Restrictable Characteristics (SAP Library - Variant Configuration (LO-VC))

Restrictable Characteristics

Use

Restrictable characteristics let you manipulate the allowed values of characteristics. If the allowed values of a characteristic depend on the values assigned to other characteristics, you can use restrictable characteristics to ensure that you only see the values that are really allowed, so that your configuration is consistent.

Example

The frame height is dependent on whether it is a men’s or a women’s bicycle. You can restrict the range of values for the characteristic FRAME_HEIGHT to the allowed values.

MODEL	TYPE	FRAME_HEIGHT
Trekking	Women	48, 53
Trekking	Men	48, 53
Mountain	Women	46, 50, 53, 57
Mountain	Men	50, 54, 58
Racing	Women	46, 49, 53, 57
Racing	Men	49, 53, 57, 61, 64

Caution

Restrictable characteristics can have an adverse effect on system performance. For this reason, use them with caution.

As an alternative to restrictable characteristics, you can use preconditions to restrict the allowed values of a characteristic.

Prerequisites

The characteristic has the attribute Restrictable in its formatting data.

The configuration editor does not show restrictable characteristics as different to other characteristics. For this reason, it is useful to give restrictable characteristics a special name or description to show that they are restrictable.

Features

You can only restrict restrictable characteristics by using constraints.

Restrictable characteristics are handled in the same way as single-value characteristics in all other dependency types:

If characteristic MODEL is restrictable, the condition SPECIFIED MODEL is only fulfilled if the allowed values for characteristic MODEL have been restricted to exactly one value.
In the equation MODEL = ‘Racing’, only the value ‘Racing’ can be assigned to the characteristic. The dependency is processed when the allowed values are restricted to ‘Racing’.
The condition MODEL IN (‘Racing’, ‘Trekking’) is fulfilled if one of these values is assigned to the characteristic.