Definition of Set Types and Attributes

Set types enable you to model the data required about your products in detail. There are various ways in which set types can be modeled. When a set type is created or changed, the system generates all necessary system objects such as database tables and function groups automatically. Once you have defined a set type in a particular way and it is being used, it cannot simply be changed.

This functionality is designed for those responsible for modeling products in your system.

Features

Set Types

The table below outlines the options available to you when working with set types. Depending on which settings you make, other options may or may not be available:

Set Type	Key Fields	Multiple-Value Attributes	Organizational Dependency
Multiple use	No	Yes	Can be organization-dependent
Multiple use	Yes	No	Can be organization-dependent
No multiple use	No	No	Organization-independent
No multiple use	Yes	No	Organization-independent

Multiple Use

This is a technical setting which does not directly affect the appearance of the set type. It does however influence which other options are available to you and the performance of your system:

By setting the Multiple Use indicator, each data record of a set type is assigned indirectly to a product using an assignment table. This means you could assign the attribute values of a set type to more than one product in future releases. For example, general data such as the units of measure for a product is likely to be the same for several products.
By not setting the Multiple Use indicator, each data record is assigned directly to one product. This is beneficial for performance and data volume, particularly where large numbers of products are expected. If you are expecting a large number of products, and it is not likely that the various data records of a set type will be used by more than one product, you should not set this indicator. For example, the serial number of a technical device will probably not be used by more than one product.

Key Fields

If at least one of the attributes of a set type is designated as a key field several entries can be made for each field of this set type when creating or changing product data. The attributes of the set type are maintained in tabular form.

Set types for which additional key fields are defined are known as multiline set types, whereas single-line set types are those without additional key fields.

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Example: Single-Line Set Type

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Example: Multiline Set Type

Multiple Values

Allows you to assign more than one value to an attribute in the relevant table when creating or changing product data.

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Example: Single-Line Set Type with Multiple-Value Attributes

Organizational Dependency

Allows you to generate set types either dependent on the distribution chain or independent of the distribution chain. This means that the values of all attributes in distribution-chain-dependent set types are specified for a specific sales organization and distribution channel.

Set types designated for multiple use, whether single-line or multiline, can be organization-dependent, whereas set types not designated for multiple use, irrespective of whether they are single-line or multiline, are always organization-independent.

Template-Enabled

Templates allow you to predefine and therefore standardize data for set types. This data is referenced by the set types on the Product page. The templates themselves are defined in Customizing for Cross-Application Components, by choosing Start of the navigation path SAP Product Next navigation step Templates End of the navigation path .

SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence (BI)

To extract an attribute to SAP NetWeaver BI, you set the BW-Relevant indicator. The extraction structure will contain a field for the selected attribute.

By setting the Relevant for BW Selection indicator, you can use this attribute for data selection in SAP NetWeaver BI.

Attributes

Attribute Type

An attribute is defined by either a combination of its data type (for example, integer, character string, or date), its length, and optionally its value range (for example, single values or intervals), or a value table. If you enter a table name, the attribute type and length are filled by the system.

On the Value Range tab page, you can specify either single values or value ranges for the attribute.

Example Example

To describe a monitor, you define the attribute screen diagonal as follows:

Name	ZSCREENDIAGONAL
Description	Screen diagonal
Attribute type	Integer
Length	3
Single values	17, 19, 21

End of the example.

Multiple Values

You can define an attribute with single values or multiple values.

Example Example

You define the attribute Color with the values Red, Green, and Blue. A car can be either red, green, or blue. However, you define the attribute Optional Extras with the values Radio and Sunroof. This is a multiple-value attribute, as a car can have both a radio and a sunroof.

End of the example.

To actually use the attribute as a multiple-value attribute, you must define it as such when assigning it to the set type. This involves setting the Multiple Values indicator.

Note Note

You cannot assign attributes you have defined to the standard set types delivered by SAP.

End of the note.