Create a New Story (Optimized Story Experience)

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to create a SAP Analytics Cloud story from an existing template.

Contents

  • Prerequisites
  • Review available templates
  • Create a New Story (Optimized Story Experience)
  • Add a Data Model
  • Add a Story Filter
  • Save your Story
  • Summary

A story is a document that uses charts, visualizations, images, and other objects to describe and analyze data. When creating a story, you are prompted to choose between a Classic Design Experience or Optimized Design Experience mode. The Optimized Design Experience includes many usability and performance improvements.

Rather than building a story from scratch, you can use a template to speed up your story creation process. Templates are predefined page layouts and can contain placeholders for objects such as charts, tables, maps, and input controls.

In this lesson, you will use the Optimized Design Experience to create a new story from an existing template, assign a S/4 Finance data model, and story filter.

After completing the lesson, your story (in edit mode) should look similar to:

Prerequisites

You have completed the following units:

  • Getting Started with SAP Analytics Cloud
  • Logged On to SAP Analytics Cloud

Review available templates

For the workshop there are two templates available depending on your needs.

  • OPTION 1: Template MyStory - Select.

    The template layout includes 3 lanes, header, filter and main, with only limited placeholders. There are no placeholders in the in main lane to allow you to arrange the widgets as you like.

    Note

    You will be using the

  • OPTION 2: Template MyStory - Complete.

    The layout includes 3 lanes, header, filter and main, with placeholders for charts, geo map, table, input controls and an open area for Just Ask. The placeholders allow for a structured approach when following all units.

Create a New Story (Optimized Story Experience)

Create a new story using an existing template.

  1. Click Stories and select the MyStory - Select template to jump start your story.

Note: If necessary select Show More… to see all available template options.

  1. The new story opens with the Left Side Panel and Layouts Panel already open.

  2. Click “X” to close the Left Side Panel for now, and also close the Layouts panel on the right as you already selected an existing template to work from.

  1. If you are familiar with the classic design experience, you will notice that the top toolbar has been revamped.

    Note

    Depending on your browser size, only a subset of features may be displayed.

    Some of the new features include:

    (A) Add New Data Sources in the Tools menu.

    (B) Layouts (templates) in the Format menu.

    (C ) Left Side Panel (with Assets, Outline, Filter tabs) in the Views menu, to build and navigate the story structure.

    • Assets tab – provides all the widgets that can be added to story canvas via drag & drop
    • Outline tab – provides a structured view of all widgets that are currently available in the story
    • Filter tab - provides all added filters and prompts that are currently available in the story

    (C ) Right Side Panel (Builder, Styling) in the Views menu, to define properties for story elements.

    (D) Filter Panel in the Views menu.

    • Apply filters to all widgets based on the same data source.
    • The filter is applied in all the pages of a story.

    (E) Advanced Mode (Scripting) in the Views menu.

    You will experience these new features throughout the units and lessons.

Add a Data Source

You will add an existing S/4 Finance data model to your story.

  1. Select Add New Data from the Tools menu in the top toolbar.

  1. [Alternative] If you only see a subset of features, either resize your browser, or select Add New Data from the More menu.

  1. Click on the Data from an existing dataset or model option.

  1. Search for and select the AIN360_ORDER_FINANCE model.

  1. [Alternative] Follow the file location, My Files / Public / Experience Academy BI / AIN360 Models / “AIN360_ORDER_FINANCE”.

  1. Click on the Add New Data icon from the Tools menu again to view the data model added to the story.

Add a Story Filter

You can apply a filter to all pages in the story.

  1. Open the Left Side Panel from the top toolbar, and under the Filters tab select Add New Filter.

  1. From the filter menu select Dimensions > Order Date > Order Date (Dimension) > Filter by Member.

  1. Expand the (all) node and select 2022 and 2023, then click OK.

  1. View the filter you just applied in the Left Side Panel under the Filters tab.

  1. Deselect the Left Side Panel from the View menu in the Top Toolbar, to close the panel.

  2. See the 1 in the Filter Panel, counting the story filter created.


Save your Story

A story in SAP Analytics Cloud can be saved by specifying the story’s path, either to your private or public files.

A public story is visible to all users. A private story is visible to its creator and the users they have chosen to share it with.

  1. Click Save from the File menu in the top toolbar.

Note

Ensure you are saving to your own private files,

  1. Click on My Files and name your story with your username _MyStory, update Description, then click OK.

Summary

Well Done! You have created a new Story using the Optimized Design Experience.

