Ask the Experts

Ask the Experts

• QA system refresh

  Expert Bert Vanstechelman defines SAP system refresh and shows you where to find the detailed procedure from the SAP Service Marketplace.  Continue Reading

• Uploading CSV files into SAP

  In this expert response, Matt Billingham teaches how to upload a CSV (comma-separated values) file into an SAP database.  Continue Reading

• Converting IDocs with the SAP Business Connector

  Expert Matt Billingham discusses how to convert IDocs for third-party systems and vica versa using the SAP Business Connector.  Continue Reading

• Reset the password of a user in some or all clients

  Learn how to use transaction SU01in Central User Administration for resetting passwords for a user in multiple clients.  Continue Reading

• SAP functional enhancements to mySAP ERP 2005 with ECC

  ECC upgrades will still be needed after SAP's promise of functional enhancement options to mySAP ERP.  Continue Reading

• Difference between BW functional and technical consultant

  Expert Sam Gassem identifies the roles of the BW functional and BW technical consultant in this expert response.  Continue Reading

• The job description for an SAP portals consultant

  Expert Sam Gassem defines the role of an SAP portals consultant and lists the skills required.  Continue Reading

• TREX in SAP applications

  Understanding SAP applications using TREX and the communication paths of TREX in SAP applications.  Continue Reading

• Using different operating systems and databases for SAP development and production systems

  Bert Vanstechelman discusses whether the development and production systems can be on seperate OS/DB but still maintain an STMS connection.  Continue Reading

• Blank notification instead of user decision in a workflow

  Expert Alon Raskin, identifies the problem where the USER DECISION field in a workflow is showing a blank notification even though it launched a successful email.  Continue Reading

• Where can I access workflow attachments?

  Learn where to access workflow attachments using a particular function module from expert Alon Raskin.  Continue Reading

• How to attach a PDF to a workflow

  Expert Alon Raskin teaches how to attach PDF files programmatically in workflows.  Continue Reading

• Transfer rules, transfer routines and conversion routines

  Expert Sam Gassem defines transfer rules, transfer routines and conversion routines within InfoObjects and SAP BW.  Continue Reading

• A list of versions of SAP BW

  Versions and differences in SAP Business Information Warehouse.  Continue Reading

• SAP Enterprise Portal: Latest version

  Expert Sam Gassem keeps you updated on the latest SAP EP product for NetWeaver.  Continue Reading

• SAPscript and Smart Forms: Printing only text on the last page

  Learn control commands for an SAPscript and Smart Forms to print "End of Page" text from expert Mark Smithson.  Continue Reading

• How to convert a numeric value into words in an SAPscript

  Expert Mark Smithson identifies the function module in an SAPscript for turning numeric values into words.  Continue Reading

• Getting stuck between "SAP implementor" and "SAP manager"

  SAP configuration and SAP management are separate focuses every SAP professional must choose between. Jon Reed, SAP careers and certification expert, explains how to decide based on your current skills and future goals.  Continue Reading

• Installing InfoObjects in BW with the correct version status

  Learn how to install the version status of InfoObjects on the DEV server in SAP BW from SAP BW expert Jay Narayanan.  Continue Reading

• Extracting data from a virtual cube

  Expert Jay Narayanan describes how a virtual infocube can feed to the live cache for Demand Planning.  Continue Reading

• Is ABAP work going away due to NetWeaver?

  ABAP developers will still play a role in the SAP NetWeaver future. Expert Jon Reed explains how.  Continue Reading

• Is there consultant saturation in SAP Financials and Human Capital Management?

  SAP FI/CO and HCM are promising SAP fields for the long term, according to expert Jon Reed.  Continue Reading

• SAP career networking

  Seasoned professionals understand the value of networking with colleagues. Expert Jon Reed reaffirms this concept with the SAP professional.  Continue Reading

• Contents from transaction ME13 (R/3) in BW

  Expert Jay Narayanan explains why certain fields from transaction ME13 (R/3) in BW aren't accessible.  Continue Reading

• Slow BW reporting with 150m rows infocube

  Slow query reports can be the result of an improper infocube. FInd out if your infocube is too big here.  Continue Reading

• What is a Web Application Designer (WAD)?

