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ABAP External Debugging

Nota de Actualización (2017)
El artículo había sido publicado por SAP.com y ahora ha sido eliminado, por lo tanto no se veían las capturas que incluíamos. Hemos eliminado las capturas porque daban error. Mantenemos la info compartida a fines educativos. Disculpen las molestias.



ABAP External Debugging - New User Breakpoint

1. Motivation

The user breakpoint in ABAP helps you to debug the ABAP components of applications, that use RFC- and HTTP- based communications. These could be Web Dynpro applications, BSP's, ABAP-based web services, RFC-enabled function modules and so on. By setting a user breakpoint you can interrupt the processing of external HTTP or RFC requests in your ABAP backend system and debug them.
You can set a user breakpoint in the Object Navigator (transaction SE80) or the ABAP Editor (transaction SE38). Before you set a user breakpoint you may want to specify the user to whom the breakpoint applies. By default your user is set. You can enter the user in the User field of the debugging settings dialog (Utilities->Settings->Debugging). Before you start debugging, make sure that you use the New ABAP Debugger (select the checkbox New Debugger ). Now HTTP or RFC requests can be sent to your ABAP backend system - you are ready to capture them for debugging.
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End users create their own apps by using mashups



The development of apps has to be done by IT experts who are familiar with programming concepts?! That's not right! Thanks to the FAST Platform, end-users are now able to create their own application within minutes. The FAST Platform allows you to:

  • design an enterprise-class application within minutes, by simple drag and drop.
  • create your own application by reusing existing building blocks in a similar way to the LEGO approach.
  • publish the small applications on various environments such as iGoogle, Netvibes, Facebook, EzWeb, iPhone, etc.

You don´t believe it! Please join the FAST evaluation contest where you will learn more. You will create an application for a Business trip scenario combining information sources from various backend systems with information sources from the Internet. But first, take some time to study our video tutorial.

Use Case

Ellen Fernandez from PromoBueno makes a trip to Berlin. She has to find a new office to rent in Germany, since her company PromoBueno wants to open its first subsidiary in Germany. To visit several offices, Ellen will need a to rent a car as well as to find a hotel to stay. Being in Berlin, she will take the opportunity to visit PromoBueno's customers there.

Ellen wants to build a gadget with the FAST platform to help her to plan her business trip. The figure above shows the different buildings blocks the platform provides her. Take over the job of Ellen and create a complex Gadget/App using the FAST platform.

Please join our evaluation contest and fill in our online questionnaire. Ready, steady, GO!

Andrea Giessmann is a Research Associate at the SAP Research Center St. Gallen.

Reblogged from SDN.sap.com

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Upload employees photo in infotype 0002

How to upload employees photo in infotype 0002?
1. Create a number range for SAP Archive Link :
IMG -> Basis Components -> Basis Services -> SAP Archive Link -> Basic Settings -> Maintain number ranges.
Tcode OANR. Create range 01 from 0000000001 to 9999999999 without the external number flag.
2. Document type HRICOLFOTO must exist with document class JPG.
IMG -> Basis Components -> Basis Services -> SAP Archive Link -> System Settings -> Maintain document types.
Table TOAVE, Tcode OAC2.
3. Document type HRICOLFOTO must be linked to object type PREL and IT0002.
IMG -> Personnel Management -> Personnel Administration -> Tools -> Optical Archiving -> Set up Optical Archiving in HR.
View V_T585O, no Tcode. In all three columns there ara minuses, don’t put a flag in the check box.
4. Check which content repository (Archive) is linked to document type HRICOLFOTO and object type PREL.
IMG -> Basis Components -> Basis Services -> SAP Archive Link -> Basic Settings -> Maintain Links.
Table TOAOM_C, Tcode OAC3
5. Create this content repository with storage type FILE archive.
IMG -> Basis Components -> Basis Services -> SAP Archive Link -> Basic Settings -> Maintain content repositories.
Tcode OAC0
Storage type FILE archive can be attained by clicking on the field Storage type and clicking somewhere else in the screen with the right mouse button. Choose Possible entries and only then you get a list of all values. FILE Archive is entry number 08. Choose Version no. 0031 and Archive path something (e.g. C:\).
6. Link photo to personnel number.
Menu -> Tools -> Business Documents -> Miscellaneous -> Stored Documents. Tcode OAAD.
Click on the Create button. Business object PREL and Docyment type HRICOLFOTO. Click on create (fill in the right personnel number in the pop up and click Continue). Choose the photo (as a JPG file) from the place where it is saved (e.g. hard disk). SAP will notify that the Stored Document was created succesfully. Photo is visible via PA10, PA20, PA30, PA40. Double-click to magnify photo.
To delete archived document :
Tcode OAAD, click Find. In docyment type field select HRICOLFOTO and after execute you get a list of all documents. Select appropriate document and click on delete icon.
Don’t forget to adjust IT0002 header!!!!
Please see SAP Note 488281. You can find this on the www.sap.com/services website. Here’s some of what it says:
1. The pictures (.jpg or .bmp) must be available on your PC.
2. Start transaction OAAD.
3. Choose function ‘documents -> create’
4. Choose as business object ‘PREL’ and as document type ‘HRICOLFOTO’
5. Push the create button
6. Fill in the appropriate personnel number
This solution requires SAP Archivelink to be installed.
Use SICF tcode that displays lot of services. Under sap –> bc there is a service called content server interface. Activate this service.
Now Create the A2 repository with TCode OAC0.
While creating the repository, keep the Document Area blank, Storage type as R/3 database, Rep. Sub-type will appear as Normal by default, Version No. as 0046 and in Contents table put ‘SDOKCONT1′ as the table name.
This will set the config part. Now upload the picture using tcode OAAD.
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Debug Customer / Vendor

Debug Customer/Vendor<->BP Synchronization

This blog shows the way for debugging Customer/Vendor<->BP synchronization process using the Class CVI_MAPPER as an entry point for the debugger.
Imagine that we are synchronizing Customer to BP. And we have a problem there: when we remove the bank data from the Customer, the change is not synchronized on the BP. So we have a synchronization issue, because our BP has incorrect data.
CVI_MAPPER is a class that allows us to stop the debugger on the mapping process between Customer and BP (This is also valid for all the synchronization types Customer<->BP or Vendor<->BP).
So we can open SE24 and Display the details of CVI_MAPPER class:

There we can see a lot of interesting methods we can use for stopping the debugger and check why our bank data is not removed on the BP…
For us the most important methods are the following ones:
MAP_BPS_TO_CUSTOMERS
MAP_BPS_TO_VENDORS
MAP_CUSTOMERS_TO_BPS
MAP_VENDORS_TO_BPS

On our example we will have a look to method MAP_CUSTOMERS_TO_BPS, and we will put a breakpoint on the following code:

On this code, the customer data is filled on <customers> variable and the BP data is returned on ls_partners variable.
So we start XD02 transaction and open our Customer:

Then we open the “Payment transactions” tab and remove the existing Bank Details:

We can proceed to the saving process:

The debugger will stop on our breakpoint:

We can press F5 to go inside this method to see if we can find where the mapping of the bank data is located:

We found one method named “map_customer_bankdetails”, where the system maps the customer bank data to the BP bank data. If we enter using F5 to the method and see that in the last line, the variable LS_BP_BANKDETAILS is returned.

We can see the content and see that the problem is that the bank details of the customer are not removed!! So the problem is on the class responsible to extract the data from memory to do the synchronization: CMD_EI_API_EXTRACT or VMD_EI_API_EXTRACT. We can search notes for those classes.
This method can be used also for other kind of issues, like errors on MDS_PPO2, if you want to see via coding why the error is got. Those errors are returned usually on these methods.
Ivan Martin Marra SAP support consultant CRM
Reblogged from SDN Sap Blogs.
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Extended Computer Aided Test Tool

eCATT –Extended Computer Aided Test Tool

Introduction to eCATT.

The Extended Computer Aided Test Tool is a new automated testing tool that allows you to create automated functional test cases for the majority of applications running in the SAP GUI for Windows and SAP GUI for Java environments. Like other test tools, it works by making a recording of an application, which you can then parameterize and replay with differing sets of input values. You can test the behavior of the application by reading and testing the values returned by the application .
eCATT is available from Release 6.20 of the SAP Web Application Server, and is an integral part of the mySAP Technology underlying SAP R/3 Enterprise Release 4.7.
Designed as a successor to the existing CATT, it allows a user to record and replay any application running under SAP GUI for Java or SAP GUI for Windows. Furthermore, because it is embedded within the SAP application server, it has access to other interfaces, such as function modules, BAPIs, or the SAP database (so that users can perform checks), and the ABAP runtime, which lets users write ABAP routines into test cases.


With SAP eCATT, users are also able to test business processes that cross system boundaries. Each command in a test script can have a separate destination so, within one script, a user can call a transaction in mySAP Customer Relationship Management, and also check table entries in an SAP R/3 system. Within a script, logical names are used to refer to target systems. These logical names are mapped to actual RFC destinations in a separate object called a system data container, which is, effectively, a description of the company’s system landscape. Thus by linking a different system data container with a script, a user can execute it in a completely different system landscape without having to alter the script coding at all. The only prerequisite is that all the logical system names that the script uses are defined in the relevant system data container.
Because of the wide variety of applications that may need to be tested, eCATT does not have a single "one-size-fits-all” way of recording and replaying applications. Instead, there are various drivers that encompass the following kinds of scenarios:

• Table operations– interacting with the SAP database
• Function modules and BAPIs
• ABAP
• Transactions and reports
• Applications running outside the SAP GUI for Windows or Java environments

For the last of these scenarios, eCATT offers an interface that third-party tool manufacturers can implement to integrate their tools with eCATT.
You can migrate test cases from Computer Aided Test Tool (CATT) to take advantage of the better features of eCATT.
eCATT is also integrated with the Object Navigator (SE80).

Features
Using eCATT we can:

• Test transactions, reports, and scenarios
• Call BAPIs and function modules
• Test remote systems
• Check authorizations (user profiles)
• Test updates (database, applications, GUI)
• Test the effect of changes to customizing settings
• Check system messages

Constraints
eCATT runs in a system based on SAP Web Application Server 6.20 or higher. However, you can use this system to test systems with Release 4.6C or higher.

In my forth coming weblog’s I will be going through the following topics :

1. Creating Test Scripts .
2. Creating Test Data Containers .
3. Understanding System Data Containers .
4. Executing Test Configurations .
5. Understanding Logs .


I will also demonstrate the use of eCATT with following applications:

• Testing a Standard SAP Business Scenario .
• Testing a Web Dynpro Application .
• Migrating Test Cases from CATT to eCATT

Sumeet Kaul is presently working for HCL Technologies Ltd, as a NetWeaver Consultant.

Reblogged from SDN SAP blogs.

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SAPehpi for support pack upgrade

Since end of October 2010 a new version of SAP enhancement package installer is general available for customers via SAP Service Marketplace. You can use new SAPehpi for pure support pack upgrade:
We used SAPehpi to upgrade support pack in Solution Manager, ECC6.0 EHP4 dual stack, SRM,SUS and Net weaver components like BI and cFolders.
Following are the lesson learns during support pack upgrade:
  • SAPOSCOL will not be copied by SAPehpi. Make sure after upgrade you manually copy SAPOSCOL to exe directory.
  • Keep only relevant profiles in profile directory.
  • Before starting downtime phase system prompts for offline backup, if you have dual stack (ABAP+Java), it does not come after backup because ABAP stack is locked for upgrade
  • Don’t click back button after queue calculation. SAPehpi will not refresh the queue, and it will create inconsistency and prompt errors.
  • During upgrade SAP Kernel is overwritten. Make sure you created copy of existing kernel before upgrade for any third party executables.
  • Refer Note “1399846 - Deploy_online_Depl fails:No Qeueue with sapjup-queue id” before upgrade.
  • Keep latest kernel in the download directory SAPehpi will automatically implement it.
  • Create user in client ‘000’ before starting upgrade with development access.
  • Make sure you have sufficient desk space in /usr/sap and download directory
  • <sid>adm has require permission in download directory
  • Don’t stop or start shadow instance manually. During upgrade SAPehpi will automatically shutdown or restart instance if required.
Sanjay Hanspal - Specialist Master in Deloitte Consulting.
Reblogged from SDN SAP Blogs.
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Installing IDES

Have problem installing IDES ?
If you are having problem installing an IDES system then probably you are installing an IDES system on 32- bit windows OS .  The standard procedure to install SAP ECC 6.0 now supports only 64 bit environments (hardware and operating-system). But dont be shocked, read this to know how to install IDES on 32-bit systems.
I recently had to set up two IDES systems on Windows 32-bit, ECC and CRM, both IS Media version. If your environment offers 'only' 32 bit support, you have to set up your IDES system not as a normal installation but as a system copy.

