Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Contents
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Architecture ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Architecture ....................................................................................................................................................... 5
Portal Highlighting........................................................................................................................................... 19
Configuring Portal and CRM ............................................................................................................................ 20
Work Protect Mode (Data Loss Popup) ........................................................................................................... 25
Business Packages (why do you need them) ................................................................................................... 26
Configure CRM’s Mast Head to Appear in Portal’s iView ................................................................................ 26
CRM’s Central Search ...................................................................................................................................... 26
Mapping CRM Skin to Portal Theme................................................................................................................ 27
Setting the Portal for Business Role Upload from CRM ................................................................................... 27
Exporting Business Role from CRM .................................................................................................................. 30
Importing XML file in Portal............................................................................................................................. 31
Use the Existing Role Portal Role ..................................................................................................................... 33
CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
Introduction
During my experience in SAP, I have come across a number of incidents where customers are having issues
integrating CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and EP (Netweaver Enterprise Portal). More often
the reason is that EP is maintained by a different team, having different set of expertise compared to the
team looking after WebClient UI & CRM. In this document I will try to cover two out of three ways to
integrate them, along with some tips, interesting SAP Notes and things to consider when opening an OSS
incident/message. The examples within this document are based on CRM EhP 2 with Enterprise Portal 7.20.
So what are the three ways we can integrate CRM into EP:
1. External Integration
2. Tight/Classic Integration
3. Integration via OBN
External Integration
This is the easiest of all the three approaches. EP is used as an entry point to launch CRM’s WebClient UI in
a separate browser window and is responsible for session tracking (login/logoff etc.). CRM’s WUI is
launched in a separate bowser window and acts as a standalone application minus the logoff button. The L-
Shape is maintained and so is the masthead (Help Center, Personalize etc.). You will also be able to see the
back and forward buttons and also Recent Items. Most importantly this is THE ONLY SCENARIO that
supports IC based Business Roles. If you would like the user to have access to multiple Business Roles, this is
the type to use.
Architecture
The CRM Web Client BSP is called via the portal Application Integrator service:
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
In contrast to CRM 5.0 where PC-UI was designed to be running in Portal, the CRM Web Client was
originally designed to run standalone (without portal). In CRM standalone navigation, data loss handling,
history ... already exists and in the Portal integration we reuse these features if possible and
enhanced/exchanged if required.
Tight/Classic Integration
When you want to display WebClient UI inside EP’s iView this form of integration is the answer. The L-
Shape and the masthead belong to EP. You can also integrate CRM’s masthead iView to include "Help
Center", "Personalization" and "System News”. In order to avoid the confusions we decided to name them
with CRM as prefix. The back and forward buttons not only keep track of navigation inside the CRM but that
of the Portal as well. You can only display one Business Role at a time, as it is exported in a form of an XML
file which is then imported into the Portal. You can also map Portal theme to a CRM skin.
Architecture
The visible logical link ID of the CRM navigation bar corresponds to a portal iView. Therefore the XML
Export Tool generates the structures according to CRM navigation bar customizing.
The Object Type/Action corresponds to the portal OBN metadata Business Object/Operation.
There are two different kinds of navigation when CRM is running in the Portal:
Navigation via link in portal L-shape -> Portal tells CRM where to go to (via URL parameter crm-
logical-link)
Cross Component Navigation (inside CRM) -> CRM navigates always without portal and uses java
script to tell portal what to highlight (what to highlight results from roles specific OBN meta data).
The CRM roles cross component customizing corresponds to the portal roles OBN metadata. And a
field in navigation bar customizing defines what to highlight for what object type/action.
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
Practical Examples
We will now cover the steps in the two scenarios that are supported in this document:
External Integration
In this chapter we will map a CRM system to the Portal, create an iView, create a Portal Role, create Portal
users and connect the dots as we progress.
