In Release 3.0A, ABAP/4 Query contains a number of enhancements and improvements which are described in the following overview.
New Features for Maintaining Queries
- Navigation
- Local fields
- New header maintenance handling
- Switch off standard title when printing
- Fixed columns and headers
- Search function for fields in functional areas
- Graphics settings for basic lists
- Delete basic list definition
- Technical documentation of fields
- Change history of queries
New Features in Query Lists
- Drill-down functionality in multiple line basic lists
- Totals display in basic lists
- Compressing statistics
- Selections display
- Display as table with table view control
- List backup improved
- New procedure for printing query lists
- New layout for selection screens
New Features for Maintaining Functional Areas
- Select options for functional areas
- Assigning functional areas to user groups
- Technical documentation of fields
- Update function in query directory
- Assignment of functional area to user groups
- Passing on attributes of data retrieval program
New Features for Maintaining User Groups
- Assigning users to user groups
- Copying user groups
New Features for Transporting Query Objects
- Transport using files
- Transporting variants of query reports
- Error handling during imports
New Features for Language Comparison
- New transaction for language comparison
New Features for Maintaining Queries
Navigation
Navigation within the component Maintain Queries has been
improved so that there are now three different copies of all screens
concerned with maintaining basic lists, statistics and ranked lists.
Each screen contains all the relevant information for the current
processing step. On the screens for defining the line structure of a
basic list, this normally includes the field names and the input fields
for defining the line number, position, sorting and summation. One screen copy contains just this information, another screen copy
contains descriptions of the input fields, and a third screen copy
contains an overview of the structure of the basic list, statistic or
ranked list just defined. The pushbuttons on each screen allow you to
toggle between these three screen copies. The screen containing the
list just defined is normally displayed first. If, however, you want to display the screen with the descriptions first, select
Settings -> Define... and specify accordingly.
The above information does not apply to header maintenance screens or
to the graphics screen. Since header maintenance screens always contain
the line structure of the sub-list, only two screen copies exist here,
one with and one without descriptions. The screen used to define graphics settings for a sub-list exists only in one copy.
Local fields
Previously, whenever you needed information not available in a
predefined field of the functional area, the only way to retrieve it
was to extend the functional area. If, for example, the functional area
contained a field for the number of items and a field for the currency
amount, but no field for the price of this number of items, you could
not output the price in the query until you had included an additional field for the purpose in the functional area.
From Release 3.0A, you can generate new information for your query from
the fields which already exist in the functional area. This means that
you can specify a calculation formula known only within the query for
fields you define yourself. These fields are known as local fields.
To define the calculation formula for a local field, you must specify
the existing fields in the functional area by name. The field names
used in the query are not suitable for calculation formulae because they can consist of several long words. Therefore, on the
Select Field screen, you can assign a short name of up to 10 characters to
all fields of the functional area. This short name must begin with a
letter and can contain only letters, digits and the character _ . You
only have to assign a short name to a field from the functional area if
you are using the field in a calculation formula of a local field or as a replacement variable in a header (see below).
To assign a short name to a field, select Edit -> Short names -> Switch on/off on the
Select Field screen. The system then displays, for each field of the functional area, an additional input
field where you can enter the short names for the required fields.
To define a local field, select
Edit -> Local field -> Create on the Select Field
screen. You then see a window where you can enter all the necessary information for defining a local field. This
information includes a short name, a long text, headers and the
functional group that is supposed to contain the local field. You must
also enter information about the type of values you want to store in
the local field. To do this, you can either assign the same attributes
to the local field as to an already existing field, or specify yourself
whether the field is a text field, a calculation field, a date field, a
time field, a symbol field or an icon field. If you decide to define
the attributes by referring to an existing field, you have several
advantages. Firstly, the local field can always accept the same values
as the reference field. Secondly, the local field inherits the currency
or unit assignment of the reference field, if the reference field is a
currency amount fields or a quantity field. In this case, the local
field itself becomes the currency amount field or quantity field.
Symbol and icon fields are fields that are specially interpreted as
symbols or icons on output to the list. As a result, an appropriate graphical representation appears in the list.
There are two ways of assigning the values to a local field. If you
specify the field value by entering it on the query selection screen,
the local field is treated like a parameter with a value defined once
by entering it. However, this option is not meant for symbol and icon
fields. If you determine the field value by means of a calculation
formula, the value of the local field is then recalculated whenever one of the fields in the calculation formula changes its value.
