Creating Tables 

1. In the initial screen of the ABAP Dictionary, select object class Database table, enter the table name and choose Create.

The maintenance screen for the table is displayed.

2. Enter an explanatory short text in the field Short text.

You can for example find the table at a later time using this short text.

3. On the Attributes tab page, enter the delivery class of the table.

Mark the Table maintenance allowed flag on this tab page if users with the corresponding authorization may change the data in the table using the Data Browser (Transaction SE16). If the data in the table should only be maintained with programs or with the table view maintenance transaction (Transaction SM30), you should not set the flag.

4. On the Fields tab page, enter the table fields. Perform the following steps for each table field:

Enter a name for the table field in the column Fields. The field name may only contain letters, digits and underlining, and it must begin with a letter. A field name may not be longer than 16 characters.

Select the Key column if the field should be part of the table key.

Enter the name of a data element in field Field type. In this case the field takes the data type, length, decimal places and short text from this data element. If there is no suitable data element, you can go to the data element maintenance screen by entering a name and double-clicking.

With Data element/Direct type, you can directly enter the data type, field length, decimal places and short text. Press this key again if you want to enter data elements for further fields.

Only a limited functionality is provided for fields without data elements. No foreign keys or fixed values may be defined for such fields, and there is no F1 help.

You must also define the reference field and reference table on tab page Currency/quantity fields for fields of types CURR (currency) and QUAN (quantity)

You also can include the fields of an existing structure in the table. Note that the field names in the structure may not be longer than 16 places in this case.

5. Maintain the technical settings for the table. The corresponding maintenance screen is displayed with Goto ® Technical settings.

The technical settings are a separate object and can be activated and transported separately from the table.

6. Maintain (if necessary) the foreign key relationships of the table to other tables.

The corresponding maintenance screen is displayed if you place the cursor on the check field and choose .

7. Create (if necessary) secondary indexes for the table.

To do this choose Goto ® Indexes.

8. Save the table.

A dialog box appears in which you have to assign the table a development class.

9. Choose .

During activation, the table and all the indexes on the table are automatically created in the database (if not explicitly excluded when the index was defined). You can display the table definition in the database with Utilities ® Database object ® Display.

At activation, the runtime object for the table is also created. You can display the runtime object with Utilities ® Runtime object ® Display.

You can find information about the activation flow in the activation log, which you can display with Utilities ® Activation log. The activation log is displayed automatically if errors occur when the table is activated.

• Assign a search help to a field: You can assign a search help to a field with Goto ® Search help ® For field. The search help can be used by all screen fields that refer to this field. See Attaching a Search Help to a Table or Structure Field.
• Assign a search help to a table: You can assign a search help to a table with Goto ® Search help ® For table. This search help can be used by all screen fields that are checked against the table. See Attaching a Search Help to a Check Table.
• Create documentation: With Goto ® Documentation you can create a text that describes the use of the table and maintenance of the table data more precisely.
• Assign activation type: With Extras ® Activation type you can assign the table an activation type. This is only relevant for tables in the runtime environment.
• Enter or display data: If you set the Table maintenance allowed flag, you can enter data in the table with Utilities ® Table contents ® Create entries. You can display existing data with Utilities ® Table contents ® Display.

• All the key fields of a table must be stored together at the beginning of the table. A non-key field may not occur between two key fields.
• A maximum of 16 key fields per table is permitted. The maximum length of the table key is 255.
• If the key length is greater than 120, there are restrictions when transporting table entries. The key can only be specified up to a maximum of 120 places in a transport. If the key is larger than 120, table entries must be transported generically.
• A table may not have more than 249 fields. The sum of all field lengths is limited to 1962 (whereby fields with data type LRAW and LCHR are not counted).
• Fields of types LRAW or LCHR must be at the end of the table. Only one such field is allowed per table. There must also be a field of type INT2 directly in front of such a field. The actual length of the field can be entered there by the database interface.

Technical Settings

Indexes

Foreign Keys