Announcing SAP GUI for Windows 7.40

[melanie_reinwarth]

On behalf of the SAP GUI team, I am delighted to announce that SAP GUI for Windows 7.40 will be released on October 8th. This release offers the following new features:

• SAP Blue Crystal Theme

SAP Blue Crystal is a new visual design theme which succeeds Corbu. It is the standard theme of Fiori applications and has been adapted to the specific needs of SAP GUI. Furthermore, it is fully compatible with the previous themes and comes with a new color palette and icons which are better scalable. The background texture has a stroke pattern in white and light blue with a gradient layer. The picture below shows the new Blue Crystal theme in comparison to the Signature theme which is still the default for SAP GUI for Windows:

• SAP NetWeaver Business Client Integration

As of SAP NetWeaver Business Client (NWBC) 5.0, which is delivered on the SAP GUI DVD, SAP GUI for Windows can be embedded into the NWBC, so that the user has one shell that unifies multiple frontends. One desktop/taskbar icon consolidates NWBC and SAP GUI sessions, tasks, frequently used links etc. in a tabbed view NWBC frame as shown in the picture below.

For the integration, you simply install SAP GUI for Windows 7.40 together with the SAP NetWeaver Business Client (NWBC) 5.0.  This has the following advantages:

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  • Easier Configuration: The persisted connection and connection configuration data from SAP GUI for Windows, SAP GUI for Java and NWBC is unified in a modern and easy way:
    
    
    
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      • There are only two configuration files involved and they are stored in the same directory.
      
      
      • Configuration files can either be stored locally or on a central server or share.
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

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      • Deployment options “pull” and “push” are available.
      
      
      • The configuration files are the same for SAP GUI for Windows, SAP GUI for Java and NWBC.
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

This new format is called “SAP UI Landscape”.

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  • Automatic Data Migration: If SAP GUI has been used already, the connection data will be migrated automatically into the SAP UI Landscape format.
  
  
  • Embedded and Parallel Use of SAP GUI: When SAP GUI for Windows 7.40 is installed together with NWBC, by default, SAP GUI and SAP GUI Shortcuts will be launched through NWBC. However, you have also the possibility to use SAP GUI and NWBC in parallel. To do so, you merely have so select the new component Install SAP GUI Desktop Icon / Shortcuts even though NWBC is installed to install the SAP Logon (Pad) Desktop Icon and to register SAP GUI shortcuts to SAP Logon.
  
  
  
  

Note: At the moment, these new configuration features are only available when using SAP GUI together with NWBC. However, in the long run, this procedure will become the default for all SAP GUI installation and configuration scenarios.

Thus, with SAP GUI for Windows 7.40 you have the option to either run SAP GUI standalone with the old configuration files (fully compatible to SAP GUI for Windows 7.30) or run SAP GUI embedded into NWBC with the new SAP UI Landscape format.

• Installation Improvement

Registry values can now be set on installation package level, for example, for the following SAP GUI options:

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  • Accessibility
  
  
  • Path to the SAP GUI branding image
  
  
  • Path to the Central Configuration File (new and old format)
  
  
  • SAP GUI Theme
  
  
  
  

You will find the whole list on the package configuration tab in NWSAPSetup.

• SAP Screenreader Extensions

SAP GUI Screen Reader Extensions (SRX) are now part of the SAP GUI for Windows installation, see note 1139953.

SRX enable the use of SAP GUI together with the screen reader program Jaws for Windows. The Extensions are Jaws-based scripts that make the SAP GUI accessible via the SAP GUI object model.

And finally a few remarks on the supported plattforms as well as on the support and maintenance strategy:

• Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server are not supported.


• Blue Crystal can be used as of Windows 7 (not on Vista and Windows 2008 Server).


• End of support of SAP GUI for Windows 7.30 is on October 31st, 2015 (see note 147519). As of July 15, 2015 the support will already be „limited“.


• SAP GUI for Windows 7.40 is compatible and will be maintained until January 9, 2018.


• We urgently recommend to start planning upgrades to 7.40.