Ask the Experts

Ask the Experts

• Prerequisites for SAP BI training

  What are the prerequisites for SAP BI training? I have a J2EE background and I want to move to BI. I have heard SAP BI is the latest and greatest in business warehousing. I have also heard people say it's techno-functional, whatever tha means). Will...  Continue Reading

• The tables/views used to populate extractors

  I am trying to ascertain what tables/views are used to populate an extractor. I need to get the size of the underlying tables on R/3.  Continue Reading

• Breaking into an SAP career: Climb the ladder

  I'm currently a Microsoft Trainer and an Desktop Support Technician looking for a new career path. I'm looking at SAP for it's good rates of pay as well as the variety of modules one gets to choose to 'specialize' in. I have absolutely no background...  Continue Reading

• Deleting entries from a dynamic table

  I have dynamic internal table . How do I delete entries from this table on the basis of some condition.  Continue Reading

• Avoid printing out blank address lines in SAP Smart Forms

  I am providing a vendor address number from LFA1-ADRNR. There are one or two fields in the vendor master that are not filled in, so my Smart Form prints out a blank line. The users do not want this blank line printed out in the form. Is there any ...  Continue Reading

• PD profiles and SD profiles

  What are PD profiles and SD profiles? What do they do?  Continue Reading

• Display the subtype text for an infotype

  I am making an HR report in ABAP wherein I need to display the subtype texts for infotype 0045. How do I find the table where I can get this text field?  Continue Reading

• Updating infotype IT0008, not getting 'Annual Salary Currency' as default

  I am facing a problem while updating IT0008. I am not getting "Annual Salary Currency" as a default. I maintained all possible tables, such as T500c and V_T510F_B. Could you please tell me where went wrong?  Continue Reading

• Maintaining a proficiency level scale

  I am maintaining a proficiency level scale ranging from a 1 to 4 rating against a qualification in Personnel development. I want to be able to pull this proficiency level rating on the smart form of an appraisal template through the TEM module. When...  Continue Reading

• Setting soft breakpoints in ABAP that reside in Smart Forms

  I've always set hard-coded breakpoints in ABAP code that reside in a Smart Form. Is it possible to set soft breakpoints instead?  Continue Reading

• Viewing a list of SAP interfaces

  Is there a way to view a list of SAP interfaces such as RFC, BAPI and ALE?  Continue Reading

• RFC timeout problems

  I have a WEB/AS based R/3 Internet sales RFC call calling to a 4.6D (Basis 620) R/3 system. My problem is with RFC timeouts; what is the default value and how can I change it? There is nothing that I can modify on the WEB/AS ICM admin side. Is there...  Continue Reading

• SAPgui disconnection problem

  We are having a problem with clients disconnecting from the SAPgui. They are attempting to connect to a Solaris/Unix server through a firewall. We have found that the connection to the Wintel server is fine, but not the UNIX server. Clients on the ...  Continue Reading

• Common 'sequential read' misconception

  One of my colleagues told me that "sequential reads" means that the query is not using "Index" to scan. How can I resolve this issue and get an expensive SQL statement in the system?  Continue Reading

• List of deletable SAP system files

  Our SAP file system is filling up because initially it was defied too small. What are the non-required files that can be deleted from the SAP system? We are using HP-UX NetWeaver2004s on an Oracle database.  Continue Reading

• Printing specifics on the last page of a Smart Form

  I am working on a PO Smart Form. The user would like to print the terms and conditions as well as document totals and spaces for approval signatures at the bottom of the last page. If I include this in the main window, it prints wherever on the page...  Continue Reading

• Adding a navigational attribute to an existing InfoObject

  We have a scenario where we would like to add one additional navigational attribute to an existing InfoObject (currently there are already two navigation attributes). My question is what needs to be done to the Planning Object Structure in APO DP ...  Continue Reading

• What's the difference between ODS and DSO in SAP BI?

  In SAP BI, what is the difference between ODS and DSO?  Continue Reading

• How do I know if a profile parameter is dynamically changeable or static?

