How to find CDS Views - SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud and S/4HANA Private Cloud.

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When it comes to SAP S/4HANA implementation, harnessing embedded analytics capabilities is vital for meeting reporting requirements. An insightful foundational understanding of embedded analytics is provided by the OpenSAP course available at https://open.sap.com/courses/s4h27.

In the process of developing custom reporting, whether through embedded analytics or custom ABAP developments, a common inquiry from consultants is, "How can I locate CDS views and examine their data?" This question is particularly relevant for S/4HANA public cloud implementations, as traditional options like se16/se16n are no longer available.

There are two primary avenues for identifying CDS views:

1. SAP Help Documentation and View Browser: A comprehensive guide to this approach can be found in the blog post: https://blogs.sap.com/2019/10/29/part7.-how-to-search-for-sap-standard-cds-views/ This method involves utilizing SAP's official documentation and the View Browser to discover CDS views effectively.


2. Eclipse IDE with ADT Plugin: The Eclipse IDE, paired with the ABAP Development Tools (ADT) plugin, offers a potent solution for consultants to identify CDS views and inspect their data. This approach is particularly valuable in both public and private cloud environments.

 

Let's explore a bit deeper into the second option, which involves using the Eclipse IDE with the ADT plugin highlighting its relevance to both public and private cloud setups..

 

1. Installation of Eclipse and ADT Plugin:

To begin, you would need to have Eclipse IDE installed on your machine, and then add the ABAP Development Tools (ADT) plugin to Eclipse.

https://developers.sap.com/tutorials/abap-install-adt.html

 

2. Connecting to an SAP System:

After setting up Eclipse with ADT, you need to establish a connection to your SAP system. This is usually done by configuring a new ABAP system connection within Eclipse. This connection will allow you to access development objects, including CDS views, in your SAP system.

S/4HANA private cloud

https://developers.sap.com/tutorials/abap-create-project.html

S/4HANA public cloud

https://developers.sap.com/tutorials/abap-s4hanacloud-login.html

(Note: In the public cloud, For ABAP service instance URL you can use the login URL for the public cloud.(e.g.: https://myxxxxx.s4hana.cloud.sap ))

3. Adjust view structure: Configure Tree

S/4HANA private cloud

• Right-click on “System Library” and click “Configure Tree”

• Change Tree Configuration as follows

      

S/4HANA public cloud

• Right-click on “Released Objects” and click “Configure Tree

• Change Tree Configuration as follows

4. Navigate to the CDS Node and CDS View

• Navigate to the CDS Node

S/4HANA private cloud

path will be “System Library”->”USE_IN_KEY_USER_APPS”->”Core Data Services”->”Data Definition”

You can use either USE_IN_KEY_USER_APPS /  USE_IN_CLOUD_DEVELOPMENT based on the scenario

S/4HANA public cloud

path will be “Released Objects”->” Core Data Services”->” Data Definition”

 

• Navigate to the CDS Node

You can find the needed CDS under the corresponding “Application Component”

For Eg : you need to find the product master CDS. You know that the product master is under logistics.

So path will be

”Logistics-General”->” Logistics-Basic Data”->” Material Master”. You will find I_PRODUCT CDS

5. Browsing CDS Views:

After locating a CDS view in the package hierarchy, you can right-click on it and select "Open With" -> “Data Preview” to see the data in CDS, This is extremely helpful for validating your CDS view definitions and understanding the data that they represent.

In addition, you can see other CDS associated with this CDS by right-clicking on data preview and navigating to those data

It will show the selected material’s unit of measure