Can't really say why you didn't find this during your extensive search but in the SAP HANA Development Concepts guide, Chapter "5.1 Data Access with OData in SAP HANA XS" - "5.1.1. OData in SAP HANA XS" I find this:
Database objects
Expose an object using the object's database catalog (runtime) name. The support for database objects is mainly intended for existing or replicated objects that do not have a repository design-time representation. The following example shows how to include a reference to a table in an OData service definition using the table's runtime name.
service {
"mySchema"."myTable" as "MyTable";
}
...
A hammer is a hammer is a hammer... 
I think the core question around the data preview error message has been resolved now.
This thread can be closed.
- Lars