Best SAP GUI tool for Mac

[cindySingh]

Hi :)

My AVP discussed this yesterday, he wants to give Macs to some VIPs who use SAP as their main job tool. There are couple of apps that can be used to run SAP but I wanted to know if anyone has SAP for Mac users?
Any challenge or suggestions will he helpful.

Thanks much!! :))
CS

[Tigerhaven · Accepted solution]

HI Cindy,
We use SAP GUI on Macs in our environment . I had to package the connections separately and we use SAP GUI NetWeaver

[ericbenfer]

Apple and SAP do have a new partnership around iOS.
Apple & SAP Partner to Revolutionize Work on iPhone & iPad

This does not specifically address your Mac question, but will help to open things up.

[cindySingh]

thank you @Tigerhaven :) I would test it. Info about connections is great to know.

Thanks @ericbenfer I think this will be the next thing we will need :)

[dwandro92]

We use Citrix to virtualize SAP GUI for our Mac users, and it seems to work OK.

[Olivier]

SAP GUI for Java works fine on my Mac (using 7.40 rev6 at this moment). However, I do not use it very often anymore, as the specific tasks I need to do, are now mostly exposed through HTML5-based SAP backends.

Disclaimer : I work for SAP ;-)

[TPrashant]

@Tigerhaven ,

I have some SAPLOGIN.INI files from Windows but am struggling to understand how to use this files. I am trying to use them on Mac, Please can you give me a process of how you got this working.

Thanks

[chrisbju]

For packaging the connections with SAP GUI, pull out the SAPGUILandscape.xml file located in: /Users/Username/Library/Preferences/SAP/

[donmontalvo]

Interesting SAPGUI thread. We are actually packaging SAPGUI 7.40v10 now.

Hopefully the Java commands can work without someone logged in. Would love to avoid capturing the folder, although it looks like only these items are installed by the Java file:

/Appplications/SAP Clients/
/Library/Preferences/SAP/sapgui.registry

And then we have to deploy the SAMGUILandscape.xml file, hopefully it can be deployed to the same /Library/Preferences/SAP/ directory...would hate to see has to go into /Library/"$USER"/Library/Preferences/SAP/.

SHM at how the Java installer defaults to putting the log file into /var/root/sapgui.log, we of course changed the path to /var/log/sapgui.log.

[chrisbju]

Maybe it can go in the /Library/Preferences/SAP/

When i packaged it for my client, i captured the file and installed with FEU through casper :)

[donmontalvo]

@chrisbju thanks, putting it into /Library/Preferences/SAP/ didn't seem to work, so will follow your lead and put into each users' home directory.

Curious if you're putting the sapgui.registry into /Library/Preferences/SAP/ or if you're putting that into each users' home directory as well?

Tried several variations of their install command, including using --elevated (which seems to imply won't need any interation), and/or using --slaveprocess (which is kind of vague), such as:

$ sudo java -jar /path/to/PlatinGUI740_10-XXXXXXXX.JAR install --force --nodesktopicons --register --slaveprocess --standard --elevated --logfile "/var/log/sapgui.log" --installdir "/Applications/SAP Clients"

But the command won't work unless someone is logged in...AND...unless that person or someone else is able to authenticate the dialog box that comes up. Not very silent even though invoked using sudo.

Here is their command line help, unfortunately no examples of how to deploy this to thousands of users silently. Looks like the community duct tape made them complacent.

$ java -jar /path/to/PlatinGUI740_1-20012037.JAR uninstall -?
-?  --help           Display this help text

-f  --force          Force installation and reinstall if already installed
-F  --noforce        Don't force installation and reinstall if already installed

-v  --verbose        Provide verbose output on stderr
-V  --noverbose      Don't provide verbose output on stderr

-s  --standard       Use standard options without user interaction
-S  --nostandard     Don't use standard options without user interaction

-m  --desktopicons   Install desktop menu and shortcuts
-M  --nodesktopicons Don't install desktop menu and shortcuts

-g  --gui            Use graphical installation gui
-G  --nogui          Don't use graphical installation gui

-r  --register       Register executable with system
-R  --noregister     Don't register executable with system

-e  --elevated       Run installation with escalated privileges
-E  --noelevated     Don't run installation with escalated privileges

-z  --slaveprocess   Run installation as inferior slave process
-Z  --noslaveprocess Don't run installation as inferior slave process

-d  --installdir     Specify Installation directory

-i  --inputfile      Specify installation response file

-p  --prefix         Specify installation prefix directory

-l  --logfile        Specify file name for installation log

-j  --jnlpfile       Specify file name for JNLP file

-c  --codebase       Specify URL for installation code base

-t  --trace          Specify trace keys separated with ":"

$

@rtrouton now that you work for SAP, maybe we'll see a blog on silently deploying SAPGUI to thousands of Macs? :D

I'll see if we can get a support ticket open...hoping to avoid having to snapshot/capture SAPGUI.

Don

[donmontalvo]

Interesting, their source includes PlatinManual_10-XXXXXXXX.zip which unzips into ~/docs/. Searched through ~/docs/manual.html and found more info in section "5.1.1 Advanced Installer Options" including more install options:

Tried --nogui but got the same prompt...

Enough fiddling...opening a ticket with SAP...

Don

[donmontalvo]

@TPrashant regarding your post, stumbled upon this...