6. Select “SAP system using dedicated application server” or “SAP system with load balancing” as per
your requirement and click on Next
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
7. Fill out System Name and System ID and Master Language and click Next
9. Now you should be able to see a new subfolder under System with you newly created system
name. Click on the OK button to be ready to configure the system details
10. Access CRM backend and execute transaction SMICM. Once there click on the 3rd icon (Services). If
you have both HTTP & HTTPS configured for your CRM system, select the appropriate one (NOTE:
Ensure that both CRM and EP are using the same protocol – HTTP or HTTPS, otherwise you will
encounter a lot of issues due to domain relaxation) and click on Details and note down the Host
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
11. Now execute transaction SCC4, on the CRM backend, double click on the correct client and note
down the correct Logical System name
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
12. Fill out the system details based on the information obtained in steps 10 & 11 and click on Save
13. Web AS Path has to be /sap/bw/bex (ensure that this service is activated on the corresponding
CRM system in transaction SICF)
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
14. Right click on the system that you have just created and click on Open -> System Aliases and create
a system alias. This step is necessary for user mapping and click on Save
15. Click on the dropdown and select Connection Test. Select SAP Web AS Connection and ITS
Connection and click on Test to verify connectivity between EP and target CRM system & its ITS
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
Create an iView
1. Now we have to create the link (tab) in the Portal which will be visible to the end users, and this
link will be mapped to the target CRM system. To do so create a new folder in Content
Administrator -> Portal Content. Let’s call it Sandbox
2. Inside the Sandbox folder create another folder. Let’s call it CRM_Ext for now.
3. Now we will be creating an iView. To do so right click inside the CRM_Ext folder and select iView
and iView Wizard will be launched
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
4. Click on Next. In the next screen scroll down and select SAP BSP iView and click on Next
5. Enter a meaningful name and ID for the iView. This will be name of the tab that will be displayed.
For the sake of simplicity you should name it the same. Click on Next
6. BSP Definition Type should be Application. Click on Next
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
8. On the next screen check “Open for editing when wizard completes” and click on Finish
9. When the iView opens for editing set URL-Based Session Tracking to No (For CRM 7.0 and above
this has to be No. For CRM 2007 it has to be Yes).
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
2. Inside the same folder that you created the iView in, right click and select New->Role
3. Enter meaningful Role Name & ID and click on Next and then Finish
2. Map the iView to the Role you created a few steps ago and click on Save
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
3. Click on Assigned Roles tab and search for the Role that you created. Select it and click on the Add
button and then click on Save
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
Testing
1. Logout from the Portal (if necessary as IE8 and above shares sessions) and log back in again
with the new user that you have created
2. You will see a tab with the name of the iView that you created
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
3. Once you click on it, CRM WebClient UI will open in a separate browser window
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
Portal Highlighting
Portal Highlighting is a feature that is only available in Portal. WebClient UI does not offer highlighting. You
can define which entries are highlighted in the cross-component navigation in the portal. Highlighting will
only work if Portal has 1:1 relationship with the CRM backend. Otherwise you might get an error "RFC
connection between CRM and portal is not correctly configured". Most probably not the best error
message. You can suppress this message (see Interesting Notes section). Highlighting means the special
marking of an object to distinguish it from others, for example, color, bold border, and so on. Each Business
Role has a corresponding Navigation Bar Profile that is assigned to it. So for Business Role SALESPRO the
Navigation Bar Profile is SLS-PRO.
You can define highlighting in the CRM for Portal in IMG Customer Relationship Management -> UI
Framework -> Technical Role Definition -> Define Navigation Bar Profile:
Select your business role under Define Profile and select one of the following folders:
Under Define Generic OP Mapping, you can enter the logical link in the field Highlight.
Under Override Generic OP Mapping for Component, you can define the highlighting for exceptions
of single components.
Example:
Business Role: Sales Professional
Navigation Bar Profile = SLS-PRO
Object Type: BP_ACCOUNT
Object Action: Display
Target ID: MD-BP-OV
Highlight: MD-BP-SR
-> the logical link to be highlighted is the Account search page.
