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Specify Characteristics for System Messages

In this IMG activity, you configure two basic aspects of how the system behaves in the area of system messages:

• The system reaction (E, W or I message) in certain situations that are characterized by the output of system messages:
  The system reacts in a restrictive way when the message category is 'E'. This means that in the case of message type 'E', the system as a rule does not create an item or a document, for instance.

• Including error messages in the log for collective delivery processing:
  Writing messages to the log depends both on the message category and (in the case of message category 'I') an additional setting. This additional setting is made in Punkt 'Include message 'I' in collective processing log'.

You can also make a further distinctions for the work mode:

• Call type

• Work phase

The work mode consists of a combination of application, call type, and work phase.

Definition of Message Category

The maximum possible message category is predefined by SAP. For this reason some error messages only have a limited selection of message catogories that can be set. Use F4 Help to find the maximum possible message category from the sequence 'E', 'W', 'I', ' '.

Maintenance can be performed on a generic basis. Leaving an entry balnk is always accepted by the system. When determining the required message category, the system will always choose the entry with the highest levek of specialization out of all the suitable entries in Customizing.

In an extreme case, you could enter the following:

Appl.  Call type  Work phase Appl. area     MesNo.     Category

'L '   '   '      '   '        '   '        '   '         'I'

and all controllable error messages would be converted to the category 'I'.

If you entered an additional row:

'L '   '   '      '   '        'VL '        '062'         ' '

This would cause message 062 never to be issued.
(Cat. = ' ') because this row contains more specific information than the row considered up till now. The systm considers this row as more highly specialized because it contains a suitable entry that is not ' ' further to the right.

Accordingly, you could then specify that in reference mode (Copy order), message Vl062 should rather be issued as an error message:

'L '   '   '      ' A '        'VL '       '062'         'E'

In copy mode, this row has priority over the previous row, because here too there is a suitable entry further to the right that is not ' ' : the'A' for work phase = 'copy mode'.

Example

For the work modes 'L' 'B' 'A' and 'L' 'A' 'A' (Create delivery items with reference to a preceding document) you can make a setting so that an item is created and the system only reacts by wrting a note in the log (MesCat = 'I' ), if the delivery quantitiy is not suitable for the increment from the material master:

Appl.  Call type  Work phase Appl. area     MesNo.     Category

'L '    '   '        ' A '        'VL '     '364'         'I'

Call type = ' ' is thefore a kind of joker/wildcard for 'A' and 'B'.

For the work mode 'L' 'A' (Dialog), you can use a second row to make a setting so that the system reacts to the situation by issuing an error message. It would only be possible to change the delivery quantity when the increment is kept to.

'L '   ' A '      '   '        'VL '       '364'         'E'

In copy mode, a more specific entry is always found for MesCat = 'I' due to work phase = 'A'. In dialog, the second entry is found. No entry is found for background processing where copying does not take place ( 'L' 'B' 'B' ). The message type is then the same as in earlier release levels without controllable error message, i.e. a predefined default value, in this example: 'W'.

Recommendation

SAP recommends that you adopt the following strategy when you make settings:

• First decide which messages should have category 'E' and in which situations.

• Switch on the inclusion of messages of category 'I' in the collective processing log for all shipping points. This setting forms the basis for the inclusion of all (and not only the controllable) messages of category 'I' in the collective processing log.

• Assign message category ' ' to messages that you do not wish to be included in the collective processing log.