Tips

Tips

• Help prevent supply chain problems with SAP EWS

  The often-overlooked SAP Early Warning System module alerts companies before supply chain problems arise, writes SAP expert Jawad Akhtar.  Continue Reading

• Fine-tune SAP procurement processes with materials management tools

  Mastering procurement elements within the SAP materials management module can help companies wring more value out of their purchasing processes.  Continue Reading

• Sidestep paper and slow SCM processes with a SAP Digital Signature

  Use digital signatures to manage SAP Supply Chain Management (SCM) processes. They can save companies time and money, says SCM expert Jawad Akhtar.  Continue Reading

• Is SAP HANA really a game changer?

  SAP HANA may be a "game changer" in that it will help analytics pros achieve long-held expectations, according to one expert.  Continue Reading

• Java administration in SAP: Three tips for Basis administrators

  Sooner or later, Basis administrators will have to get used to Java administration in SAP. Read tips for finding information on a Java instance and monitoring memory utilization.  Continue Reading

• Solving SAP print problems

  Many of you have written to say that printing from SAP is a lot like root canal. The process is slow and painful, but necessary. Our experts drill down to solve print issues here.  Continue Reading

• How to better leverage the new SAP ABAP debugger

  Does SAP ABAP debugging bug you? Read the latest tips on better leveraging the new SAP ABAP debugger.  Continue Reading

• How to secure an SAP installation with disaster recovery

  A SearchSAP.com reader wants to know how to secure an SAP installation using disaster recovery, and if there is a way to verify and implement SAP security guidelines.  Continue Reading

• Tips on processing records in SAP internal tables

  SearchSAP.com development expert Matthew Billingham shares some of his tips for better processing records in SAP internal tables.  Continue Reading

• How to do additional dialog processing after SAP COMMIT WORK statement

  In this development tip, learn how to make your own developed screens appear once a standard SAP transaction has finished with an SAP COMMIT WORK statement.  Continue Reading

• Using subclasses to develop applications that run on different releases of SAP

  App development pro Matthew Billingham rewrites a program using object-oriented programming to create subclasses for developing applications that run on any release of SAP Basis.  Continue Reading

• How to find a piece of SAP ABAP code without debugging

  Application development expert Matthew Billingham offers two methods for finding a piece of code in a SAP ABAP program without going through the debugging process.  Continue Reading

• How to find owners and transports of deleted ABAP programs

  Deleted ABAP programs cause short dumps, and this tip explains how to find the owners and transports of those programs  Continue Reading

• SAP RFID overview and trends in the ERP software market

  There was a lot of talk about RFID when Wal-Mart and Uncle Sam started demanding it in 2005. What's the current status of RFID as it applies to SAP users? Does it add real business value, or is it just a costly hassle? This special report takes a ...  Continue Reading

• Integrating SAP xMII with Guided Procedure

  Want to make a powerful composite app? Try these steps to integrate xMII with Guided Procedure.  Continue Reading

• Extracting product hierarchies from SAP CRM

  How to extract product hierarchies from SAP CRM  Continue Reading

• Quick analysis of SAP BI objects

  How to perform a quick analysis of SAP BI objects employing DBACOCKIT.  Continue Reading

• Increase column width in a transaction screen

  This tips tells you a quick and easy way to increase the column width in a transaction screen.  Continue Reading

• Select Text fields: Case-insensitive

  Searching for strings is cumbersome if the table field isn't defined as Case-insensitive. By using EXEC-SQL there's a way to do this selection case-insensitive.  Continue Reading

• Finding BADIs you can use

  This will show you how to find BADIs in a transaction and whether or not they are reserved for SAP use.  Continue Reading

• Easier maintenance of output types, procedures, conditions, etc.

  To shorten the time it takes to maintain output types, procedures, conditions, etc., add NACE to your shortcuts.  Continue Reading

• Updating an RT table entry in SAP HR Payroll -- without the ADDWTE option

  In SAP HR Payroll config -- specifically schemas/rules -- you may find a need to update an existing entry in RT table. However, you can not use the usual ADDWTE option. Here is the way it can be done.  Continue Reading

• Is this the quickest way to find a BADI?

