When you use the Archiving function, the R/3 System transfers the data that is no longer required in your online system to an archive file and deletes this data once it has been successfully archived in the file.

You need to archive data if you want to reduce the load on your system’s memory and improve processing times. When you no longer need to access certain data but nevertheless want to keep the data available for possible use in the future, you can archive the data. When you use the archiving function, data is transferred from the Special Purpose Ledger (FI-SL) databases to a sequential file and then deleted from the online system. If necessary, you can retrieve the archived data from the archive files by reloading it into your system.

In FI-SL, you can archive and reload the following:

• Summary records

• Line items

You can archive and delete data that you no longer require in your online system. The standard system archiving programs process and store this data in sequential archive files (such as a UNIX file).

Archiving is performed in two steps. The archiving program first selects the data to be archived from the database and transfers it into the archive files. It then starts a delete program for each archive file. The delete program reads the data from the files and then deletes it from the database. This two-step procedure improves processing time and ensures that the data has been read and stored before being deleted from the database. This maintains the integrity of your data.

The archive program does the following:

• Selects and reads data from the database.

• Checks whether the data can be archived

• Transfers and saves the data in archive files

• Starts the delete programs

The delete program does the following:

• Reads the archived data

• Deletes the data in the database

• Transfers the archive files to an external archive system using an archive link

You can display a hierarchical listing of all FI-SL tables for which you can archive data records by choosing Periodic processing > Archiving > Hierarchy on the Special Purpose Ledger screen.

In archive reporting, you can execute reports that evaluate archived data and/or database data. You access archive reporting by choosing Periodic processing > Archiving > Archive reporting from the Special Purpose Ledger screen.

SAP provides ABAP report programs for some of the standard tables delivered with the Special Purpose Ledger application component (for example, GLT1, GLS1, GLP1, GLFUNCT, GLFUNCA, GLFUNCP). These generated programs allow you to output summary reports and actual and plan line item reports. In archive reporting, you can execute both these generated programs and the reports contained in report groups that you have created.