The Media was shipped by SAP. The DVD media is no different then standard installation set we use for Netweaver Installation.   The only differences is the IDES specific Installation Master DVD and DB-Export-DVDs. Other components such as kernal and DB RDBMS/client can be used as per standard installation of your IDES version.


The step mention below are those that are different from standard Installation method. for Basis guys who are already conversant with standard installation methods. If you are new to SAP Installations, then you might want to refer Installation guide and follow the system copy methods of installation.

Lets Start with our Installation preparation.
Step 1 - Download installation master
For me the installation master provided with the IDES DVD set did not work. If that’s the same case with you, download the standard 32- bit Netweaver Master that supports your IDES version.
Now you have to modify your DB-Export-DVDs so as to make “DB Export” for system-copy option.

Step 2 - Preparing DB-Export
Copy all the DB-Export DVDs to disc. They have the structure
- DVD1\EXP1
- DVD2\EXP2
- DVD3\EXP3
- DVD4\EXP4 to EXP11
Now move all files from DVD2/EXP2/DATA to DVD1/EXP1/DATA
Now move all files from DVD3/EXP3/DATA to DVD1/EXP1/DATA
Now move all files from DVD4/EXP4/DATA to DVD1/EXP1/DATA
Now modify file DVD1/EXP1/LABEL.ASC
Change the text line in the file with an editor
to
SAP:MIG:*:EXPORT(1/:*:*

Step 3 - Starting Installation
Now start sapinst from the Master-DVD with the option:
SAP ERP 6.0 -> Software Life-Cycle Options ->  System Copy -> <Database Software> -> Target System Installation -> Central System -> Based on AS ABAP
Central System
and Next
This option allows still an installation on 32 bit hardware and/or 32 bit
operating systems.

Step 4 - Selecting Installation Method
When SAPinst asks for the 'Installation Method' choose
'Standard System Copy / Migration (load based)'

Step 5 - Select the DB-Export we have prepaid
When SAPinst asks for the 'Migration Export' choose
the path to ../DVD1/EXP1'
The next steps are the same as for the 'normal' installation and described.

Though I had to take help from SAP Support to get though, I have used this method to install both IDES ECC 6 and CRM 7.  I am sure after understanding the probelm, you can install any latest IDES on 32-systems using this method.


Reference:
SAP Note 1379040 - IDES ERP 6.0 ECC 6.0 incl. EHP4
Hussain Sehorewala  Basis / Netweaver Technology Consultant in IBM
Reblogged from SDN.sap.com
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Sap_All vs. Sap_New

Most of the times you might have question in your mind that why you give sap_all and sap_new everytime we create admin user (Altough some people used to give sap_all to every one). So here i am sharing my knowledge about differnce between these 2 :

SAP_NEW:-
SAP_NEW is a SAP standard Profile which is usually assigned to system users temporarily during an upgrade to ensure that the activities and operations of SAP users is not hindered, during the Upgrade. It contains all the necessary objects and transactions for the users to continue their work during the upgrade. It should be withdrawn once all upgrade activities is completed, and replaced with the now modified Roles as it has extensive authorizations than required.

SAP_ALL:-
SAP_ALL is a SAP standard profile, which is used on need basis, to resolve particular issues which may arise during the usage of SAP. It is used by Administrators/Developers only and is applied on a need to use basis, then withdrawn. It contains all SAP system objects and Transactions. SAP_ALL is very critical and only SAP* contains SAP_ALL attached to it in the production system. No other dialog users have SAP_ALL attached to them.
SAP_NEW is used in the Production environment during a version upgrade whereas SAP_ALL shouldn’t be or not allowed be used in Production except where necessary, in a controlled manner with all proper approvals from the customer.

Reblogg from: SapTechies
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Workflow Diagnostics and SWUD

SWUD is the diagnosis transaction. This will guide you through the fault finding process. The check-list order is determined dynamically according to:

  • a) your workflow definition and
  • b) the statistics of the most common mistakes made when creating/activating a workflow.

The testbed, provides a launchpad for tests to ensure that your workflow definition is rugged enough for the production environment. It also allows you to access the tasks, subflows, object types, delegated object types and agent assignments directly, without going through the workflow builder first. (Foreground tasks with no agent assignment are marked in red from release 4.5 onwards). This list is also useful as a catalogue of the components of workflow for documentation or transport purposes.

Click on the "info" icon to read a description of the test being performed.

Any workflow accessed through this transaction is added to the last-used list. The workflow can be recalled at a later date by clicking on the reuse icon in the left-hand column of the last-used list.

The workflow can be recalled at a later date by clicking on the reuse icon in the left-hand column of the last-used list.

The next section describes the transactions called from SWUD. Experts may find it easier calling them directly.

Secondary Diagnosis Transactions -

Transaction SWU3: Verify Workflow Customizing.

In this transaction the most important basic customizing for workflow is checked. If you find any errors here, read the documentation for the error. If your system is BBP or CRM, see note 60801.

- Transaction SWEL: Event Log.

Note: Before you can use the event log, you must make sure it is activated. You check this in transaction SWELS. If you are not sure whether or not it is active, just deactivate and activate the event log once.

WARNING: An activated event log can lead to bad performance, and must not be activated constantly in a productive system.

- Transaction SWE2: Event type linkage

A workflow is usually started or triggered by an EVENT so it is important to make sure that an event occurrs. In the event log you can see the event and its business object type. If an event has been successfully created, it is important to check if there is a receiver type for this event. The receiver type is the workflow that has been triggered by the event. The coupling between an event and the receiver can be maintained in trans. SWE2.