  Not long ago we posted the tip "Find a BADI in a minute." Now S. Parishikta sent us this tip which claims to be even quicker. Know of a faster way? Let us know!  Continue Reading

• Adding custom fields for retail product comparisons in SAP BW

  Need to analyze and compare product sales, product cost and suggested retail price etc? This tip shows you how to customize the R/3 BW datasource/extractor to get elementary fields such as AFS color and size into BW.  Continue Reading

• Easily debug error messages in SAP processes

  Sometimes, an SAP process will stop working with an error message, or an abend. Unlike with a dump, it can be difficult to find exactly where the problem occured.  Continue Reading

• Accessing private attributes in ABAP Objects

  In the ABAP Objects, it's often useful to be able to access attributes which for some reason, the SAP developers have made private!  Continue Reading

• Improving performance with ABAP Objects in SAP Workflow

  Using Object Oriented ABAP in SAP Workflow will provide improved performance over a traditional Business Object Repository (BOR) approach.  Continue Reading

• How to make your SAP upgrade succeed in ten easy steps

  An SAP upgrade can be fraught with obstacles. Here are ten steps for taking the hassle out of an SAP upgrade.  Continue Reading

• Find a BADI in a minute

  The contest winning tip from Lakshmi Narayana. Find a BADI quick and easy, use "Find a BADI in a minute."  Continue Reading

• How to transport an SAP query in R/3 4.6x

  Learn how to quickly transport an SAP query in this handy tip.  Continue Reading

• How to switch off message determination in BAPI_PO_CREATE1

  Want to switch off message determination in BAPI_PO_CREATE1 and BAPI_PO_CHANGE? Learn how here.  Continue Reading

• How to include an authorization group restriction in an SAP query

  Some reports can be sensitive and should be protected. Here's a quick method for restricting access for unauthorized users.  Continue Reading

• How to use quick-views of other users

  Quick-views can be great time-savers, but users get their own system groups which can make it hard to work with peers. This handy tip allows you to work around this.  Continue Reading

• Find the BADI related to your transaction in minutes

  These steps should enable you to find any BADI related to any transaction in a matter of minutes.  Continue Reading

• Retrieve BI data with Web Services

  Did you ever want to know how to display BI information at the same time as CRM information? This tip will show you how to manage this with the BSP application (in an HTMLB table).  Continue Reading

• Eliminate database read/write times with ABAP shared memory

  The average SAP developer has never even heard of ABAP shared memory much less utilized it to help them decrease database read/write times. This was the subject of a tip presented at TechEd '07 in the session titled "Pimp mySAP."  Continue Reading

• XI: Search through the payload of a message... without TREX!

  Are you wading through thousands of messages in XI searching for the the one you want? This short ABAP based search engine will give you the speed boost you need.  Continue Reading

• Adding special characters in SAP BI

  Are your SAP BI extractions failing too often? It could be a problem as minor as an invalid character within the report. Learn the acceptable characters as well as how to fix the issue all together in this tip by Aaron Wang.  Continue Reading

• Budgeting Best Practices with SAP Business Planning -- Part II

  In part two of Muthu Ranganathan's tip series on business planning he compares and contrasts popular scenarios and points out apparent flaws within each of their separate structures.  Continue Reading

• Budgeting best practices with SAP business planning

  Why should companies bother with budgeting? Learn why and get best practices for budgeting for the corporate culture and synchronizing strategic and operating plans in SAP.  Continue Reading

• Using Folders in PI 7.1

  Folders are introduced with the development tools in NW PI 7.1. Learn the pros and cons of using folders in PI 7.1 to organize projects and interfaces.  Continue Reading

• Beating back BSP bugs

  Every software developer needs to know how to combat errors and SAP ABAP developers are no different. In this tip Nigel James gives us the goods on how to defeat pesky bugs in BSP.  Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting the ALE process

  This tip by Raja Thangamani on troubleshooting ALE processes will show you how to determine what code an IDoc is executing and take you step by step through high level error resolution for outbound and inbound IDocs.  Continue Reading

• Web Dynpro ABAP Quick Tip: Table column sorting in four steps

  This tip is for those of you who are very new to Web Dynpro ABAP and need help sorting table columns.  Continue Reading

• User management with SAP NetWeaver Administrator

  This is a crash course in the User Management Engine (UME) and on how it enables you to easily manage users, groups and roles.  Continue Reading

• ABAP for newbies: MaxDB: Database Manager and SQL Studio

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• How to create SAP ABAP database tables

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• ABAP for newbies: How to dynamically create test data for our database table

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• ABAP for newbies: Get your program up to speed

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• Debugging in SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• ABAP for newbies: A first little business program

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• ABAP for newbies: Getting more familiar with the ABAP dictionary

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• ABAP for newbies: Importing a transport into SP11

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• ABAP for newbies: Exporting development objects from SP8

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• A first 'hello world' program for SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• A developer's introduction to the SAP change and transport system

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• ABAP for newbies: Navigation in the application server

