Changing Types 

Procedure

  1. In the initial screen of the ABAP Dictionary, select the suitable object type (Data element, Structure, Table type) and enter the name of the type.
  2. Choose Change.

The maintenance screen of the object is displayed.

Remarks on Changing Types

This section describes what you should take into consideration when changing existing types (data elements, structures, table types).

When making changes to existing types, keep in mind that any number of dependent objects (tables, structures, programs) may be affected. You can find out what effect a change has by choosing Utilities ® Where-used list.

Changing the Domain of a Data Element

You can change the domain that is assigned to the data element simply by overwriting the entry in the field Domain.

If you change the domain, all the table fields that refer to this data element will be affected. If the data type, field length or number of decimal places of the new domain differ to those of the old domain, conversion may be necessary for tables in which a field refers to the data element.

Before changing the domain, find out what effect this could have by checking whether the data element is used in tables with Utilities ® Where-used list.

Changing the Field Label of a Data Element

The field labels are used to display fields in a screen template. The flag Maintain field labels allows you to switch maintenance of field labels on and off. Customer changes to the text of an SAP standard data element are supported by the Modification Assistant.

If field labels were already maintained and the flag is reset, the field labels are deleted and a warning is issued.