SACE11
SACE11
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PARTICIPANT HANDBOOK
INSTRUCTOR-LED TRAINING
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Course Version: 38
Course Duration: 2 Day(s)
Material Number: 50164924
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Demonstration
Procedure
Warning or Caution
Hint
Facilitated Discussion
TARGET AUDIENCE
This course is intended for the following audiences:
● Data Manager
● Application Consultant
● Technology Consultant
● Industry / Business Analyst Consultant
● Business User
● Business Analyst
● Data Scientist
● Developer
● System Administrator
Lesson 1
Navigating in SAP Analytics Cloud 3
Lesson 2
Managing Files 11
Lesson 3
Using SAP Analytics Cloud Terminology 19
UNIT OBJECTIVES
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Navigate in the SAP Analytics Cloud interface
In-depth training, SAC integration with Microsoft Excel: SACX11 (learning.sap.com only)
In-depth training: SACP21 (5 days, planning only with SAP Analytics Cloud/
learning.sap.com)
In-depth training: Integrating SAP Analytics Cloud with various on-premise SAP planning
systems (learning.sap.com only)
● Unit 6: Using Basic Augmented Analytics in SAP Analytics Cloud
When you log on to your SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) tenant, you default to the Home screen.
The Home screen is where you can access your recent stories and visualizations as tiles. You
can also add useful reminders such as personal notes.
Your Home screen is private, and you cannot share it with other users or add it to discussions.
This privacy also applies to the notes and tiles you pin there.
To start with, you can:
● Explore a sample story: Explore a feature-rich story to familiarize yourself with key SAP
Analytics Cloud capabilities.
● Create your first story: Quickly launch the story creation process.
● Change your profile settings: Access your profile settings including contact details, display
language preference, and a display name.
● Access the on-line help center: Access basic help, how-to videos, and more.
Today
This tab is the default tab. It contains the tiles and notes that you have pinned.
Catalog
This is a single access point for content published for users within SAP Analytics Cloud.
Each published item is displayed as a card. We will discuss this tab in more detail later in
this lesson.
Favorites
This tab lists the resources that you have chosen as favorites.
Shared With Me
This tab lists all the resources shared with you by other users.
The Catalog, Favorites, and Shared With Me tabs can be disabled by an administrator or a user
granted the necessary permissions.
You can customize your Home page to your preferences, including choosing which one of the
tabs is displayed by default. From the horizontal menu, choose Profile → Home Screen
Settings to display the Edit Home Screen dialog.
In the Edit Home Screen dialog, you can add or remove a tile simply by moving the selector to
the on or off position. You can also change the Home screen background and choose a logo to
display. If you want to brand your background with your company logo, choose
Custom → Choose logo to access the file containing your custom logo.
Note:
Do not change any of these settings in the training system.
Profile Settings
Profile Picture: By default, a photo placeholder is displayed. To upload your own picture from
your computer, choose Upload Profile Picture or select the placeholder from the Profile
Settings dialog.
User Preferences: To change any of the default settings, select the Edit icon.
You can choose a default language for the SAP Analytics Cloud interface. The Data Access
Language option sets the preferred language for displaying live data and text in stories. If the
Data Access Language is set to Default, the value used in the Language setting will be used.
The Data Access Language setting is used by default unless an administrator selects a
different language when the live data connection is created. When you send a model for
translation, the Data Access Language becomes the source language of the model.
You can also change the formatting for dates, numbers, currency position, and other options.
Note:
Passwords:
If you use SAP Cloud Identity (ID), your profile information will be pulled from your
SAP Cloud ID profile. To edit your SAP Cloud ID profile, go to Profile Settings →
Edit Profile & Change Password in that system.
If you are using authentication via a SAML Identity Provider (IdP) or connecting
with the Identity Authentication service (IAS), choose Edit Profile > Change
Password in your user profile. The Password section appears as an option in your
user profile. Choose Change Password to redirect to the password change page.
Vertical Menu
Vertical Menu
To access all the functionality of SAP Analytics Cloud, use the vertical menu on the left side of
the interface.
Catalog
The Catalog view provides more information about widgets and system content using a tile.
Each item published to the Catalog is displayed as a tile that users can open to access the
underlying content. The content in the Catalog is view-only, so you cannot copy, paste, delete,
or edit information from the catalog.
You can search or filter using categories and interact with the data to focus on the specific
information you are looking for, making it easy to find content.
The following content types can be published and displayed in the Catalog:
● Stories
● Digital Boardroom presentations
● Models
● Datasets
● Uploaded SAP Analytics Cloud files
● Content Links
Note:
Publishing to the Catalog is an administrative function. For an administrator to
publish content to the catalog, they select the object from Files and choose
Share → Publish to Catalog. They then select the team with whom to share and
choose OK. Finally, they choose Share.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Navigate in the SAP Analytics Cloud interface
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Manage and share files
Files
The Files area is where many of the SAP Analytics Cloud resources reside.
My Files
Similar to most file explorer interfaces, the SAP Analytics Cloud Files area can be organized
into folders and subfolders. Only users with appropriate authorization are able to create
folders, but all users have their own, private, My Files area. You can filter files in any folder by
type, but the filter will apply to all folders, not only the folder where you applied the filter.
Figure 8: My Files
The My Files area displays content you own and all content that is shared with you but owned
by other users. This view also includes these folders:
● Input Forms: Contains input/planning stories and other planning-related elements
assigned to you.
● Public: Contains content that is available to all users; however, the availability may be
limited to read-only access. Content that you save in a public folder has read-only
permission for other users by default. The Public Folder cannot be deleted or copied, but
administrators can assign copy and delete permissions on the folder so that items that are
created in this folder will inherit the sharing permissions.
● Samples: Contains sample models and stories.
