Define Access Sequences (SAP Library

Define Access Sequences

You define access sequences in this IMG step.

The access sequence is a search strategy which the SAP System uses to search for condition records valid for a condition type.

For example, you can define for a price that the SAP System first searches for a customer-specific price and then for a price list price.

Recommendation

If you define your own access sequences, the key should start with the letter Z since SAP reserves this letter for the standard system.

Do not change access sequences contained in the standard SAP R/3 System.

Actions

1. Check to what extent you can use the access sequences contained in the standard SAP R/3 System.

2. Create new access sequences by copying a similar access sequence and changing it according to your needs. Specify an alphanumeric key which may have up to 4 digits and a textual description.

3. Maintain the accesses for the access sequence by specifying the condition tables in the desired sequence. With the sequence, you define the priority of the accesses. You can display combinations of key fields using possible entries.

4. Generating the accesses is no longer necessary as of 3.0, as this is carried out automatically. You can generate the accesses manually, if required, by choosing "Utilities".

Improved performance by using prestep for accesses.

To improve performance, you can optimize the accesses to a condition type by having the system carry out a prestep:

You use the prestep to determine whether the system should first only search for condition records using the document header data. If the search is unsuccessful, then this access is not used to search from the individual items.

The prestep can only be used for accesses with header and item data.

The greater the average number of items in a document, the more useful prestep becomes.

The less likely it is that you will find a valid condition record, the more useful it is to use prestep (see the following example).

Example

In pricing, you use a customer-material discount. The condition records you create are based on customer data from the document header and material data from each document item. The discount is only valid for 2% of your customers, however. Normally, this would mean that the system would needlessly search through every available item for 98% of your customers. In this case, prestep would improve system performance.