Excel Analysis with HANA data

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Here at my SAP internship, I want to connect Analysis for Excel with SAP HANA. Unfortunately, this fairly simple procedure is the ultimate example for bad documentation, and I want to note down my approach here for getting it to work.

The following is for Analysis for Excel versions 2.0 and greater (why)

  1. Make sure Analysis for Excel is up to date. An obvious step but you don't want any version conflicts after having it set up.
  2. Install the HANA Client for Excel from here (Click Search for Software)
  3. Grant your database user the required privileges for accessing HANA via Excel through HTTP (why)
    1. Import the delivery unit AHCO_INA_SERVICE.tgz from the server
    2. Add the INA_USER role to your user under the granted roles section
    3. Add the object privileges _SYS_BI, _SYS_BIC and _SYS_RT to your user and enable the SELECT checkbox for those
  4. Open Analysis for Excel (see images)
    1. Click the Analysis tab
    2. Hit the Insert Data Source and Select Data Source...
    3. Right-click inside the selection menu, and Create new SAP HANA connection...
    4. Enter your credentials and the selection menu for views should pop up