All users have the My Files area, but the content at that level is viewable by you and only you,
unless it has been shared with you by another user.
Click on a file name, and it will be opened in the corresponding view/runtime in SAP Analytics
Cloud. However, each file has a check box to the left of it. Checking the box gives you other
file-related options, as illustrated in the figure File Options:
Content
Content in SAP Analytics Cloud includes all files as well as planning-related objects such as
data actions and value driver trees. To promote content across multiple SAP Analytics Cloud
tenants, administrators transfer over the cloud using the Content Network.
The Content Network helps to keep your content organized, available, and secured by
appropriate permissions. Administrators can set different access rights for each sharing
destination. Each system can store up to 300 MB of exported content for free in the My
Content area. The Content Network is also where Business Content is stored; administrators
can import any Business Content necessary and make it available for you to use.
Security
SAP Analytics Cloud logs all activities that users perform on anything in then system.
Administrators can access and view these audited activities from the Security area in SAP
Analytics Cloud. In addition, they have access to standard monitoring reports to monitor the
real-time statistics and usage of the system.
Note:
● SAP Analytics Cloud shares the same quarterly release cycle with other major
cloud products from SAP. It is explained in the Q&A of SAC release cycle
● The SAP Analytics Cloud software release versions installed on the source and
target tenants need to match (same version) or may differ by only one version.
There is no backward compatibility.
Share Content
You can share SAP Analytics Cloud files by granting either individual permissions or access
levels to users or teams. Access levels are predefined groups of permissions that can be
assigned to users. In many cases, these access levels are easier for administrators to assign
and manage than individual permissions simply because they apply to multiple users at one
time.
The access levels available when sharing are as follows:
With the exception of Custom, each access level beginning with Edit contains the permissions
from the access level above it.
You can share a file either by checking the box next to the file name in the Files area or from
within the opened file. If you share from the Files area, you can select multiple files to share.
With either option, you then select the Share icon and choose Share.
In the Share dialog, add the users or teams of users with whom to share, and choose the
appropriate access level. If you want to alert the recipients using e-mail, check the Email new
recipients box. Then simply choose the Send button.
You can also unshare following the same process, but expand the Shared with area, select
those users/teams with whom you no longer wish to share, and select Delete.
Similarly, administrators can make content easier for you to access by adding the Featured
Files tile to your Home screen.
Pin to Home
You can pin a chart from a story to your Home page for quick access to the information it
displays. When you are viewing a story, you can use a chart's More Actions button to
choose Pin to Home. We will discuss the More Actions button in detail later in this course.
Scheduling
As a content owner, you can schedule sharing a story with users and teams of your choice on
a regular basis. You can share the publication with any number of SAP Analytics Cloud users
within the tenant but a maximum of three non-SAP Analytics Cloud users. In order to
schedule, you must be assigned the Schedule Publication privileges, such as Create and
Manage. You can schedule a story from the Favorites menu, Featured files, or the Files page.
The process of scheduling is similar, no matter where you start. To schedule a story from the
Files area:
● From the Files area (from the Navigation Bar, choose Files) and browse to the where the
story is.
●
Select the story that you want to schedule, and from the toolbar, select
1. In the Start field, choose to specify the start date and the time that you want the
schedule to run.
Note:
You can also directly enter the date and time in the Start field and provide a
future date in a valid format.
2. Choose OK.
4. To end the recurrence, select the relevant option from the End Recurrence by drop-down
menu.
You can end the recurrence based on the end date or the number of repetitions. You can
also choose the No End option to set the schedule to run for 365 days, after which it ends
and a new schedule needs to be created.
5. Choose OK.
Note:
The only file types available are .pdf and .pptx.
9. If you want to include a link to the story in the email, choose Include Story Link.
10. You can customize the stories you want to schedule. Choose the recipients, and choose
between different story views from either the global bookmarks or your personal
bookmarks in the Distribution menu.
● To add the name of the users and teams within SAP Analytics Cloud, either enter the
names or choose the Add Users or Teams icon in the input field.
● Enter the email address(es) of the non-SAP Analytics Cloud recipient(s) separated by a
comma.
Note:
You are limited to 3 non-SAP Analytics Cloud recipients.
● To edit the prompt values, choose Edit Prompts. The Set Variables dialog box appears.
Set the values of the variables and choose Set.
Note:
By default, the prompt values that were defined while creating the story will be
considered if you do not edit them while scheduling.
11. Optionally, edit the name of the file in the File Name field.
Note:
Due to the limit of scheduled publications per hour, which is based on your license,
you might notice unavailable slots for your current schedule. In such a scenario, a
warning message is displayed with the unavailable slots.
The maximum size limit of the email message is 12 MB.
Managing existing schedules is done in the SAP Analytics Cloud Calendar area, covered later
in this course.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Manage and share files
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Explain SAP Analytics Cloud terminology
Terminology
While there are many terms unique to SAP Analytics Cloud, here are a few that you will
encounter regularly, both in this course and in your day-to-day activities with SAP Analytics
Cloud.
Canvas page
A canvas page is a blank canvas allowing you to add any story elements anywhere on the
page. The page is a fixed height and width, no matter what device, or size of device, is
being used to view the story.
Connection
A connection is fundamental to communicating between SAP Analytics Cloud and a
specific data source. System administrators create connections to the specific data
sources for your stories and analytic applications.
Data Analyzer
Data analyzer is a predefined ready-to-run application for Live SAP BW queries, Live SAP
HANA views, SAP Datasphere models, and SAP Analytics Cloud models for ad-hoc
analysis. Data analyzer is limited to a tabular view or very basic charts of the data, but
there is a filter area and a builder panel with navigation capabilities to add and remove
dimensions and measures to and from the table and create calculated measures. In
addition, a menu bar gives you a Refresh option and an Edit Prompts dialog, in case your
data source is designed for setting prompts.
