Action Box

Use

When you process notifications, you can use the action box to execute follow-up functions . A follow-up function is a function that:

Can either be executed as part of an overall business process or independently of such a process
You can select and execute in the action box by means of a mouse click while you are processing a notification or task

Prerequisites

The follow-up functions in the action box are defined in Customizing for Cross-Application Components under Start of the navigation path Notification Next navigation step Notification processing Additional Notification Functions . The follow-up functions that: End of the navigation path

Have been predefined in the standard system can be used without any further preparations
Are displayed in the action box, but which you do not need, can be deleted in Customizing
You have programmed yourself and are to be included in the action box must also be defined in Customizing

Features

The following table contains the most important information you need to know about setting up and using the action box.

Function	What you should know
Appearance of the action box	In the standard system, the action box is displayed as an overview tree. In this display mode, the follow-up functions are displayed in a list in different colors. The colors have the following meaning: Blue: The follow-up function is active and can be executed. Black: The follow-up function is inactive and cannot be executed (yet). Gray : The follow-up function has been executed and cannot be executed again. If you set the Action box: Table indicator in the user default values, the system displays the action box as a table. In this mode, the system only displays the follow-up functions that can be executed (without the color coding).
Follow-up functions and dependent follow-up functions	Depending on your settings in Customizing, the action box can include follow-up functions that you: Can execute more than once and independently of other follow-up functions in the action box Can execute only once and/or after certain other follow-up functions have been executed (for example, follow-up functions within a process)
Control parameters for a follow-up function	In Customizing, you can specify: In which processing view a follow-up function will be displayed for use (for example, in the simplified or extended notification processing modes) In which transactions a follow-up function will be displayed for use (for example, in the create or change mode) Whether a follow-up function will be displayed for use in the transactions for notification processing and/or task processing Whether a follow-up function will be documented as a task or activity in the notification, or whether it will not be documented at all That all follow-up functions documented as tasks or activities will be available for use in the action box when you create or change a notification The follow-up functions that are not documented will also be available for use in the action box when you display a notification
Assigning follow-up functions to scenarios	In addition to assigning follow-up functions to a notification type, you can also assign them to a scenario. For example, if you are processing a notification that has a scenario assigned to it, the action box will contain follow-up functions that are assigned to the notification type, as well as those that are assigned to the scenario.
Standard follow-up functions	The action box contains several follow-up functions that have been predefined in Customizing. For more information about these functions, see Standard Follow-Up Functions .
Business transactions	In Customizing, you can assign a business transaction to a follow-up function. A business transaction determines whether a follow-up function can be executed, based on the current status of a notification.
Authorization check	Each follow-up function that is documented as a task or activity is assigned a code group in Customizing. When you process a notification, the system automatically checks whether you are authorized to access the code groups assigned to the various follow-up functions. If you do not have authorization for a particular code group, the corresponding follow-up function will not appear in the action box. This means that you can only use the follow-up functions for which you have authorization.
Workflow link	You can link follow-up functions that are documented as tasks to the functions of the SAP Business Workflow component. The system can then trigger workflow tasks once a follow-up function (task) has been executed and the notification has been saved.
Difference between follow-up functions and follow-up actions	Follow-up functions in the action box are different from task-related follow-up actions . Both follow-up functions and follow-up actions call function modules. With a follow-up action, however, the system executes the corresponding function module when you save a notification. With a follow-up function, the system executes the function module as soon as you execute the follow-up function in the action box. Also, when you process follow-up functions, you enter information interactively in a dialog box. This is not possible with follow-up actions.

Activities

To execute a follow-up function in the action box, you click the text or double-click the symbol for a follow-up function (displayed in blue). A dialog box appears, in which you can enter the data that is required to execute the function.

Note Note

You can only execute a follow-up function if you select it from the action box. If you create an activity or task in the notification using the input help for a catalog, the system does not execute a follow-up function.

End of the note.

The system then executes the selected function. Depending on the settings in Customizing, the follow-up function is:

Documented as an activity in the notification
Documented as a task for the notification header
Not documented