  How do I know if a profile parameter is dynamically changeable or static? If it is static it will require a restart of the system once changed. Do the colors red or black in rz10 indicate this?  Continue Reading

• The difference between SAP notes and support packages

  What is the difference between SAP notes and support packages?  Continue Reading

• Refresh the SAP ABAP/Java system from PRD to QAS

  I want to refresh the SAP ABAP/Java system from PRD to QAS. In the past I have done the ABAP system refresh in which the Quality database was refreshed by that of Production and later we changed the SID from PRD to QAS. I want to know if we need to ...  Continue Reading

• SAP MMC failing to start after renaming my domain

  I have done a complete domain rename; my SAP R/3 on Windows 2000 is installed in a windows 2003 active directory domain. Now the SAP MMC console does not start up. What is wrong?  Continue Reading

• Not connecting to SAP: A connection string problem

  When logging onto SAP, it shows a "Connection to partner broken" message. What is wrong?  Continue Reading

• Where to find your SAP installation number

  Where can I find my installation number in the SAP system?  Continue Reading

• What is the future of SAP consultants/project managers?

  What's your take on the future market demand for SAP consultants/project managers?  Continue Reading

• Can an Oracle DBA break into SAP Basis?

  An Oracle DBA is considering jumping ship to SAP. How do the skills map to SAP Basis, and what are the future prospects? Career expert Jon Reed answer these questions and more.  Continue Reading

• Changing the hostname in a server migration

  I am trying to do server migration from an existing server to a new server (though it is same OS). We will need to change the hostname for this. What is the best method or process for this task? Is there anywhere else it stores hostname info apart ...  Continue Reading

• SAP APO consulting is a dying career field?

  What is the future of SAP APO in the market? How I should an SAP APO functional consultant move ahead with their career? Which other areas of SAP should they learn in order for my career to grow?  Continue Reading

• MM consultant seeks new skills in trendy SAP areas

  I am an MM Consultant and have learnt a bit of PP too over the years and at career crossroads right now. I want to place myself in a (latest) technology that has demand right now in US market.  Continue Reading

• Adding to extended attributes of a Position in SRM

  I am trying to write recordings for use within LSMW load objects in order to make mass changes to the organizational structure. I have achieved this using PP02; however, when I want to alter the Extended Attributes (i.e. the Approval Limits) listed ...  Continue Reading

• Retroactive accounting period differences

  What is the difference between "earliest Retroactive accounting period" and "Retroactive accounting date"?  Continue Reading

• The difference between master data and transactional data

  The difference between master data and transactional data  Continue Reading

• The definition of the BP category: 'group'

  We are going to create a BP in three categories: person, organization and group. What is the meaning of 'group'?  Continue Reading

• The difference between territory management and organizational structure

  What is the main difference between territory management and organizational structure?  Continue Reading

• What are the responsibilities of an SAP BW administrator?

  I am new to BW; what should a BW administrator study? Also, what are the responsibilities of an SAP BW Administrator?  Continue Reading

• Steps for a generic extraction of FI/CO, COPA and LO in SAP BW

  What are the necessary steps for a generic extraction of FI/CO, COPA and LO in SAP BW?  Continue Reading

• What is wrong with an SAP MMC console that won't start?

  When I started my machine today, I was unable to start the SAP MMC console. Also, I am not able to see any sub links which are usually there to right-click and start my server. How can I get back those sub links in the SAP MMC console?  Continue Reading

• What is a wage type group?

  What use do wage type groups have? What are some examples of wage type groups?  Continue Reading

• Is SAP ABAP a career sand trap?

  How hard would it be for an SAP BW ABAP person to change careers and do systems programming using C++ after 2 or 3 years? I don't want to necessarily get stuck in SAP. I'm concerned that in 3 years, my resume will be all business/SAP and no systems/...  Continue Reading

• The quickest way to gain SAP knowledge

  I suddenly was forced to move into senior roles which involved leading projects in various technologies and just as suddenly found myself leading an SAP support project. The project is going well, but I feel handicapped because I am not able to add ...  Continue Reading

• The current and future growth of MDM consulting

  What is the current and future growth in MDM and what would be the best way to establish myself as a consultant in this area?  Continue Reading

• SAP careers in the pharmaceutical industry

  Will SAP help me to increase my value in the pharmaceutical industry? What kind of training should I go for?  Continue Reading

• Identifying transports that have not been imported into production

  How do I identify transports that have not been imported into production quickly and easily? I do not want to compare the transport list in development with the import history list in production.  Continue Reading

• Changing the SAP Production server time 30 seconds behind, errors occur

  I changed the time on the SAP Production server to 30 second behind, but some SAP transactions now have errors. Currently I use SAP 4.6C with Oracle 8.17 as a database and Windows 2000 advanced server for an OS. How do I solve this problem?  Continue Reading

• Problems with the output device 'LOCL'

  I am setting up shop papers (PM) in Smart Forms using Helvetica font. The shop papers were designed with output device LOCL. The output changes (spaces between words) based on the output device. How do I fix this?  Continue Reading

• Will there always be an implicit commit in an RFC?