Generally, a calculation formula comprises a single formula. Formulae
follow the usual mathematical rules and consist of operands and operators.
Valid operands include the short names of fields, as well as numeric
constants and character strings. There are also certain special fields availablen. These are:
- %NAME:
Name of user processing the query
- %DATE: Current date when processing the query
- %TIME:
Current time when processing the query
In addition, you can define extracts from character string fields. With
date and time fields, you can choose the individual components (i.e. day, month, year, hour, minute, second).
To define the values of symbol and icon fields, formulae can contain
the names of symbols and icons. These names begin with SYM_ or ICON_
and can be determined using the appropriate functions. A formula that
contains a symbol or an icon can only consist of the symbol or icon, i.e. symbols and icons cannot be linked with other operands.
Valid operators include the basic calculation types, as well as DIV and
MOD. You can also use parentheses in the usual way. For a detailed description, please refer to the online documentation.
The calculation of the field value may depend on a condition. In this
case, the value is determined with a calculation formula only if the
condition is also satisfied. If the condition is not satisfied, the
field is set to the initial value. Conditions are formulated using
boolean formulae which consist of comparisons that can be linked with
the operators NOT, AND and OR. You can also use parentheses in the
usual way. For a detailed description, please refer to the online documentation.
In more complex cases, the calculation of the field value may depend on
any number of conditions, i.e. the value is calculated differently,
depending which condition applies. You can also specify a calculation
formula for cases where none of the conditions is satisfied. For this, you use the Complex calculation
function displayed in the window for maintaining a local field.
When formulating the calculation formula, you can use various functions
to display the available short names, symbols and icons. You can also
choose a short name, symbol or icon from the display and transfer it to
the position withint the formula where the cursor previously was.
When you have made all the necessary specifications to define a local field in the window, select Continue
to return to the Select Field screen. The field you have just defined has been included in
the specified functional group and can now be used in all other screens just like any other field from the functional area.
To change or delete a local field, place the cursor on the local field in the Select Field
and choose the relevant function from the Edit menu.
New header maintenance handling
Previously, the headers for basic lists, statistics and ranked lists
were predefined and could only be changed in a very restricted way. As
a result, column headers which were changed and then did not correspond
to the standard proposal could not be automatically adjusted if the line structure in the query definition was changed.
In Release 3.0A, ABAP/4 Query handles headers differently. There are
now two types of header lines. Fixed header lines depend on the line
structure of the query, while lines with column headers are for the
fields output in the individual lines of the list. You can define any
number of header lines. The maintenance of column headers is such that
the system can automatically modify the column headers if the line structure changes.
Also new is the ability to define any number of footer lines at the end
of a page. Within fixed header lines and footer lines, you can access
the field values from the query again. This allows you, for example, to
place a sort criterion in the header line and thus dispense with a text at the beginning of a sort criterion (control level).
The header maintenance screens have been adjusted accordingly. Each
screen shows the general structure of the sub-list, starting with the
header lines, then the line structure, and finally the footer lines.
Standard proposals are, of course, available for the header lines as before.
You can maintain fixed header lines on the maintenance screen just by entering values. The Edit
menu contains functions that allow you to insert or delete lines. Alternatively, you can use the existing
function keys. Blank header lines are not output in the list. While
basic lists do not require any header lines, you must specifiy at least
one with statistics and ranked lists because, according to the previous
conventions, this must contain the title of the statistic or ranked list. The system generates a standard proposal for this line.
In general, the rules for footer lines are the same as those for fixed
header lines. Footer lines can accept input and you maintain them by entering values. The appropriate functions in the
Edit menu and the corresponding function keys allow you to insert and delete lines.
Blank footer lines are not output. In any case, it is not possible to
vary the number of footer lines from sub-list to sub-list for technical
reasons. If, for example, a query includes a basic list and a statistic
and you define four footer lines for the basic list but only one footer
line for the statistic, five lines are reserved for output of the page
footer on every page of the list that contains the statistic (the first line in the page footer is always an underscore).
