This tutorial is a step-by-step guide to install the new ABAP Development Tools (ADT) on Eclipse™ (Kepler version) on an Apple® computer running the Mac OS® X Lion operating system.
1. Introduction
Users of personal computers running one of the latest versions of Microsoft® Windows® operating system may also benefit from the information presented on this tutorial.
This document is divided into twelve sections. The second one shows the prerequisites for the installation of the new ABAP Development Tools. The third section presents a way of verifying the SAP BASIS and Kernel release versions. Directions to downloading the SAP GUI Java and the Eclipse Standard 4.3.1 are presented on the fourth and fifth sections, respectively. The sixth section details the installation steps of the ABAP Development Tools. The seventh section describes a first test on the ADT installation. The eighth section presents the steps to connect the ADT to the SAP back-end system, thus solving the problem that occurs on the first test on section 7. A second and final test of the ADT installation is performed on the ninth section. The tenth section presents the conclusion of this document. Finally, the eleventh section shows the disclaimer and the trademark notices of this document are presented on the twelfth and last section.
2. Prerequisites
Important: during the installation of the ABAP Development Tools (section 6), you’ll need to keep your computer connected to the Internet. Also, having administrative rights on your computer won’t hurt either.
ABAP Development Tools minimum requirements:
- Eclipse Platform: Juno, version 4.2 or higher.
- Operating System: Windows OS (XP, Vista, or 7) 32 or 64 Bit, or Apple Mac OS X 10.6, Universal 64 Bit, or Linux distribution.
- Java Runtime - JRE version 1.6 or higher, 32 Bit or 64 Bit.
- SAP GUI - for Windows OS: SAP GUI for Windows 7.20, patch level 9 or higher; for Apple Mac or Linux OS: SAP GUI for Java 7.20, revision 6 or higher.
- Microsoft VC Runtime - for Windows OS: DLLs VS2010 for communication with the back-end system is required. Note: Install either the 'x86' or the 'x64' variant, accordingly to your 32 or 64 Bit Eclipse installation.
- SAP BASIS release 731 service pack level 0004 - or later.
- SAP Kernel release 720 - or later.
- SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP 7.03 SAP GUI for Java - or later.
3. Verifying your SAP BASIS and Kernel Releases
The SAP Community Network (SCN) member christopher.kaestner posted a how-to on verifying the current SAP BASIS and Kernel releases of an SAP system. As he states, the SAP BASIS version must be at least the release 731, Service Pack Level 0004. Also, the SAP Kernel version must be at least the release 720.
To verify your SAP Basis version, navigate in the menu to System > Status. The System: Status window opens. On this window, click on the Component Information button. The System: Component information window opens. Under the Software Component column, look up for SAP_BASIS (should be in the first line). Its Release (second column) must be at least 731 and its Level (Service Pack, third column) must be at least 0004.
After verifying the SAP BASIS release, close the System: Component information window and hit the Other Kernel Info button, on the System: Status window. The System : Kernel information window opens. Under the Kernel Information title, the Kernel release must be at least 720.
Now, let’s proceed with the download of the SAP GUI Java (section 4) and the Eclipse Standard 4.3.1 (section 5).
4. Downloading the SAP GUI Java
To download the SAP GUI Java, follow this link. Click on the SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP 7.03 SP4 64-bit WIN Trial Edition link, then click on the "Click here for download" link, select the radio button for the SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP 7.03 SAP GUI for Java and agree with the License Agreement.
5. Downloading Eclipse Standard 4.3.1 (Kepler, 64 Bit)
Remember to choose the appropriate Eclipse version for your Mac system (32 or 64 Bit). The version downloaded during the making of this tutorial was the “Eclipse Standard 4.3.1, 196 MB” (Kepler, 64 Bit). Get it at the Eclipse download page.
Optional step: perform a checksum on the downloaded file ([MD5] or [SHA1] are available for this verification).
