The General tab is where you find the technical name and the description of the characteristic. You can change the description but not the technical name. If you make a change, it does not affect the standard description for the InfoObject.
Under Value Output, the system displays the output type. To change this, choose the pencil icon. Under Display As, you can specify whether the values of the characteristic are displayed, and how. You can choose here from the options created for the characteristic in InfoObject maintenance.
Display Types
The following table provides an overview of the possible display options in the SAP BW system.
| Display Type | Description |
|---|
| Do Not Display | The characteristic is hidden. This function is particularly useful with the currency/unit characteristic for example, since the currencies are also displayed in the key figures. |
| [Key] Text | The characteristic values are displayed with their technical key and their description text. |
| Text | The characteristic values are displayed with their description text. |
| [Key] | The characteristic values are displayed with their technical key. |
| Text [Key] | The characteristic values are displayed with their description text and their technical key. |
If you set a display type that contains text, you can select a particular text type under Text Output Format.
Text Display
The following options are available under Text Output Format.
| Display Type | Description |
|---|
| Standard | The shortest available text is used for the characteristic values. |
| Short | The short text for the characteristic values is used. |
| Medium | The medium text for the characteristic values is used. |
| Long | The long text for the characteristic values is used. |
Under Sorting, the system displays the sorting criteria. To change this, choose the pencil icon.
Sorting Criteria
| Criterion | Description |
|---|
| Sorting Attribute | Select either this characteristic or the attribute that you want to sort by. Note that, if you want to sort your articles according to specific criteria, create an attribute for the Article characteristic that contains these criteria, and sort the articles by this attribute. |
| Sort By | Text or Key |
| Sort Direction | Ascending or descending |
Under Result Output Format, you can decide under which conditions and in what form you want result rows to be displayed.
Result Row Display
| Option | Description |
|---|
| Always | The result rows are always displayed. |
| Only if more than one child | The result rows are displayed if there are two or more individual values. |
| Never | The result rows are always suppressed. |
Under Cumulate Values, you can specify, for each characteristic, that the key figure values can be cumulated for the relevant characteristic attributes, regardless of the aggregation behavior of the key figure.
For example, if the key figure has the standard aggregation SUM, the individual values of an area are cumulated; the first value is added to the second value, the result is added to the third value, and so on.
If the key figure has the standard aggregation MIN, the system checks two consecutive values to determine which value is smaller. The system takes this value as the cumulative value and compares it to the third single value.
In the columns, the values are cumulated from top to bottom, and in the rows, the values are cumulated from left to right. With blocks of single values, a drilldown in both the rows and the columns, the values are cumulated from top to bottom and from left to right.
Caution
You can only cumulate with characteristic values and not with the structural elements of a characteristic structure. The Cumulate Values function only takes effect if you have a characteristic instead of a characteristic structure in the drilldown. If you use two structures however – the key figure structure and a characteristic structure – you can cumulate using cell-specific definitions.Display Level
The display level allows you to categorize a characteristic in the filter. This means that you can categorize purely technically filters (which are not relevant for end users) as the detail overview (in Detailed Overview Only). These are then only displayed if the detailed view is set for display in the front end. You can therefore create a special view of the filtered characteristics that is tailored to end users.
The following categorizations are available:
- Also in Simple Overview
The characteristic always appears in the list of static filters.
- In Normal Overview
The characteristic only appears in the list of static filters if the In Normal Overview or In Detailed Overview Only option is selected.
- In Detailed Overview Only
The characteristic only appears in the list of static filters if the In Detailed Overview Only option is selected.
Extended
Under Access Type for Result Values, you can define the access type for result values. You have the following options:
Access Type for Result Values
Option | Description |
|---|
Master Data | When the query is executed, a row of data is always displayed for the characteristic. As long as values have been maintained for this characteristic in the master data, they will be displayed here. The display does not depend on transaction data. |
Posted Values | When the query is executed, a row of data is only displayed for the characteristic if there are posted values (values contained in the InfoProvider) for this characteristic. |
Under Filter Value Selection, you can define how filter values are selected when the query is executed. You have the following options:
Filter Value Selection During Query Execution
Option | Description |
|---|
Values in Master Data Table | In the filter dialog, the system displays all characteristic values from the master data, independently of transaction data. |
Only Values in InfoProvider | In the filter dialog, the system displays characteristic values contained in the InfoProvider for example, for Business Partner, independently of beforehand selected values for another characteristic for example, Country. |
Only Posted Values for Navigation | In the filter dialog, the system displays characteristic values contained in the InfoProvider, for example, for Business Partner, dependently of beforehand selected values for another characteristic for example, Country. |
Under Refresh Variables, you can define how to refresh the variables that you use in default values or for defining presentation hierarchies. You have the following options:
Refresh Variables
Option | Description |
|---|
Dynamically | If you choose this option, the system refreshes the application using the settings from the current navigation view. |
As Designed | If you choose this option, the system refreshes the application using the hierarchy and filter settings in the query definition. |