How to create Visio diagrams from SAP Netweaver Gateway Data

Automate the process of entering data into Visio diagrams and keeping your diagrams up to date with the CData ODBC Driver for SAP Netweaver Gateway. The driver surfaces SAP Netweaver Gateway data as an ODBC data source that can be accessed by applications with built-in ODBC support like Microsoft Office. This article shows how to create a simple diagram to start brainstorming about Visio projects linked to SAP Netweaver Gateway data.

Connect to SAP Netweaver Gateway as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

SAP Gateway allows both basic and OAuth 2.0 authentication. You can use basic authentication to connect to your own account, or you can use OAuth to enable other users to retrieve data from your service with their accounts. In addition to authenticating, set the following connection properties to access SAP Gateway tables.

• Url: Set this to the URL of your environment, or to the full URL of the service. For example, the full URL might appear as: https://sapes5.sapdevcenter.com/sap/opu/odata/IWBEP/GWSAMPLE_BASIC/. In this example, the environment URL would just be: https://sapes5.sapdevcenter.com.
• Namespace: Set the appropriate Service Namespace. In the example above, IWBEP is the namespace. It is optional if the full URL to the service is specified.
• Service: Set this to the service you want to retrieve data from. In the example above, the service is GWSAMPLE_BASIC. It is not required if the full URL is specified.

Authenticate via Basic Authentication

In basic authentication, you use your login credentials to connect. Set the following properties:

• User: This is the username you use to log in to SAP Gateway.
• Password: This is the password you use to log in to SAP Gateway.

Authenticate via OAuth Authentication

You can connect to SAP Gateway using the embedded OAuth connectivity (without setting any additional authentication connection properties). When you connect, the OAuth endpoint opens in your browser. Log in and grant permissions to complete the OAuth process. See the OAuth section in the online Help documentation for more information on other OAuth authentication flows.

Connect SAP Netweaver Gateway Data to Diagrams

Follow the steps below to use the Data Selector Wizard to import data into your diagram.

1. Open Visio and click File -> New. Open the Brainstorming template.
2. On the Data tab, click Link Data to Shapes.
3. Select the ODBC option and select ODBC DSN.
4. Select the DSN for SAP Netweaver Gateway, select the table you want to import, and finish the wizard. This article uses SalesOrderLineItems as an example.

Link SAP Netweaver Gateway Entities to Shapes

Follow the steps below to create a simple diagram that shows how to create shapes from your data, one of the ways to link SAP Netweaver Gateway entities to shapes:

1. Click Brainstorming Shapes and drag a main topic onto the drawing page. Enter SalesOrderLineItems as the text of the main topic.
2. Click Topic.
3. Select a row in the External Data window and drag it onto the drawing page.
4. Right-click the Topic shape and click Data -> Edit Data Graphic.
5. Click New Item.
6. In the Data Field menu, select a column. In the Displayed As menu, select how to display them.
7. Drag a few other SAP Netweaver Gateway entities onto the drawing page and add association lines back to the main topic, SalesOrderLineItems. New topics have the same configuration: Numeric columns displayed in data bars stand out in contrast to other SalesOrderLineItems entities.

You can refresh your diagram from the Data tab, synchronizing your shapes with the external SAP Netweaver Gateway data.