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Function documentationTransfer of Problems and Solutions from External Sources

 

If you have an existing knowledge base for handling technical problems and customer inquiries, you can use the external interface (XIF) for a mass transfer of this information to the Solution Database (SDB). For example, the existing knowledge base could be a legacy knowledge application or office-type application.

For technical information on the external interface for the SDB, see the documentation for the following function modules:

  • CRMXIF_SYMPTOM_SAVE

  • CRMXIF_SOLUTION_SAVE

Prerequisites

You have defined all field values, except date, time, user ID, legacy problem ID, and legacy solution ID in the SAP CRM system Customizing for Solution Database.

Note Note

The legacy problem ID and legacy solution ID are the keys used to uniquely identify the problem or solution in the legacy system.

End of the note.

The data you have defined in Customizing for the Solution Database is consistent, for example:

  • The problem subtype that you specify when creating a problem of a given problem type is allowed for that problem type in Define Problem Subtypes for Each Problem Type.

  • The solution subtype that you specify when creating a solution of a given solution type is allowed for that solution type in Define Solution Subtypes for Each Solution Type.

  • The catalog that you specify when creating a problem or solution of a given type, is allowed for that problem or solution type in Define Problem Types and Define Solution Types respectively.

In the SAP CRM system, you have created the business objects that you want to assign to problems or solutions.

You have configured the SAP CRM system to allow these types of business objects to be assigned to problems of a given problem type and to solutions. You can check this in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management, by choosing Start of the navigation path Enterprise Intelligence Next navigation step Solution Database End of the navigation path:

  • Start of the navigation path Problems Next navigation step Define Business Object Types End of the navigation path

  • Start of the navigation path Solutions Next navigation step Define Business Object Types End of the navigation path

If data does not exist or is inconsistent, the problem or solution is not created. Instead, the system returns an error message.

Activities

Compiling the Solution Database

Compile the SDB index after transferring problems and solutions to the SDB, or after deleting problems and solutions from the SDB. For more information, see Knowledge Base Compilation.

Listing the Transferred Problems and Solutions by Legacy ID

After you transfer the problems and solutions to the SDB, you can list the transferred problems and solutions by their legacy ID with the CRM_SDB_LIST_IMP_SYMPTOMS and CRM_SDB_LIST_IMP_SOLUTIONS programs. The list contains:

  • Problem number or solution number in the SDB

  • Status (created or released)

  • Description

  • Legacy ID

By double-clicking a problem or solution in the list, you can display the problem details or solution details in the SDB.

Displaying the Legacy ID in SAP GUI

You can display the legacy ID in SAP GUI, while maintaining a problem or solution in the SDB by choosing Start of the navigation path Goto Next navigation step Administrative Data Next navigation step Problem Admin. End of the navigation path or Solution Admin. The legacy ID is only displayed if the problem or solution was transferred from a legacy system.