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The Sign-Off Table

Lesson 4 of 5

Spaces and pages

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Spaces and pages decide what a user's launchpad home page looks like. They do not grant any access, but they decide whether a user can find their work on day one. A role that is correct on paper and lands users on an empty home page generates as many tickets as a missing authorization.

SpaceAppears in the launchpad navigation bar, for example Accounts Payable. Assigned to a role.
PageBelongs to a space and holds the content. A space can have several pages.
SectionA titled group of tiles on the page, such as Invoices or Payments. Section order controls sorting.
TilePicked from the catalogs available to the role. Shown only if the user is authorized to launch it.
The home page structure: spaces contain pages, pages contain sections, sections contain tiles.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sec-202

The admin apps

In Private Edition and on-premise, launchpad administrators (with a copy of the role SAP_FLP_ADMIN) use two apps. Manage Launchpad Spaces (app ID F4834) creates a space with an ID, description and title, and can create its first page. Manage Launchpad Pages (F4512) creates and edits pages and their sections. Custom IDs start with Z or Y, and creating a space or page needs a transport request. SAP introduced these tools in SAP S/4HANA 2020 and delivers example spaces and pages for many business roles; the classic group-based home page can still run in parallel, though spaces are the direction SAP is going.

The space reaches users through a role. In PFCG, on the role's Menu tab, Nadia inserts a launchpad space node with the space ID. Anyone with the role sees the space. In Public Edition the launchpad layout is also tied to business roles; there you maintain spaces and pages for the role from the launchpad administration apps your tenant offers, so check the current Public Edition documentation for the exact app and steps.

At logon the launchpad builds the home page from the spaces in the user roles, and drops any tile the user is not authorized to launch.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sec-202

Build order matters

  1. Catalog in the roleThe AP role already contains the supplier invoice catalogs.
  2. Create the spaceManage Launchpad Spaces: ZCMC_AP, title Accounts Payable.
  3. Assign the space to the rolePFCG Menu tab: insert a launchpad space node.
  4. Build the pageManage Launchpad Pages, using the role context so only tiles the role can launch are offered.
  5. Make the page visiblePages stay hidden until set visible in the space.
SAP's recommended order: catalog and space in the role first, then the page.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sec-202

When the space is assigned to the role before the page is built, the page editor can work in the role's context and offer only tiles the role authorizes. That avoids pages full of tiles that users never see. It also catches design gaps early: if Nadia cannot find a tile while building Ana's page, the catalog is missing from the role.

Design guidelines

  • One space per business role is the usual pattern; a user with several roles gets several spaces in the navigation bar.
  • SAP suggests about 5–7 sections with 5–7 apps each, and no more than about 35 tiles on a page.
  • Order sections by how the job flows: for Ana, Invoices, then Exceptions, then Payments, then Reports.
  • A custom catalog usually needs a custom space; SAP's predefined spaces match SAP's catalogs and roles.
  • Users can personalize pages (add or remove apps), so your design is a starting point, not a cage.
Ana's Accounts Payable page follows the job: sections in work order, a handful of apps in each.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sec-202
CleanNo catalog, no tile: the user has no access and sees nothing. Correct for apps outside the job.
Hidden accessCatalog assigned, no tile: the app still works from the App Finder or a link. Often unnoticed.
Dead tile avoidedThe page lists the tile but the user is not authorized, so the launchpad hides it. The page looks incomplete.
DesignedCatalog and tile both present: the user can find and launch the app.
Catalog and layout combine four ways. Only Clean and Designed are deliberate outcomes.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sec-202

What would you do?

Contoso's AP space and page are built and assigned to the AP role in CMQ. Ana logs on with her test user and the Accounts Payable space appears, but the page is empty. The catalogs are in the role and the App Finder shows the apps. What is the most likely cause?

Key points
  • Spaces contain pages, pages contain sections, sections contain tiles; none of it grants access.
  • Manage Launchpad Spaces (F4834) and Manage Launchpad Pages (F4512) build the layout; PFCG assigns the space.
  • Assign the space to the role before building the page so only authorized tiles are offered.
  • Keep pages compact: roughly 5–7 sections, 5–7 apps each, about 35 tiles at most.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. How does a launchpad space reach users in Private Edition?

  2. 2. Why does SAP recommend assigning the space to the role before building the page?

  3. 3. Which statement about spaces and pages is correct?

  4. 4. Roughly how many tiles does SAP suggest as a maximum for one page?