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6.1.2 Long Form of URL for ~canvas SequenceLocate this document in the navigation structure


The first part of the long URL consists of the short URL as described in section Short Form of URL , plus the following elements:

.../~canvas/<canvas type>/<client_type>/<canvas relevant sequence>/[?parameter sequence][sap parameters]





Content area (canvas) delimiter and options



If this is a URL that loads a specific content area (canvas), this ~canvas sequence must be available. The window and decoration qualifiers are optional.

  • window=main

    Starts a shell window with both top and side navigation.

  • window=app

    Starts an application window without navigation elements.

  • window=embedded

    Starts the shell in rendered format that is embedded in foreign portals; relevant only for NWBC for HTML.

  • decoration=no_branding

    Hides the SAP branding logo in embedded mode. In the other window modes, this qualifier has no effect. relevant only for NWBC for HTML.



Target-specific description











Segment that describes the type of the content area (canvas) being loaded. These strings describe the different content area types that can be used.

  • transaction

    This form is used to define that a specific (SAP GUI-based) transaction should be started. It is similar to starting a transaction within the OK field in SAP GUI. By default, NWBC for Desktop uses SAP GUI to start the transaction, and NWBC for HTML uses SAP GUI for HTML. Use the client_type qualifier to force a specific rendering engine. This is especially relevant when you use NWBC for HTML, but the transaction has to be executed in SAP GUI. For the transaction-specific sequence, specify the transaction that should be started.

  • wda

    Use this form to start a Web Dynpro ABAP (WDA) application. By default, all Web Dynpro ABAP applications are started with an HTML-based rendering client. The client_type qualifier is used for possible future enhancements. For the specific sequence, specify the name of the Web Dynpro ABAP application. This can include an optional namespace if the application is not in the default SAP namespace.

  • url

    Defines an absolute URL on the server that must be started. Note that this is a URL relative to the server against which NWBC is started. For the url-specific sequence, specify the server's absolute URL with any number of segments, each separated by a / character.

  • roleEntry

    Use this entry to start a specific entry in a specific role. This is an absolute form of addressing. Here the name of the role is used directly, and within the role, the assigned numeric ID. This number can be seen in transaction Role Maintenance ( PFCG) on the Menu tab page when Other Node Details are displayed. For more information, see 5.5 Navigation Tree and PFCG.01 Searching for Technical Names . For the roleEntry-specific sequence, specify the name of the role and the ID (numeric number) for the specific entry in the role.

  • sitemap

    Use the sitemap sequence to embed a complete set of roles in an external portal. To embed only one role, specify the role as an optional part of the URL directly after the /nwbc sequence. For more information, see 6.1.1 Short Form of URL . A typical use case is embedding a complete Employee Self Service scenario (expressed with the role SAP_ESS, for example) in a Microsoft SharePoint portal. With this one link, a service map is embedded in the external portal that represents the complete role. This can be used to start any transaction contained within the role.

  • obn

    Specifies that for the startup application much be determined by resolving the OBN call. This is a good way to start a specific type of symbolic transaction without knowing what the real transaction is that is mapped onto the user's role. For example, assume the call sequence is .../obn/process.Monitor. For a standard user, a role can be assigned in which this entry maps onto a monitoring application for the user's specific work area. However, the area supervisor can have a different role. This maps the OBN call in the supervisor's assigned role onto a special application that gives an overall view of all work areas. For this OBN-specific sequence, both the object and method must be specified.

  • applicationAlias

    Using an application alias is another way to start an application using a symbolic name. Within the role (in transaction PFCG), you can assign symbolic names to role entries. For the PFCG, this is just a user-defined string without any further meaning. This symbolic name can be used to enable NWBC at runtime to resolve the specific application that must be started.

Trailing slash /



The extra slash / is needed to lock the previous segment and to allow page-relative URLs to work.

Query string



The query string is passed unchanged to the called application. It does not and should not contain any NWBC-relevant parameters or options.


If a transaction is to be started, the startup parameters must still be specified as normal URL parameters (in the format &name=value). At runtime, the parameters are correctly transformed into the format required by SAP GUI for HTML.

SAP parameter



&sap-user=<user name>


Note that an additional sap-client is always added to ensure an HTML URL always leads back to the correct client.


To start transaction Create Purchase Order ( ME21) directly in NWBC, use the following sequence:


To force-start the same transaction in SAP GUI while using NWBC for HTML, add the client_type qualifier:;client_type=sapgui/ME21/


To start the Web Dynpro ABAP application IT00, shipped by SAP in the default namespace, use the following sequence:


However, if the Web Dynpro ABAP application was developed in a specific namespace, it must also be specified. For example, to start /SRM/Inbox, use the following sequence:


The start URL of a Web Dynpro ABAP application with certain parameters specific to Web Dynpro ABAP can look as follows:;window=app/wda/hress_a_persinfo/?WDCONFIGURATIONID=HRESS_AC_PERSINFO&sap-client=004&sap-language=EN


If specifying a BSP application myApp that needs to be started, use the url sequence and specify the complete URL to start:


To start a specific entry in a role without knowing what the entry is, use the roleEntry sequence. For example, given the role PROCESS_MONITOR, start entry 27 with the following sequence:


To embed all roles in an external portal, you can use an NWBC for HTML link that shows a service map for all roles:;window=embedded/sitemap/

To embed one complete role in an external portal, you can use an NWBC for HTML link that selects a complete role and shows a service map for the role:;window=embedded/sitemap/

To use a symbolic call, consider using an OBN call that is resolvedonly at runtime using the specific assigned roles. For example, to start a process monitor application, map the OBN sequence process.Monitor in the assigned role and use the following startup URL:


To start an overview application, assuming the application alias OVERVIEW_APP has been defined for a specific entry within the user-assigned roles, use the following:

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