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• ABAP for newbies: Many developers on one central server -- how does it work

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP basics

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• How to start and stop SAP ABAP application server

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), you may need to update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to understand the new version. By the end of this tip series, you should have a good understanding...  Continue Reading

• Business process platform creation for healthcare, part 2

  Working with business processes? In the second part of his tip, Claudius Metze shares his experiences in engineering a business process platform for healthcare.  Continue Reading

• Download and install the trial version of SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP

  With the new build of the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP trial version (SP11), we bring you a series of tips that will update your ABAP developer skills (beginners and experienced) to this new version. By the end of this series, you will have a good ...  Continue Reading

• Currency translation using SAP BI

  Are you in need of a currency translator? Most companies nowadays are not limited to domestic sales and have to deal with many different currency types. Rasim Manavoglu shows us how to set up a currency translator with one standard currency output ...  Continue Reading

• How to acquire the runtime information of a data transfer process (DTP)

  This article will show how you can access the runtime information of a 'Data Transfer Process' and what data is available.  Continue Reading

• Smart Forms vs. PDF-based print forms in SAP solutions -- pros and cons

  Are you involved in a project where a large number of print forms must be used in various scenarios? Here is a comparison between the two largest print form formats.  Continue Reading

• Defining shared services and shared outcomes in the public sector

  Shared services IT deployments allow governments to focus their limited resources on value-added activities that are central to their missions, rather than on routine administrative and transactional functions. The end result is improved outcomes at...  Continue Reading

• Repair bad SAP data and subsequent data targets with delta update

  Initialization / delta updates are what we do everyday, and the update method for most data targets. The delta mechanism ensures the consistency of transactional data. So if some data is wrong in the early stage of data flow, we have to not only ...  Continue Reading

• SAP XI - Event based message triggering with dependencies

  In this scenario, two interfaces to a legacy system to ECC (Enterprise Central Component) were interdependent. That is, mapping for interface B cannot start unless interface A has been successfully completed. Mapping for interface B uses RFC lookup ...  Continue Reading

• A process runtime dashboard for tracking efficiency

  Have you ever wanted to know if your process instances are running inefficiently? Or maybe which user is always the slowest to perform a certain action? These questions can all be answered through the use of process metrics.  Continue Reading

• Moving installed SAP systems in zones between hosts in ten minutes

  How to move installed SAP systems from one host to another one in about ten minutes.  Continue Reading

• Discover the power of DPF

  Learn the basics of how a digital personnel file (DPF) can be used.  Continue Reading

• Using subroutine pools for dynamic programming

  The code to generate a temporary subroutine pool for dynamic programming in ABAP provided by a senior developer analyst at General Mills.  Continue Reading

• Developing composite applications with PHP - Advanced AJAX

  A better way to store client-side ID, main work on the server side (requiring close collaboration between the server-side PHP script and the client-side JavaScript), and Rich Internet Application (RIA) versus old-style Web.  Continue Reading

• Using virtual servers for communication between xMII servers

  Did you know that the SAP xMII Virtual Server Connector can help you to query a remote xMII server without a direct connection to the data source? This tip explains how.  Continue Reading

• How to create a portal system for use in Visual Composer

  This blog post walks through the system requirements, how to create portal systems (including for BAPI/RFC), how to handle load balancing and how to handle BI queries.  Continue Reading

• Getting started with Dynamic Graphics in xMII 11.5

  Are you intimidated by SVG/Dynamic Graphics in SAP xMII? Never fear, this SDN tip will give you a step-by-step tutorial to help you get started.  Continue Reading

• Quality management in ABAP development projects

  What makes for good quality management in an ABAP project? This tip from SDN examines the role of a quality manager as it pertains to ABAP development in SAP systems.  Continue Reading

• Configuring the JDBC Connector Service to perform database lookups

  Need to activate the JDBC Connector Service in SAP XI? This SDN posting offers a how-to guide with illustrations and descriptions of the configuration steps, offering more detail on some steps that are missing from the standard how-to guide.  Continue Reading

• Important points for planning a R/3 upgrade project

  Mainstream support for SAP R/3 4.6C ended in Dec 2006, and the extended maintenance will end in Dec 2007, so it's important and possibly imperative to upgrade from R/3 4.6. This blog from SAP Developer Network highlights some of the critical factors...  Continue Reading

• How to replicate a material master from R/3 to SRM

  Need to replicate your material master from a back-end system to SAP SRM 5.0? This article from SAP Developer Network offers a quick guide. It covers everything from Basis setup to filtering the records and instructions for deleting material master ...  Continue Reading

