From Web Template to Web Application

The aim of the design process is to create an HTML page with BW-specific content, called a Web application.

A Web page executed in the browser is described as a Web application.

Creating a Web Template

The Web template is the starting point for creating a Web application. The Web template is an HTML document that is used to define the structure of a Web application. It contains placeholders for Web items, data providers and BW URLs. A Web template becomes a Web application only at the point when the data is actually displayed in the Web browser.

In the course of the design process, you change the Web template by embedding placeholders for Web items and data providers. You can trace these changes in the HTML view.

Integrating Web Items and Changing the Settings and the Layout

You use the Web items on the Standard tab page as templates. By dragging a Web item into your Web template, it becomes a concrete version of a Web item, called an object. The Web item has a name and certain other default properties that you can change as required.

You see the changes in the HTML view. An object tag for the Web item and the data provider has been integrated as a placeholder into the HTML. You change the name and select a data provider. In the HTML view, you can see that your settings have been written to the object tag. 

The layout you have chosen will also be applied to the HTML.

Describing Data Binding and Selecting a Query/View

The data provider provides the data for your Web item. You can assign one data provider to several Web items. The data provider concept makes it possible to change the data source of a Web item easily. By means of navigation (by changing the drilldown), the Web item always displays the current drilldown data. If a particular data provider is assigned to more than one Web item, any changes will affect all of the assigned Web items.

The data provider is a dynamic object that delivers current data for one or more Web items at runtime. You define the start view of the data provider by selecting a query or a stored query view.

Saving and Running the Web Template

You run the Web template in the browser. The Web template becomes a Web application, meaning that the template is saved on the Web Application Server and a URL is generated for this Web application.
 

At runtime (triggered by calling the URL) concrete HTML is used to replace the object tags with the information determined by the Web item settings and the data provider settings. The system accesses the Web template on the Web Application Server. This means that you have to save your Web template before you run it.

Overwriting Web Templates

If you are authorized to delete Web templates, you are also able to overwrite any existing Web templates that you have saved in your favorites or roles. To do this, create a new Web template. To overwrite an existing Web template with the new Web template, from the Web Application Designer menu bar, choose Web Template ® Save As. In the Save Web Template dialog box, select the Web template that you want to overwrite from your favorites or roles. Choose Save. In the dialog box Do you want to overwrite <name of selected Web template>? choose OK.

You cannot overwrite Web templates that are currently open in the Web Application Designer. 

Creating Documents for Web Templates

You can create documents for Web templates and display or edit existing documents. From the Web Application Designer menu bar, choose Web Template ® Documents. For more information, see Documents and Creating Documents .