  Jay Narayanan expertly defines WAD and it's functions in BW.  Continue Reading

• BEx reporting training material

  Expert Jay Narayanan offers resources for BEx and BW reporting materials.  Continue Reading

• Roadmap to an SAP career for doctors

  Even doctors want to transition to SAP. In this expert response, Jon Reed advises how to best shift from industry to industry.  Continue Reading

• Ten year ABAPer seeks work/life balance

  Being an SAP consultant can be straining on the personal life. Expert Jon Reed explores options available to an SAP professional looking to keep their skills evolving.  Continue Reading

• Expanding ABAP skills to meet today's SAP roles

  ABAP hasn't entirely gone away and expert Jon Reed advises how developer's can use their current ABAP skills to expand their SAP knowledge-base for future roles.  Continue Reading

• Follow the configuration experience

  SAP configuration experience is crucial to the SAP professional skill set. Expert Jon Reed guides a transitioning SAP professional towards decisions for a healthy SAP career.  Continue Reading

• Which core modules are good for RFID

  If you are interested in being an SAP RFID consultant, this response determines which core modules will likely involve RFID in the future.  Continue Reading

• SAP administrators -- meeting today's SAP knowledge demand

  SAP administrators are discovering they're required to know a lot about everything in SAP. Jon Reed describes how a seasoned SAP administrator can meet today's demands.  Continue Reading

• MI, MDM, and XI combination for the future SAP developer

  Combining today's hot modules with tomorrow's market forecast is a great strategic opportunity for any SAP developer. Jon Reed describes how to invest in your SAP career future.  Continue Reading

• The SAP CRM Customer Interaction Center (CIC)

  DIscussing the pros and cons of the SAP CRM CIC application.  Continue Reading

• Spread a cold and catch a customer -- viral marketing

  Viral marketing can be an effective tool under certain conditions. Our expert advises when it works -- and when it doesn't.  Continue Reading

• SAP BI/BW or SAP CRM for a lucrative career?

  Our expert weighs in on the advantages that separate modules, like BI/BW and CRM, have against each other.  Continue Reading

• Checklist for a successful CRM implementation

  Planning a CRM implementation? Take heed with this checklist by Srini Katta.  Continue Reading

• Assigning 'set' to Business Partners

  Expert Srini Katta provides a full menu path for assigning the 'set' attribute to Business Partners in CRM.  Continue Reading

• Lotus and SAP CRM

  Do you know about specific Lotus script that may be used to "push" an email on user demand from Lotus client (R5.0.12) toward SAP CRM (v4.0), instead of a "pull" from CRM standard solution provided by SAP Groupware?  Continue Reading

• Logging on to EP through non-SAP portals

  An illustration is provided in this expert response depicting the UME architecture in EP and its relationship with non-SAP data sources.  Continue Reading

• Incorporating EP into CUA

  In this expert response, Sam Gassem defines the SAP User Management Engine (UME) tool in EP and discusses how it coordinates EP with back-end systems.  Continue Reading

• Tables for identifying transactions

  This advice offers a list of tables available in SAP for identifying transactions and their attributes.  Continue Reading

• RFC and BAPI differential

  RFCs and BAPIs are an important part of the SAP lexicon for developers. Distinguish the difference in this reponse by expert Austin Sincock.  Continue Reading

• How do I create arrays in ABAP?