You can define fixed header lines and footer lines so that the values
of any fields can be inserted into these lines when the query list is
generated. This means that, when you define a header line or footer line, there must be a character string of the type
&field within the line, where field must be the short name of a field. When
the list is generated, the effect of the operator & is such that the character sequence &field
is replaced by the current value of the field field. There are several special fields you can use
to replace values. These are:
- %NAME: Name of user processing the query
- %DATE:
Current date when processing the query
- %TIME: Current time when processing the query
- %PAGE:
Current page number (6-characters)
- %P : Current page number (3-characters)
For these special fields, there are also the short forms N, D, T and P
. However, this can result in multiple meaning since the names are also used as short names for query fields.
In such cases, the field value from the query is always used for replacement purposes.
Column headers are no longer maintained by line, but by field. This
means that you can define a query-specific header for each field, if
you do not want to use the header supplied by the functional area. The
individual lines of the column headers are then calculated from the
field headers. Maintenance by field has the advantage that the column
headers can be refreshed automatically whenever the line structure changes.
Normally, ABAP/4 Query proposes column headers for all lines. Column
headers for one line of a sub-list (basic list, statistic, ranked list)
can consist of one or two lines, since the column header for a field
can cover one or two lines. Statistics and ranked lists usually have two-line column headers.
If you do not want any column headers for a line of your query, place the cursor on the relevant line in the
Column header or Line structure area and select
Edit -> Column header -> Delete line or press the appropriate function key. If you require column
headers, place the cursor on the relevant line in the Line structure and select
Edit -> Column header -> Insert line or press the appropriate function key. With basic lists, you can define
the column headers as before on the List Line Output Options screen.
As already indicated, modifying column headers is possible only by
changing the header for each individual field. For this reason, you
cannot change column headers on the maitenance screens. If you want a
different column header for a field than the proposed header, place the cursor on the field concerned in the
Column header area and select Edit -> Column header -> Maintain or press the
appropriate function key. You then see a window where you can define
your own field header or revert to the standard proposal. Please note
that a field in a query can only have one header. This means that when
you define your own field header, this is the header which will always
be used when a column header is needed for this field in the query.
Please also note that, with currency amount fields and quantity fields
in statistics and ranked lists, the second line of the column header is
always used to specify the reference unit. You can change the column
headers for fields as described above on the header maintenance screen. It is also possible to do this on the
Select Field screen. To do this, place the cursor on the relevant field and select Edit ->
Column header -> Maintain.
Statistics and ranked lists may have different additional fields. These
contain information about the number of records read, the percentage
proportion, the average value, and the rank specification. You cannot change the column header for these fields.
Please note that, although the number of header lines in the page
header and page footer is unrestricted, the total number of these lines
must be smaller than the number of lines per page. You can check this
condition only partially in the query definition because the number of
lines per page can change when you execute the query (e.g. when printing or processing in the background). If this condition is
violated at processing time, the program is terminated.
All the options mentioned for maintaining header and footer lines are
described in detail in the online documentation. The maintenance
screens contain appropriate help texts for all input and output fields.
Switch off standard title when printing
When you print a list or process it in the background, each page has
two title lines that do not appear in the screen display. These title
lines (standard title) contain the date, the title of the query and the page numbering.
The new header maintenance options allow you to include information
like the date and the page numbering in the page header of the screen
display. For such queries, it would be inconvenient if the standard title still appeared with printed output. Therefore, the
Title, Format screen contains a new option that allows you to suppress
output of the standard title for print output.
Fixed columns and headers
With lists wider than the window on the screen, you were previously
able to shift the entire list horizontally, i.e. a shift to the left
always moved the first characters on a line out of the visible area.
However, it is often useful in such horizontal shifts to be able to keep the first characters on a line visible, since they contain
essential information for the interpretation of key columns. From
Release 3.0A, key columns are supported for each sub-list of a query.
With basic lists, you define key columns on the
Field Output Options screen by assigning the color attribute Key to the
fields you want to remain visible after a horizontal shift of the list
in the visible area of the screen. Please note that, when you define a
fixed area of a list, this applies to a whole page and there can be no
variation from line to line within that page. Depending on what you
specify, ABAP/4 Query thus calculates for key columns a character
position beyond which you cannot go when scrolling horizontally in the
visible area of the screen. This means that, with multiple line basic
lists, only part of a field may belong to the fixed area of a page.
With statistics and ranked lists, the key columns are determined by the query itself. The color attribute Key
is automatically assigned to all non-numeric fields of a query according to the previous
conventions and this procedure is retained. In addition, these fields
now automatically become key columns and thus always remain visible when you perform a horizontal shift.
