Setting up SAP Cloud Applications Studio

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to download, Install, Setup and Connect SAP Cloud Applications Studio

Downloading SAP Cloud Applications Studio

Prerequisites

  • You need an S-User with the authorization Software Download to download the SAP Cloud Applications Studio from the SAP Software Center. If you can't download the software, send your query using the Contact Us at the bottom of the page.​
  • Your company should have the proper SAP Cloud Application Studio license. If not, contact the local SAP Contract Department as per the KBA 1660069 to get the necessary license.

Navigation and Download

As SAP Cloud Applications Studio is a Windows software, you need to download and install it on your machine running a Windows Operating System.

The following steps show you how to navigate and download the Application Studio from the SAP ONE Support Launchpad.

  1. Open the SAP Support Portal and choose Software Downloads.
  2. Ensure you are on the Installations & Upgrades tab.​
  3. Navigate to By Category > SAP Cloud Solutions. The navigation path from the Installation and Upgrades tab, to By Category, and then to SAP Cloud Solutions
  4. Select SAP Cloud Applications Studio, and choose the version matching your cloud solution release.The versions to download SAP Cloud Applications Studio.
  5. We recommend the Pilot download, as this is the latest version.Screenshot highlighting the Pilot version, which is the recommended download version.
  6. In the list that appears, select the latest file to download.The list of files that you can download for the Pilot version.

Installing SAP Cloud Applications Studio

Before installing SAP Cloud Applications Studio, make sure you pay attention to the following two rules:

  • Remember that the studio version must match the release version (for example, 2211) of the SAP cloud solution (otherwise the studio refuses to connect to your cloud solution).
  • Don’t install the legacy and the pilot version of the studio in parallel because they interfere with each other (the pilot version is a new branch based on a newer Visual Studio Isolated Shell version and is the future).

The SAP Cloud Applications Studio installer has some software dependencies that it will make you aware of and guide you to the places where you can download them. That means you can run the installer without having the following software installed already:

  • Visual Studio Isolated Shell (version 2015 for the Pilot version of the studio).
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 (no need to install the full VS2015 IDE; only the update package is needed).
  • Microsoft NET Framework 4.8

The following screenshot shows one of the dialogs that you could see during the installation asking you to download and install Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Isolated Shell. Apart from that, the installation of the studio runs straightforward without any specialties. In this training we use the pilot version of the studio.

The studio installer pointing you to the Visual Studio 2015 Isolated Shell software prerequisite.

Note

To download some of the prerequisites, you need a Microsoft account and a developer subscription (free). Find more details here.

Caution

There is a change in the installation and usage of SAP Cloud Applications Studio due to Microsoft's deprecation of the technology we currently use. Starting August 2025, the current one-click installer for the Studio will no longer be supported, and a new installation process will be required.

What’s Changing?

Deprecation of Isolated Shell Technology: Microsoft will stop supporting the isolated shell technology after October 2025. This means we will no longer be able to ship the Studio as a bundled package in its current form.

New Installation Process:

After August 2025, you will be required to download Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 (Professional or Enterprise edition) to continue using the Studio. Please note that the free Community edition of Visual Studio cannot be used for commercial purposes as per Microsoft’s licensing terms.

Next Steps:

  1. Download the Professional or Enterprise edition of Visual Studio.

  2. Download the VSIX Extension from the SAP Software Download Center.

  3. Close all open instances of Visual Studio 2022. Then, double-click the .vsix file to begin the installation.

Find detailed information here

User Roles and Access Rights

To work with SAP Cloud Applications Studio, you need a user in the cloud solution with the appropriate PDI access rights. According to their access rights, we divide development users into two categories: Developer and Studio Administrator. They are often referred to as user roles. Don't mix this up with Business Roles! In fact these roles are based on access rights to different views within the PDI_PARTNER_DEVELOPMENT work center.

Tests from the business side should always be carried out by business users without PDI access rights.

The following table gives an overview on the roles, the deciding work center views and the what they are used for:

Developer

Studio Administrator

Business User

  • Create and maintain all types of development objects in the studio within an existing solution
  • Activate objects to make them available in the runtime
  • View information about objects and data types via the Repository Explorer

  • Create and manage solutions

  • Assemble and Download + Upload solutions with the Implementation Manager

  • Delete sessions and locks of other users

  • Used for testing within the development or test tenant of the SAP cloud solution​

  • Access rights modeled like targeted end users on a customer tenant​

    ​

Workcenter View:

PDI_DEVELOPMENT

Workcenter View:

PDI_ADMINISTRATION​

( + PDI_DEVELOPMENT​ )

No PDI work center/view assigned!​

Please note that the PDI_ADMINISTRATION work center view only adds the administrative access rights to a user. If the Studio Administrator should also work on the content, you should assign the PDI_DEVELOPMENT work center view as well.

Never add the PDI_PARTNER_DEVELOPMENT work center or any views to your regular business user! Always create a separate user for development tasks with the studio. Assigning the PDI work center to a user moves it to another layer. In this layer, the user cannot, for example, open the adaptation mode anymore. The layer switch cannot be reverted.

Having a PDI work center view assigned allows a user to connect the studio to the cloud solution and work on solutions in general. However, for certain tasks, additional access rights are needed. The following table shows the most common work center/views needed:

Work Center ID / Name

Work Center View Name / ID

PDI_PARTNER_DEVELOMPENT /

Partner Development

Developer User Role

PDI_DEVELOPMENT / Development

Studio Administrator User Role
  • PDI_ADMINISTRATION / Administration
  • PDI_DEVELOPMENT / Development

ANA_BUSINESSANALYTICS /

Business Analytics

  • Design Reports​
  • Design Data Sources​
  • Design Key Figures

SEODADMINWCF /

Administrator

  • Approval Processes​
  • Flexibility Change Log​
  • Form Template Maintenance​
  • Master Template Maintenance​
  • Incidents​
  • Microsoft Office® Template Maintenance​
  • Mashup Authoring​
  • Mashup Web Services​
  • Notification Rules

Creating a Development User

Development users are typically created as service agents, even if the person developing is an employee of the company, or already has a service agent. Keep in mind that PDI work center views should never be assigned to the regular business user view of a person.

Creating a development user follows the typical user creation process for service agents. It consists of two steps.

  • Create a service agent and request a user for it. You can do this in Partners → Service Agents.
  • Maintain user properties and assign access rights for the desired PDI work center view. You do this in Administrator → General Settings → Business Users.

To learn more, refer to this link.

To view the detailed steps for creating a user, refer to the following section.

Connect the Studio to the Cloud Solution

The following steps will help you connect the studio to the cloud solution for the first time.

Steps

  1. Open the Studio. The Connect to Repository dialog box is displayed with the default system details.

  2. To add a new system connection, click the pencil icon to the right of the System field. The Options dialog is opened.

    Connection to a Repository by providing System, User Id, and Password

  3. On the Connectivity tab, enter a name for the new connection and the host of your tenant (the name can be anything. The host in the format: myXXXXXX.crm.ondemand.com as known from the browser).

    4. Connectivity Options for Repository System Connections, maintaining Name, Host, Protocol and Proxy Settings.

  4. Make sure to click Save before leaving the Options dialog.

  5. Close the Options dialog by clicking OK.

  6. Back on the Connect to Repository dialog, select your newly created system from the dropdown.

    Selection of one of the systems from the List of System Connections

  7. Enter your development User ID and Password, and click OK.

Log in to track your progress & complete quizzes

Learning

SAP FacebookSAP YoutubeSAP LinkedIn