Creating Data Elements 

Procedure

  1. Select the object class Data element in the initial screen of the ABAP Dictionary, enter the object name and choose Create.

    2. The maintenance screen for data elements appears.

  2. Enter an explanatory short text in the field Short text.

    3. The short text appears in the F1 help for all the screen fields referring to this data element.

  3. Enter the name of the domain assigned to the data element in the field Domain name. You can enter the name of a new domain or of one that already exists.

    4. If the domain is new, a message to that effect is displayed. You can create the domain by selecting the field Domain name in the domain maintenance screen (see Creating Domains).

  4. Maintain the field label (short, medium, long field labels and the header).

    5. If you do not wish to maintain the field labels, you can switch off the flag Maintain field labels. However, it does not make sense to do this if data elements are used in screens. Once you have switched off the flag and saved the data element, the field labels disappear from the screen.

    If at a later time you decide that you would like to maintain the field labels after all, you can set the flag Maintain field labels again. After choosing Enter, the field labels will reappear.

  5. Save the data element if you do not wish to make any of the optional settings described below.

    6. You are asked to assign the data element a development class.

  6. Activate the data element.

You can find information on the activation process in the activation log. To display this log, choose Utilities ® Activation log. If errors occurred when activating the data element, the activation log is automatically displayed.

Other Options

Creating Documentation

You can describe the meaning of the data element with Goto ® Documentation.

The documentation created here is displayed in all screen fields referring to this data element when the F1 help is called. You should therefore only leave out this step if the data element does not appear in a screen template. In this case you should set the documentation status appropriately.

You can also enter additional screen-specific documentation ( data element supplements) that are only linked to a specific field of a screen. Choose Extras ® DE supplement docu. A dialog box appears in which you must assign the supplement a four-character name.

Assigning a Search Help

You can assign the data element a search help (see Search Helps). This search help is offered in all the screen fields referring to this data element when the input help (F4 help) is chosen.

Choose Goto ® Search help. A dialog box appears in which you must enter the name of the attached search help and the suitable parameters for this search help (see Attaching Search Helps to Data Elements).

Making a Proposal for Field Names

You can make a proposal for the names of the fields referring to this data element. Choose Extras ® Default field name.

A dialog box appears in which you can enter the proposal. It makes sense to assign a proposal for the field name for data elements that are used in BAPI structures (structures with a defined interface).

Parameter IDs

You can define a parameter identification with which proposals can be defined for a field in the user master record. Fields marked in this way are filled throughout several screens with a value that the user entered in the first screen. A corresponding attribute must be assigned to the field when the template is defined with the Screen Painter.

If a user only has authorization for company code 001, the system can automatically fill the fields displaying the company code with the value 001. In this case, the corresponding parameter ID must be only entered in the data element for the company code.

Change Document

The data of a business-oriented object is often distributed on several tables. To be able to trace changes to this business object, the tables for the object can be combined in a Change document object. Function modules that can be integrated in the corresponding application programs and that log the changes are generated from such a change document object.

Only the changed fields that refer to a data element for which the Change document flag is set are logged.

You can find further information in Change Documents.