In the case of horizontal shifts of lines in the page header and page
footer, fixed header lines and lines in the page footer cannot usually
be shifted horizontally. Column headers behave like assigned fields,
i.e. the column headers of fields that are key columns cannot be shifted horizontally either.
Search function for fields in functional areas
If many functional areas are assigned to a user group and these
functional areas contain a multiplicity of fields, it can be difficult
to select the correct functional area when recreating a query. On the
other hand, this choice is decisive and cannot be reversed later (i.e. when the query already exists).
When you recreate a query, you see as always a list of functional areas
assigned to the user group and must choose one of these. From Release
3.0A, this screen provides you with a search function which allows you
to scan strings within the functional areas. This function determines
all the fields that contain the specified strings. The result is a list
of all those functional areas containing fields that satisfy the search
condition, as well as the fields themselves. From this list, you can choose the functional area.
There is a similar function on the Select Field screen. Here,
you can also scan for any string, but the search is restricted to the
fields of the functional area used to define the query. The result is a
list of all the fields of the functional area that contain one of the
strings specified. In this display, you can choose fields by selecting a checkbox, so that when you return to the
Select Field screen, they are flagged as selected.
Graphics settings for basic lists
As already possible with statistics and ranked lists, you can now set parameters for the graphical representation of basic lists. Previously, these definitions were standard. However, please note that this is possible only for one-line basic lists and that the maintenance of graphics settings only makes sense for one-line basic lists.
Deleting the basic list definition
Another new service function is Delete -> Basic list on the Basic List Line Structure screen. This allows you to delete the basic list in a query definition correctly and corresponds to the functions for deleting statistics and ranked lists.
Technical documentation of fields
By selecting Extras -> Field documentation, you can now display technical information about the field as well as documentation. Details include the type, the output length and, if relevant, the number of digits and the number of decimal places.
Change history of queries
When you select Extras -> Status info... , the system now displays the name of the last person to change the query as well as the author. Only one person per day is specified.
New Features in Query Lists
Previously, query lists only offered interactive functions allowing you to pass on a list for further processing (save, EXCEL, download to file, etc.). Interactive functions allowing you to present information from the list at different stages of compression were not supported. From Release 3.0A, ABAP/4 Query provides several such options.
Drill-down functionality in multiple line basic lists
Suppose you want to define a four-line basic list which contains the
customer address in the first three lines and that customer's sales
figures (fiscal year, sales) in the fourth line. According to the
previous conventions, the address would be output not only for each
custoemer, but also for all sales figures. You can now display a list
showing only all the addresses first (compressed format). If you then place the cursor on an address and select Choose
, press the appropriate function key or double-click, you get another (detailed)
list that contains the address and sales figures for the selected customer. Subsequently, you can select Back
to return to the original list and then display the sales figures for another customer.
Several degrees of compression are possible (not just two as described
in the example). The degree to which you can compress a list and the
line of a multiple line basic list output at a particular compression
level depends on the query with reference to the structure of the
logical database. You cannot alter this when defining a query unless you change the structure of the individual lines.
Compressed format is a display option that occurs only with multiple
line basic lists. However, the fact that a basic list is a multiple
line list is not sufficient to allow compressed format. If a three-line
basic list contains, for example, only the customer's address details, the basic list cannot be displayed in compressed format.
If a basic list allows compressed format display, you will have this
option when you display the list. You can switch between compressed and
expanded format (expanded was usual up to now) at any time by selecting
Edit -> Basic list format -> Expand <-> Compress. When defining the query, you can define on the
Basic List Line Structure screen whether you want the first dispaly of the list to be compressed
or expanded.
You can also use the compressed format option with all the queries from
earlier Releases without having to make any changes to the query definition.
Totals display in basic lists
If you are summing fields in a basic list, the output display always
contains an overall total and (where defined) sub-totals for the
different sort levels. Output of the totals lines is at the end of the
list or after each sort level, when all the individual values contributing to the total have been displayed.
With lists containing totals, you can always use the Totals only
function to display a secondary list showing only the totals lines. To return to the original list, select Back
.
Compressing statistics
The last line of statistics is always a totals line containing the
overall total. Statistics may also contain sub-totals lines. As with
the totals display for basic lists, you can display a secondary list
with only the sub-totals lines and the overall total. To do this, you place the cursor on any line of a statistic and select
Compress statistic.