- Transaction SWU0: Event simulation

If you have found NO receiver type in the event log, then you should check transaction SWU0, Simulate Events. In this transaction you can simulate an event. The system will check all workflows that could be triggered by the event and tells you whether or not they were triggered. Information is displayed for the workflows that were not triggered successfully.

- Transaction SWI1: Work item list

If a workflow was been correctly triggered and started at least one WORK ITEM should be created. You can view the work items in transaction SWI1, Work Item Selection. The easiest way for the selection is just to go into this transaction after you have checked the event log. By default all the work items of the last hour will be displayed. You will find in this transaction the work item number, the status of the work item and the workflow task that has created the work item. Furthermore, (in the technical workitem display) you can have a look at the container by selecting a work item and using the menu GOTO -> CONTAINER. To display the work item details double click on the item. From the details you can see the selected/ possible/excluded agents for this work item by using the menu GOTO -> AGENT -> SELECTED/POSSIBLE/EXCLUDED AGENTS.

When the status of the work item shows an error you should have a look at the workflow log using the menu EDIT -> DISPLAY WORKFLOW LOG. Here you can see errors that have occurred.

- Transaction PFTC/SWDD: Task editor/Workflow Builder

If you want to have a look at the definition of the workflow you can use transaction PFTC, Maintain Tasks. The button WORKFLOW BUILDER brings you to a graphical display of the workflow structure which is fairly easy to read and understand. On the tabstrip TRIGGERING EVENTS you can check if the triggering is activated or not and deactivate/activate it by clicking on the icon in front of the event.

- Transaction OOCU: Customizing overview

To check if the relevant tasks are activated and users are assigned, you can use transaction OOCU; Task Customizing Overview. In this transaction all the tasks are sorted by the application components and are thus easy to find. Note that if you have almost no entries in this transaction, you should execute the report RS_APPL_REFRESH in transaction SE38.

- Transaction SWUE/SWUS: Event/workflow trigger

If you have activated a user exit, e.g. for the role determination, and you have problems with that, you most probably have to debug the workflow. This can be done using the transaction SWUS or SWUE.

With SWUE you can create an event. After you entered object type and event you have to fill the event parameters and the key for a specific object. If you want to debug the workflow you have to set the flag TRIGGER RECIEVER FM SYNCHR. If you have set a break point in your user exit or in any other function module of the workflow the system will stop at this break point and you can start analyzing.

The second possibility to debug a workflow is to use the transaction SWUS, the workflow test environment. In this transaction you have to enter the workflow task and fill the input data. Please use the F4-help to fill the input data. Here again you have to set a break point in your user exit or in any other function module of the workflow and then the system will stop there.

Summary of the manual alternative to SWUD

Now that you have a better understanding of how to use these transactions, you can follow the steps below to quickly analyze your workflow problems:

1. Go to transaction SWU3 and check if everything is okay. If it is not, please fix it before you proceed.

2. Go to transaction SWEL and check if an event is created. If not, check in transaction SWELS if the event log is activated.

- If you see an event but no workflow is triggered, proceed with step 3.

- If you see an event and a workflow is triggered, but the status of the triggering shows an error, proceed with step 3.

- If you see an event and a workflow is triggered and there is no error, proceed with step 4.

- If the event log is activated and you do not get any event, open up a message using the component of the application to which the business object type belongs. From release 20C for creation of shopping carts the architecture of workflows changed and no events are visible!

3. Go to transaction SWU0 and simulate the event. Is the workflow that you expect to be triggered visible in the simulation?

- If it is not, then check the workflow definition in PFTC. The event must be defined as triggering event.

- If it is, but the event linkage is not activated, go to transaction OOCU and activated it.

- If it is visible, but it is not activated, go to transaction PFTC and activate it.

4. Go to transaction SWI1. Search for the work item that belongs to the workflow. Check the status of the work item. 

 

Reblogged from SDN.sap.com

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Dummy Profit Center Creation in SAP

To create the dummy profit center for the controlling area in SAP.
The dummy profit center is updated in data transfers whenever the object to which the data was originally posted (cost center, order, and so on) is not assigned to a profit center.
This ensures that the data in Profit Center Accounting is complete. The data can be sent later on the dummy profit center to the other profit centers using assessment or distribution.

The dummy profit center’s master record is created using this special transaction ( KE59 ). Normal SAP transaction to create normal profit center is KE01 transaction. To change or display it, use the normal profit center maintenance functions ( KE52KE53 transaction ).
The name of the dummy profit center is displayed in the controlling area settings for Profit Center Accounting.
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SE16N: The security implications

Why you should not do this in any productive system, or any system that you don't wish to restore because you've messed up referential integrity....

  • Reason 1: If you are ISO certified, then you will be going against their instructions
  • Reason 2: If you are bound by SOX compliance then you will not be adhering to it
  • Reason 3: You can cause data inconsistencies between tables that have relationships with each other. It will not maintain referential integrity between the tables.
  • Reason 4: SAP will not support any inconsistencies brought about by this method

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Transaction SE16N vulnerability

Este artículo se publicó a fines informativos en el año 2010, se mantiene únicamente por dicho motivo.

En aquel entonces nuestra web poseía artículos en inglés. Luego dejamos de publicar artículo en ese idioma.



Please restrict access to SE16N in your production systems.  If you're sufficiently paranoid, you may want to remove the transaction it completely

I've known for a while that, in some releases of SAP, transaction SE16N can be used to change SAP tables, regardless of authorisations or security settings. It's not something I've been keen to see widely disseminated, as there are major systemic risks in making changes this way. More dangerously, it provides a way to override authorisations by giving your userid (or your accomplice's userid) the SAP_ALL role.

Essentially, you run transaction SE16N, then type &SAP_EDIT into the command field and press enter.

In the example below, I've changed the User Group to SUPER.

Personally, I'd recommend making the transaction unavailable (perhaps even removing it from TSTC ?) in your production system - Your firefighter userid can be given authorisation to allow the appropriate people to add it back in, if necessary.

The reason for mentioning it at all is that SAP Mental Notes and IT-Toolbox SAP on DB2 for z/OS have stated that changes using this method are permanently logged in the tables listed below:


SE16N_CD_KEY : Change Documents – Header
SE16N_CD_DATA : Change Documents – Data

This means, in theory, that you can can query these tables to audit the usage of SE16N to change data. My attitude is that it's all well and good knowing Joe Bloggs has broken your system, but I would rather not have to deal with the broken system in the first place. However, there's a bigger issue.....