Digital Boardroom
Digital Boardroom is a place to design an interactive boardroom presentation with access
to real-time data, allowing you to make fact-based decisions to drive your business. In
addition to exploring directly on live data to discover relationships and drill into details,
you can plan and simulate the effects of different assumptions and actions visually using
value-driver trees.
Model
A model is a representation of specific business data of an organization or business
segment. A model is the basis for stories and analytic applications.
Planning
Planning in general is all about setting strategic goals and then determining how to meet
those goals by creating budgets, tracking progress in forecasts, and simulating scenarios
to find new opportunities. Planning functionality within SAP Analytics Cloud enables you
to perform all these activities in one simple interface.
Responsive page
A responsive page is a story page that will adjust the size and location of the elements on
the page depending on the device, or size of device, being used to view the story.
Story
A story lets you explore data interactively to find insights, visualize information with
charts and tables, and share, present, and comment on your findings with colleagues. It
can be either robust, with many interactive elements, or very static, with little to no
interaction capabilities.
Widget
Widget is a generic term that refers to any element added to a story or analytic
application. A chart or table is a widget, as is a text box or image. There are many widgets
available to add to stories.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Explain SAP Analytics Cloud terminology
Learning Assessment
X True
X False
2. You want to use the embedded help function in SAP Analytics Cloud to support you. What
is offered by the embedded help?
Choose the correct answers.
X C Videos
X D Chatbot
3. The Data Access Language option determines the preferred language for which areas of
SAP Analytics Cloud?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Imported Data
X B Live Data
X C Text
X D Help
4. In the SAP Analytics Cloud Catalog, what access do you have to the files?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Read/Write
X B Edit
X C View
5. What are the three primary access levels you can assign when sharing files?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Read Only
X B View
X C Read/Write
X D Edit
X E Full Control
6. When scheduling a publication, what are the two file type options?
Choose the correct answers.
X A .pdf
X B .pptx
X C .csv
X D .txt
7. When you are scheduling, to how many non-SAP Analytics Cloud recipients can you
distribute?
Choose the correct answer.
X A 100
X B 3
X C 33
8. Your users need a story where the pages adjust the size and location of the elements on
the page depending on the device, or size of device, being used to view the story. What
page type should you use?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Responsive
X B Canvas
X C Grid
X True
X False
2. You want to use the embedded help function in SAP Analytics Cloud to support you. What
is offered by the embedded help?
Choose the correct answers.
X C Videos
X D Chatbot
The SAP Analytics cloud embedded help function includes guided help tutorials, videos,
and classical help documents, but no live chat or chatbot.
3. The Data Access Language option determines the preferred language for which areas of
SAP Analytics Cloud?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Imported Data
X B Live Data
X C Text
X D Help
The Data Access Language option determines the preferred language for Live Data and
Text but not imported data or help.
4. In the SAP Analytics Cloud Catalog, what access do you have to the files?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Read/Write
X B Edit
X C View
5. What are the three primary access levels you can assign when sharing files?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Read Only
X B View
X C Read/Write
X D Edit
X E Full Control
The access levels available when sharing are View, Edit, Full Control, and Custom.
6. When scheduling a publication, what are the two file type options?
Choose the correct answers.
X A .pdf
X B .pptx
X C .csv
X D .txt
When scheduling a publication, the only file types available are .pdf and .pptx
7. When you are scheduling, to how many non-SAP Analytics Cloud recipients can you
distribute?
Choose the correct answer.
X A 100
X B 3
X C 33
8. Your users need a story where the pages adjust the size and location of the elements on
the page depending on the device, or size of device, being used to view the story. What
page type should you use?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Responsive
X B Canvas
X C Grid
A responsive page adjusts the size and location of the elements on the page depending on
the device, or size of device, being used to view the story.
Lesson 1
Explaining Data Sources and Connections 29
Lesson 2
Creating Insights Using Data Analyzer 31
UNIT OBJECTIVES
● Differentiate between the SAP Analytics Cloud connections and data sources
● Analyze data in a simple interface
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Differentiate between the SAP Analytics Cloud connections and data sources
Live Connections
With a live connection:
● The data is stored exclusively in your source system.
● No data is stored in SAP Analytics Cloud, enabling you to keep data off the cloud for
security or privacy reasons.
● Security in the source system controls data access.
Currently, only SAP data sources/systems can be accessed using a live connection:
● SAP Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC)
● SAP BW and BW/4HANA
● SAP Datasphere
● SAP HANA and HANA Cloud
● SAP S/4HANA and S/4HANA Cloud
● SAP Universe or WebI document
Import Connections
With an import connection:
● The data is copied from your source system to SAP Analytics Cloud.
● The data resides in two places – the original in your source system and the duplicated data
in SAP Analytics Cloud – and changes made to the data in the source system do not affect
the imported data.
Import connections can connect to many data sources/systems, even non-SAP such as
Google Drive, SQL databases, OData Services, and more.
Additional Information
Your organization must decide which connection type to use, according to your own unique
needs. As you evaluate which connection type to use, consider the following criteria:
● Functional needs
● Data privacy constraints
● Data volume constraints
It is also important to review the system requirements and technical prerequisites, and to
check whether your landscape is compliant with what is supported for your version and
connection type.