You can compress statistics progressively in several stages, depending
on how many sort levels with sub-totals have been defined. The first
time you use the compression function, all the sub-totals lines and the
overall total are displayed. If you select the function again, the
sub-totals lines at the lowest sort level in the list (i.e. the sort
level with the largest sort number) are no longer output. Every time
you call the function again, the sub-totals of another sort level are
removed from the display. You can continue this compression process
until the list cotains only the overall total. By repeatedly calling the Back
function, you can gradually redisplay the hidden lines and return to the complete statistic on the original screen.
You can also compress statistics defined without sub-totals. In this
case, of course, you get a list containing only the overall total the first time you call the function.
Selections display
For each query list generated, you can use the Selections
function to display the selection screen or the values entered on the
selection screen. The system outputs this information in a dialog box.
Since the function is also available for saved lists, it is easy to determine the selections used when you first generated them.
Caution: You cannot display the selections for lists saved before Release 3.0.
Display as table with table view control
The Display as table function allows you to output one-line
basic lists, statistics and ranked lists in a special format. When you
call the function, you see a screen which displays the data of the
selected sub-list in a table view control. Totals lines and lines with control level texts are not included in this display.
The advantage of this type of list lies in the interactive functions
(column switching, storage of settings, etc.) provided by the table
view control. Yet more functions are available when you make use of the
options the table view control offers for line and column selection.
Two important functions are those allowing you to sort in ascending or
descending order. When you select one or more columns and call one of
the sort functions, the system then sorts by the columns you selected,
starting on the left. This means that the highest selection criterion
refers to the column on the extreme left of the display. By switching
and marking columns, you can sort the data any way you like. Sorted columns are flagged.
The Sum
function allows you to form totals. It calculates an overall total for each numeric column, and sub-totals for all selected
and sorted columns. To get sub-totals for a particular sort criterion,
you must first sort by this criterion by selecting the column (as well
as other columns, if necessary) and then calling a sort function. Then, you select the column again and call the Sum
function.
All totals lines are flagged. The Display totals only function
allows you to restrict the display to the sub-totals and the overall total. If you select Switch off totals
, all totals lines are removed from the display.
The Find and Continue search
functions allow you to perform a search in columns you have selected, although you cannot search in numeric columns.
The Find function requests you to enter a search criterion and
then begins the search in the first visible line or in the first line
of the table. If it finds a match, the system places the cursor on the
found term and scrolls the table so that it appears in the first visible line at the top of the screen.
The
Continue search function searches for a criterion previously
specified. The search starts from the cursor position, if this is in
the table area, or from the first visible line of the table, if it is not. By selecting Find
and then calling Continue search repeatedly, you can scan a table for each occurrence of a particular
search criterion.
If the criterion is not found, or no more occurences are found, you get an appropriate message.
You can use the Hide lines/columns function to suppress selected
lines and columns. This way, you can restrict the display to the
relevant sections and make it more readable. The functions for sorting,
summing, searching and printing always refer to the visible dataset,
i.e. they ignore hidden lines and columns. You can also save a setting with hidden columns as a variant of the table view control.
The Show lines/columns function allows to re-display hidden lines and columns.
Finally, there are two other functions you can use to fix column
positions or to release the fix. With wide lists, not all columns are
visible in the table view control, but you can scroll across using a
horizontal scroll bar. Initially, all fields move when you scroll horizontally. However, if you select a column and then call the
Fix column function, the selected column and all columns to the left of
it remain fixed in the display when you scroll horizontally. Before you
do this, all columns to be fixed must be in their original position. To release fixed columns, select Cancel fix
.
If you select the Print function, the system prints the table
exactly as it appears on the screen. This takes into account only
visible lines and columns, as well as sorting, totals lines, column switches and column width changes. The
Display initial function allows you to return the table to its appearance when first displayed.
This means that all preceding steps (sorting, summation, hiding lines and columns, etc.) are cancelled.
The table view control display also includes the interactive functions
allowing you to pass the list on for further processing. However, you
should be aware in this context that hidden lines are ignored, but hidden columns are always taken into account.
The procedure for the Graphics function is different from that
in the list display. To display a sequence of values in graphical format, you must first select the column from which you want the
numerical values to be taken. Then, you must select all the lines from
which values are to be taken. Remember that you can select no more than
32 lines and that values from totals lines cannot processed in the graphic.
