Using EIC and z-index to coordinate and layer multiple SAP Dashboards (Xcelsius) swf files

Every Xcelsius developer who has any significant real life experience with the tool, knows that one of the greatest challenges of this technology is its scalability. As users get excited about the speed in which new developments can be incorporated to their dashboard application, and imaginations soar, XLF and SWF files become bloated with functionality very quickly, making it virtually impossible  to continue adding new features. Performance slows to a grind, and maintenance becomes very difficult as individual XLF files complexity increases dramatically. Conceptually, the solution to this design problem is to break the dashboard application into components, each with a more manageable set of features. This is, of course, easier said than done. One approach to application fragmentation in Xcelsius is leveraging the built in EIC (External interface Connection) and standard html/div functionality.
In the example below, two Xcelsius swf files are layered on top of each other. A label input selector is used to pass the page number to an eic connection and the combo box is used to pass both filtered results to the chart, as well as pass the selected company to the eic connection. Java script is used to toggle the z-index of the div in which each swf object is enclosed based on the selected page number.
You can find the XLF file (along with the swf, html and js file) here.

(Note: The example below is embedded in an iFrame and may not work in some browsers that do not support iFrames. If it does not work properly in your browser, you can get to it directly here)

This entry was posted in Xcelsius and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Using EIC and z-index to coordinate and layer multiple SAP Dashboards (Xcelsius) swf files

  1. Mike Howles says:

    Thank you. This was the exact example I needed.

  2. Muhammed Ismail says:

    Hi Ron,

    Very good example. I enjoyed reading it.

    Regards,
    Muhammed

Comments are closed.