SAP GUI 710 installation with BW 3.5 addon - BW Browser has disappeared

[Former Member]

Dear all,

I hope someone can help with a BW 3.50 add-on problem following SAP GUI patching.

I'm doing a local installation of SAP GUI 710 Compilation 3.

I have selected the following three options:

1. SAP GUI for Windows 7.10 (Compilation 3)

2. BW 3.50 Add-On for SAP GUI 7.10

3. Business Explorer

(We require both BW add-ons for version reasons.)

Following this I have applied the SAP GUI Level 13 Patch (gui710_13-10002995.exe).

Up to this point, everything works as expected and I can still see the BW Browser at Start --> Programs --> Business Explorer --> Business Explorer (SAP BW 3.x) --> Browser (SAP BW 3.x)

However, when I apply the BW 3.50 Add-On Level 6 Patch (bw350gui710_6-10004473.exe) the Browser disappears from the menu and I can't locate it anywhere. A reboot wasn't required although I did this anyway with no visible effect.

I did try uninstalling everything and attempted the same process, but with SAP GUI Patch Level 12, and combinations with BW 3.50 Add-On Patch Level 4 but with the same result.

Has anyone else come across this issue, or know what has happened?

Thanks.

[Former Member]

We have a similar setup, utilizing all 3 as you do.

Since we are currently at Browser patch 4, eventually headed to patch 6, I threw your situation into our VM enviroment and tested the installation of Browser patch 6. Interesting enough, a clean install of Windows XP, Office 2003, and then GUI 7.10 with patch 13 and Browser 3.5 sp4 works as normal. Once I applied SP6 for the Browser, I still have the icon under the Start menu but the wdbbapp.exe is gone.

Thanks to the VM test enviroment, I was able to recreate the scenario in a few moments and this time prior to installing the patch 6 for the Browser, I set it up to catch all the changes the SAP installer makes when applying sp6.

The installation performed the following activity:

13 files added

4 files deleted

141 files updated

363 registry entries added

522 registry entries deleted

129 registry entries updated

Of the 4 files deleted, one of them is the BEx Browser (wdbbapp.exe) - which is why my shortcut won't work

Of the 13 added, none of them are the file being replaced.

Of the 141 modified, none are this file either.

I am still going through the log but have not seen anywhere it will make a difference if the file is not there.

Again, I am not saying there is a problem, perhaps they changed the way it is accessed, I am not fully up on the process of the BEx Browser. SAP may have something mentioned about it on their GUI/BEx site or a note, this is just my preliminary findings.

Regards,

Zecher

[Former Member]

Not sure if this helps or someone who is more familiar can assist, but looking at the NWSAPSETUP log there are references to uninstalling the file wdbbapp.exe. The NWSAPSETUP.LOG looks at: Start --> Programs --> Business Explorer where our initial install went to "SAP Business Explorer". So I tried again but before applying Sp6, I renamed the folder structure to match what it looked for. No resolve but does create links under Start --> Programs --> Business Explorer once complete.

The last enttry for this file in that log states:

NwSapsAtlC 1 File 'C:\Program Files\SAP\FrontEnd\Bw\wdbbapp.exe' not located in copy-file list

Not sure what that copy-file is or how that list is generated. Just putting it out there as to what I have found.

Regards,

Zecher

[Former Member]

Michael,

Thank you for assistance with this issue. It's rather troubling that the patch file removes the Browser application as I can't find any mention that this app was superceded/replaced by anything else.

If anyone else is familiar with this issue, I'd appreciate your advice/input too.

Thanks.

[ps0907]

You may want to review OSS note 1353316, which describes the situation and the correction. There was a problem with the original patchset which SAP has subsequently corrected.

[Former Member]

Paul,

Thanks for bringing that note to my attention. It does indeed resolve the BW 3.50 add-on patching issue!

Funnily enough, on running the script bugfix on a workstation, the SAP GUI style is changed to Signature. Will look at this but thanks for all the help.