Defining a View (SAP Library - Data Retention Tool (DART) (CA-GTF-DRT))

Defining a View

Prerequisites

The segments included in a view must exist before you define the view. If you are creating a view based on customer-defined segments, then first create those segments.

Procedure

Changing an Existing View

From the main DART menu choose Configuration ® Define extract views.

Enter the name of the view you wish to change.

Select a Sub-object to edit: segments, fields, or attributes.

Choose Change.

Follow the steps listed below in Specifying the Segments Used in the View.

Creating a New View

From the main DART menu choose Configuration ® Define data extract views.

Enter a name for the view.

Choose Data segments to go to the Data view definition: Data segments screen.

Choose Create.

You branch to the Data view definition: Data segments screen.

Use the icon Attributes to branch to the Data view definition: Attributes screen.

Follow the steps listed below in Specifying the Segments Used in the View.

Specifying the Segments Used in the View

From the main DART menu choose Configuration ® Define data extract views.

Select the required view

Choose Data segments to go to the Data view definition: Data segments screen.

Choose Change.

You branch to the Data view definition: Data segments screen. When creating the view report, the system by default accesses the segment in the order they are listed on this screen. If you wish to change the access sequence, that is, if you wish to make the system access the segments in a different order, then you can enter a sequence number at the Nr. Field. To make the system access a segment first, enter a 1 next to it, to make the system access a segment second, enter a 2 next to it, and so on.

Choose Enter.

The system fills in the description of the segments you have entered.

Specifying Join Conditions for the View

In the Data view definition: Data segments screen:

You can include the default join conditions for the segments included in the view. These are the join conditions that are the most relevant when combining data records from the segments you have included in the view.

For example, to create a view combining the data of an FI document header with an FI document line item, you include the SAP-provided segments TXW_FI_HD and TXW_FI_POS. The default join conditions for combining these two segments are those that are based on the same document number, company code, and posting period. Together these join conditions ensure that the view shows data that belongs to the same FI document.

To include the entire list of default join conditions in the view, choose Insert default join conditions.

You may specify additional join conditions to include in the view. To do so, choose Select join condition.

The system lists all the possible join conditions between all the segments you have included in the view. It assumes that there can be a join condition between two segments if either the field names, the data elements, or the domains of these fields are the same in the two segments.

The system lists all the possible join conditions between every pair of segments. If you include segments A, B, and C, the system looks for all possible join conditions between A and B, A and C, and B and C.

Not all of the potential join conditions are useful or relevant to the type of data you wish to include in the view.

Select the join conditions that are relevant for the view by checking the box next to that join condition. You may decide that no additional join conditions are needed for the view.

If you wish to define the join conditions for the view as outer joins, then select Outer join. (See Join Condition)

Specifying Additional Selection Conditions for Filtering Records

In the Data view definition: Data segments screen:

You may specify additional selection conditions, to filter the data included in the view report. For example, you may wish to retrieve only documents of certain document type. To do so:

Enter the name of the segment for which you wish to create the selection condition. If you use the possible entries arrow, the system lists the segments you have included in the view, and you can select from those.
Enter the name of the field whose contents is checked by the selection condition. If you use the possible entries arrow, the system lists all the fields of the segment you have selected, and you can select from those.
In the Rel. field enter the relational operator to use for the condition. If you leave this field blank, the system uses the "equal to" relational operator.
Enter a value to compare to in the condition.

If you use the IN operator, then enter the name of the set to search in. You can define sets through the Environment menu item.

Choose Enter to verify the values you have entered.

Note

Setting conditions on amount fields is also supported. Enter amounts in dollars and cents without formatting characters, for example 10000.00. The positive or negative sign is ignored (i.e. negative numbers are treated as positive). If only positive or negative amounts should be selected, add a condition for the debit/credit indicator if available.

Specifying the Fields to Include in the View Report

In the Data view definition: Data segments screen:

Choose View fields to specify which fields to include in the view report.

If the segments in the view contain a company code and a posting period, these fields are included by default in the view report. You need to list any additional fields you wish to include in the view report:

At the Segment column, enter the name of the segment that contains the desired field. If you use the possible entries arrow, the system lists the segments you have included in the view, and you can select from those.

Enter the name of the field to include in the report. If you use the possible entries arrow, the system lists the field in the segment specified on that line, and you can select from those.

You can add multiple fields from the same segment at the same time, by choosing Select Fields, selecting the segment name, and then checking the box next to the fields you wish to include in the report.

To allow the user who views the report to specify selection criteria for a field in the view when executing the report, check the Sel. Field box next to that field.

To calculate and display totals for a selected field in the view report, check the Total box.

In the same manner, you can include group subtotals for a field in a view by checking the Group box.

To arrange the columns in the view report as seen by the user, enter numbers at the Nr. fields.

Checking and Saving the Definition of the View

Choose Check to verify the integrity of the view before saving its definition.

Choose Save to save the definition of the view.

If you have added join conditions to the view other than the default join conditions, then the Save default join condition dialog appears.

Specify whether to save any join condition, which you have added to the view, as a default join condition for any other view.

If you choose Yes, then any new view using the pair of segments combined by this join condition will include that join condition by default. You can delete such a condition from the segment configuration.