A variant key is a key for a customizing object. A variant of a customizing object consists of the combination: variant key + customizing object. Each key is unique for a given attribute bundle type (for example, CL_CU_VALUES) and for a given port.

You can use a variant key to save several customizing bundles belonging to the same class at the same port.

You have two curves, one showing the age of an employee and the other indicating how long the employee has worked at a company. To give these curves a different appearance the application assigns them different customizing bundles. The variant keys are used to distinguish between the two curves.

Variants of customizing objects for a data series can be defined for the port drawing area. The keys for them are in the data container under Group Reference ID.

Variants of customizing objects for points can be defined for the port drawing area. The keys for them are in the data container under Object Reference ID.

The application assigns a customizing bundle to a port in a graphics proxy using the method ADD_CU_BUNDLE in the interface IF_GRAPHIC_PROXY. This method has a parameter KEY with the text for the variant key. The same key must be used when filling the data container!