Reference Characteristics Reference characteristics are characteristics that refer to table fields.
Characteristics such as basic material and weight are already defined in the material master record. However, it is often precisely these fields that you require to classify your objects. If you create a characteristic that refers to a master data table in the ABAP Dictionary, you do not need to enter values redundantly - once in the
Basic material
field in the object maintenance function and once by assigning a value to characteristic
Basic_material
in the classification function. Essential data (such as format and length) is copied from the table field in the ABAP Dictionary to the characteristic. Characteristics that refer to a master data field in this way are called
reference characteristics
in the SAP system.
Example
You create a reference characteristic with reference to table MARA (material master) and field
Basic material
. You assign this characteristic to a class. When you use this class to classify a material, you cannot enter a value for reference characteristic BASIC_MATERIAL. The value for the basic material that was entered in the material master record – copper, for example – is copied.
