Managing SAP Fiori Catalogs

In personalization, groups and catalogs just visualize tiles or links for calling an application. In customizing and configuration, catalogs define app descriptors consisting of tiles and target mappings. Target Mappings hold all the information needed to actually start an application.

The following table outlines the elements that can be distinguished in the content model since SAP S/4HANA 2020:

Watch the video explaining the content model since SAP S/4HANA 2020.

Note

In the content model for SAP Business Suite, technical catalog roles (TCR) and business catalog roles (BCR) existed. The business roles (BR) replaced both.

Time to look at an example of the content model from the SAP Fiori apps reference library.

In this example from the SAP Fiori apps reference library, you see content model elements under Technical Configuration, starting with TC and continuing with BC, BCG, and BR. The name of the BC describes the duty, the name of the BCG describes the topic, and the name of the BR is the end users role.

Standard, replicable and back-end catalogs are visible as read-only catalogs in the SAP Fiori launchpad designer (FLPD) and SAP Fiori launchpad content manager (FLPCM). Both tools can only display the app descriptors defined inside these catalogs as tiles and target mappings. That is the task of the SAP Fiori launchpad application manager (FLPAM).

Replicable and back-end catalogs are available in the back-end server (BES). In a system scenario where there is a separated front-end server (FES), these are extracted by an administrator from the BESs to the FES as remote catalog. A remote catalog is used in other systems as the source system they are defined in and can only be changed in the source system.

Remote catalogs can be used to load additional tiles from a remote system, but not for adding additional applications and target mappings to an SAP Fiori installation. A remote catalog can only provide new tile configurations, not new application implementations. The application code must be installed in the system to which the target mapping is pointing.

The remote catalog feature was mainly intended to support integration of smart business content from an SAP HANA XS. In this scenario, the code for the smart business app has to be installed on the FES. However, the KPI tile definitions are created using the KPI modeler on the SAP HANA XS. Another use case is the integration of SAP Jam tiles from the SAP Business Technology Platform or having multiple FESs pointing to one central FES with custom catalogs.

Note

Defining remote catalogs manually in the FLPD is deprecated since the introduction of back-end catalogs.

Catalogs can be referenced in the FLPD to create a copy of the catalog consisting of references to tiles and target mappings of the source catalog. It is a good starting point when defining own catalogs to start with referencing a catalog shipped by SAP. If SAP ships a new version of a catalog, all references immediately use the new version.

In SAP S/4HANA 1809 SPS03, the SAP Fiori launchpad content manager (FLPCM) was introduced to ease mass-administration of catalogs. You can show the catalogs and their content, the tiles and target mappings for all catalogs, or roles and their catalogs. There are easy ways to copy complete catalogs or reference certain tiles and target mappings in other catalogs. Similar to the SAP Fiori launchpad designer (FLPD), you can use the FLPCM for configuration (transaction /UI2/FLPCM_CONF) or customizing (transaction /UI2/FLPCM_CUST).

Whereas the FLPD focuses on single catalogs or groups, the FLPCM has all catalogs in a system or client in its focus. The administrative work around catalogs, such as transport or role-assignment, is quite easy compared to the FLPD. However, it is not possible to create groups, tiles, or target mappings. Standard and replicable catalogs can only be created in the SAP Fiori launchpad application manager (FLPAM).

The FLPCM, FLPD, and FLPAM can also be used in combination. For example, after a copying a catalog in the FLPCM, the new catalog can be opened directly in the FLPD (business catalog) or FLPAM (standard catalog) in order to adapt the tiles and target mappings. Combined with the ability to also jump from the FLPCM to the Role Maintenance (PFCG), the FLPCM acts as the center for maintaining SAP Fiori catalogs.