List backup improved
List backup has been improved so that the colors assigned to lines are not lost. If a list contains fixed columns, they are flagged as fixed in the display of a saved list and cannot be scrolled horizontally. Once again, these improvements do not apply to lists saved prior to Release 3.0.
New procedure for printing query lists
Previously, if you displayed a list on the screen and then called the Print
function, the list was not re-formatted, i.e. the page structure was the same as in the screen display. This is normal
practice when printing from a list display.
From Release 3.0, a query list is re-formatted if you print it from the
screen display. This means you can adapt it to suit any printer you are
using. The print process thus works exactly the same as when you select Execute and print
on the selection screen.
With saved lists, the old method still applies, i.e. they are not
re-formatted and are thus printed exactly as they appear on the screen.
New layout for selection screens
On the selection screens of generated reports, radio buttons are used for the further processing option instead of checkboxes.
New Features for Maintaining Functional Areas
Select options for functional areas
When defining a functional area previously, you were able to define
parameters which appear on every selection screen of a query defined
using this functional area. From Release 3.0A, you can also define selection criteria (select options) for a functional area.
Since a selection criterion is defined for a particular field, you must
always specify the field to which the selection criterion refers. This
field cannot be a field of a linked SAP table, nor an additional field.
The selection criterion can thus only be a field from the logical
database or, in the case of a functional area without an underlying
database, a field of the table used to set up the functional area. The
selection criterion can also refer to a field defined in the DATA code of the functional area.
Once a selection criterion has been defined once for a functional area,
it appears on the selection screen for all queries which use this
functional area. As with parameters, however, it is not the definition
of the selection criterion alone which actually results in selections,
i.e. the data records are not excluded from the processing simply if
they do not satisfy the selection criterion. To achieve this, you must
use the ABAP/4 statement CHECK at the appropriate GET event or at the time of record processing to evaluate the selection criterion.
As with defining parameters, it is possible to specify additions which
allow the ABAP/4 statement SELECT-OPTIONS permits. You can also use a
sequence number to specify the sequecen of parameters and selection
criteria on the report selection screen, i.e. this sequence number applies for both parameters and selection criteria.
Technical documentation of fields
By selecting Extras -> Field documentation, you can now display technical information about the field as well as documentation. Details include the type, the output length and, if relevant, the number of digits and the number of decimal places. They also tell you whether the the field is a currency amount field, a currency field, a quantity field or a unit field.
Update function in query directory
In the query directory (which you access by selecting Goto -> Query directory
), you can now regenerate the query report for all selected queries by selecting Generate
. When you do this, the generation is not performed at once. Rather, a flag is set for each selected query
to show that the report must be regenerated the next time the query is executed.
This function is sometimes useful if you have made changes to a
functional area. If the changes are important to the flow of the query
because, for example, the code for an additional field has changed, you
can use this function to regenerate all queries affected the next time
you execute and thus include the code change for the additional field.
Assigning functional areas to user groups
Previously, you could only assign a functional area to one or more user groups with the appropriate function in the component Maintain User Groups. This same function is now also available in the component Maintain Functional Areas. This means that, when you create or change a functional area, you can immediately call a function to assign this functional area to user groups.
Passing on the attributes of a data retrieval program
In the case of functional areas which use a data retrieval program, the attributes of this program were previously ignored when generating associated query reports, i.e. the details about the logical database were not taken over from the data retrieval program. From Release 3.0, the attributes are passed on to every generated report. This means that, in special cases, you can write a data retrieval program which uses a logical database. However, although the logical database can be used for data acquisition purposes, the data to be evaluated by the query must be made available in a (flat) table.
New Features for Maintaining User Groups
Assigning users to user groups
Previously, a user could only be assigned to different user groups by
calling each individual user group and entering or deleting the user.
This procedure can be tedious if you have users that have to be entered in several different user groups.
Release 3.0A contains an enhanced function for assigning users to user
groups. When you enter the user name now, you see a screen containing
all existing user groups with a checkbox for each one. The checkbox
tells you whether the specified user is assigned to a user group or
not. By maintaining the checkboxes, you can change the assignment of the user.
Copying user groups
A new service function allowing you to copy user groups is also new to user group maitenance in Release 3.0A. Any copied user group contains the same users as the original and is assigned to the same functional areas. When copying, you can also specify whether you want to copy the queries as well.