• Using JMS resources in Java EE applications

  Need help to create your Enterprise Java Beans project? This tip from SAP Developer Network walks you through the process of creating a JMS resources deployment descriptor and implementing the configuration XML schema file.  Continue Reading

• How to integrate SAP xMII with SAP ERP

  You can accomplish communication between ERP and xMII in several ways. This tip from SAP Developer Network walks through all the major methods, including using a BLS transaction as a Web service or HTTP service, sending IDocs, and more.  Continue Reading

• ALE configuration for pushing IDocs from SAP to XI

  Get a step-by-step, illustrated guide for how to push IDocs from SAP to XI in this SDN article. You'll find clear instructions and screenshots, providing a helpful checklist for new consultants.  Continue Reading

• Creating your first application using Interactive Forms

  Want a walkthrough of how to get started using Interactive Forms in SAP? This tip, reposted from the SAP Developer Network, offers guided instructions.  Continue Reading

• EAI primer for SAP XI and middleware technologies

  Are you confused about enterprise application integration technology as it pertains to SAP? This blog post from SAP Developer Network will set you straight, offering an in-depth explanation of the history of the technology and what it can do.  Continue Reading

• How to raise alerts from ABAP Proxy

  SAP provides a function called SALRT_CREATE_API that can raise alerts from ABAP. This SAP Developer Network post explains how to use this function.  Continue Reading

• How to transport table entries

  Ever wanted to save entries after a transaction and then transport them to different servers? This tip from the SAP Developer Network shows you how.  Continue Reading

• Designing a flashier UI for UWL

  Have you ever wished you could have a cooler user interface for your Universal Worklist? Now you can, thanks to this tip from SAP Developer Network.  Continue Reading

• Happy 10th birthday, NetWeaver

  SAP NetWeaver is now ten years old. Analyst Dennis Byron reflects on NetWeaver's past and the strengths and weaknesses of SAP's approach in the middleware and service-oriented architecture (SOA) space.  Continue Reading

• How to staff a successful mobile SAP project

  Sometimes when you're deploying a mobile project in SAP, such as in SAP xApp Mobile Time and Travel 2.0, success is all in the staffing. This SDN post by Karsten Strothmann offers some tips for how to select personnel.  Continue Reading

• Generic Web Dynpro Java table filter

  Want a SAP Web Dynpro filtering tool that's as easy to implement and to use as the Table Sorter Java Class? This article by Peter Vignet, reposted from SDN, provides such a tool.  Continue Reading

• Enterprise SOA-based innovations and benefits in SAP

  SDN blogger Abdulla Fawzi discusses the nature of technological innovation and how service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an important innovation as it pertains to SAP.  Continue Reading

• A business case for integrating SAP BI and XI, part two

  This two-part article presents a hypothetical business case to demonstrate a need for integration of SAP Exchange Infrastructure (XI) and SAP Business Intelligence (BI). Part two discusses the solution and its strengths and drawbacks.  Continue Reading

• A business case for integrating SAP BI and XI, part one

  In this two-part article, we present a hypothetical business case to demonstrate a need for integration of SAP Exchange Infrastructure (XI) and SAP Business Intelligence (BI). Part one presents the scenario.  Continue Reading

• Data modeling and database design in ABAP, part three

  Learn modeling techniques for database design and data modeling in ABAP with this multi-part series. Part three expands on the SAP structured entity relationship model (SERM) and bridge the gap to ABAP Business Objects.  Continue Reading

• Data modeling and database design in ABAP, part two

  Learn modeling techniques for database design and data modeling in ABAP with this multi-part series. Part two introduces the SAP structured entity relationship model (SERM).  Continue Reading

• Data modeling and database design in SAP ABAP, part one

  In this multi-part tip, Tobias Trapp presents data design and modeling in ABAP. The first installment also introduces the SAP Data Modeler.  Continue Reading

• Advanced Workflow features -- SWITCH

  In this SAP best practices tip, learn about a new SAP Workflow feature called SWITCH in the step Multiple Condition. This new feature carries a condition definition that is not available in the Workflow CASE step.  Continue Reading

• Converting IDocs to XML format

  In this tip, learn how to convert IDocs into XML format for use in the SAP Exchange Infrastructure (XI) and additional applications.  Continue Reading

• How to display an animated logo in the Portal Masthead

  The purpose of this tip is displaying the animated logo in the portal masthead. The idea behind this article is to check whether FLASH is installed on the end user machine to display the animated logo. If FLASH is not installed then display the ...  Continue Reading