You enter a logical link in the Highlight field; this logical link needs to be assigned to a work center in the
same navigation bar profile. The system evaluates the logical link entered in this field and highlights the
corresponding work center in the portal. No entry in the Highlight field means that there is no highlighting
of cross-component navigation. The CRM backend has to call a web service of the portal to do a correct
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
highlighting of the (portal) menu entries. For this an RFC connection with a logical port is necessary and
both systems have to trust each other. If anything is not configured correctly the highlighting will not work
completely and an error message will occur within the CRM views. Nevertheless you can work with the
CRM content. Note:
1. Ensure that the System Alias is configured for your CRM system in EP (we have already done this in
the previous chapter). In EP click on System Administration -> System Configuration -> System
Landscape -> Portal Content -> System. Double Click on the CRM system. From the Display
dropdown select System Alias
Or you can simply right click on the system name and select System Alias
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
2. Now we are going to create a connection from CRM backend to the Portal. Execute transaction
SM59 on CRM backend.
3. Expand HTTP connections to External Servers
4. Click on New
5. Enter the following settings under Technical Settings tab
a. RFC Destination = CRM_EP_DEST (this has to be entered exactly like that)
b. Description 1 = enter a meaningful description
c. Target Host = Fully qualified host name of your Portal
d. Service No.= port number of your Portal
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
GET_DEFAULT_TFO "prt:service:com.sap.portal.obnwebservice.OBNWebService.OBNWebService/getDefaultTFO0"
GET_TARGETS "prt:service:com.sap.portal.obnwebservice.OBNWebService.OBNWebService/getTargets0"
GET_TFO "prt:service:com.sap.portal.obnwebservice.OBNWebService.OBNWebService/getTFO0"
IS_TARGET_EXIST "prt:service:com.sap.portal.obnwebservice.OBNWebService.OBNWebService/isTargetExist0"
IS_TARGET_EXISTS_FO "prt:service:com.sap.portal.obnwebservice.OBNWebService.OBNWebService/isTargetExistsFO0"
TEST_DATA_TRANSMIT "prt:service:com.sap.portal.obnwebservice.OBNWebService.OBNWebService/testDataTransmit0"
10. Export and import of certificates for SSO are beyond the scope of this document. However you can
take a look at Note 1083421
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
1. Logon to Portal
2. Click on System Administration -> System Configuration -> Service Configuration
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
d. Click on Save
To get the CRM Business Package for portal integration, please go to http://service.sap.com/swdc. Expand
Support Packages and Patches -> click on Search for Support Packages and Patches. In Search term filed
enter 'BP CRM Foundation' (without quotes) and trigger the search. And then in Search Term filed enter 'BP
CRM APPLICATION' (without quotes) and trigger the search. Installation of Business Packages are beyond
the scope of this document and you should contact your Portal experts for assistance.
CRM Personalization
CRM Help Center
CRM System News
You can either hide or display these links
1. Select Content Administration -> Portal Content
2. Expand Portal Content -> Content Provided by SAP -> specialist -> CRM Foundation -> CRM
Masthead
3. Choose the following links and select Yes if you want to display them
a. Show Link in Masthead: CRM Help Center
b. Show Link in Masthead: CRM Personalize
c. Show Link in Masthead: CRM System News
1. Select Content Administration -> Portal Content -> Content Provided by SAP -> specialist -> CRM
Foundation
2. Double click on com.sap.crm.fnd.crmfoundation
3. Select CRM Tools
4. Select the property category CRM Portal
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
5. Here you can define properties like CRM System Alias, Enable KM Search in CRM Central Search,
Use Dropdown Boxes or Dynamic Behavior, Use Generic Error Messages, Width etc
This is only evaluated if in Personalization checkbox "Follow Portal Theme" is checked – a new field in
Personalization view. The portal theme name is retrieved from URL parameter crm-portal-theme and in
CL_THTMLB_PERSONALIZATION, method GET_SKINS it checks whether it is launched from the Portal and
"Follow Portal Theme" is personalized. Only then the mapping portal theme - CRM skin is called to get the
mapped CRM skin.
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
extract the required data and writes it to the XML. The user can decide whether the generated work
centers are displayed in the detailed navigation, in the second or first level of the top-level navigation bar in
the Portal. Note: It has no multi-language support - only one language can be exported from CRM and
imported to Portal.