  ABAP doesn't have an array concept but our expert describes other ways to utilize array-like functions with ABAPs.  Continue Reading

• SAP says it's working...but it's not

  Our expert troubleshoots an instance where the startsap function worked, but some SAP was not responding.  Continue Reading

• Failed transport fixes in BW

  This response advises what to do when a transport fails in SAP BW.  Continue Reading

• Data storage in an SAP table through JCo

  Our expert provides instructions for sending data in an SAP file through the Java Connector.  Continue Reading

• Changing the SAP system ID (SID) after an upgrade

  After setting up parallel DEV and QAS systems, our expert advices on how to handle the old and new SIDs.  Continue Reading

• Updating kernels in SAP production systems

  Get the facts on updating kernels in SAP production systems with Bert Vanstechelman, our SearchSAP.com upgrade expert.  Continue Reading

• RFC and BAPI function identification

  Find specific transactions available to help classify RFC and BAPI functions within your SAP system.  Continue Reading

• Using Oracle passwords with SAP

  As our expert explains, using Oracle passwords to connect to SAP is not efficient. He suggests proper password etiquette.  Continue Reading

• Locating user exits in standard SAP systems

  Our expert guides us through many approaches for finding user exits within standard SAP programs.  Continue Reading

• TYPE statement and DATA statement

  The TYPE statement and the DATA statement are two fields required while declaring SAP data. Their definitions and roles are describes in this response.  Continue Reading

• System Refresh 101

  A System Refresh can be a helpful tool for developers and customizing consultants. Our expert, Bert Vanstechelman, outlines what this SAP term is and how it works.  Continue Reading

• Can you give me an introduction to SAP NetWeaver?

  What do SAP NetWeaver, ITS, BSP and SRM all have in common? Our expert defines each acronym and it's relationship to SAP.  Continue Reading

• IDocs for purchasing contracts

  Techniques for creating contracts with IDocs.  Continue Reading

• SAP billing for e-procurement

  Common strategies for SAP billing, including middleware requirements, are discussed by our expert.  Continue Reading

• Is it possible to perform a mass deletion of a particular transaction from all users?

  In this expert response, discover ways to obstruct all users from access to a particular transaction.  Continue Reading

• Redirecting incoming HR IDocs to multiple systems

  Learn how to forward incoming IDocs through SAP and non-SAP systems.  Continue Reading

• SAP development in the production system

  How to repair a modified SAP production/development system into two seperate, efficient SAP systems.  Continue Reading

• Using multiple work processes in a client copy

  M Farooq Ali details how to create a RFC group and a client copy in order to use multiple work processes in one local client copy.  Continue Reading

• Everything you need to know about the Oracle hash function

  Our expert covers the entire Oracle hash functionality from 'HASHKEYS' and 'HASH IS' to the Random Oracle Model.  Continue Reading

• Is SAP XI the best middleware for high-volume messaging?

  Our expert sizes SAP XI up against the Business Connector for high-volume messaging.  Continue Reading

• Using and configuring the Extended Transport Control (STMS)

  The Extended Transport Control (STMS) is another way to establish a client-specific transport route within SAP. Get the detailed blueprint here on how to use and configure STMS within your SAP systems.  Continue Reading

• Is it still a good idea to start a Basis career?

  Considering SAP NetWeaver and other SAP technological advancements, is beginning a Basis career a viable option for a technical professional in 2006? Find out what our expert recommends.  Continue Reading

• SAP XI and EDI standards; How long it should take for an EAI user to learn SAP XI

  This answer confronts the EDI technical standards and their role in SAP XI. Our expert also provides an opinion on how long it should take the EAI user to learn SAP XI.  Continue Reading

• Using SAP XI to copy XML files to IDocs

  Instructions on how to copy the contents of an XML file into an IDoc using only SAP XI.  Continue Reading

• What are the learning resources for a Basis consultant?

  Maximize your education as a Basis consultant with these hot resources provided by our Basis expert, Farooq Ali.  Continue Reading

• The TCode in SAP to copy one table to another

  Available here are SAP TCodes for copying one table and its contents to another table.  Continue Reading

• Is SAP XI necessary for SRM EBP?

  Our SRM expert details the versatile relationship between the SAP Exchange Infrastructure (XI) and the SRM Enterprise Buyer Professional (EBP).  Continue Reading

• New security features in ECC 5.0?

  Previously, defined security parameters in SAP ECC never affected communications or background users. With ECC 5.0 this situation may have changed.  Continue Reading

• Cost element authorizations (account posting) in SAP

  Security abounds and controlling account posting is one of the checks and balances administrators can impose on users. Be careful though, the practice is highly discouraged.  Continue Reading

• How do I link user IDs to positions in SAP?