When I tested this out on an ECC6 IDES system (DB2 on Windows 2003), the SE16N_CD* tables were not updated.

1 - The knowledge of this method of changing data, which is available on production systems to anyone with access to the SE16N transaction is being more widely disseminated.

2 - There appears to be at least one major platform / release that does not support audit of the method of changing data.

Martin English - I am a Netweaver Technical Consultant for CSC Australia, supporting the complete SAP lifecycle from pre-sales planning through to decommissioning. The opinions expressed here very rarely coincide with those of my employer, customers, or indeed any one else. This is written by me, not them.

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SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization

SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization (SAP APO) is the planning component that, together with SAP Event Management (SAP EM) 4.0 and SAP Inventory Collaboration Hub (SAP ICH) 4.0, makes up the SAP SCM 4.0 solution.

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Changing time zones in SAP ECC 6.0

Our security team wants to implement the GRC package into our SAP system and the pre-requisite for this is to change the system time to UTC. We are running SAP ECC 6.0, and our current system time is based on EDT. We would like tounderstand the negative impacts this implementation may have - other than the obvious need to reschedule batch jobs. Forexample, what will happen to the date and time stamps of old documents?

Time stamps for documents can be stored in two different formats:
  • Using standard ABAP date and time fields (YYYYMMDD and HHMMSS). Here the time stamp corresponds to the system time, i.e. the time on the database server as returned by the ABAP system variable SY-DATUM and SY-UZEIT. Using the system time is necessary to avoid situations where, for instance, a financial document created by a user in Berlin (CET) would be modified a few minutes later by a user in New York (EDT). If the user’s time zone were stored in the document data, then it would seem as if the document had been changed before it was created. However, many applications will take the time zone into account when processing these documents. How this is done depends on the time zone-related information that is available for the document. The details are explained in the SAP online help (help.sap.com) in the guide “Time Zones” (CA-GTF-TIM). This same guide also describes various application-specific scenarios.
  • Another format that is frequently used is the ABAP time stamp format (handled in ABAP with the “GET TIME STAMP” and “CONVERT TIME STAMP” statements). A time stamp field is always in UTC and the application will automatically convert it to/from the user’s time zone.



Reblogged from SearchSap.
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Top 10 ABAP Dumps...

ABAP short dumps are something which trouble any SAP user (sometimes help the user to understand the system needs better). We normally do a search for SAP notes or contact SAP to solve these dumps. But hardly takes any chance to understand the meaning of the dumps. Here I am listing some 'famous' ABAP dumps and trying to explain what are they. Please note that the solutions provided here may different from case to case. These should be used just as a 'first aid'.

1) STORAGE_PARAMETERS_WRONG_SET
The problems with the dump STORAGE_PARAMETERS_WRONG_SET are mainly related to the general restrictions of the 32bit OS. You can address up to 4GB of virtual memory. Each process in OS is running in its own context and can address max. 4GB. The parameters which are related to ‘heap memory' ie abap/heap_area_dia, abap/heap_area_nondia, abap/heap_area_total are should be set to 2 GB. Common approaches which we can take for this dump are:
a) Please use in the 'boot.ini' file the switch '/3GB' and restart your whole computer as described in the below SAP Notes:
SAP Note 552209 - Maximum memory utilization for processes on NT/Win 2000
SAP Note 313347 - Windows NT, 2000, 2003: Editions and memory usage.
b) Another way to avoid this problem is to try to add more criteria to your report/program/transaction so that there will be fewer entries that need to be retrieved from your database or buffers. This way, the system would not need to use up much resource to complete the transaction. The query may have been quite big already and the load cannot be accommodated. So please do add more criteria or options so that there will less data to fetch.
c) To decrease the value of the parameters: rdisp/ROLL_SHM, rdisp/PG_SHM
d) Migrate to 64-bit OS (as per SAP Note 931024 and SAP Note 996600)

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SAP Trends

What SAP Trends Should IT Services Firms Pursue?

In the SAP services world, there is always the danger of getting too far ahead of the market. That’s why we are always working the phones to get at one fundamental question – across the SAP roadmap, what are customers actually buying? Formal surveys have their place, but so does the “backchannel.” In a recent backchannel conversation, a colleague told me about a firm that had spoken to 100 customers about their SAP priorities. The five most frequently mentioned? Upgrades and Enhancement Packs, Solution Manager, Mobility, Security, and Development/UI Technologies.
For this mid-summer blog post, I’ll do my own analysis of each of these areas, providing a reason for investment, some trends to monitor, and some resources that can further the understanding in each of these five trends.
  1. Development/UI Technologies
    Reason for investment: Users are looking for an intuitive UI experience that more closely resembles socialized “Web 2.0” environments. Also, light UIs can help to extend SAP to a broader user base beyond the heavy financial users who are way more comfortable in Excel than everyone else.
    Trends to monitor: Increased use of dashboarding, either through SAP Crystal Dashboard Design (formerly Xcelsius), or other tools. There's a new UI emphasis on integration with the UI environments users prefer, such as Microsoft SharePoint.

    Resources:
    SAP User Interface Technology home page on SDN; theEnterprise Geeks frequently cover SAP UI trends in their podcasts, including excellent content on Web Dynpro ABAP on their ABAP Freak Show, which is increasingly becoming a customer favorite for SAP UI design.

  2. Solution Manager
    Reason for investment: SAP Solution Manager is mandatory only for certain functions such as ERP 6.0 system upgrades, but companies are finding themselves more familiar with the SAP “SolMan” tool set due to its positioning by SAP as the key to deriving value from Enterprise Support. The technical administration capabilities of Solution Manager, such as Central System Administration and System Monitoring.

    Trends to monitor:
    Firms that can help companies integrate Solution Manager into Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) methodologies and understand SolMan’s process monitoring capabilities can deliver a greater value to end users than those who approach SolMan as simply “technical tools expertise.”
    Resources: SAP’s Application Lifecycle Management home page on SDN, SAP Solution Manager blog category on SCN, Panaya’s recent survey on SAP Solution Manager adoption.

