Approving Batch Records (PP-PI) 
Use
You can use this procedure to approve a batch record. The approval procedure may vary between materials and plants. Depending on your Customizing settings, you have the following options:
- The batch record is approved by one
digital signature or a
signature strategy.
- You use the user signature or system signature as your
signature method.
- The system automatically performs a deviation analysis before the approval. You can then check the batch record based on this analysis. The results of this deviation analysis can be archived automatically or after a confirmation prompt.
- The system automatically archives the batch record before the approval.
See also:
Approval Using Digital SignaturesPrerequisites
In Customizing for Batch Records, you have specified which of the above approval procedures applies to the material in question in your plant.
- If you use the user signature as your signature method, you need an external security product that is linked to your SAP System using the basis component
Secure Store and Forward (SSF).
- If your Customizing settings specify that your batch records are archived during approval, the prerequisites described in
Optically Archiving Batch Records apply.
If your batch records are not archived during approval, they must have been archived already (see
Optically Archiving Batch Records). Batch records that have status Partially archived cannot be approved.
You have logged on to the system under your own user name. This name is set as the signatory name during approval. You cannot overwrite the signatory name.
- An output device has been defined on the Defaults tab page in your user profile.
Procedure
Choose Logistics
®
Materials Management
®
Material Master
®
Batch
®
<Activity>
®
Environment
®
Batch record.Specify the following criteria for the creation of a worklist:
- Selection criteria for selecting batches
- The activity Approving
- The display option you want to use for the overview tree
- Choose
.
The system creates a worklist containing the batch records that match your selection criteria and meet the requirements for approval. The batches are displayed in an overview tree together with their versions, the relevant R/3 objects, archived documents, attachments, comments, and signatures.
The R/3 objects themselves are not part of the batch record. They have only been included in the overview tree to facilitate the navigation to the source objects of the archived documents.
If not all batch records within the selection range have been included in the worklist for some reason, the 
Selection log pushbutton is activated. This means that a selection log exists. Evaluate the selection log if required (see
Evaluating Selection Logs).
- To approve a batch record, switch to the change mode first. To do so, select the relevant batch, and choose
.
The current version of the batch record appears. You can use the following functions available in the context menus of the overview tree as a basis for approval (see
Displaying and Printing Batch Records):
- Displaying header data for the version
You can use this function, for example, to find out if deviations occurred during batch processing.
- Displaying and printing archive files
You can use this function, for example, to check the Deviations document or to look up further details on the individual deviations in the other documents.
- Displaying R/3 objects of the batch record
- Displaying the batch where-used list
- Choose
Approve.
If the system performs a deviation analysis and detects deviations, a dialog box containing the Deviations document appears.
If not, the dialog box for the digital signature or signature strategy appears.
- Check the Deviations document if required and specify whether you want to archive it or not.
- If you want to approve the batch record despite the deviations, choose Continue approval.
- Approve the batch record by executing your signature or carrying out the required signature strategy.
Executing Digital Signatures
Executing Signature Strategies