Contents

  • Prerequisites
  • Review available templates
  • Create a New Story (Optimized Story Experience)
  • Add a Data Model
  • Add a Story Filter
  • Save your Story
  • Summary

A story is a document that uses charts, visualizations, images, and other objects to describe and analyze data. When creating a story, you are prompted to choose between a Classic Design Experience or Optimized Design Experience mode. The Optimized Design Experience includes many usability and performance improvements.

Rather than building a story from scratch, you can use a template to speed up your story creation process. Templates are predefined page layouts and can contain placeholders for objects such as charts, tables, maps, and input controls.

In this lesson, you will use the Optimized Design Experience to create a new story from an existing template, assign a S/4 Finance data model, and story filter.

After completing the lesson, your story (in edit mode) should look similar to:

Prerequisites

You have completed the following units:

  • Getting Started with SAP Analytics Cloud
  • Logged On to SAP Analytics Cloud

Review available templates

For the workshop there are two templates available depending on your needs.

  • OPTION 1: Template MyStory - Select.

    The template layout includes 3 lanes, header, filter and main, with only limited placeholders. There are no placeholders in the in main lane to allow you to arrange the widgets as you like.

    Note

    You will be using the

  • OPTION 2: Template MyStory - Complete.

    The layout includes 3 lanes, header, filter and main, with placeholders for charts, geo map, table, input controls and an open area for Just Ask. The placeholders allow for a structured approach when following all units.

Create a New Story (Optimized Story Experience)

Create a new story using an existing template.

  1. Click Stories and select the MyStory - Select template to jump start your story.

Note: If necessary select Show More… to see all available template options.

  1. The new story opens with the Left Side Panel and Layouts Panel already open.

  2. Click “X” to close the Left Side Panel for now, and also close the Layouts panel on the right as you already selected an existing template to work from.

  1. If you are familiar with the classic design experience, you will notice that the top toolbar has been revamped.

    Note

    Depending on your browser size, only a subset of features may be displayed.

    Some of the new features include:

    (A) Add New Data Sources in the Tools menu.

    (B) Layouts (templates) in the Format menu.

    (C ) Left Side Panel (with Assets, Outline, Filter tabs) in the Views menu, to build and navigate the story structure.

    • Assets tab – provides all the widgets that can be added to story canvas via drag & drop
    • Outline tab – provides a structured view of all widgets that are currently available in the story
    • Filter tab - provides all added filters and prompts that are currently available in the story

    (C ) Right Side Panel (Builder, Styling) in the Views menu, to define properties for story elements.

    (D) Filter Panel in the Views menu.

    • Apply filters to all widgets based on the same data source.
    • The filter is applied in all the pages of a story.

    (E) Advanced Mode (Scripting) in the Views menu.

    You will experience these new features throughout the units and lessons.

Add a Data Source

You will add an existing S/4 Finance data model to your story.

  1. Select Add New Data from the Tools menu in the top toolbar.

  1. [Alternative] If you only see a subset of features, either resize your browser, or select Add New Data from the More menu.

  1. Click on the Data from an existing dataset or model option.

  1. Search for and select the AIN360_ORDER_FINANCE model.

  1. [Alternative] Follow the file location, My Files / Public / Experience Academy BI / AIN360 Models / “AIN360_ORDER_FINANCE”.

  1. Click on the Add New Data icon from the Tools menu again to view the data model added to the story.

Add a Story Filter

You can apply a filter to all pages in the story.

  1. Open the Left Side Panel from the top toolbar, and under the Filters tab select Add New Filter.

  1. From the filter menu select Dimensions > Order Date > Order Date (Dimension) > Filter by Member.

  1. Expand the (all) node and select 2022 and 2023, then click OK.

  1. View the filter you just applied in the Left Side Panel under the Filters tab.

  1. Deselect the Left Side Panel from the View menu in the Top Toolbar, to close the panel.

  2. See the 1 in the Filter Panel, counting the story filter created.


Save your Story

A story in SAP Analytics Cloud can be saved by specifying the story’s path, either to your private or public files.

A public story is visible to all users. A private story is visible to its creator and the users they have chosen to share it with.

  1. Click Save from the File menu in the top toolbar.

Note

Ensure you are saving to your own private files,

  1. Click on My Files and name your story with your username _MyStory, update Description, then click OK.

Summary

Well Done! You have created a new Story using the Optimized Design Experience.

Learning
SAP FacebookSAP YoutubeSAP LinkedIn