Data Extraction (SAP Library - Data Retention Tool (DART) (CA-GTF-DRT))

Data Extraction

Use

The data extraction utility extracts data from the R/3 applications you specify, and creates sequential files containing transaction and master data from these applications, as shown in the following illustration:

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text

DART’s default settings allow you to select data for extraction from many R/3 components. DART uses Financial Accounting (FI) documents as its starting point, allowing you to extract data from the following related documents:

Controlling (CO) documents that are affected by the extracted FI documents
Source documents from the Material Management (MM), and Sales and Distribution (SD) components

You can also extract data from Asset Accounting (FI-AA) documents for a certain year, period, company code, and depreciation area.

When configuring DART, you can specify additional source tables and fields from which data can be extracted when using DART.

Integration

To extract data that has been archived with the R/3 Archive Development Kit (ADK), you must first retrieve the data from archive.

Once you extract the data, you can use the DART Extract Browser utility to view the sequential file.

The following illustration shows the relationship between the Archive Retrieval, Data Extract, and Extract Browser utilities:

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text

Although the sequential files containing the extracted data are in a text format, they are not meant for direct reading with a text editor or a spreadsheet program. We recommend that you use the Extract Browser tool to view data in the extract.

Another way to view the data is by creating views, and then viewing data on the screen or saving it into a file. Views have the following advantages:

They limit the amount of data that is displayed.

They combine related data, such as data that belongs to a particular FI document.

The text file resulting from saving a view is in a format more suitable for reading directly, or importing into other applications.

Features

The data extraction utility:

Converts numeric fields to characters

Can compress data when creating the sequential file by ignoring trailing blanks (blanks at the end of the data in a field) in the source data

Can include checksums for each of the segments included in the extract
These checksums allow you to verify the integrity of the sequential file.

Can include control totals for data extracted from FI or other applications
These control total values allow you to verify that the correct data had been extracted, or that data had not changed in the database since an extraction.