Convert saplogon.ini file to connections file for SAPGUI Java

The blog is a few years old, but worth a peek.

There is also a thread on Apple's forum that might be helpful...

Step 1: Conversion of saplogon.ini from Windows to macOS

[donmontalvo]

@chrisbju SAP Support responded that SAPGUILandscape.xml file does indeed have to go into ~/Library/Preferences/SAP/SAPGUILandscape.xml.

[sdunbar]

Hi @donmontalvo

I'm a bit late to this but was wondering if you ever got an answer to the prompt issue. I can get SAP installed via Self Service, but not without that prompt popping up?
Thanks

Actually now have it sorted, I installed with the prompt, then used Composer to package the resulting app and then distributed that via a standard policy. No longer get any popups (which seemed to result from the install of the documents html file which was part of the original install).

[walt]

sorry to resurrect this thread from the dead. but can anyone (@donmontalvo or @sdunbar) share their workflow in Jamf with how they deploy SAP GUI?

We have:
• PlatinGUIxxx.jar
• JDKxxx.tar.gz
• SAPGUILandscape.xml (which needs to obtain the correct permissions and load in the ~/LibraryPreferences/SAP/)

I have packaged in the past using the guide for Packages, and seemingly the XML would generally load but not for all users. As of today redeploying in WS1 or Jamf we get the prompt for password and the XML file is not readable when deployed directly to the user's Library/Preferences folder.

[donmontalvo]

Wow guess I didn’t have an alert set up for this thread.

@rtrouton works for SAP...would have a look here first:

https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2018/10/11/building-an-sap-gui-installer-for-macos/

[walt]

@donmontalvo yes I followed that very guide a year and a half ago. Surprising SAP has not solved this yet as those steps seem quite convoluted, but any way I was more specifically looking at those with Jamf what their configuration and process were as the guide itself did not really fulfill those answers, especially in terms of permissions and the XML file.

[cvgs]

Hi,

you can put use a "settings.template" file inside the SAP GUI application which simply contains the following line:

@INCLUDE = "/Library/Preferences/SAP/settings"

When the app is run the first time, this settings file gets copied into the user's SAP preferences. All you have to do is then copy your real settings into the system-wide preferences directory and you are good to go. You can also deploy a "trustClassification" file from there, and you can even reference to a global UILandscape (shared with windows clients) stored on some central web server.

You also do not need to deploy Java to the clients, as the SAPGUI 7.50rev8 contains its own version of the SAPMachine Java distribution. You can also configure the SAPGUI Java instance to use the system keystore for SSL certificates by adding the following lines to the app's Info.plist:

<key>SAPJava</key>
<dict>
    <key>JRE</key>
    <string>jre</string>
    [...]
    <key>Properties</key>
    <dict>
        [...]
        <key>javax.net.ssl.trustStoreProvider</key>
        <string>Apple</string>
        <key>javax.net.ssl.trustStoreType</key>
        <string>KeychainStore</string>
    </dict>
</dict>

I can share a luggage makefile if anyone is interested. Sorry, no Autopkg recipe yet.

Christoph

[gda]

I can share a luggage makefile if anyone is interested. Sorry, no Autopkg recipe yet.

Pretty please. 😬

[cvgs]

Hi Gerald!
Here is a late easter present for you: sapgui-for-mac 🐰

[walt]

Thank you @cvgs, I'll admit this will be the first time for me using luggage and from their GitHub it looks like they no longer have a wiki on setting it up. which I would assume is what created the "Vendors Download" in your guide or am I mistaken?

if we only use the SAPGUILandscape.xml file, there is no need to edit the app plist? but just for understanding the {...] what would the reference to?

thank you very much.

[cvgs]

Hi walt,

i've added instructions to install the luggage to my repository.

The [...] just reference the values that are already in the Info.plist to give some orientation there.

[walt]

hi @cvgs Perhaps this is a bit out of my understanding or am overthinking, but SAP configuration has always been interesting compared to other packaging for me, could I ask if you could help clarify the steps down a bit more? or is there a way to take this out of this thread perhaps?

So I have: • PlatinGUIx.jar file and SAPGUILandscape.xml with java installed
• luggage cloned
• your repo cloned

a few questions as I was not clear on some of the steps:
• Do I need to rename the SAPGUI Configuration for PretendCo to something specific?
• Where is the Vendor Downloads located?
• do I place the SAPGUILandscape.xml in a specific folder (repo > SAPGUI Configuration for PretendCo or somewhere else ?)
• place PlatinGUIx.jar in X folder prior to install on the build system?
• then install the PlatinGUIx.jar
• make package of the repo?

thank you for the time and help regardless

[cvgs]

Hi @walt,

Sorry, the Vendor Downloads folder was missing from the repo. Fixed.
I also tried to answer your questions in the repo's readme file. Basically, you place the PlatinGUI.jar into "Vendor Downloads", do a "sudo make sapzip" and then a zipped SAPGUI app is created in "Sources". Then you simply to "sudo make pkg" and you have a deployable SAPGUI package.

Cheers
Christoph

[snowwalker1988]

Hi @cvgs,

very nice way for packing SAP for JAMF Deployment.

I have one problem and maybe you have an idea. The standard workspace JAVA GUI Services is shown after installation. How can I delete it automatically?
We use an XML to set our own workspace, but this is not shown because of this. I have to delete JAVA GUI Services in the workspace options manually.

Best regards

Marcus