  3. Upgrades and Enhancement Packs
    Reason for investment: SAP upgrades are still driven by the carrot and the stick – the carrot being the advanced capabilities of ERP 6.0, the stick being the extended maintenance burdens. However, the rush to upgrade can be overestimated. Companies are taking their time, building their business case, and upgrading when there is more than just the “stick” of extended maintenance to push them forward. Those companies running ERP 6.0 are looking for a better understanding of what they can get out of Enhancement Packs and examining the most relevant EhP functionality for their projects. Enhancement Packs are better understood by customers than they were a year ago, but understanding how EhPs impact different functional areas of SAP continues to separate the best consultants from the rest.

    Trends to monitor:
    “Big bang” upgrades are a rarity. Streamlined technical upgrades, followed by focused business-cases-driven functional enhancements are now the norm. Tools that streamline testing and pre-upgrade development chores are gaining real traction.
    Resources: SAP's upgrade resource library, SAP upgrade forum on SCN, SearchSAP.com piece on third party SAP upgrade tools.

  4. Mobility
    Reason for investment: The newcomer to this list, mobility is clearly not an SAP-fantasized trend but one with customer traction. Perhaps the biggest change in the SAP mobility space is the shift from talk of “point solutions” to the need for an Enterprise Mobility strategy that gives structure and central management of the surge in point solutions for different focused applications like field service or e-procurement. With the Sybase acquisition not yet complete, there are legitimate customer questions around the best SAP mobility strategy, spawning a need for consultants who can not only implement solutions but validate roadmaps.

    Trends to monitor:
    In addition from the shift from point solutions to Enterprise Mobility, another trend is clearly the movement of iPhones and soon Androids into the BlackBerry-dominated corporate smart phone environment. Companies are also expanding mobility business cases into management line use with business cases that empower busy managers to approve workflow steps on the fly.
    Resources: Mobile technology area on SDN, Mobility blog categoryon the SAP Community Network, SAP Mobility trends podcast I conducted with two fellow SAP Mentors Kevin Benedict and John Appleby.

  5. Security
    SAP security is a steady concern for companies. But as SAP environments become more complex, security issues do too. BI security, mobile security, and the morphing of security into Identity Management are all areas to pursue. There is now a separation between consultants who understand security from solely a technical angle and those who guide SAP customers through the creation of a modern SAP security strategy.

    Trends to monitor:
    Governance, Risk and Compliance also includes security-related issues in terms of access and process controls. Expertise in SAP's GRC components and how they tie into overall security management can be a differentiator.
    Resources: Security and Identity Management home page on SDN, SCN blogs on Security and Identity Mangement.

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Sap Newbie

What would I do if I were a SAP newbie

I can see a question like: "Hello, my name is Mr(s). XY, I am a fresh graduate and want to get into SAP/ I want to change the course of my career to SAP/ etc. etc." nearly every day. I understand that these people have no idea (or very unclear idea) about what to do, where to start and how to ease the pain of learning. Of course, sparing some money is an important part of the story. I also understand that we, people with some years of experience could spare these people days of struggling with every hour we invest in their education.

P.s.: sorry for one more article covering the same topic again and again...



The only problem is one cannot save the world and cannot teach all the newcomers. I feel a need to write a little more about the topic, because if it would save few hours of just few newcomers, it was worth the time.

And of course I would like to spare some time explaining the same things to new people every day (they could search and find my older posts in the Career center, or I could collect the links for them, but the result aleayxs the same: everybody wants a personal attention and does not understand the basics, the foundation to build on the real career, is the same for all the people). So I blog about it, because it could help them to find these lines and through the text I am able to articulate, that the basics are very much the same (fresher or experienced guy, developer or consultant, basis guy or manager, boy or girl, young or old).

So, dear fresher, fasten your seatbelt and prepare for a drive. Other people could suggest other ways how and where to start learning about SAP, this is mine:
Get your hands dirty, immediately!
Understand, that there is a SAP/ABAP trial system available for download (there are many more SAP things available for download, but I still think the ABAP stack trial system - sometimes called the MiniSAP - is the best starting point for like everybody).

There are so many people, who plan to start the learning process attending a formal training (well, I am not sure if you can call the SAP staff "factories" in India a formal training, but you pay a lot of money, what is one of the most important factors, so I feel responsible to cover it as well). I don´t understand it. Maybe it is because the custom is different in my country, I didn´t have to attend any special training to get my first SAP job (an average programming skill was enough, thanks boss, for offering me the chance to learn on the job!). But even then: If I were aware of the existence of the trial, I would download it and try it myself immediately.

Even if you insist on attending a formal training, install and try the SAP trial BEFORE the training. Why? Because you will use the time, you pay for, the best way you can. The others will start searching the SAP menu while you can use the time to ask questions, you were not able to answer at home. This way you can get the most out of the training (well, instead of trying to understand the keywords during the first days, you can actually create something, isn´t it great?).
Even if you are not going to become a developer, you need to understand the concept of the transactions, the database concept, the data dictionary concept (DDIC) or the way the standard functionality can be customized (configured).

Understand that for certain positions the ABAP trial system is like 90% they need to be able to do their real job. Example: If you´re interested in SAP BW, you can get a really working BW engine in the trial system. The standard SAP content is not a part of the installation (so you cannot just configure, what is delivered by SAP in all the installations), but you can develop many "real" things to learn how it works. The same applies if it comes to the ABAP itself. You can learn ABAP WebDynpro, Adobe interactive forms and most likely many more things I cannot even name.
Even if you would find, that SAP is nothing for you, the result is positive. You didn´t spend much money to be taught it is not for you. And if you start to like it, well, then welcome to the SAP world.
By the way, thanks to some changes of the SAP portfolio during last months and years, notice the BusinessObjects a brand/ suite of business intelligence tools and systems is a part of the SAP portfolio as well. You can download the trial version of these as well. Check for yourself at SAP BusinessObjects downloads site.

P.s.: if you think you´re not technical enough to make all this happen, follow anyone of the zillion tutorials available all over the internet on even on SCN, like: Step by Step Installation of SAP NetWeaver 7.01 SR1 SP3 ABAP Trial Version in Oracle VirtualBox Part 1. Or if you would like to do the same for BO (Crystal objects covered ion the following example): How to play around with SAP and Crystal reports, trial versions only. Also don´t miss the full Monty series (has multiple parts, read from the beginning!).