New Features for Transporting Query Objects
Transport using files
You can now transport query objects by uploading/downloading files. To do this, you use the Download
and Upload options on the initial screen of the transport system.
The transport action
Download works like the transport action Export
, except that the transport dataset is not written to the transport table TAQTS, but to a file defined in the dialog. Since you
cannot use the transport system to transport this file, no transport
request is created as with exports. You should bear in mind that a file
can contain only one transport dataset because the upload cannot handle
more than one. If the system finds that the desired file already exists
when downloading, the file will be overwritten or you must choose a
different one. An existing file should never be extended. The transport action Upload
works like the transport action Import,
except that the transport dataset is not taken from the transport table
TAQTS, but from a file which is defined in the dialog. The same checks are performed.
Transporting variants of query reports
Although you are already able to create and use query variants, it was
not previously possible to transport them, since query reports are
temporary objects which have different names in the target client. Now,
you can include these variants in the transport dataset and transport them with other objects. To do this, you have to use the
Export and Import procedure. If you use Download and
Upload, variants cannot be transported.
On the initial screen of the transport system, there is a checkbox you
can select to indicate that you are transporting variants. If this is
set, all variants of the queries to be transported are also included in
the transport dataset. This checkbox has only one meaning, if the transport action Export
is set. In all other cases, it is either ignored or reset.
When importing, a variant is only included in the target client if it does not already exist.
When you transport variants, they are also listed in all logs. By
performing a test export, you can thus determine which variants are
included in the transport dataset. By performing a test import, you can
deetermine which variants are actually imported and which ones cannot be imported because they already exist.
Error handling during imports
When importing previously, the processing was always terminated as soon as the first serious error occurred. Now, with imports and uploads, the processing continues with the next object to be imported. There may, however, still be errors in this procedure.
New Features for Language Comparison
New transaction for language comparison
Release 3.0A contains a new transaction (SQ07) for language comparison
of query objects (i.e. user groups, functional areas and queries). This
replaces the three previous transactions (SQ04, SQ05 and SQ06). The new
transaction requires you to have an authorization for the authorization object S_QUERY with the value Translate
(67). This authorization is included in the supplied authorizations S_QUERY_ALL and S_QUERY_UPD.
The old transactions should no longer be used because they cannot handle the new features in Release 3.0A.
On the initial screen of the new transaction, you specify the source
and target languages, the type of the object to be compared and the
object name. Input help is available for this. You start the comparison by pressing ENTER.
The next screen contains an overview of the selected object and includes all sub-objects to which texts have been assigned (e.g.
functional groups, database fields, headers and so on). Before each
sub-object, there is a radio button which provides information about
the state of the sub-object with regard to language comparison. If this
radio button is set, the texts are compared (otherwise not). Whereas you can use the Only differences
function to display just the sub-objects which still need to be adjusted, the All texts
function allows you to display all sub-objects (if they are not all
displayed already). To compare the texts of a sub-object, you must place the cursor on the sub-object and select Choose
. You then see a screen containing the texts for comparison, listed in pairs. The
'older' text of a pair is flagged if the texts have not been compared.
All texts can be overwritten, but it is not possible to delete an existing text.
The Next sub-object
and Previous sub-object functions allow you to display the next or previous sub-object on the screen for
comparison without having to return to the list of sub-objects and make another choice. To go back to the list, you can use the
Close function.
You must save the result of a language comparison before leaving the transaction.
When upgrading to Release 3.0A, you do not have to follow any procedure
to convert existing queries, functional areas and user groups. All the
necessary steps are performed automatically by ABAP/4 Query the first
time you use the objects in the new Release. However, conversions are required for headers, since the handling of these has changed
considerably since earlier Releases.
The conversion of headers is performed in such a way that the layout of
each list is retained. Standard headers become column headers. Headers
which do not conform to the standard format become fixed header lines.
With statistics and ranked lists, an underscore is inserted in the header area if you use your own headers.
The color attribute Key now has an additional meaning. Fields with this attribute are key columns and cannot be shifted horizontally when you scroll the display. This is particularly important with statistics and ranked lists where all non-numeric fields automatically have this color attribute and it is not possible to make any changes.
All the new options for defining queries, together with the relevant messages, are described in detail in the online documentation.