For more information, see: The SAP Analytics Cloud System Requirements and Technical
Prerequisites
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Differentiate between the SAP Analytics Cloud connections and data sources
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Analyze data in a simple interface
After you have drilled down to the data details according to your needs and analyzed your
data, you might want to save this insight. For this, choose Save in the upper left corner of data
analyzer. In the Save Insight dialog, select the file location for your insight and enter a name
and description for it.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Analyze data in a simple interface
Learning Assessment
1. In SAP Analytics Cloud you use an import connection to an SAP ERP system. Your
colleague says that no data is stored in SAP Analytics Cloud. Is the statement of your
colleague true or false?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
X A SAP BW Queries
X C SAP Datasphere
X D CSV files
4. You use Data Analyzer for a quick analysis of data, and you save your analysis results.
What is the file type?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Insight
X B Application
X C Table
1. In SAP Analytics Cloud you use an import connection to an SAP ERP system. Your
colleague says that no data is stored in SAP Analytics Cloud. Is the statement of your
colleague true or false?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
With an import connection, data is duplicated from the on-premise datasource and stored
in SAP Analytics Cloud.
X A SAP BW Queries
X C SAP Datasphere
X D CSV files
The data sources for Data Analyzer are SAP BW queries, SAP HANA Live views, SAP
Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud models.
4. You use Data Analyzer for a quick analysis of data, and you save your analysis results.
What is the file type?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Insight
X B Application
X C Table
Lesson 1
Explaining Modeling Options 39
Lesson 2
Exploring Model Data Sources 43
Lesson 3
Creating a Basic Model 47
UNIT OBJECTIVES
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Differentiate between dimensions, models, and datasets
Dimensions
Dimensions represent categories that provide perspective on your numeric data; for example,
product category, date, region, cost center, and so on. Dimensions can contain properties
that further describe a dimension. For example, you may have a dimension for customer
which has properties such as phone number and address to further describe the customer
dimension.
Dimensions can also be rolled up into a hierarchical view; for example, time (year, quarter,
month), geography (country, region, location), employee structure (executive, manager,
employee), and so on.
Measures represent the numeric values that you are analyzing; for example, sales revenue,
salary, number of employees, quantity sold, and so on. Sometimes these quantities are
contained in a single dimension referred to as an Account type dimension (and probably with
the name Account, or something similar). In this situation, the numeric values represent the
line items on a corporate balance sheet, income statement, profit/loss statement, and so on.
But you can also present the numeric values as individual elements called Measures.
Together, dimensions and measures are the framework for viewing data, whether it be a trend
line of revenue over time or a tabular comparison of gross margin across different regions.
Models
Models are comprised of dimensions and measures and represent a specific subset of data;
for example, sales, production, financial, shipping, etc.
Models are the primary data sources for SAP Analytics Cloud stories.
In SAP Analytics Cloud there are two styles of models:
● Analytic model: read-only
● Planning model: read/write
The Modeler
The Modeler area of SAP Analytics Cloud is where you create models. According to your
data integration strategy, you can create a new model one of 2 ways:
1. Create a model
Analytic Models
An analytic model is used strictly for read-only data reporting and analysis. A date dimension
is available but is not required, and you can remove it from the model during the design stage.
Why is a date dimension optional? One scenario is that the model represents only current
data. Because users know the data is always "current," there is no need for a date dimension.
Planning Models
Planning models are pre-configured with required dimensions for Date and Version. These
dimensions are required because planning activities are dictated by time frames, and the
planning numbers are intended for different purposes – budget, forecast, and planning.
Planning models offer support for security features at both the model level and dimension
level.
When working with a planning model in a story, users with planning permissions can create
their own versions of model data. These users can also write data to the model by typing new
values, copying and pasting data, and using data actions.
Datasets
A dataset is a simple collection of data usually presented in a tabular format. You can use a
dataset as the basis for a story.
1. Embedded: Embedded datasets are embedded into a story and are unique to that story.
They cannot be shared outside the story or refreshed.
2. Public: Public datasets are standalone datasets and can be shared among different
stories.
Both types of datasets can be enhanced with basic data preparation and transformation
functionality.
Neither dataset can be scheduled for a refresh; you must manually re-import the updated
data. SAP Analytics Cloud automatically matches the columns of the newly acquired data to
the columns of the existing data, but any prior data transformations will be lost.
If you import data from a flat file, you can only re-import a compatible file: a file that has the
same number of columns as the original file, and with the same column names and data types
as in the original file.
Both datasets can be secured to allow users access to the dataset or not. Specific column-
based or property security, however, is not supported for any datasets.
You can convert an embedded dataset to a public dataset. However, a limitation to a public
dataset is that you cannot change its data source. For example, if your public dataset was
originally created from a flat file but you now want to use a BW query, you have no option to
make that change. Embedded datasets, on the other hand, do allow you to change the data
source via the Add New Data option.
You can also convert an embedded dataset into a model, but any transformations you made
to the dataset are lost and must be recreated in the model. A public dataset, however, cannot
be converted to a model.
Overall, datasets and models complement each other. Datasets are perfect for ad hoc,
ungoverned use cases based on acquired data. Models are used when the use case requires
more governed data analysis and planning scenarios.
Datasets Models
For simple, quick, ad-hoc data analysis For formal, governed data analysis
Supports more cells/columns than models Limited to 100 columns
Can access live data only from on-premise Can access many live SAP data sources
SAP HANA
Does not support Planning use cases Supported for Planning use cases
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Differentiate between dimensions, models, and datasets
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Describe the key elements of import and acquired data
Live Data
We have already discussed live versus import connections. Models use those connections to
reflect specific data from that data source. A live model simply uses a live connection for the
data it represents.
Since a live connection merely provides access to data, there is no data contained in a SAP
Analytics Cloud live model. The model only points to the specific data in the live data source.
Consequently, you cannot manipulate any data in the model; any data manipulation must be
done in the source database/system.
In addition, you cannot write data to the model (because doing so would really be writing back
to the original source system), so live models are analytic models. The single exception is a
live model to BPC Embedded, but that is outside the scope of this course.
Because only SAP sources can be accessed using a live connection, a live model reflects only
SAP data.
