the start that I'm developing WDA on 7.1 .

So is that UI only available in 7.0 ?

If it's not available in 7,1, is there another UI I can use or approach I can take ?

Thanks.

[thomas_jung]

It should be there in 7.1 as well. It is in our internal 7.1, 7.11 and 7.20 systems at SAP. Try inserting it via the UI elment tree (via the Right Mouse Click and then Insert Element. There you choose UI elements by name and not category.

[Former Member]

I tried that earlier (right mouse click then insert UI element) and I still didn't find the UI element IFRAME on the dropdown. Closest to it is BIApplicationFrame UI which is also visible on the integration category. Is that the same ?

Or maybe there are some system settings I need to activate to make this UI visible ? I just thought about it as maybe because the status is depricated ?

[thomas_jung]

BIApplicationFrame and IFrame are two very different UI elements. Not sure what to tell you if IFrame has been removed from your system. 7.1 isn't exactly considered mainstream for ABAP development since the only thing shipped on it is PI and Mobile. Perhaps it was felt safe to remove it at some point from the 7.1 code line. However I can tell you that it is back now that it is no longer depricated and that the UI element is always present on 7.0, 7.01, and 7.02. The UI element is also still listed in the PI 7.1 version of the WDA help documents:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nwpi711/helpdata/en/15/c07941601b1d09e10000000a155106/frameset.htm

As I said earlier it is also present in our internal 7.1 systems at SAP.

[Former Member]

I'm just guessing here, maybe it's part of an SP or EHP for version 7.1 .

Is it possible to tell me what SP or EHP your 7.1 is in ?

Thats the only thing I could think of that maybe different between our 7.1 and your 7.1 system.

[thomas_jung]

iFrame isn't a new UI element. It was one of the original UI elements delivered with the first shipment of WDA in base 7.0.

[Former Member]

Thomas,

I sent a note to SAP support yesterday and got an answer back today that iFrame has been removed and is not available in 7.1 . Maybe it's only available for you guys internally.

Anyway, just writing it down just in case someone run into the same situation.

Going back to my original problem, I probably just need to think of another approach to accomplish the requirements.

Thanks for all the help.

[thomas_jung]

Our internal systems are probably just more up to date. The decision to un-deprecate the iFrame UI element was recent. It receives its full status back with Enhancement Package 2. It was never removed from the 7.0 codeline, so it can continued to be used there. I suspect that it will be back in the 7.1 codeline with the upgrade to 7.2.

You could consider building the WDA on a 7.0 based system since you say that your ERP is at that level and remotely accessing the dtaa from the 7.1 PI system.

Otherwise if you are running in a portal, consider putting the XML viewer in a different iView within a single portal frame - maybe by putting the XML viewer in a BSP application. You can communicate between the WDA and the XML Viewer iView via Portal Eventing.

[Former Member]

I figured your internal system is more than likely up to date compared to ours, mere "mortals".

We're not there on the portal yet, but it's good to know that that option is viable. I saw an elearning video you conducted regarding portal eventing.

The WDA on our ECC acessing data remotely on PI would be the closest.