If you’re working with SAP ERP, it is very likely that you use a computer with the Microsoft Windows operating system. SAP GUI for Windows is the most common way to log into the SAP ERP backend system.
But what if you don’t use Microsoft Windows? It isn’t the only operating system in the world. The number of users who prefer Mac OS or Linux-based operating systems is increasing month by month! Do they have any option to use SAP GUI?
>Yes, there is a way: SAP GUI for Java. It runs on any machine with Java enabled, even though the list of officially supported operating systems is not that long.
First of all, you need to install Java itself. Use your operating system’s (or distribution’s, for Linux) preferred method to perform this task.
Download SAP GUI for Java from the SAP Support Portal. To do so, you need to keep a few things in mind:
Now, when all the preparations are done, you need to install SAP GUI for Java. It’s an easy process, if you are only doing a straightforward installation. Issue a terminal command java –jar <your SAP GUI file>.jar, and the installation will commence. It is a literally 3-click process in most cases.
Please bear in mind here that you can install several different versions of SAP GUI simultaneously. New versions install themselves in parallel to existing ones. It means you need to manually select the version you’re going to run, and update your desktop/taskbar shortcuts if needed.
When installation is finished, run your SAP GUI. It is very likely to be placed in the Office section of your menu.
It is time now to add systems to your SAP GUI list. To do so, click the New button.
Here you have 2 options. If your system has a message server, specify it on the main screen. Otherwise, you need to go to Advanced mode and add your system manually. It’s usually a string like
conn=/H/10.10.10.10/S/3200
where 10.10.10.10 is the IP address of the application server, and trailing 00 is the system number.
You are ready to use your SAP system from your non-Windows machine now!
You are probably aware that SAP ERP is not the only product of SAP. SAP BW, or BI, is an analytics tool from SAP. It usually has two types of user frontend: web and BEx.
It is pretty clear how non-Windows users can use web-oriented BW reports: the browser is an integral part of any operating system now. Your development team should, however, test that reports look and work well with the browser and its version you use.
BEx, standing for Business Explorer, in its turn, is an add-on for Microsoft Excel only. If you want to use BEx, then the choice of your operating systems is very limited, unfortunately.
Do you have questions about the installation of SAP GUI for Java, or any other SAP-related technical questions? If so, please feel free to contact SAP Expert!
Official documentation for SAP GUI including Java verison
SAP GUI for Java configuration
Originally posted on Linux notes from DarkDuck
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