Note:
SAP Datasphere requires a connection be created in SAP Analytics Cloud, but no
SAP Analytics Cloud model is necessary. Stories can access SAP Datasphere data
directly.
Note:
You may need to choose the . . . More option.
3. Choose the appropriate System, Connection, and Data Source in the Create Model from
Live Data Connection dialog box.
Acquired Data
An import model uses an import connection to import (copy) data from a source database or
system into the SAP Analytics Cloud model. This means that there are always two versions of
the data – one version in the original data source and the copy in SAP Analytics Cloud.
Because the data is copied into the model, if the original data source changes, the changes
are NOT reflected in the model. As it is very likely that data in the original data source changes
regularly, you can schedule the import process to occur on a regular basis in order to keep the
model data in sync with the original data source.
In addition to being able to schedule the data import process, you can also manipulate the
data in the SAP Analytics Cloud model. It is a copy, so none of the manipulations are reflected
in the original data source. The data preparation interface is user-friendly and fairly intuitive.
2. Decide to acquire data, use live data, or both. Things to consider in this decision include:
● Performance
● Security
● Planning
● Smart Predict
6. Create stories
Note:
For both model types – live or import – most data preparation should be done
within the original source database/system, including data optimization and data
enhancement, before using the data in SAP Analytics Cloud.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Describe the key elements of import and acquired data
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Create a live model
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Create a live model
Learning Assessment
1. What elements make up the framework for viewing data in SAP Analytics Cloud?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Dimensions
X B Allocations
X C Properties
X D Measures
X A On-premise
X B Analytic
X C Planning
X D Live
X True
X False
X True
X False
X A Embedded
X B Public
X C Live
X D Import
6. Which data source does not require a model be created for it in SAP Analytics Cloud for
use in stories?
Choose the correct answer.
X A SAP Datasphere
X B Microsoft SharePoint
7. What elements can you import data into in SAP Analytics Cloud?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Dimensions
X B Stories
X C Analytic Models
X D Planning Models
8. It is possible to concatenate a First Name dimension with a Last Name dimension into one
Full Name dimension in a live model.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
9. With an import model, when changes happen in the original data source, what happens in
the SAP Analytic Model?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Only the changes in the original data source are transferred to the model;
unchanged data is not transferred.
X B All data in the original data source is transferred to the model, including unchanged
data.
X C Nothing. The changes in the original data source are not reflected in the model.
1. What elements make up the framework for viewing data in SAP Analytics Cloud?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Dimensions
X B Allocations
X C Properties
X D Measures
X A On-premise
X B Analytic
X C Planning
X D Live
In SAP Analytics Cloud there are two styles of models: Analytic and Planning.
X True
X False
X True
X False
X A Embedded
X B Public
X C Live
X D Import
SAP Analytics Cloud has two types of datasets: Embedded and Public.
6. Which data source does not require a model be created for it in SAP Analytics Cloud for
use in stories?
Choose the correct answer.
X A SAP Datasphere
X B Microsoft SharePoint
SAP Datasphere requires a connection be created in SAP Analytics Cloud, but no SAP
Analytics Cloud model is necessary
7. What elements can you import data into in SAP Analytics Cloud?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Dimensions
X B Stories
X C Analytic Models
X D Planning Models
8. It is possible to concatenate a First Name dimension with a Last Name dimension into one
Full Name dimension in a live model.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
9. With an import model, when changes happen in the original data source, what happens in
the SAP Analytic Model?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Only the changes in the original data source are transferred to the model;
unchanged data is not transferred.
X B All data in the original data source is transferred to the model, including unchanged
data.
X C Nothing. The changes in the original data source are not reflected in the model.
Changes in the original data source are not reflected in the model.
Lesson 1
Viewing and Interacting with a Story 57
Lesson 2
Building Simple Stories 63
Lesson 3
Working with Microsoft Add-ins 69
Lesson 4
Scripting Advanced Stories 73
UNIT OBJECTIVES
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● View and interact with a story
The figure Sample SAP Analytics Cloud Story shows you different views of an SAP Analytics
Cloud story.
● Edit: In Edit mode, you have full control over the design of the story. You can add elements
to the story, including new pages. You can rearrange elements in the story. You can
change or add interactivity to the story, and more.
Note:
We will cover story editing options in more detail later in this course.
Bookmarking
You can create bookmarks to save different states of a story.
When viewing a story, you may want to come back to the same view of the data every time, or
you may want to set up different states or scenarios. For example, you have several pages in
your story that have filters or prompts applied to them. You do not want to spend time
resetting all of them each time you want to see a different scenario. You would like to open the
story, see one scenario, and then quickly switch to another scenario.
● Bookmarks can be either private or global. You can always save a private bookmark, but
you need appropriate authorization to save a global bookmark.
● Bookmarks only include filters and prompts.
● Bookmarks can be shared.
Note:
When you create a bookmark, you can choose Customize Link in order to provide a
meaningful label at the end of the URL.
More Actions
While viewing and editing a story, however, there is a More Actions button available for
every element of a story (charts, tables, filtering devices, text, images, and so on). This option
provides you with many more design- and object-related options than the story can
practically display.
You can think of the More Actions button as being similar to a context or quick menu you
access by right-clicking an object.
The figure More Actions for a Chart and a Table illustrates the More Actions options for two
story elements while editing a story. When viewing a story, there are fewer options.
Included in the More Actions button for charts, tables, and other data-dependent story
elements is the option to export data to a .csv or .xlsx file. Unlike the export option for the
entire story, which exports only to .pdf, .pptx, or Google Slides files, the More Actions export
option exports the data reflected in the object.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● View and interact with a story
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Build a simple story
Story Design
How to Start a Story
When creating a new story, you have the option to start with a blank page or choose from one
of SAP's pre-formatted templates. These templates can be used from content predefined by
SAP, or created by your company.