Understand the career options
Understand what is going on and so you can pick a part suitable for you. You don´t know what are the options? The best way is to check the list of SAP modules (if you would like to become a module consultant), check the list of technologies (like WebDynpro, ABAP, adobe forms, ALE etc. etc. If you want to become a developer, you first stop could be NetWeaver at Wikipedia for example). Where you can find these? Wikipedia and Google can provide answers for nearly every question. I always start there. If you say you didn´t find anything (like the guys asking me this question through the personal emails or trying to pretend no sources are available when asking the questions is asked in the forums), I don´t believe you. Not now, when we have zillions of "fan" content pages from the Community people, another zillions of SAP help pages etc. Learn to search. Some people say SAP means something like "search and" + add one suitable word starting with P.

If you would like to read a little more about the options, you can check one of my older blogs about the topic: Want to switch to SAP consultancy.

Or you can browse the SAP curriculums (a little complicated for a newcomer, but it can help you understand what is your position in the large world of SAP. Especially where you start and where you go and what steps/ SAP courses you need to take to become a subject matter expert). Check the curriculums here: SAP Education training catalog (main page) and if you click a little more (deeper) you can find the whole path/map from a newbie to an expert like the SAP NetWeaver Programming Core (ABAP). You can click any of the steps and check, what are the important parts of this step so you can focus on the basic stuff at the beginning and grow with the curriculum.
Choose your destiny
Now you should be able to understand, what the basic options are. Not like every detail, but I hope you got a general picture. It is time to decide about the career you are going to follow. This is the important part. I am sure you think your case is somewhat exceptional and any advice, you could use, was never provided (please use the Search, at least time to time...) or does not fit into your situation, but believe me, the following points apply in all cases (at least one applies like every time):


What is your background and education
Do you have a degree in computer science? Then you can pick your SAP career freely, I believe (but still you´re expected to be more technical than functional, maybe?).

Do you have a degree in accounting? You could become a great SAP Financials consultant (if you have any prior accounting experience, then you could become a really good one, understanding both the SAP guys and the users, what is always a big plus!).

If your degree is not connected with IT, you depend on the market options. Get a job, where the company could use your education or where they will accept and appreciate your skill set.
Do you have a friend with some SAP experience? Is he/she ready to help you? Then you could pick a field where you can get some help at the beginning. Is there a way a member of your family can help you get a job in one of the areas you think about? Go for it!
What are your opportunities
Maybe this is the most important part of this text! If there are no opportunities, you can have any wishes, any education and any experience and it helps you nothing. So, let´s look into this. Did you check the SAP market in your region to understand, what fields are demanded and what is/will be your chance to get a job within a selected field? You must keep this in mind after you get the job as well. Does the employer have projects, where you can use your core skill? What is the future of the company about your field? Do they regularly have opportunities for the role you´ve chosen? Are there any senior colleagues that could help you grow, teach you what, where, why and how?
What are your wishes
Do you have a dream job? Well, I don´t tell you go for a total dream; I mean like a job you´re qualified to do and it would bring you the feeling of a nice job. Or you don´t want to work as a developer anymore and think you could make it into the functional side (and you have some experience, that would help you become a good functional consultant)? You can follow your heart (I know people who were following their hearts and are happy about their current SAP jobs, but you must always judge carefully if you can make it with the job. You will spare a disappointment for yourself and for your employer as well).
What is your prior experience
Do you have any prior experience? You probably have one. Is an experience with a CRM solution from another vendor (like Siebel)? Then your experience count. How much? Maybe like 25% 50% your experience could count like 99%, but you need to be able to translate your knowledge from the old system to the new one. I mean the processes in CRM are general and do not vary that much, but you need to understand how things, which you know from the old system, work in SAP. They most probably are covered in SAP, but work in some other way.
Do you have a prior experience with project management? Great! But the risks slightly differ in SAP. The methodology (called ASAP, read about ASAP Methodology on SAP SDN/BPX) is specific for SAP. You need to understand new roles, understand the qualification catalog, which should help you to get the workforce. And many more.

Do you have prior experience with Java? Great! Learn, what are the Java opportunities in the SAP world and how to translate the pure Java terms into the "SAP Java" You can start here: XY: From Java developer to SAP Java developer a blog of mine.

I am sure the message is clear now. There is one last thing about this "translation of experience" I would like to share. Some people don´t have any prior experience with IT tools in their field of expertise. Like the example with the CRM, but without Siebel. Like if they guy was a salesman, understands how do the leads, opportunities and everything works, but didn´t use any special software for the work (sounds a little crazy, not to use any software these days, I am said to exaggerate a lot, so do not believe me every single word).

Or an accountant who has no prior experience with enterprise software. Even these people are welcome and their "functional" experience count. Don´t be afraid, maybe it will be easy to teach you how to operate invoicing (for example) in SAP. Easier than teach your favorite ABAP developer to do the accounting (I have never met anybody, who would be able to teach me the basics of accounting...).

I hope I provided enough points to help you decide if, what, how and stuff. These questions are not easy, but it is the Community at your assistance (if you behave, some people don´t understand the relationship between the etiquette and a help offered for free).
See you on the project one day, regards Otto.

Otto Gold is a ABAP/ Adobe developer, interested in the SAP usability and user experience

Reblogged from SDN SAP.
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SAP Mobility Solution: Digital Mailrooms

ERPs like SAP have been around for several decades now.  They have been evolving to automate, extend and integrate more and more business processes into a unified system that shares data and enables enterprises to run efficiently.  The work, however, is not complete. 

There are often additional efficiencies and cost savings to be gained right under our noses.  For example let's consider the mailroom of a large organization.  Traditionally this is a small warehouse like room dedicated to the reception of packages and bags of mail that can be sorted, boxed and delivered throughout a large campus.  Once the mail arrives at its final destination, it is opened, read and acted upon. It has never been considered a critical area for efficiency gain. 

