UI elements missing

[Former Member]

When integrating my WDA application as a web interface in an iview on enterprise portal some UI elements seem to have disappeared. Integrating as a tcode works perfectly fine.

On the right of each parameter field is an icon that when clicked opens up search help, this one is missing. Same for a date field, the icon for the calendar is missing. And then on the right of each tray the icon for collapsing it is also missing. Has anyone experienced this same issue?

[thomas_jung · Accepted solution]

This could be caused if the portal is at an older release/support package/enhancement package level than your AS-ABAP. When running via an iView in the portal, WDA uses the theme files from the portal. If these are older than the AS-ABAP level you can have rendering problems like you describe. Have a look at SAP Note 970850. It describes this situation and provides a configuration workaround that will forece the WDA to render using its backend stylesheets instead of the portal ones.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thank you, Thomas.

I have asked this question elsewhere and am wondering if you could answer this.

I am trying to understand how developing an application in web dynpro ABAP is more beneficial that developing a normal transaction code and integrating it using an IView through enterprise portal. Why would SAP expect us to learn a new tool WDA, when you can simply integrate a normal ABAP tcode into an Iview and have web based access to SAP transactions.

[thomas_jung · Accepted solution]

I saw that question the other day, but didn't chime in because that question has been asked and responded to many, many times on this forum. Probably why you haven't received much in the way of responses. You should defintely search back through some of these old threads.

To summarize some of the high points:

• Classic dynpro has neither OO or Model View Controller design approaches. This makes mainteance more difficult and ties the business logic too closely to the UI layer. Look at legacy technologies like Call Transaction and BDC. It was necessarily to pass through the screens themselves to perform mass updates. As we service enabled the business logic this also added complexity to the process as we had to extract the business logic from the screens.

• Although the ITS/Webgui can screen scrap the current transactions and create HTML representations - the resulting UI design and user experience is not necessarily optimal for a web based application. Starting fresh with new design possiblities and tools (Floorplan Manager for instance) allows for better overall design.

• Web Dynpro is where SAP is investing their time and money in enhancing the technology and UI elements. There are UI elements that are only possible in Web Dynpro. We no longer add any new UI elements or controls to the SAPGUI based classic dynpro.

• 3rd party integration - like Adobe Interactive Forms, Adobe FlashIslands, Microsoft Silverlight Islands, etc - only built into Web Dynpro and CRMUI.

• SAP wanted to make extensibility without modification a high priority with any new UI framework. Web Dynpro has personalization, configuration, and the enhancement framework built-in - something that classic dynpro never had a system level framework.

• Web Dynpro is designed to be technology agnostic. Over time SAP can (and has) rewritten the technology used by the output renderer without disrupting the applications themselves. This is a central design theme in Web Dynpro - the idea of abstracted rendering.

These are just a few of the major points. I'm sure you will find other items as you search.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thank you very much. I will surely search around for more.