Report Groups (SAP Library

Report Groups

Use

Before you can output reports, they must be assigned to a report group. With a report group, you can group together reports from one library that use similar data but present it in different forms. The database selections from all the reports in a report group are collated, thus avoiding the necessity multiple selections. This improves processing times.

It is appropriate to assign reports to a report group when the reports evaluate essentially the same data. This is because the data is only read once and then distributed to the individual reports.

Integration

In order to output a report, you must have assigned it to a report group. Reports that contain the same characteristics and access the same data are contained in one report group. This speeds up processing because the report data is only selected once for all reports and not for each report individually. Once the report group has been generated the data is selected from the database and can be output.

Prerequisites

To process reports in a report group, they must be assigned to the same library.

Features

Once you have created a report you have to create a report group for this report or assign the report to an existing report group. A report group can contain one or more reports. When reports use the same characteristics and share the same data, data is selected faster and processing time is quicker since report data is only selected once for all reports within a report group.

The reports in a report group are executed at the same time, so that in the report display you can switch between the individual reports.

The report group name has four characters. As a rule the report group name matches the first four characters of the reports assigned to it. The characters are limited to letters from A to Z, numbers from 0 to 9, and two special characters (- and _).

A number of ABAP programs are generated when a report group is created:

Program for processing the initial screen
Program for selecting (reading) the data
Program to output the selected data
Program for multiple selection (multiple selection and output for different input data – only if the corresponding indicator is selected)

There are four ways to determine the name of the ABAP program for your report group:

On the selection screen, choose Environment ® Technical information
On the list output, choose Extras ® Technical information
Transaction GRPE
Function module G_PROGRAMME_NAME

If a set definition or report definition is changed after the report group is generated, the report group will be regenerated at the time of the next selection unless this function is explicitly switched off in the report group definition.

Activities

To create a report group, proceed as follows:

Create the report group.

Specify which reports the report group is to contain. For more information on creating a report group, see Creating a Report Group and Creating a Report Group from the Report Definition.

You can also change the texts that appear on the selection screen when you execute the report group. For more information, see Report Group Execution, Executing a Report Group, and Executing a Report Group in the Background.

Generate the report group.

For more information on generating a report group, see Generating a Report Group and Generating Report Groups (Mass Generator). The report group was generated successfully if there are no errors in the report group.

Select the data for the report group.

The system selects the data that appears in the reports defined in the report group.

Display or print the reports in the report group.

The system edits and formats the data that has been selected for the report group and then presents the report group's reports in the output medium requested (online, printer, spool file, external file, and so on). For more information on displaying a report group, see Displaying a Report Group. For information on printing, see Functions in the Report Output.

If you want to display a new report, you must add the report to an existing report group or create a new report group that contains the report.

If you output a report that has been changed, you only need to regenerate the report group and select and display report data. The report group does not need to be redefined.

Suppose you change the set used as a row block in report TD-ASSETS. You must regenerate the report group, select the report data, and display the report. You do not need to change the report or the report group.