Object Variables (SAP Library - Variant Configuration (LO-VC))

Object Variables

You use object variables in a multi-level configuration, to describe configurable materials in a configuration structure.

You can use the following object variables:

$ROOT is the highest-level configurable material in a configuration
$SELF is the material to which the dependency is allocated

The material to which an action or procedure is allocated is the same material for which values are inferred by the action or procedure. To make it clear that actions and procedures only infer values for materials to which they are allocated, the characteristics are preceded by the variable $SELF.

In dependencies that are allocated directly to the header material, $SELF and $ROOT both mean the header material.

$PARENT refers to the object immediately above $SELF in a multi-level configuration.

The variable $PARENT has no meaning for the header material, because the header material has no superior materials.

In dependencies that are allocated to BOM items, $PARENT refers to the configurable material for which the BOM was created, whereas $SELF refers to the material of the BOM item.

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text

Note

There is no variable for describing objects between the configurable material and the immediately superior material. This means that material PC cannot be accessed from materials TOWER, DESKTOP, and SPEAKER.

However, in a multi-level, interactive configuration $ROOT may refer to two different objects:

If the BOM is exploded in production, $ROOT always refers to the material that transfers requirements.
If the BOM is relevant to sales and distribution, $ROOT always refers to the header material.