  Is there any way to make a Rollback from Windows from our own developed function module?  Continue Reading

• How to print Smart Forms on Zebra printer with the landscape format

  How do I print Smart Forms in landscape mode on a Zebra printer? I already set the print configuration on the Zebra printer driver and tried to choose a landscape page format (other than DINA4). However, it still printed out in standard portrait ...  Continue Reading

• New fonts added to SAP are replaced by old fonts in a print preview, why?

  We have loaded new fonts into SAP. However, they don't appear during a print preview. A completely different font replaces the original. Why does this happen?  Continue Reading

• How to get to the shopping cart and PO information in SRM

  How do I view a softcopy of PRs and POs in mySAP? MySAP SRM expert Sachin Sethi offers some advice.  Continue Reading

• Comparing locally managed and dictionary managed tablespaces

  What is the difference between a locally managed and a dictionary managed tablespace, and what are the benefits of using a locally managed tablespace?  Continue Reading

• What do the .att and .pat files from a support package extraction contain?

  When we extract the .car file from our support pack we get .att and .pat files. What data do these files contain?  Continue Reading

• Is there a way to search within IDocs using a purchase order number?

  How do I search a sales order in IDoc based on the purchase order (PO) number? I am scanning each IDoc one by one using we02. Is there an easier way?  Continue Reading

• What are the benefits of the Inventory Collaboration Hub?

  I read that Inventory Collaboration Hub is now part of SCM. Marketing baloney aside, what are the real benefits of this? Should I care? Supply chain management expert Harish Narayanan explains.  Continue Reading

• SAP CRM career options for a sales/marketing MBA

  I am a graduate with an MBA in sales and marketing and 8 years of hands-on experience in sales. I only have basic knowledge about the IT environment (Excel, Word and PowerPoint). I am thinking about shifting my efforts to the SAP field. Is SAP CRM ...  Continue Reading

• What are infotype attributes?

  What are infotype attributes? Read a brief explanation with examples.  Continue Reading

• How do I create a link in an email message that executes a workflow item in R/3?

  A reader asks how to make it so that a user will receive an email in Outlook with a link that takes them to the appropriate transaction (in change mode) of the exact document that needs to be processed.  Continue Reading

• How do I fix errors in an automatic workflow customization?

  When performing an automatic workflow customization, "RFC User could not be created" appears.  Continue Reading

• Merging companies with different company codes

  Expert Bert Vanstechelman suggests a resource to help in merging company codes in the same purchasing organization.  Continue Reading

• Reverting transport request changes

  Can it hurt anything to go back to the original version of SAP without the new objects generated by transport requests? Bert Vanstechelman sheds some light on the matter.  Continue Reading

• What are the best practices for pricing configuration?

  A reader states, "our pricing and contract management is a mess" in SA. Expert Srini Katta offers some general suggestions for determining a pricing configuration.  Continue Reading

• Changing transport orders on SAP systems

  ABAP report RSWBO301 can help you change transport order numbers. Expert Bert Vanstechelman explains how.  Continue Reading

• Static vs. dynamic filter configuration in AIS

  Expert Muhammed Farooq Ali explains the difference between these types of filters in SAP Basis.  Continue Reading

• Problems processing IDoc with LSMW

  Axel Angeli offers some quick advice for uploading BP master data.  Continue Reading

• Problems connecting to an SAP server on a different network

  A reader wonders what could be causing an error message; Axel Angeli offers some advice.  Continue Reading

• Dispatcher services shows dev_disp error

  Bert Vanstechelman advises a reader on the possible origin for a dev_disp system warning for SAP.  Continue Reading

• What is a module pool?

  Expert Matthew Billingham explains this term as it pertains to SAP.  Continue Reading

• Converting a PDF form to Word

  A reader needs to be able to send a form by email and have the recipient send the completed form on to another person, so a PDF won't work. Matthew Billingham provides some guidance on converting a SmartForm to Word.  Continue Reading

• Retrieving values selected in a dropdown list

  Matthew Billingham suggests some means by which one might be able to retrieve values selected from a dropdown list by using ABAP.  Continue Reading

• Recovering a deleted delta

  Expert Sam Gassem suggests means by which a lost delta might be restored.  Continue Reading

• Error claims ship to party is not defined

  An SAP user did everything right, but an error message is saying otherwise. Krishna Kumar weighs in with some possible reasons for the problem.  Continue Reading

• Formatting addresses

  A client wants addresses displayed on the Smart Form scree in a different format. Mark Smithson provides clues for how to change the display type.  Continue Reading

• Division field in the Material Master Record

  Sachin Sethi explains the meaning of this term.  Continue Reading

• Changing the field name of a standard SAP screen

  Is the Visual Configuration tool the way to go? Expert Srini Katta sheds light on the matter.  Continue Reading

• What are technical and functional specs?

