SAP Basis Tech Supports

Symptom

Web Dynpro applications do not appear in the expected Theme (branding)
Other terms

Web Dynpro, Enterprise Portal, Branding, CSS Style Sheets, Themes,
Reason and Prerequisites

If a Web Dynpro application is running on a SAP NetWeaver Portal (producer) remote to the SAP NetWeaver Portal (consumer), it is displayed in the portal theme defined on the consumer. Also any customized theme is automatically used by the Web Dynpro application. If the producer is a SAP NetWeaver Application Server without a SAP NetWeaver Portal i. e. the Web Dynpro application runs stand-alone, it’s not possible to use a custom theme.
When a Web Dynpro application is called from a SAP NetWeaver Portal, two parameters are passed:
sap-cssurl. The link to the theme. Defines the name of the theme and the path to this theme.sap-cssversion. The version of the theme that is available on the consumer portal that calls Web Dynpro.
For example these parameters could look like this:
sap-cssurl = https%3A%2F%2Fportal.customer.net%3A443%2Firj%2Fportalapps%2Fcom.sap.portal.design.urdesigndata%2Fthemes%2Fportal%2Fcustomer%2Fur%2Fur_ie6.css%3F7.0.16.0.1&sap-cssversion=7.0.16.1.0
The Web Dynpro application checks these parameters and proceeds as follows:
If one of the parameters is missing, the Web Dynpro default theme is used. If for Web Dynpro no default theme is set,sap_tradeshowis taken.If thesap-cssversionon the consumer is lower than the producer’s version, then automatically the Web Dynpro application is displayed in the default theme. If for Web Dynpro no default theme is set,sap_tradeshowis taken.Ifsap-cssversionon the consumer is identical or higher than the producer’s version, the parametersap-cssurlis read. If it contains a URL that points to a theme, theTheme IDis extracted from the URL. If this theme is available on the producer, this one is taken.If a theme with thisTheme Idis not available on the producer, the relevant theme from the consumer is taken.With Web Dynpro versions equals or higher than 7.10 SP 4 (Java) or 7.01 (ABAP), the inline style mode was introduced. This mode can be configured in the SAP NetWeaver Administrator by specifying the propertyInlineCSS(for Web Dynpro ABAP:WDINLINECSS). If this property is set to true, the style classes are written in the HTML response itself and the specified style sheet cannot be taken from the consumer. If it is not available on the producer, again the Web Dynpro application is displayed with the default style sheet.Web Dynpro Java only: If the Web Dynpro propertyuseWebDynproStyleSheetis set to true, the Web Dynpro application ignores all parameters and uses its default theme. If for Web Dynpro no default theme is set,sap_tradeshowis taken.The Web Dynpro application being displayed in the default theme is also the fallback for any other inconsistencies in the style sheet calculation.How to retrieve the css-version currently installed:In the portal choose ‘System Administration’->’Support’.
Click on the area ‘Themes’, then ‘Browse Theme Database’.
In the tree appearing, mark the theme of interest und
click ‘Show Details’. The version of interest is the ‘ur’-Version.In a WD-ABAP screen produced with version 7.01/7.1 or higher just press and ‘p’ simultaneously.
A box containing information will appear, use the ‘>>’ link for expanding it. The rendering version will be displayed.

Solution

To display the Web Dynpro application in the consumer’s theme, it’s necessary to either have a version available on the consumer that is identical or higher than the producer’s version or to provide the needed theme on the producer.
To achieve this, apply one of the following solutions:
Provide the desired theme on the producer
Proceed as follows:
1. In the consumer portal navigate to System Administration -> Portal Display -> Theme Archive. Your themes are listed underExport Themes.2. Select the relevant theme and specify a directory for the zip file which contains the theme.3. Switch to the producer’s portal and navigate toSystem Administration -> Portal Display -> Theme Archive.4. Browse to the relevant zip file and chooseImport. While importing the relevant theme, a theme version is generated that fits to the producer’s version.
Note that if inline style mode is used, this option has to be chosen.
Upgrade the consumer
Upgrade the consumer to the same SP as the producer. More information: https://service.sap.com/upgrade
Set the property WDFORCEEXTERNALSTYLESHEET
Web Dynpro ABAP only!
As of SAP NetWeaver 7.0 SP 13 or 7.1 SP 2 you can force that a Web Dynpro ABAP application is displayed in the consumer’s theme by setting the propertyWDFORCEEXTERNALSTYLESHEETto true.