SAP Fiori Elements is a powerful framework that accelerates the development of SAP Fiori applications by providing pre-built templates and smart controls. Among these, the List Report Page template is one of the most commonly used and essential components for displaying and interacting with lists of business data.
This article explores how to develop efficient, feature-rich List Report Pages using SAP Fiori Elements, highlighting the benefits, architecture, and key development steps.
A List Report Page provides an intuitive way to display large volumes of data in a tabular or list format, with integrated features such as filtering, sorting, grouping, and pagination. It enables users to quickly search, filter, and navigate business objects — for example, a list of sales orders, purchase requisitions, or customer records.
Developed with SAP Fiori Elements, the List Report Page requires minimal frontend coding since much of the UI and behavior is generated based on metadata annotations.
List Report Pages rely heavily on OData service annotations (using SAP’s CDS views or metadata extensions) to define UI behavior such as:
Smart controls such as SmartTable and SmartFilterBar automatically render UI components based on annotations, handling data binding, user interaction, and backend communication.
The List Report Page template generates the page layout, combining the filter bar on top with the list/table below, along with toolbar actions and footer options.
Example annotation snippet for columns and filters:
<Annotation Term="UI.LineItem">
<Collection>
<Record Type="UI.DataField">
<PropertyValue Property="Value" Path="PurchaseOrderID"/>
</Record>
<Record Type="UI.DataField">
<PropertyValue Property="Value" Path="SupplierName"/>
</Record>
</Collection>
</Annotation>
<Annotation Term="UI.SelectionFields">
<Collection>
<PropertyPath>PurchaseOrderID</PropertyPath>
<PropertyPath>SupplierName</PropertyPath>
</Collection>
</Annotation>
Developing List Report Pages with SAP Fiori Elements streamlines the creation of powerful, standardized, and user-friendly business list applications. By harnessing metadata-driven UI and smart controls, developers can deliver consistent and maintainable SAP Fiori apps faster and with fewer errors.
This approach not only boosts productivity but also enhances user satisfaction by providing familiar, feature-rich interfaces that adapt to complex business requirements.