Unpack the files and move the resulting folder into the Applications folder on your Mac OS X operating system. The path to this folder is:
MyMacintoshHD/Applications
The Eclipse installation process is painless. Just follow its instructions and you’re going to be fine. Be aware of a little glitch, though: after Eclipse warned it was going to shut down and reopen, as part of the installation process, it reopened and the beach ball of death kept spinning. If this happens, just forcing quit* Eclipse and then reopening it solves the problem.
* To Force Quit an application, click on the Apple Menu (the Apple logo at the upper left corner of the screen) and navigate: Apple Menu > Force Quit... After the Force Quit Applications window opens, select the application from the list and click on the Force Quit button.
In the next section, we are going to install the ABAP Development Tools (ADT) on Eclipse.
6. Installing the ABAP Development Tools (ADT)
This section is based on the installation instructions described on this ABAP document.
Important: please, review the ADT requirements, on section 2.
Note that the steps below are slightly different from the steps stated in the document above.
To install the front-end component of ADT:
- Get and install Eclipse (Kepler version, or later) - see section 5 above.
- In Eclipse, choose in the menu bar Help > Install New Software...
- In the Install dialog, enter the following update site URL in the Work with entry field (use copy/paste): https://tools.hana.ondemand.com/kepler (for Eclipse Kepler (4.3))
- Press Enter to display the available features (you may have to wait for a couple of seconds while some information is retrieved from a server)
- Select ABAP Development Tools for SAP NetWeaver and choose Next.
- On the next wizard page, you get an overview of the features to be installed. Choose Next.
- Read and confirm the license agreements and choose Finish to start the installation.
Regarding the step 2 above, please refer to the following image:
| Help > Install New Software... |
|---|
 |
Further configuration may be necessary to connect the ADT to the SAP back-end system. In this case, there’s this handy document: “Configuring the ABAP Back-end for ABAP Development Tools”, created by SCN member wolfgang.woehrle. This document describes how to configure the ABAP server for each back-end system in order to connect them with ABAP Development Tools (ADT).
If the installation was successful, you now have the following new options on the Eclipse Welcome tab:
- ABAP for HANA Development
- ABAP Development
- Core Data Services (CDS) for ABAP
- Getting Support for SAP Customers
In the scope of this tutorial, I’ll assume that your current SAP GUI is already up and running.
In the next section, we are going to test the ADT installation.
7. Testing the ADT Installation - “Take 1”
Now, let’s create a new ABAP project in the new ADT environment, to see if everything is up and running.
On the Eclipse menu, select:
File > New > Other...
A new window opens (New, select a wizard). Then, expand the ABAP folder and choose ABAP Project. Click on the Next button.
Boom! The odds are that a dialog window (Problem Occurred) is going to open with the following error:
SAP GUI configuration not found in settings file '/Users/MyAwesomeUsername/Library/Preferences/SAP/settings', with include 'null', and message server 'null'
Don’t bother clicking on the Details button. The same error message will be displayed as “more details”.
Now, let’s deal with this error. Please, keep this Problem Occurred window opened and head on to the next section.
8. Connecting the ADT to the SAP Back-End System
On the current dialog window (Problem Occurred), click OK. A new window pops-up (New ABAP Project). Click on the Cancel button to close it.
Now, we have to seek for some hidden folders and files on the Mac OS X. The icons of the hidden folders and files are invisible (duh!). To make them appear (they will appear as faded icons, contrasting to the full opaque icons of the visible files and folders), you’ll have to open the Terminal application. Then, type or paste the following command after the prompt and hit Enter:
MyAwesomeMac:~ MyAwesomeUsername$ defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
Then, click on the Apple logo (at the upper left corner of your screen), select Force Quit... . A window (Force Quit Applications) will appear. Select Finder from the list and click on the Relaunch button. You can now see the hidden files (Please, do not mess with them!). To hide them again, just replace the YES for NO in the above command and relaunch the Finder application.
You can now close the Terminal window.
Now that you can see the hidden files and folders on Mac OS X, let’s take a look at that folder from the error. The Library folder should now be visible (as a faded folder icon) in your user directory. Navigate to the SAP folder below.
