Frequently Asked Questions

N4V Widgets extends SAP Web Intelligence with more than 60 advanced visualization components, including KPI tiles, interactive charts, gauges, selectors, and scrollable tables that are not available natively in WebI.

Yes. N4V provides scrollable and filterable tables and advanced pivot tables, allowing users to explore large datasets smoothly without performance degradation (especially with Data Analyzer).

Yes. All N4V widgets support interactivity such as filtering, drill-down, cross-selection, and synchronized updates across the dashboard.

Absolutely. N4V supports custom color palettes, SVG icons, styling controls, and layout consistency across dashboards.

Yes. N4V Maps can display polygon layers stored in PostGIS (e.g. city districts, IRIS zones, voting areas, parking zones) on top of online maps such as OpenStreetMap or other providers.

Yes. N4V supports public map providers (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, etc.) as well as on-premise or private tile servers.

Yes. Maps support live filtering, tooltips, drill-down by region, and synchronized updates with other dashboard components.

Yes. Maps rendered via N4V are fully compatible with responsive HTML dashboards and work on desktop, tablet, and mobile.

N4V Publisher allows SAP Web Intelligence reports to be exported and shared as interactive HTML5 dashboards or PDFs, without requiring additional SAP licenses for viewers.

No. It is an N4V add-on that integrates SAP WebI content into Microsoft Office.

Yes. N4V Publisher is part of the standard N4V FOR WEBI suite.

No. N4V for Office works independently and is compatible with Office 2019 and later.

Native SAP BO exports produce static PDFs or limited HTML. N4V exports generate interactive, responsive HTML dashboards with filtering, navigation, and a modern UX—far beyond native BO capabilities.

Users connect securely from Excel to SAP BO using their credentials. Data refreshes dynamically based on WebI sources.

Yes. HTML5 dashboards generated by N4V Publisher are responsive and adapt automatically to screen size (desktop, tablet, smartphone).

Yes. HTML exports preserve interactive filtering, selectors, navigation, and synchronized widgets—similar to an interactive WebI report.

Yes. N4V supports scheduled exports based on BO schedules/publications, as well as manual generation on demand.

Yes. HTML dashboards can be embedded into external websites, portals, or intranets, including SharePoint.

Yes. N4V dashboards can be integrated into SharePoint on-premise and SharePoint Online (Office 365). This integration goes beyond native BO embedding.

Yes. N4V supports the implementation of secure user access, where each customer can only see their own data.

Yes. From BI 4.3 SP3+, the N4V Panel allows users to export reports to HTML or PDF directly from WebI to their local machine.

No. Only metadata (universe structure, object names, template queries) is sent. No business data is transmitted to AI models.

N4V Intelligence includes Natural Language Query (NLQ), Chart Recommender, and Predictive Series (trend & forecast analysis).

Yes. N4V Intelligence supports multilingual natural language queries.

Yes. Users can continue a conversation and refine queries dynamically (adding filters, conditions, or constraints).

Yes. While optimized for BI 2025+, most customers use it on SAP BO 4.3 today.

Yes. Crystal Reports 2020 remains available with SAP BI 2025. SAP continues to support Crystal Reports as part of the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio.

SAP BI 2025 is the long-term evolution of SAP BusinessObjects with: modernized Web Intelligence interface, introduction of Data Mode, new WIDX format for WebI documents, SAPUI5-based rendering, and clear separation between on-prem BI and cloud analytics (SAC). BI 4.3 remains supported, but BI 2025 is the strategic target release.

The recommended path is: BI 4.2 → BI 4.3 (stabilization), then BI 4.3 → BI 2025. Direct migration is technically possible but more complex.

Experience shows that in-place upgrades on the same server can be complex. The most reliable approach today is installing BI 2025 on a fresh server and re-importing content. Patch levels (Patch 5+) significantly improve stability.

Yes, existing WebI reports based on UNV can still run in BI 2025. However, UNX is the strategic and recommended universe format.

Conversion is generally possible, but complex universes may require adjustments. When universes are managed by third parties vendors, Best practice is to encourage vendors to deliver UNX natively.

Yes. BI 2025 improves drill and interaction capabilities. Need4Viz significantly simplifies drill-through with visual, intuitive interactions. Drill-to-detail from charts becomes much easier and user-friendly.

Yes. WebI supports formulas in query filters, including date functions such as CurrentDate(), relative periods, and dynamic conditions.

Yes. With BI 2025 and extensions like Need4Viz, Web Intelligence is closing many functional and UX gaps while maintaining strong governance and enterprise control.

No. Data Mode currently does not provide incremental refresh mechanisms. It focuses on performance, in-memory analysis, and modeling flexibility.

No. A Data Mode cube is local to the WebI document and cannot currently be shared across reports.

Yes. WIDX files do embed data. All the microcube data are inside the widx document

WIDX documents are based on SAPUI5 charts: it is adaptive but not responsive. Different layouts are required for desktop, tablet, and mobile. This is a known limitation today.

SAP Analytics Cloud is SAP's strategic cloud analytics platform. SAP BI 2025 remains the on-premise BI solution. The two are complementary, not mutually exclusive.