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
3. Give it a meaningful name & ID (for our example we will name it Sandbox)
4. Select Sandbox (or the folder that you have just created and right click -> New -> Folder (to create a
new sub-folder)
5. Give it a meaningful name & ID (for our example we will name it CRM Roles)
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
6. The PCD path for this newly created folder is the one that we will use when we generate the XML
file in CRM (pcd:portal_content/Sandbox/CRM_Roles)
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
d. Main Folder Name = CRM_Roles (or the one you created in Portal)
e. CRM System in Portal = The CRM system that you configured in Portal in step Configuring
Portal and CRM
f. Collection = DEFAULT_COLLECTION
g. Path = where you want to export the generated XML file
1. Login to Portal
2. Click on System Administration -> Transport ->
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
5. Click on Execute
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
1. Click on User Administration -> Identity Management and search for user testuser
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
3. Click on Assigned Roles tab and search for the Role *SALESPRO*. You will find a Role by the
description CRM
Testing
Logout of Portal and log back in again with testuser. You can now see a new tab called CRM. By clicking on
it you will be able to launch CRM’s WebClient UI in Portal’s iView
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
would like to narrow down as to who the culprit is (CRM or Portal), you can do a test modification.
The place would be BSP CRM_UI_START/crmuifServer.js. Comment every call of delSsO2Cookie.
This way you can at least prove whether it is the CRM that is deleting the cookie.
The login to the portal puts the authentication cookie MYSAPSSO2 into the browser cache. This
cookie is valid for a certain domain. The cookie is attached to each and every request from the
browser to any target in the validity domain. Now it depends a bit on your browser version and on
how you open the new window.
If you just use File -> New Window, then the cookie is shared with the new window.
If you start new IE session by Start -> Programs -> Internet Explorer, then it is a completely
separate session. The cookie is not shared.
If you have IE8 then you can use File -> New Session, which is similar to the second list
item.
Now if the cookie is shared, then the browser will attach it to the CRM request. The CRM server
detects the cookie and sees that it was originally issued by the portal system. As the CRM system
does not trust the portal system it does not allow the cookie for authentication and the login page
is displayed. So either you should set up a trust relationship or use separate sessions.
If you would like to display Ajax Framework Page, your WEBCUIF release should be atleast 701 and
above and Enterprise Portal 7.30 or higher.
Recent Items that are displayed in WebClient UI and CRM’s favorites are not supported in
tight/classic CRM + Portal Integration, as the Portal takes over the navigation the back and forward
buttons keep track of the history, and keeps track of its own favorites.
Interesting Notes
1353456 How to launch the WebClient UI from the portal (7.0)
1175590 How to launch IC WebClient from the portal (2007)
625351 MYSAPSSO2 cookie will be deleted completely when
941880 Print button is inactive in CRM Portal application
914889 User's Portal Session cookie needs to be terminated
701205 Single Sign-On using SAP Logon Tickets
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
1. For internal and external integration issues open message under CA-WUI-EP
2. If you are using OBN then you should open a message under EP-PIN-NAV component
3. If you are using an IC based Business Role and your requirement is for it to launch within
the Portal’s iView rather than in a separate browser window, IT IS NOT SUPPORTED
4. If you launch CRM within the Portal’s iView and see a list of Business Roles, then you
configuration is incorrect. It should be external integration. Chances are that your iView is
configured incorrectly
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CRM WebClient UI & Netweaver Enterprise Portal Integration
5. Always try to reproduce the issue in CRM standalone. If you can duplicate the problem,
then the issue is not with Portal and you can open an OSS message under the
corresponding component
6. Ensure that both Portal and CRM are using the same protocol, reside in the same domain
and are in the same Security Zone (IE)
7. Launching either Portal or WebClient UI using IP addresses instead of FQHN (fully qualified
hostnames) is not supported
8. When opening a message be sure to
- advise which Portal system SAP should connect to
- its target CRM system
- detailed steps to duplicate
- PCD path to the iView
- provide a user that has Admin access to the Portal to check the iView configuration
- a backend CRM user with authorization to check customizing & debugging
- make sure that both the Portal’s URL and the corresponding URL of CRM are
accessible over SAPROUTER
- duplicate and record the issue using HTTP Watch and attach it to the message
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