The new SAP BusinessObjects architecture stores data in a Base64-encrypted format and metadata is fragmented between the CMS and the FileStore, where physical file assets are maintained. Retrieving this information through standard data retrieval tools is impossible.

The only way to access system metadata or objects is through the Central Management Console, or CMC. Most installations can access this application by going to http://<boeserver>[:8080]/CmcApp (XI3) or http://<boeserver>[:8080]/BOE/CMC (BI4).

It looks like:

 

SAP Query Builder

To directly access this metadata, users have the option of using a built-in tool called Query Builder which provides additional but still limited properties of system metadata, in a poorly formatted output.  For example, in the scenario below we simply want a one-page listing of all users in our CMS.

To get this, we query for:

 
SELECT SI_ID, SI_NAME from CI_SYSTEMOBJECTS where SI_KIND = 'User'
 

The results of this query are shown below:

Now, with MetaMiner, we are able to retrieve the same information in real-time using either the Users tab in MetaMiner Client:

or Meta Query tool with a common SQL interface:

 
See also

Sample Use Case