SAP Enable Now – Streamlining the Producer install – Part 2

?In my previous article I discussed part 1 of Streamlining the Producer install, the disabling of the configuration file. Your takeaway should be an understanding of why this is done, the benefits it provides and how to disable the configuration file.

?In this article, I will cover part 2 of streamlining the Producer install. This is a technical process that covers the details of performing a reinstall of the folder structure and workarea. We will execute the installation of the streamlined workarea in incremental stages to make the process more manageable.

Installing a streamlined instance of Producer

?With the configuration file disabled, we can continue with the installation process. Open Manager if you had previously closed out of it and then open Producer.

?A pop-up appears asking if we want to check out content from Manager. Select No to allow a manual configuration that meets our needs.

Producer continues with the basic installation of the greenfield work environment.

?As we prepare for the manual selection of folders and content, the following components need to be considered:

Your Named Folder – This is the working folder that you perform your content creation before it gets promoted to the Production staging folder(s). The Enable Now System Administrator will create the folder name for each content creator to assure consistency across the team. This allows easy identification of your workarea and the workarea of your peers. Individual workareas are visible on the server and the ease of identification makes it possible to determine the appropriate peer folders that should be downloaded to Producer. This is required as part of the streamlined installation process.

Toolbox – You will need access to templates, common logos, images and other branding elements. This is required as part of the streamlined installation process.

Peer Folders – If you are collaborating with others or depending on content they create, you should include the appropriate folders as part of the streamlined installation process. These folders can be added as needed after the installation process.

Associate Learning – This would be the Production staging folder. In your application it is likely given a different name. The Enable Now System Administrator will create the folder name so that it is clear to all system users. You will need this folder to promote your learning content out of your named folder.

Other Folders – Depending on your situation, additional folders may be part of your streamlined workarea. These folders can be added as needed after the installation process.

?When Producer opens, we see the greenfield environment. Only the Content folder and the Unsorted are installed by Enable Now. From here we will manually install the folders and content.

?Select Server Workarea from the toolbar menu, then select Check Out Objects from the displayed dropdown list as shown.

?A pop-up appears and we expand the root group folder by clicking on the arrow just to the left of root group.

?Select your folder and the appropriate peer folders. You can check several boxes to download more than one folder at a time. ?There is a checkbox in the lower left of the pop-up screen. If I only want to bring in the folder without the content, I can do that by checking the box. We want the contents of the folder, so this is left unchecked. We can always pull down the contents from the server when needed if we opted to check the box. Click Ok to continue with the folder installation.

?The selected folders and all of their contents will be downloaded from Manager to your local instance of Producer. This will take some time, and Enable Now provides you with a status of the process. Notice the named folders within my folder hierarchy live under a folder called Development.

?Enable Now does not require me to select the Development folder, because if I did it would bring everything within it as part of the installation process. Enable Now does understand that when I check the single folder, it maps the relationship back through the Manager folder to the root group. So, every time I create or modify an object within the named folder, in this case the mihan folder, it reflects those changes back to the parent Development folder on the server when I save to server or finish editing.

?The downloaded folder and contents will be found in the Unsorted folder. Expand the Unsorted folder by clicking on the arrow directly to its left. Here we see the folder we just downloaded.

?Next, we will move the folder using the left-click hold and drag method and we will release it once it is between the Content folder and the Unsorted. It is important that you do not drop it onto another folder. When you are between folders the black horizontal bar will be displayed. When you see this bar, release the folder to complete the relocation process.

Here we see the folder successfully relocated.

When I expand the folder, I can see the contents have been installed as well.

?So, we have successfully walked through the process of installing a single folder. In this example it was called mihan. We repeat the process for the Toolbox. We select Server Workarea from the toolbar, then select the option to Check Out Objects. The Toolbox is selected, we click Ok to initiate the install process and wait until the download to the Unsorted is complete. The last step is we move the folder out of the Unsorted, being careful not to drop it onto another folder.

?So far, the download process has been quick. Our next step is to install the Production folder with all of the simulations and documents that have been created. In this example the folder is called Associate Learning, and it resides under the Development folder within the root group. This process can take 30 minutes to several hours depending on the amount of content the folder contains and the performance of your environment. I always recommend the installation be done in steps to make sure you successfully install the components.

This is the last folder to be installed and once I click Ok, I can take a break while it processes. Once the folder is downloaded to the Unsorted, I move it as I did the previous folders. The streamlined workarea is now ready for use.

Summarizing the process

?The actual installation of the streamlined workarea is a repetitive, yet simple process. We can revive the performance of a bloated and sluggish environment, and we can use the process to remedy a corrupted workarea. Every Enable Now user should understand and be capable of performing this process. Your takeaway should be knowing when and how to perform the reinstallation of a workarea.

What’s next?

?In my next article I will cover testing tips to efficiently validate multiple configuration files. This is useful for Administrators and users responsible for designing the workarea structure.

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Mr. Gray is a seasoned business strategist experienced in PMO stand up, digital and business transformation, process development, and best practice guidance. He has developed industry-leading methods for staff modeling, project deployment, financial performance, team onboarding, and business readiness. Mr. Gray is a problem solver at heart and a sharer of knowledge by choice. He has authored more than one hundred and fifty thought provoking articles which are all available on Linked-In.

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