MyMacintoshHD/Users/MyAwesomeUsername/Library/Preferences/SAP/
Open the settings file that’s in the SAP folder with your favorite text editor. I’ve used TextWrangler. You may find something like this:
############################################################
#
# file : /Users/MyAwesomeUsername/Library/Preferences/SAP/settings
# created : 31.10.2013 15:01:04 BRST
# encoding: UTF-8
#
############################################################
@GLF_showDetailCol = "1"
@GLF_ColumnState = "0 / 75"
@logonFrame_2_X = "185"
@logonFrame_2_Y = "44"
@frameWidth = "1082"
@frameHeight = "749"
@overwrite = "false"
Now, as you may remember, the system complained that the “include” and the “message server” were null. Let’s fix that.
Add the following lines, at the end of the text of the above file, and then save it (based on the by SCN member joao.sousa2).
@INCLUDE = “file:///Users/MyAwesomeUsername/Library/Preferences/SAP/connections”
@MESSAGESERVER = file:///Users/MyAwesomeUsername/Library/Preferences/SAP/messageserver.txt
Also, remember to use the quotation marks for the include, and do not use them for the messageserver.
As you can see, we also need a messageserver.txt file. In this file, we must paste our server connection string ( by SCN member anujkch). It’s something like this (with numbers instead of a,b,c,d,e):
conn=/H/aaa.bbb.c.ddd/S/eee
If you don’t know what is this, please ask your system administrator for it.
Now, cross your fingers and try to create an ABAP project again.
Boom! Without any errors this time, the New ABAP Project window opens!
At the New ABAP Project window, click on the Browse... button. A window Select Existing System opens. If the connection string in your messageserver.txt file is correct, the name of the corresponding connection should appear in a list. Select the name and click on the OK button.
The Select Existing System window closes and the information about the connection automatically populates the fields of the New ABAP Project window.
Click Next. A Logon to System is asked, where you must enter the Client, the User and the Password.
Having entered the above information, click on the button Finish.
If your SAP supports the new ABAP Development Tools connection with Eclipse, it will connect. Once connected, proceed to the next section.
9. Testing the ADT Installation - “Take 2”
Just like we did in “Take 1”, let’s create a new ABAP project in the new ADT environment, to see if everything is (finally) up and running.
On the Eclipse menu, select:
File > New > Other...
A new window opens (New, select a wizard). Then, expand the ABAP folder and choose ABAP Project. Click on the Next button.
Boom! Congratulations!
You are now using and enjoying the new ABAP Development Tools on Eclipse!
Finally, let’s head on to the conclusion of this document.
10. Conclusion
This tutorial was a step-by-step guide to install the new ABAP Development Tools (ADT) on Eclipse™ (Kepler version) on an Apple® computer running the Mac OS® X Lion operating system.
Rather ironically, the author currently has to deal with an SAP BASIS release that is not supported by the ADT. So, he has yet to enjoy the awesome benefits of the ABAP Development Tools.
Feel free to drop a comment, follow and bookmark this tutorial. If you enjoyed reading it and, most importantly, if it was useful to you, please consider liking and sharing it. Last but not least, please remember to rate this document - share your opinion with the other SCN members!
Thank you very much for your attention! Happy coding!
Best regards,
Flávio Alves.
11. Disclaimer
All data and information provided on this tutorial is for informational purposes only. The author of this tutorial makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this tutorial. The author of this tutorial will not be liable for any errors or omissions in the information provided on this tutorial, or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its use, including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this tutorial. The contents referred by the hyperlinks presented on this tutorial are the sole responsibility of their respective owners or operators. The author is not responsible for the contents of any linked documents, pages or websites. All information is provided on an as-is basis. Use this tutorial at your own risk.
12. Trademark Notices
SAP® and ABAP™ are trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries. Apple®, Macintosh®, Mac® and Mac OS® are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft® and Windows® are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Java® is a registered trademark of Oracle® and/or its affiliates. EclipseTM and the Eclipse logo are trademarks of Eclipse Foundation, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Installing the ABAP Development Tools (ADT)
on Eclipse under the Mac OS X Operating System
Copyright © 2013 Flávio Alves
All rights reserved.
Version 1.0.14
2013-11-19
- SAP Managed Tags:
20 Comments