  Expert Jay Narayanan explains the difference between these two terms.  Continue Reading

• Accessing the SE38 T code with only display authorization

  Can you create a profile that has only display authorization for the SE38 T code? Expert Corwin Slack answers.  Continue Reading

• Listing TCODE transactions used to view what users are logged in to SAP

  Does an authorization code exist to collect a list of all TCODEs and users logged in to SAP during a time period?  Continue Reading

• Maintaining the chart of accounts with separate server installations

  Does the chart of accounts have to be maintained separately if SAP HR and FI are installed on separate servers? Expert Roger Cerini explains how Application Linking Enable (ALE) can solve the problem.  Continue Reading

• Strings in 'RFC_RAD_TABLE_ENTRIES from VBA' code example

  Axel Angeli explains why a function call isn't working in a code sample submitted by a SearchSAP.com member.  Continue Reading

• How SAP user authorization tool works when a TCODE is executed

  SAP uses a system program to check the authorization of users executing TCODE, explains expert Farooq Ali. What checks does the SAP authorization tool perform when a transaction code, or TCODE, is executed in order to ensure that the user is an ...  Continue Reading

• What's a user exit in SAP?

  The SAP user exit defined and discussed.  Continue Reading

• QUOMO feature

  The QUOMO feature is used in SAP time management, explains expert Roger Cerini.  Continue Reading

• Generating a license key in SAP Solution Manager

  How to use SAP Solution Manager (SSM) to generate a license key without the installation number.  Continue Reading

• F_LFA1_APP and editing authorization restrictions

  How does F_LFA1_APP work with editing authorizations? Expert Corwin Slack answers.  Continue Reading

• Blocking a material type in Transaction MM01

  Adding an authorization group on a material type can prevent users from accessing that material type, says SAP security expert Corwin Slack.  Continue Reading

• Printing addresses without a country line using SAPscript

  The address key is handy for printing addresses, but what if you don't want the country name printed? Expert Mark Smithson lets you know how to disable the country line.  Continue Reading

• Printing multiple line items in a box for a purchase order

  What could cause a box command to print line items only once instead of multiple times? Expert Mark Smithson surmises the answer.  Continue Reading

• Changing the number range in change request numbers

  Bert Vanstechelman discusses how to use ABAP report RSWBO301to alter the number range for change request numbers in a SAP development system.  Continue Reading

• Repeated deadline monitoring

  Expert Alon Raskin teaches how to re-trigger deadline monitoring in SAP Workflow.  Continue Reading

• SAP logistics information system (LIS) out, hello LO

  Find out about the status of your LIS sytem and its replacement, LO.  Continue Reading

• Using ABAP to extract data from a BW cube

  Jay Narayanan discusses how to extract data from SAP BW using an ABAP-developed program.  Continue Reading

• Begin an SAP career with end-user support

  Expert Jon Reed acknowledges then explains why end-user support is an excellent avenue into SAP.  Continue Reading

• What are ABAP dumps and SAP dialog instances?

  Expert Farooq Ali explains what an ABAP dump is and what SAP dialog instances are.  Continue Reading

• How to set parameter values in SAP

  The locations where SAP-related parameters can be set -- the start profile, instance profile and the default profile -- and a description of how they work.  Continue Reading

• Creating a "wrap text" format in Excel VBA

  How to create columns, also known as wrap text, in Excel VBA.  Continue Reading

• SAPscript original language

  Did you know that SAPscripts inherently use German? In this expert response, learn how to change the original language to English to execute successful English SAPscripts.  Continue Reading

• Blocking standard transactions in SAP

  Expert Farooq Ali provides directions for blocking standard SAP transactions and the repercussions associated with this task.  Continue Reading

• How to transfer table data from the development server to the production server

  Transfering table data can be complex. Expert Matt Billingham details how to create a transport to do just that.  Continue Reading

• How do I fix user role problems in SAP security?

  Having too many roles in SAP security can indicate that something is wrong with your security infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Logical systems, port types and IDocs

  Looking for a brief description on 'logical systems', port types and IDocs? Look no further, Sam Gassem defines these SAP terms in this expert response.  Continue Reading

• How to change the default SAPGUI client number

  How to change the instance profile parameter to adjust the default SAPGUI client number.  Continue Reading