SIMBA: Getting Started with SAP Analysis for Office

SIMBA users with the Analysis for Office add-in

SAP Analysis for Office is part of the SAP BusinessObjects (BOBJ) suite of tools. SAP and Microsoft Office are integrated through an add-in that allows SAP users to use Microsoft Office applications directly from the SAP interface. SIMBA currently includes access to Microsoft Excel, but not Word or PowerPoint, so SIMBA often refers to this feature as Analysis for Excel rather than Analysis for Office.

This Analysis add-in allows Microsoft Excel on computers (not the online version of Excel) to connect directly to the Business Warehouse in SIMBA to view reports and perform analysis, without the need to export or download data separately. Users can use Excel functionality to manipulate the data in SIMBA reports.

Refer to SIMBA Support > BI Resources > SAP Analysis for Office for user resources. 

Contents

• SIMBA Role Assignment
• Analysis for Office Installation
• Analysis for Excel Activation
• Microsoft Excel Workbooks
  • Prompts
  • View Standard Report
  • Add or Remove Dimensions
  • Add or Remove Measures
  • Pause Refresh
  • Display Key or Text

SIMBA Role Assignment

First, the user is assigned the SIMBA Analytics for Office role.

1. A Financial Officer uses IIQ to request the role assignment. Refer to the Create a SIMBA Access Request knowledge base article.
2. A SIMBA manager uses IIQ to approve the role assignment. Refer to the Approve or Deny an Access Request knowledge base article.

Analysis for Office Installation

After the role is assigned/access is granted, the user contacts their department IT support to have the Analysis for Office add-in installed on their computer via Big Fix. If Big Fix is not available for the user's computer, the IT staff will manually install the add-in (KB article).

Note: Manual installation is complex and requires administrator system access beyond permission to install software.

During installation, the technical support staff should also complete the following step, Analysis for Excel Activation. 

Analysis for Excel Activation

After installation, Analysis for Microsoft Excel must be activated only one time to verify the plugin is recognized by Excel. After this activation, users can launch Excel as normal.

1. From the Start menu, search for and select Analysis for Microsoft Excel.
   
   
   
   
2. Verify that you can see the Analysis and Analysis Design toolbars.
   
   
   
   
3. Close Excel.

Access available workbooks in SIMBA Support > BI Resources > AO Workbooks.

Prompts

When you open a workbook, the prompt screen appears. Enter prompts applicable to your situation. 

Notes:

• Some prompts are mandatory, indicated by an asterisk before the prompt name.
• You can change the operator. Click the drop-down arrow and select Equals, Between, Greater Than, Less Than, etc.
• Your SIMBA security may auto-populate some of the prompts, such as Business Area.
• If you experience issues viewing prompts, particularly if you are using multiple monitors, refer to the Resolution for SAP Analysis for Office (Excel) Monitor Issue knowledge base article for a resolution.

View Standard Report

After a report loads, you may need to click the Display button (1) in the Analysis ribbon. In the Display panel, you will see query objects (2), measures (3), columns (3), rows (4), etc. Use the Refresh button (5) to refresh the data. 

Add or Remove Dimensions 

To add a dimension, click a dimension name in the Data Source section and drag it to a Columns or Rows section. 
To remove a dimension, click a dimension name in the Columns or Rows section and drag it back to the Data Source section.

Add or Remove Measures 

To add a measure to the report, click the plus sign before the word Measures in the Data Source section. Click a measure name and drag it to the Columns or Rows section.

To remove a measure, click the measure name from the Columns or Rows section and drag the name back to the Data Source section.

Pause Refresh 

If you have a lot of adjustments to make in the report, you may want to pause the report so data will not update until you refresh the report. 

To pause the refresh, click the Pause Refresh button in the Design Panel section of the Analysis ribbon. When you are ready to again refresh the data, click the Pause Refresh button again.

Display Key or Text 

For many of the dimensions in this reporting tool, you can display the key, the text, or both.

1. In the table, right-click the dimension.
2. In the pop-up menu, select Members and then choose one of the following for each category:

• • Text, Key, Text and Key, or Key and Text.
  • Short Text, Medium Text, or Long Text.

SIMBA Support website > BI Resources > SAP Analysis for Office

Resolution for SAP Analysis for Office (Excel) Monitor Issue KB article

SIMBA Assistance Request online form

Create a SIMBA Access Request KB article

Approve or Deny an Access Request knowledge base article

Manually Install SAP Analysis for Office Add-In KB article