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Report Painter Ini
Report Painter Ini
Fundamentals of Reporting 1
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Overview
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ort
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control tables, you can use either tool to
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Pain er
create reports on the configured tables.
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With the Report Painter you can report on data from multiple applications. It uses a
graphical report structure which forms the basis for report definition. When defining the
report, you work with a structure that corresponds to the final structure of the report. With
Report Painter’s intuitive WYSIWYG approach to report design, you define a report on a
form that displays the rows and columns as they will appear in the report output.
Report Writer
+ Graphical
Graphical
Interface
Interface = Report Painter
Painter’s intuitive WYSIWYG approach to report design, you define a report on a form that
displays the rows and columns as they will appear in the report output.
What Is Report Writer?
Just like Report Painter, Report Writer lets you report on data from multiple applications.
Using elements such as sets, variables, formulas, cells, and key figures, you can create
complex reports that meet specific reporting requirements.
Note: Report Writer has been available since the early (Release 2.x and earlier) releases
of the R/3 System. Users could access Report Painter via a transaction code in Release
2.2. However, Report Painter was formally made available in Release 3.x.
Initially, both tools were only available to the FI/CO modules. Later, with the introduction
of the Logistics Information System and Flexible Analyses in Release 3.x, the functionality of
these tools was further expanded. It still is not widely known that the Report Painter/Writer
can be used for reporting against structures other than those delivered in FI and CO (see
TechTalk on page 8-4).
A common misconception in the user community is that Report Painter/Report Writer can
only be used to report against a single table. However, some reporting structures do report
against multiple tables. For example, CCSS (for Cost Center Accounting) refers to tables
COSP, COSS and more, depending on the key figure configuration. Similarly, FI-SL (Special
Purpose Ledger) reporting structures include summary and line-item tables (the key figure
set determines where the data comes from).
To configure other table joins, views may be created joining the necessary tables, and views
can be added to the control tables, via Flexible Analyses in LIS. Report Painter/Report
Writer can be used in almost any application area in R/3 to report on currencies and
quantities.
Fundamentals of Reporting 3
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To access the Report Painter you may use either of the following two methods:
Transaction FGRP
From the SAP main menu, choose Information systems Ad hoc reports Report
painter.
Report Writer functions can be accessed from within the Report Painter. To access Report
Writer, choose the following menu path from the SAP main menu:
Fundamentals of Reporting 5
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To help you better understand this tool, in this section we include some of the most frequently asked
questions.
Desktop Integration
Q: What sort of integration with spreadsheet applications (for example, Microsoft Excel or Lotus
123) does this tool provide?
A: The integration with Microsoft Excel includes a download in a special file format (*.RPW), which
requires the desktop component Report Writer: MS Excel Link. It provides an Excel add-in for
navigation and drilldown.
Report Painter/Writer reports can be downloaded/exported in the ASCII format.
Q: What integration is supported for Extended Export of Lists (XXL)?
A: None.
Q: Is an external system or special interface required to use this report development tool?
A: No.
Q: Does this reporting tool create reports that offer real-time processing of data?
A: The reports are real-time so long as the data is real-time. Most data used by Report
Painter/Report Writer is real-time. Extract management establishes a kind of cache to the
database (offline selection).
Q: How does the speed of report execution change as the data load increases? That is, do reports
created with this tool get very slow as system data increases?
A: No, Report Writer/Report Painter is designed for mass production of reports and is especially
well suited for batch processing.
Q: Are there any methods (for example, OSS notes, configuration, or others) which users can
employ to optimize or enhance report execution speed?
A: Performance depends on a number of factors. Fine tuning performance often requires a sound
understanding of Report Painter/Report Writer and the databases.
Fundamentals of Reporting 7
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A: Report Writer/Report Painter primarily supports Financial accounting and Controlling modules
(financial controlling, treasury, controlling, investment management, enterprise controlling, and
some industry solutions). However, refer to book 2, Report Development Tools for more
information on how to integrate LIS data with Report Painter/Report Writer.
Q: What is the availability of reports created with this tool as delivered with standard R/3?
A: Largely, the availability of standard reports created with this tool depends on the application
area. For example, there are standard reports for CO-OM but there are no standard FI-SL reports
that were delivered with the Report Painter/Writer.
A: Defining a report with the Report Writer requires a longer time to learn, whereas the Report
Painter is much easier to use. However, the Report Painter only covers approximately 80-90% of
Report Writer’s functionality.
Report Painter/Report Writer also offer flexibility in designing title page and header lines with
text variables (including customer-defined ones).
Q: Is there an adequate number of characteristics (key figures) and drilldown levels available for
programming with this tool?
A: In general, the technical limitations for this tool are:
100 characteristics
100 levels/characteristics
1000 sections
500 columns/section
However, it is possible to add (virtual) characteristics/key figures.
Q: If meta data is used by the reports developed with this tool, is it difficult to integrate or
program new data structures for use with this tool? (Note: Meta data refers to information
about the data)
A: There is no special meta data programmed. In configuration, you can determine which data are
read, including meta data (such as LIS info structures).
Q: How flexible is this tool for modifying reports (developed with this tool)?
A: Extremely flexible. However, reporting structures should be properly configured before “going
live” (perhaps most important with General Ledger (G/L) and Profit Center Accounting).
User Friendliness
Q: Is there a common look and feel among reports developed with this tool?
A: Yes.
A: Yes.
Execution Management
Q: Does this tool offer batch job processing and background report execution?
A: Yes.
Fundamentals of Reporting 9
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