When you create a story, you can add and edit pages and page elements as you like. The story
toolbar is divided into different categories such as File, Insert, Data, and Tools to help you find
options and perform tasks more efficiently.
● Canvas: A fixed page size that does not change, no matter the size of the viewer's monitor
size.
● Grid: A table-only page that is available only in the Classic Design Experience and will not
be available in the Optimized Design Experience.
SAP encourages you to use Optimized Design Experience mode. The Optimized Design
Experience includes many usability and performance improvements and is the prerequisite
for future story enhancements. There are a set of features that may not be available at this
time as SAP continues to enhance the Optimized Design Experience mode; however, these
and other new features are being added with each quarterly release and will be made available
only in the Optimized Story Experience. Furthermore, it will be the new default experience in
future releases.
The Classic Design Experience is still be available and provides access to features developed
prior to Q2 2022. However, it will not receive any performance, functionality, or usability
enhancements. There are also Classic Design Experience elements that will not be available at
all in the Optimized Design Experience because there are more suitable substitutes. These
elements include the following:
● Explorer: Replaced by Data Analyzer as the new exploration tool.
● Grid Pages: Replaced by the Optimized Presentation table option within Responsive and
Canvas Pages.
● Old HANA and BW Versions: Always use the latest BW and HANA version to ensure that
you have the latest performance and feature functionality in SAP Analytics Cloud.
Note:
For the most current information on what features are available with each design
experience mode, always refer to the SAP Help in your current SAP Analytics
Cloud tenant.
At the top of the Left Side Panel users can select three different options:
1. Assets: All elements available in the horizontal menu can also be added to the story from
the left side panel.
When elements are added from the horizontal menu, SAP Analytics Cloud positions them on
the screen. With the Left Side Panel, users can position the widgets or other elements in the
exact position they require as displayed in the following example.
Figure 35: Right Side Panel from the View Area of the Ribbon
When you are in the Builder panel, you simply add the appropriate data to the various
elements of the widget.
The Builder panel, however, is only half of the entire panel. The other half is the Styling
panel, which provides many formatting options for every component of the story, including
the page itself.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Build a simple story
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Describe the Microsoft Office integration options to SAP Analytics Cloud stories
Additional Information
SAP Analytics Cloud, add-In for Microsoft Excel is covered in more detail in the Creating and
Working with Microsoft Excel Workbooks Using the SAP Analytics Cloud, Add-in for Microsoft
Excel learning journey.
Figure 39: Live Connection from SAP Analytics Cloud to SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office
Note:
While SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office can also be used to plan on SAP Analytics
Cloud data, all future development regarding SAP Analytics Cloud will be on the
SAP Analytics Cloud, add-in for Microsoft Excel.
Additional Information
The SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office add-in is covered in more detail in the Discovering SAP
Analysis for Microsoft Office learning journey.
1. Log on to Microsoft Office 365 with your Microsoft Office user ID and password.
4. If the SAP Analytics tab does not appear, follow these steps: Insert → Office Add-
ins → Store → Search for SAP → Choose Add.
6. In the pane on the right, paste in your tenant URL and choose Go!
8. Add a table that is based on one of your imported models and choose OK.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Describe the Microsoft Office integration options to SAP Analytics Cloud stories
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Create an advanced story using scripting
Scripting Capabilities
The scripting language used for stories is a subset of JavaScript. The JavaScript Script Editor
in the scripting environment is similar to other SAP editors. You can use Ctrl+Space to access
available functions and data to speed up your script writing. In addition, the editor provides
auto-complete and syntax check as you write.
Extension Capabilities
Story design options are not limited to the defined set within the story builder. You can ask
developers to create custom widgets and R widgets to add even more visualization options to
your stories.
Additional Information
Creating extended stories is covered in more detail in the Acquiring Basic Scripting Skills to
Extend Stories in SAP Analytics Cloud learning journey.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Create an advanced story using scripting
Learning Assessment
1. You created a story and want to share it with an external agent, who does not have SAP
Analytics Cloud. You decide to export the story as a file. Which file type can be used?
Choose the correct answer.
X A pdf
X B xlsx
X C html
X D csv
2. You have created a story bookmark. Your colleague asked you to share this bookmark.
Can you?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
X A Data
X B View
X C Edit
X D Story
X A Styling panel
X C Builder panel
5. You need to export some data from your story into a .csv file. What do you do?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Choose a widget that displays data and use its More Actions menu.
X C From the File area of the menu bar, choose Save as and change the file type to
CSV.
X True
X False
7. You want to create a story with charts and need a data source to populate your charts with
data. Which option can be used as a data source?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Dataset
X B Model
X C Cube
X D InfoProvider
8. You have used the SAP Analytics Cloud Add-In for Microsoft Excel for a business
intelligence data analysis. Your colleague says that you can also use the SAP Analytics
Cloud Add-In for Microsoft Excel for planning scenarios. Is the statement of your colleague
true or false?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
9. Your users want a static view of data with no user interactions at all. You can use scripting
to accomplish this.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
X A HTML5
X B JavaScript
X C Python
1. You created a story and want to share it with an external agent, who does not have SAP
Analytics Cloud. You decide to export the story as a file. Which file type can be used?
Choose the correct answer.
X A pdf
X B xlsx
X C html
X D csv
When sharing a story externally, the file type is pdf, pptx, or Google Slides.
2. You have created a story bookmark. Your colleague asked you to share this bookmark.
Can you?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
X A Data
X B View
X C Edit
X D Story
All SAP Analytics Cloud stories have View and Edit working modes.
X A Styling panel
X C Builder panel
5. You need to export some data from your story into a .csv file. What do you do?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Choose a widget that displays data and use its More Actions menu.
