How to Create a Query and Include Exceptions in SAP BW/4HANA

SAP BW/4HANA is a powerful data warehousing solution that enables you to create, analyze and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) for your business. One of the features of SAP BW/4HANA is the ability to create queries, which are data models that define the structure, layout and logic of your reports. Queries can help you display and manipulate data from different sources, such as InfoProviders, CompositeProviders, Advanced DSOs, etc.

However, sometimes you may want to include exceptions in your queries, which are special cases or scenarios that require different calculations or formatting than the normal ones. For example, you may want to highlight values that exceed a certain threshold, or display values that meet a certain condition differently. This is where exceptions come in handy. Exceptions are a way of defining specific rules or criteria for your queries based on conditions and exceptions.

In this blog post, we will show you how to create a query and include exceptions in SAP BW/4HANA. We will explain what queries and exceptions are, how they work, and how to use them in different scenarios.

What are Queries and Exceptions in SAP BW/4HANA?

Queries are data models that define the structure, layout and logic of your reports in SAP BW/4HANA. Queries consist of different elements, such as:

Characteristics: These are dimensions that describe the data, such as product category, region, customer, etc.
Key Figures: These are measures that quantify the data, such as revenue, profit, quantity, etc.
Formulas: These are expressions that calculate or manipulate key figures using operators and functions.
Cells: These are expressions that calculate or manipulate key figures based on conditions and exceptions.
Conditions: These are criteria that filter or restrict the data based on key figures or characteristics.
Exceptions: These are criteria that format or highlight the data based on key figures or characteristics.

Exceptions are a type of element that can be used to define specific rules or criteria for your queries based on conditions and exceptions. Exceptions allow you to:

Format the data based on colors, icons or fonts
Highlight the data based on thresholds or ranges
Display the data based on text elements or variables
Suppress the data based on values or errors

To create queries and exceptions in SAP BW/4HANA, you need to use the Eclipse-based BW Modeling Tools. The Eclipse-based BW Modeling Tools are a set of tools that allow you to create and manage data models and queries in SAP BW/4HANA. You can access the Eclipse-based BW Modeling Tools by installing the SAP HANA Studio and adding the SAP HANA Tools plugin.

How to Create a Query in SAP BW/4HANA?

To create a query in SAP BW/4HANA, you need to follow these steps:

Open the SAP HANA Studio and connect to your SAP BW/4HANA project.
In the Project Explorer panel, expand your InfoArea and right-click on your InfoProvider or CompositeProvider. Select New Query.
In the New Query window, enter a name and description for your query. You can also copy from an existing query if you want. Click Finish.
You will go to the Query Designer window, where you can define the elements of your query. You can use the following tabs to add or edit elements:
- General: This tab allows you to define general properties of your query, such as external access permissions, key date parameters, variables settings, etc.
- Sheet Definition: This tab allows you to define the structure and layout of your query. You can drag and drop characteristics and key figures from the InfoProvider panel to the Rows or Columns panel as desired. You can also right-click on Key Figures and select New Formula or New Cell to create formulas or cells as needed.
- Aggregation: This tab allows you to define the aggregation method and the eliminate formula collision setting for your key figures, formulas or cells. The aggregation method determines how the values are summed up or averaged across different dimensions. The eliminate formula collision setting determines how to handle conflicts between formulas or cells at the intersection point.
- Reference Characteristic: This tab allows you to define the reference characteristic or dimension for your key figures, formulas or cells. The reference characteristic or dimension is used to group the data before applying the aggregation method or exception aggregation method for your key figures, formulas or cells.
Click on Check to validate your query and click on Save to save it.
You can execute your query by clicking on Execute Query in Web Browser or Execute Query in Analysis for Office buttons. You will see the results of your query in a web browser or an Excel sheet.

How to Include Exceptions in a Query in SAP BW/4HANA?

To include exceptions in a query in SAP BW/4HANA, you need to follow these steps:

Open the SAP HANA Studio and connect to your SAP BW/4HANA project.
In the Project Explorer panel, expand your InfoArea and double-click on your query. You will go to the Query Designer window.
In the Sheet Definition tab, right-click on the key figure, formula or cell that you want to apply an exception to. Select New Exception.
In the Exception Editor window, enter a name and description for your exception. You can also copy from an existing exception if you want.
In the Definition tab, enter your condition and exception for your exception. You can use the following options to define your condition and exception:
- Condition: This option allows you to define a condition based on a key figure or a characteristic. You can use operators and functions to create complex conditions. You can also use variables or text elements to make your condition dynamic.
- Exception: This option allows you to define an exception based on a key figure or a characteristic. You can use colors, icons or fonts to format your exception. You can also use thresholds or ranges to highlight your exception. You can also use text elements or variables to display your exception. You can also use values or errors to suppress your exception.
Click on Check to validate your exception and click on OK to save it.
Save and execute your query to see the results of your exception.

Examples of Queries and Exceptions in SAP BW/4HANA

Here are some examples of queries and exceptions in SAP BW/4HANA:

Revenue by Product Category: This query shows the revenue by product category for each region. The query has a formula that calculates the revenue share as (Revenue / Total Revenue) * 100. The query has an exception that highlights the revenue share values that are above 25% with green color and below 10% with red color.
Profit Margin by Month: This query shows the profit margin by month for each product category. The query has a cell that calculates the profit margin as (Profit / Revenue) * 100 with condition Revenue > 0. The query has an exception that formats the profit margin values with two decimal places and a percentage sign.
Revenue Growth Rate by Quarter: This query shows the revenue growth rate by quarter for each region. The query has a cell that calculates the revenue growth rate as (Revenue - Previous Period Revenue) / Previous Period Revenue * 100 with exception Previous Period Revenue = 0. The query has an exception that displays the revenue growth rate values with text elements “Increase” or “Decrease” depending on the sign of the value.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we have learned how to create a query and include exceptions in SAP BW/4HANA. Queries are data models that define the structure, layout and logic of your reports in SAP BW/4HANA. Exceptions are a way of defining specific rules or criteria for your queries based on conditions and exceptions. By using queries and exceptions, you can create more complex and meaningful reports for your business.

We hope you found this blog post helpful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below.

Disclaimer: This content is generated by AI.