SAP Fiori Visual Filter

Purpose

Add chart-based filters (Bar/Line) to filter bar or value help dialog (OData V4).

MANDATORY: Gather Required Inputs First

STOP and ASK the user for ALL of these inputs if ANY are missing from the prompt:

1. Entity - Which entity to add the visual filter to
2. Dimension field - The field to filter by (e.g., Category, Status, Destination)
3. Measure field - The numeric field to aggregate (e.g., Amount, TotalPrice, ReservationPrice)
4. Aggregation method - How to aggregate: sum, avg, min, or max
5. Chart type - Bar or Line (recommend Bar as default)

DO NOT proceed with implementation until all inputs are confirmed.

CAP Implementation

Enable Aggregation (MANDATORY)

@Aggregation.ApplySupported: {
  Transformations: ['aggregate','groupby'],
  AggregatableProperties: [{ Property: Amount }],
  GroupableProperties: [Category]
}

Aggregated Property (Measure)

Analytics.AggregatedProperty #Amount_sum : {
  $Type: 'Analytics.AggregatedPropertyType',
  Name: 'Amount_sum',
  AggregatableProperty: Amount,
  AggregationMethod: 'sum'
}

Chart Annotation

UI.Chart #visualFilter : {
  ChartType: #Bar,
  Dimensions: [Category],
  DynamicMeasures: ['@Analytics.AggregatedProperty#Amount_sum']
}

✅ Uses DynamicMeasures

PresentationVariant

UI.PresentationVariant #visualFilter: {
  Visualizations: ['@UI.Chart#visualFilter']
}

ValueList (on Dimension Field)

Category @Common.ValueList #visualFilter: {
  $Type: 'Common.ValueListType',
  CollectionPath: 'EntityName',
  Parameters: [
    { $Type: 'Common.ValueListParameterInOut', LocalDataProperty: Category, ValueListProperty: 'Category' }
  ],
  PresentationVariantQualifier: 'visualFilter'
}

SelectionFields

UI.SelectionFields: [Category]

Manifest configuration (MANDATORY)

refer to the "Manifest Configuration" section below.

ABAP RAP Implementation (4 Steps)

CRITICAL: NEVER EDIT metadata.xml - IT IS READ-ONLY!

1. Backend CDS (MANDATORY) - Enable Aggregation Support

@OData.applySupportedForAggregation: #FULL
define root view entity ZC_ENTITY
  provider contract TRANSACTIONAL_QUERY
  as projection on ZR_ENTITY
{
  @Aggregation.default: #SUM
  Amount;
  Category;
}

2. Backend Metadata Extension (MANDATORY) - Add Chart, PresentationVariant, SelectionField Annotations

@UI.chart: [{
  qualifier: 'visualFilter',
  chartType: #BAR,
  dimensions: ['Category'],
  measures: ['Amount']
}]
@UI.presentationVariant: [{
  qualifier: 'visualFilter',
  visualizations: [{
    type: #AS_CHART,
    qualifier: 'visualFilter'
  }]
}]

annotate view ZC_ENTITY with
{
  @UI.selectionField: [{ position: 10 }]
  Category;

  @EndUserText.label: 'Amount'
  Amount;
}

3. Frontend (annotation.xml)

Chart Annotation:

<Annotations Target="EntityType/Category">
<Annotation Term="Common.ValueList" Qualifier="visualFilter">
  <Record Type="Common.ValueListType">
    <PropertyValue Property="CollectionPath" String="EntityName"/>
    <PropertyValue Property="PresentationVariantQualifier" String="visualFilter"/>
    <PropertyValue Property="Parameters">
      <Collection>
        <Record Type="Common.ValueListParameterInOut">
          <PropertyValue Property="LocalDataProperty" PropertyPath="Category"/>
          <PropertyValue Property="ValueListProperty" String="Category"/>
        </Record>
      </Collection>
    </PropertyValue>
  </Record>
</Annotation>
</Annotations>

4. Manifest configuration (MANDATORY)

refer to the "Manifest Configuration" section below.

Manifest Configuration

"@com.sap.vocabularies.UI.v1.SelectionFields": {
  "layout": "CompactVisual",
  "initialLayout": "Visual",
  "filterFields": {
    "Category": {
      "visualFilter": {
        "valueList": "com.sap.vocabularies.Common.v1.ValueList#visualFilter"
      }
    }
  }
}

CRITICAL: Manifest Configuration Structure

NEVER nest visualFilter inside a settings property!

Testing

CAP Projects

npm run watch-<app-name>  # e.g., npm run watch-manage-travel
# or use generic watch script if available
cds watch

RAP Projects

npm run start-mock # Needs metadata refresh

npm start          # No refresh needed - fetches metadata from live backend at runtime

• Consult fiori mcp server if available on how to refresh metadata for sap/cloud systems in case of RAP

Key Differences

CAP:

• Aggregation + measures defined in CDS
• Uses DynamicMeasures
• Aggregation and chart defined in same place

RAP:

• Aggregation defined in backend CDS only
• Uses Measures (not DynamicMeasures)
• Metadata is read-only

Common Mistakes

• Backend Changes are not activated.
• Qualifier mismatch between Chart, ValueList, PresentationVariant, and manifest
• Wrong path in manifest (use full vocabulary path)
• Missing SelectionField annotation
• Non-numeric measure field
• Missing compact visual layout configuration in manifest

RAP:

• Missing backend aggregation support
• Using DynamicMeasures instead of Measures
• Adding Common.ValueList in backend instead of frontend (ValueList MUST be in frontend annotation.xml)
• Adding UI annotations directly in CDS projection view instead of metadata extension
• Trying to use @Consumption.valueHelpDefinition for visual filters (that's for value help dialogs, not visual filters)

Best Practices

• Always activate backend changes in ADT MCP before testing
• Use 1 dimension + 1 measure per visual filter
• Prefer Bar charts for better readability
• Keep qualifier names consistent across all annotations
• Test with different data volumes
• Always include layout: "CompactVisual" and initialLayout: "Visual" in manifest

RAP Specific:

• ALWAYS use ADT MCP to modify backend files when available
• Chart + PresentationVariant → Backend metadata extension (.ddlx.acds)
• Common.ValueList → Frontend annotation.xml (CANNOT be in backend)

References

• ABAP RAP Aggregation support: https://help.sap.com/docs/abap-cloud/abap-rap/projection-view