X C From the File area of the menu bar, choose Save as and change the file type to
CSV.
You choose a widget that displays data and use its More Actions menu.
X True
X False
7. You want to create a story with charts and need a data source to populate your charts with
data. Which option can be used as a data source?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Dataset
X B Model
X C Cube
X D InfoProvider
The two possible data sources for a story are a Model and a Dataset.
8. You have used the SAP Analytics Cloud Add-In for Microsoft Excel for a business
intelligence data analysis. Your colleague says that you can also use the SAP Analytics
Cloud Add-In for Microsoft Excel for planning scenarios. Is the statement of your colleague
true or false?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
The SAP Analytics Cloud Add-In for Microsoft Office is available for business intelligence
data analysis and for planning activities.
9. Your users want a static view of data with no user interactions at all. You can use scripting
to accomplish this.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
X A HTML5
X B JavaScript
X C Python
JavaScript is the scripting language used in the Analytic Applications design interface.
Lesson 1
Describing Planning Features 83
UNIT OBJECTIVES
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Describe SAP Analytics Cloud planning features
● Perform manual input planning tasks
Planning Functionality
Planning is all about setting strategic goals for a business and then determining how to meet
those goals by creating annual budgets, tracking progress in forecasts, and simulating
scenarios to find new opportunities. These plans are formed by projecting historical data
(known as Actuals) into the future, by gathering input from different departments, and by
considering trends, risks, and opportunities in the market.
These departmental plans each relate back to the central financial plan, and to the overall goal
set out by leadership. Successful plans often include input from many employees, not just
from finance experts.
Planning Features
SAP Analytics Cloud has many planning features that help you plan simpler and faster. These
features include the following:
● Data entry
● Version management
● Data locking
● Data Actions
● Validation rules
● Validation Driver Trees
● Structured allocations
Note:
Users with BI licenses can do basic data entry on planning models and create
private versions. To publish versions or use planning tools, a planning license is
required. You can read all about features by license type for planning models.
In addition, SAP Analytics Cloud can be integrated with on-premise SAP planning systems,
allowing you to maintain your investment in an existing planning system and use SAP
Analytics Cloud as the front-end for planning activities.
Data Entry
Data entry is based around the table, where you can type relative or absolute values into
individual cells. You can copy cell values, along with all the data that aggregates up to the
copied value. You can plan at any level of a hierarchy, and the data will automatically be rolled
down to the lowest level.
When then data changes, the affected cells are shaded yellow, indicating the data entry
function is being used but not saved. Data entries can be tested before you save and publish
them.
You can type an absolute value in a cell, or type a relative value such as *2 or +500 to perform
simple mathematical calculations on existing data. For example, if the data value in a cell is
100, and you type *2 in the cell, the value will change to 200.
Version Management
When you are planning for all possibilities, it helps to understand how different plans relate to
each other and to your actuals data. Version management helps you to complete tasks such
as the following:
● Carry out variance analysis, such as making sure that your working forecast is on budget.
● Quickly explore, share, and publish different scenarios without losing sight of the original
data or introducing unnecessary complexity.
● Work on your own data until you are ready to publish.
● Try a change and undo/redo.
● Use the history to see what happened with the data.
● Roll a private version back to a previous state if you need to take a different direction.
● Revert all changes to the original values.
Data Locking
With data locking, you can choose sections of data to lock when you are getting ready to close
your books. Each section can also be delegated to owners who can lock the data themselves,
or set the data to a restricted state where only the owners can edit it. You can then schedule
changes to data locks in the Calendar.
Data Actions
With data actions, you can model sequences of copy-paste operations, allocation steps, and
advanced formulas. With advanced formulas, you model complex processes such as cash
flow planning, depreciation, and carry-forward operations. You can build these formulas using
a visual editor that does not require scripting knowledge, although a scripting engine is also
available for fine-tuning.
Copy operations make it easy to move data from one part of a model to another, or to a
different model. For example, if you have separate models for Headcount and Expense
Planning, you can use a data action to copy data from those models into a central Finance
model.
To make your data actions more flexible and easier to update, you can also add parameters
that can be set while designing or running the data action. You can also run other data actions
as steps within your data action, letting you quickly reuse common calculations.
Planning users can run data actions in a story. Alternatively, you can use the Calendar to
schedule them to run automatically.
SAP Analytics Cloud data actions are like planning functions and data manager packages in
other SAP planning solutions.
Validation Rules
Validation rules let you define valid member combinations across dimensions to prevent
improper data entry and planning operations in stories based on a specific planning model.
For the dimensions you define in a dimension combination rule, only the member
combinations that you specify as allowed combinations can pass validation.
For example, you might want to increase sales of certain products in specific locations. You
create a validation rule between the product dimension and location dimension members.
Planning users can do planning only for the allowed combinations of products and locations.
Structured Allocations
You can use structured allocations to establish reusable steps for allocating costs, such as
allocating the cost of IT support across different departments by support hours used, or the
cost of travel across different product groups based on cost-of-living rates for the customer
location.
You build allocation steps using a visual tool that does not require scripting expertise, but that
covers a range of different allocation workflows.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Describe SAP Analytics Cloud planning features
● Perform manual input planning tasks
Learning Assessment
X True
X False
2. What can help prevent data input for invalid member combinations across dimensions?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Data Actions
X B Data Locking
X C Validation Rules
3. You have created a story using a planning model and notice that a Value Driver Tree can
be defined. Why do you use a Value Driver Tree?
Choose the correct answers.
4. SAP Analytics Cloud planning functionality can be integrated with any other SAP planning
systems. True or false?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
X True
X False
A private version can be changed until it is published, but it can be saved until publishing.