  Our expert discusses safe practices and benefits of linking a user ID to a position within SAP.  Continue Reading

• Defining SAP R/2 and R/3

  Our expert defines and differentiates between the SAP systems R/2 and R/3.  Continue Reading

• How to lock specific users out of certain transactions

  Not every user needs access to every transaction. Find out how to block certain users from specific transactions.  Continue Reading

• Code for dynamically switchable parameters

  Parameters for immediate change effects after an authorization error.  Continue Reading

• Convert a function module into a BAPI

  Our expert provides multiple techniques for turning function modules into BAPIs. It all depends on what you want to use the function module for.  Continue Reading

• Creating a table maintenance generator

  Create a table maintenance generator the right way. Learn what to do before you begin devising the table maintenance to ensure a smooth operation.  Continue Reading

• Retrieving information about table names and field names in SAP

  Resources for searching out particular table or field names within your SAP system.  Continue Reading

• Transferring Zip files using IDocs

  Guidelines for transferring Zip files and other binary data in an IDoc.  Continue Reading

• Transferring custom table structures from one server to another

  Learn how to transfer custom tables server to server using transaction SE09.  Continue Reading

• Assigning user roles

  An administrator is curious if any transactions -- besides PFCG and SUO1 -- can be utilized to assign user roles.  Continue Reading

• How to I apply patches to Central User Administration (CUA)?

  Procedures for applying spam patches, kernel patches and GUI patches on CUA.  Continue Reading

• MM tables within R/3

  How to get a complete list of all tables of a particular module within SAP R/3 with a focus on MM.  Continue Reading

• Enabling the BW statistics cube

  The BW statistics cube is a valuable tool for reporting on the performance of queries, data loads, aggregate maintenance and compression. Learn here how to implement the tool.  Continue Reading

• Spool logs: The basics about spool log maintenance

  Our expert systematically covers basic aspects of spool log maintenance.  Continue Reading

• Retrieving logon instances in SAP systems

  Our expert provides steps to retrieving the date and time of a user's last log on to SAP systems.  Continue Reading

• Transaction SU03 obsolete

  SU03 is an obsolete authorization maintenance transaction. Our expert defines the proper transaction to use.  Continue Reading

• Custom messaging with CCMS

  Is it possible to generate custom messages within CCMS?  Continue Reading

• Errors with TP configuration

  Check out this code too view a typical TP configuration error and read our expert's remedy.  Continue Reading

• Estimating the upgrade effort from SAP version 3.1i to 4.6c

  Our expert recommends resources for healthy mySAP ERP system upgrades.  Continue Reading

• How to handle errors during a transport with change documents release

  Our expert solves transport release problems by removing or unlocking erroneous objects.  Continue Reading

• How do I create a transaction code in a Smart Form without using a print program?

  Our expert explains why you need a print/driver program to create transaction codes in Smart Forms.  Continue Reading

• Blank value fields in IDocs

  This user has a requirement that all IDoc data, including null values, flow from his outbound processor to a SAP legacy system. However, he can't view the null values in the IDoc. Our expert explains why this is and remedies how to meet the user's ...  Continue Reading

• Visual Basic code for a BAPI function

  Our expert provides code for BAPI functions to use in Visual Basic.  Continue Reading

• Can we integrate XI with the MQ series for connecting mainframes without using adapters?

  An explanation for using adapters and middleware.  Continue Reading

• Cost for licensing and implementation of the Seeburger EDI adapter for SAP XI

  Our expert provides an estimate of the cost and time involved with implementing the Seeburger EDI adapter.  Continue Reading

• Using IDocs to connect a non-SAP system to an SAP R/3 system online

  Learn how IDocs can connect SAP R/3 system with non-SAP systems to share information.  Continue Reading

• How to interface between Seeburger and R/3 while doing EDI configurations

  Our expert advices using RFC calls to access Seeburger middleware during EDI configurations.  Continue Reading