However, companies today are starting to take a serious look at the mailroom.  There is a new category of solutions called digital mailrooms.  Digital mailrooms often consist of: scanning equipment, OCR (optical character recognition) software, archiving, business process software and a central management dashboard.  These solutions enable high volumes of inbound documents and mail to be processed in minutes, automatically imaged, recognized and routed to the appropriate department and function.  Huge efficiencies are now recognized in the mailroom that impact departments throughout the enterprise.

Accounts payable optimization is another relatively new initiative in many companies.  In many large enterprises it can take weeks or months to process a simple invoice.  This may cause a series of frustrating emails and phone calls from suppliers looking for payment (I have been there!), and force the company to lose out on early payment discounts.

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How to Send a System Message

Imagine that you’re working configuring a certain SAP module, touching several tables and configuration spots. Sometimes it might happen that someone else is maintaining the same table that you need access. This standard Function Module could be useful in these cases, since you might not know an alternative way to contact the user locking the table or other SAP object. Since the system will display who is locking the table, you will know for whom to send the message.
Here’s how it goes.

Trying to access the table

When trying to maintain a certain table, the user will receive the following warning:

Sending a system message using a standard SAP function module

Once you’ve identified the user, access SE37 – assuming you have permission! In SE37 call SAP standard function module TH_POPUP.

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Fill in the following input parameters:
- CLIENT: the system client on which you’re working on. If you don’t know this, take a look at the lower right status bar;
- USER: the user for which you want the message to be delivered;
- MESSAGE: the text message you want to deliver to the user;
- MESSAGE_LEN: allows you to define a message length. Leave it empty;
- CUT_BLANKS: allows you to specify if you want to trim existing spaces. Leave it empty.
To submit the message just hit “Execute (F8)”

What the user receives

When you click on “Execute (F8)”, the destination user receives the following message as a pop-up:

This is just a simple system tool that can help you in a day to day basis, working with SAP.


Reblogged from Saplab.org
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Useful ABAP Functions

To call the function in your program, you simply click on the Pattern button on your abap editor menu and type in the function name on the CALL FUNCTION text box.
function call abap

Function Modules for creating programs (Useful when you are generating programs)

RS_PROGRAM_CHECK_NAME : To check program names if you are generating them.
RS_CORR_INSERT : To insert the correction request in the repository.
REPS_OBJECT_ACTIVATE : To activate repository objects, for example – to activate a newly generated program.
RS_DELETE_PROGRAM : To delete the program.
RS_ACCESS_PERMISSION : To lock or unlock a program.

Function Modules related to Date and Time Calculations

CALCULATE_DATE : Calculates the future date based on the input .
DATE_TO_DAY : Returns the Day for the entered date.
DATE_COMPUTE_DAY : Returns weekday for a date
DATE_GET_WEEK : Returns week for a date

Function Modules related to (ALV) ADVANCED LIST VIEWER

REUSE_ALV_LIST_DISPLAY : ABAP List viewer (LIST DISPLAY)
REUSE_ALV_GRID_DISPLAY : ALV GridControl full screen
REUSE_ALV_FIELDCATALOG_MERGE : Create field catalog from dictionary structure or internal table

Function Module related to Change Tracking

CHANGEDOCUMENT_READ_HEADERS : Read and format change documents
DAY_ATTRIBUTES_GET : Returns attributes for a range of dates specified
MONTHS_BETWEEN_TWO_DATES : To get the number of months between the two dates.
END_OF_MONTH_DETERMINE_2 : Determines the End of a Month.
HR_HK_DIFF_BT_2_DATES : Find the difference between two dates in years, months and days.
FIMA_DAYS_AND_MONTHS_AND_YEARS : Find the difference between two dates in years, months and days. (Better use this one to find the difference between dates)
MONTH_NAMES_GET : Get the names of the month
WEEK_GET_FIRST_DAY : Get the first day of the week
HRGPBS_HESA_DATE_FORMAT : Format the date in dd/mm/yyyy format
SD_CALC_DURATION_FROM_DATETIME : Find the difference between two date/time and report the difference in hours
L_MC_TIME_DIFFERENCE : Find the time difference between two date/time
HR_99S_INTERVAL_BETWEEN_DATES : Difference between two dates in days, weeks, months
LAST_DAY_OF_MONTHS : Returns the last day of the month
DATE_CHECK_PLAUSIBILITY :Check for the invalid date.
DATE_2D_TO_4D_CONVERSION :Year entry: 2-character to 4-character.
DAY_IN_WEEK :Input date and will give the name of the day 1-monday,2-Tuesday….

Function Modules Related To Formatting

CLOI_PUT_SIGN_IN_FRONT : Displays the negative sign in front of the numeral
RKD_WORD_WRAP : Wrap text into several lines
CONVERSION_EXIT_ALPHA_INPUT : Pad zeros to the number at the left
CONVERSION_EXIT_ALPHA_OUTPUT : Eliminate zeros to the number at the left

Function Modules Related To Dialog Prompts

POPUP_TO_CONFIRM : Displays a popup dialog with a user defined message for confirmation
POPUP_TO_GET_VALUE : Displays a popup dialog requesting a value for a particular table-fieldname
SAPGUI_PROGRESS_INDICATOR : Displays a progress bar with text to denote the percentage of completion and status
FILENAME_GET : Displays a popup dialog to get the presentation server filename
F4_DATE : Displays a popup dialog to choose date
GUI_UPLOAD : Upload a file from the presentation server
POPUP_TO_SELECT_MONTH : Display a pop-up to select a month

Function modules related to RFC communication

RFC_CONNECTION_CLOSE : Close a RFC connection
RFC_GET_SYSTEM_INFO : Give system’s information of a remote system

Function modules related to reading/writing files

FILE_READ_AND_CONVERT_SAP_DATA: Uploads the file from either presentation or application server into an internal table
SUBST_GET_FILE_LIST: To get the list of files from Application Server.
ALSM_EXCEL_TO_INTERNAL_TABLE : Legacy Data Transfer w/ Excel

Function Modules related to sending emails

SO_NEW_DOCUMENT_ATT_SEND_API1 – Sends emails with texts and attachments
SO_NEW_DOCUMENT_SEND_API1 – Sends emails with texts.

Function Modules related to F4 Help

F4IF_INT_TABLE_VALUE_REQUEST – F4 help also returning the value to be displayed in internal table


Reblogged from Freesaptutorial.com
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