How to modernize stories with latest features in one click, in SAP Analytics Cloud?

In mid-November 2024, SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) rolled out its final release of the year. The tool introduced multiple enhancements for Q4-2024 to improve user experience, planning, performance, and collaboration.

This blog will highlight the latest “Story Design” features, and we will explore how we can better transform raw data into insights through clear and intuitive storytelling.

Bulk migration

First, I would like to highlight one of the most significant innovations which is the bulk migration from classic stories to the optimized experience. This feature supports the migration of various objects, including multiple classic stories, time series forecasting, and smart grouping, to the optimized experience. The ability to migrate multiple stories simultaneously is a game-changer, saving both time and effort.

Here the steps to follow to access the “Story Conversion”:

1. Navigation Menu / Select “Stories”.
2. Select the tab “Story Conversion”.
3. Navigate to your folder and select every story within that folder that you want to convert. Note that you can do one folder at a time.
4. Click the button “Convert to Optimized Story”.
5. A new window will open and start to run the conversion.

6. Checking the status of the conversion is the first step of SAC Story conversion and it aims to check if the story can be migrated or not and give info about their feature limitations.

There are 3 types of “Conversion Status” possible:

• “Ready to convert” which means that there’s no issues with the story and it can be converted directly (like in the example below)

• “Feature limitation” which means that the story has features that are not yet supported in the optimize experience
  Note: You can click the icon “Feature Information” next to the status to get more information
  
• “Blocked” which means that the story has issues that need to be addressed before they can be converted

7. Click “Next” to move to the second step.

8. In “Conversion Settings”, you have 2 main options:

• Option 1 “Save converted Stories as copies”: You can save in the original folder or choose another folder.
• Option 2 “Overwrite Classic Stories”: You can overwrite directly the original classic story,but pay attention that the conversion to the optimized story experience is a permanent change. You won’t be able to revert those stories to the classic design experience.

9. The final step is the “Conversion Summary” and gives you the status on all stories converted (Successfully Converted or Failed).

Adjusting bar width at the widget level

The second nice feature introduced in Q4 is the ability to adjust bar width at the widget level. This enhancement improves the readability and visual presentation of charts within your story, offering better clarity.

Here the steps to follow to adjust bar width at the widget Level:

1. Select your chart widget to be updated.
2. Open “Designer” panel on the right-hand side, and select “Styling” tab.
3. Under “Styling” tab, scroll down to the “Data Points” section and adjust “Bar Width” by entering a number based on data density.
   E.g.:
   • If your data is dense, reduce the width slightly for clarity.
   • If you enter a larger width, you may lose part of your bar chart (like in the example illustrated below).
     So, ensure that your chart looks visually balanced and is easy to interpret.

This feature is available for different type of charts: Bar/Column; Combination Column & Line charts; Stacked Bar/Column; Combinations Stacked Column & Line; Waterfall charts; Add-Ons Variance.

Bookmarking for default pages

The third feature I would like to highlight is the ability to set a default page within bookmarks. This option enhances performance for users by allowing them to open the pages they would like the bookmark to open.

Here the steps to follow to create a bookmark with default pages:

1. Navigate to your story and add all filters, rankings, sorting you need. Once it is done, click on the Bookmark icon, on the toolbar, and select “Bookmark Current State”.
2. Rename the bookmark accordingly (E.g.: “Bookmark P.2”)
3. Select your default page you would like the bookmark to open. Note that by default you will get the active page, but you can select another page as a “Default page”.
4. Save your bookmark and save the story to apply the bookmark changes. If you reopen the story and select the bookmark created (E.g.: “Bookmark P.2″), the story will open on page set as “default page” (E.g.: Page 2 “Variance”).

Scheduling story in Microsoft Excel format

And last but not least, as you know, today we can already schedule publication in different formats, such as PDF, PowerPoint (.pptx) and CSV. The good news for the end-user, since this release Q4-2024, SAC supports the Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) format while scheduling tables from a story.

Here the steps to follow to schedule a story in Excel format by e-mail:

1. Open “File” panel on the top left side and select “Schedule Publication”.
2. Select the file type “Excel (.xlsx).
3. Open the option “File Settings”.
4. Select the tables data you need for your publication.
   Note: Today, only data from tables can be exported and they are listed in the settings.
   Pay also attention that you can export a maximum of 5 widgets per publication.
5. Complete the start date/time and recipients SAC or Non-SAC.
6. Create.
7. The tables selected in your settings are exported into Excel format and delivered by email.

Kind Reminder regarding the license:
You’ll need a minimum of 25 licenses to create a schedule, and 5% of the total number of SAC licenses within your tenant can create one publication per hour. Each publication can be sent to an unlimited number of SAC recipients and a maximum of 3 non-SAC recipients.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the “Bulk Migration” feature feels like a perfect year-end gift for 2024. It simplifies the transition to modernized stories with the latest features while significantly reducing manual effort, saving time, and minimizing the risk of errors during migration. 

Additionally, new customization options enhance the readability and visual presentation of your stories, offering greater flexibility to create more clear visualizations. 

Finally, end-user experience has been further improved with features like the ability to open specific pages from bookmarks and the option to schedule tables from stories in Excel format. These updates for Q4-2024 make SAP Analytics Cloud an even more powerful tool for storytelling and data-driven insights.

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