Direct Input
For large numbers of legacy assets (refer to
Legacy Data Transfer), you can choose the direct input procedure (direct data import) as an alternative to the batch input procedure. In contrast to batch input, direct data import writes legacy data directly to the respective tables. In comparison to the transfer using batch input, this makes it possible to increase performance by at least 10 times.
Constraints
Both procedures for legacy data transfer accept the same input structure. However, there are certain restrictions that apply to direct data import:
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The transfer date has to be the end of the previous fiscal year or come after the end of the previous fiscal year. In addition, a fiscal year change cannot have been carried out in the current fiscal year. This means that only the current fiscal year is open for posting in the R/3 System, but no previous or future fiscal years can be open.Example: The current fiscal year is 1999. The transfer date has to be December 31, 1998 or a date in the year 1999. As long as you are still transferring legacy data, you cannot carry out a fiscal year change to the year 2000.
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All value fields are allowed to contain only one decimal point, and all blank spaces must be filled with zeros. This makes it possible to avoid time-consuming data checks and conversions.·
The depreciation start date must be entered.·
It is imperative to carry out a preliminary sort of the transfer records according to the key for input structure BALTD before a test run or an update run.Consistency Checks
The following important consistency checks are carried out during direct data import:
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Valid capitalization date: The capitalization date has to be before the transfer date.·
The system checks for the existence of the asset class and the master data specifications related to account assignment (such as, cost center, business area).·
If the Cost center and Business area fields are defined as required fields in the screen layout, but no values are transferred for these fields, the program does not transfer these assets. Instead the program writes them to an error file (see below).The screen layout control is taken into account dependent on the maintenance level. If there are fields that are suppressed according to the screen layout, but should nonetheless be supplied with contents from the input structure, this does not lead to an error. However, the system ignores these values. The asset is also transferred if there are conflicts with the default values from the asset class. Records from the input file are only rejected if records would be duplicated in the data base, or if there are obvious errors in the key in the structure of the record.
The direct data import also ensures that the essential checks for Asset Accounting are carried out. In comparison to the batch input procedure, the checks that are omitted in direct data import for performance reasons are relatively unimportant (for example, the existence of evaluation groups). It is particularly important to note that no loss of data can occur when you use direct data import.
Therefore, it is recommended that you carry out sample checks of the input file using the batch input transfer procedure, to check for the correct record structure and logic. After this check, you can use direct data import.
You can still carry out your own expanded checks (for example, for the validity of evaluation groups) using customer enhancement ALTD0001 (refer to "Develop Enhancement for Direct Data Import").
Field Formats
When you use the direct data import, no conversion takes place; that is, the system accepts all input data without any further checks. The R/3 System normally converts entries for certain fields at the time of the online entry. During the direct data import, the system does not convert these entries as it does when you transfer using batch input. Therefore it is important that you supply the data in the correct format.
You can generate a list of all fields for which conversion takes place during online entry. Follow the procedure below:
The list shows the fields that are converted when online input is used, and also shows the conversion routine. For the data import, you have to supply the fields in the target format of the conversion routine being used.
Important: The R/3 fields that use alpha conversion (such as cost center) have to be provided with leading zeros, if the strings being transferred are numerical only. For example, cost center 4711 has to be transferred as 0000004711.
Format Restrictions
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The following restrictions apply to amount fields:– Amount fields can contain only the numbers 0 to 9, comma separator (for thousands), decimal point, and negative sign.
– Always enter the decimal places.
– Do not enter positive signs. Enter negative signs at the end of the number (on the far right).
You can generate a list of the amount fields by using the procedure above and making some changes. Use the selection option DATATYP = CURR. Remove the CONVEXIT is not equal to blank selection.
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The following restrictions apply to quantity units:When entering quantity units, you have to use the internal format (for example, ST for unit). Do not use a language-specific name. You can generate a list of the internal quantity units using the Data Browser for table T006.
Refer to:
For general information on the direct input procedure, see Cross Application Components ® The Data Transfer Workbench ®
Data Transfer Techniques.