2. What can help prevent data input for invalid member combinations across dimensions?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Data Actions
X B Data Locking
X C Validation Rules
Validation Rules help prevent data input for invalid member combinations across
dimensions.
3. You have created a story using a planning model and notice that a Value Driver Tree can
be defined. Why do you use a Value Driver Tree?
Choose the correct answers.
Two possible uses of a Value Driver Tree are to view a planning simulation graphically and
to leverage driver-based planning.
4. SAP Analytics Cloud planning functionality can be integrated with any other SAP planning
systems. True or false?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
SAP Analytics Cloud planning functionality can be integrated with other SAP on-premise
planning systems.
Lesson 1
Exploring the SAP Analytics Cloud AI Functionality for Augmentation 95
UNIT OBJECTIVES
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Describe the SAP Analytics Cloud augmented analytics functionality
● Use Search to Insight
Smart Predict
Create one or several predictive models that automatically learn from your historical data,
and find the best relationships or patterns of behavior to easily generate predictions for future
events, values, and trends. For example, predictive forecasting takes different values into
account, and also looks at trends, cycles, and fluctuations in your data.
Smart Insight
Right-click a chart element or data point in a table, and the system adds context. For example,
in a table with a total salary value, SAP Analytics Cloud can help determine what the key
contributors are to that total.
Smart Discovery
Create a story automatically with supervised machine learning using regression for measures
and classifications if you select a dimension.
Note:
*Search to Insight for live data is supported for all live connections except for SAP
HANA Cloud and SAP Datasphere.
**Smart insight for live data is supported only for SAP HANA on-premise.
***Smart Predict on acquired data is supported for datasets and planning models
but not for analytic models. Smart Predict on live data is supported only for SAP
HANA on-premise.
Additional Information
Augmented analytics using Smart Features is covered in more detail in the Applying AI-
powered Augmented Analytics to Business Data in SAP Analytics Cloud learning journey.
Search to Insight
Search to Insight
Search to Insight lets you ask questions in plain language which automatically generates
visualizations with your answers using artificial intelligence. One place you can access Search
to Insight from the Home screen in the Ask a question field under the Welcome message.
For example, you can type show me gross margin over time which produces the
following time series chart:
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Describe the SAP Analytics Cloud augmented analytics functionality
● Use Search to Insight
Learning Assessment
1. What lets you create 1 or more models that learn from your historical data?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Predictive Forecast
X B Smart Insight
X C Smart Predict
1. What lets you create 1 or more models that learn from your historical data?
Choose the correct answer.
X A Predictive Forecast
X B Smart Insight
X C Smart Predict
Only Smart Predict creates 1 or more models that learn from your historical data.
You can access Search to Insight from the The SAP Analytics Cloud Home screen.
Lesson 1
Providing Feedback Using Discussions and Comments 103
Lesson 2
Using the SAP Analytics Cloud Calendar 105
UNIT OBJECTIVES
● Provide feedback
● Add a task to the SAP Analytics Cloud calendar
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Provide feedback
To create a discussion, select the Collaboration icon. Choose one or more people with
whom you wish to collaborate, and then start a conversation. You can message, add
attachments, and even link to other stories using the plus icon at the bottom of the assistant.
Add Comments
Commenting is a great way to offer feedback on specific elements in a story. Select the
element on which you wish to comment, choose the comment icon, and enter your message.
Comments can be addressed to specific team members by tagging them with the @ symbol.
Comments can be made on a story page, a widget, or a data point in a table and can be up to
1,000 characters long. They can also be exported to a file from the story. SAP Analytics Cloud
keeps track of the commenting history.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Provide feedback
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
● Add a task to the SAP Analytics Cloud calendar
Calendar Tasks
The SAP Analytics Cloud Calendar
Use the calendar to organize your work flows. You can create different types of tasks and
assign people to work on them and others to review the work. You can use processes to
manage multiple tasks.
The calendar provides following features to view, create, and manage your tasks:
● Collaborate
● Set and track status
● Assign reviewers
● Add reminders
● View due dates
Depending on the type of task you add, you may be able to configure it to link the task to a
specific file or files and assign performers and reviewer for the task.
If you are an assignee and you access an application from a task, you can submit, reject, view,
or set the progress of your task. If you are a reviewer and you access an application from a
task, you can perform the accept or resend actions from within your application.
When a task is completed, the appropriate users are notified, and the task status is indicated
as Accomplished.
Scheduled Publications
You can also use the calendar to manage scheduled publications. When you have scheduled a
story or application, the scheduling job appears on your calendar. From the calendar you can
view, modify, copy, discontinue, or delete a schedule.
Note:
Users with the Manage permission on Schedule Publication can alter a schedule
you have created.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
● Add a task to the SAP Analytics Cloud calendar
Learning Assessment
X A 280
X B 1,000
X C 1,280
X D 1,332
2. The SAP Analytics Cloud Calendar can be used to organize work flows. True or false?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
X A Assign Reviewer
X B Schedule a file
X C Collaborate
4. If you schedule a publication, what management options do you have for the schedule?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Modify
X B Define
X C Discontinue
X D Reschedule
X A 280
X B 1,000
X C 1,280
X D 1,332
2. The SAP Analytics Cloud Calendar can be used to organize work flows. True or false?
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X True
X False
The SAP Analytics Cloud Calendar can be used to organize work flows.
X A Assign Reviewer
X B Schedule a file
X C Collaborate
The SAP Analytics Cloud calendar allows you to assign reviewers and collaborate. You can
also set and track status, add reminders, and view due dates.
4. If you schedule a publication, what management options do you have for the schedule?
Choose the correct answers.
X A Modify
X B Define
X C Discontinue
X D Reschedule
From the calendar you can modify and discontinue a schedule. You can also view, copy, or
delete a schedule