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 Document Version

Definition

Document versions are used to represent the different change or delivery statuses of a document.

This field is part of the document key and is often referred to simply as Version .

Use

Document versions document a processing status in a complex change process.

Structure

The Document version is an alphanumeric field in which you can enter up to two characters.

The following overview shows some examples for the versions of a document.

Documents

Document Type

Document part

Version

DOC-01-AA

DRW

000

01

DOC-01-AA

DRW

000

02

DOC-01-AA

DRW

000

03

Integration

You define how versions are assigned in Customizing for the Document Management System by choosing Define document types.

For example, you can make the following settings for version assignment:

  • Automatic

    If automatic version number assignment is defined for the chosen document type, any entry you make is ignored. If the highest version number of a document is (n), the system assigns the version number (n+1) to the next version you create.

    Example Example

    You are processing a document for whose document type numeric and automatic version assignment has been defined.

    The highest existing version of this document is 08 . When you change version 02 of the document, the system automatically creates version 09 as soon as you choose the New version function.

    End of the example.

  • Manual

  • Numeric or alphanumeric

Specifications for Version Assignment

The default value in the standard system is 00 .

There is a system check for special characters in the document version. The following three special characters are not supported:&* ,

Special character " * "

The special character " * " has a specific meaning:

  • Automatic version assignment means that when you create a document, a new version with the next consecutive number is created by the system. The version with the highest existing number serves as template for the next version.

  • When you display a document, you see a list of versions.

  • If you reserve a document in the change master record and enter the special character “*” for the version, all versions of the document are taken into account.

Document Version and Change Number

Engineering change management can be integrated into the document management functions to give the document version a reference to time, or assign it an effectivity period. The version can also be linked to a particular change that may also affect other SAP objects (for example, bill of material or routing).

The following graphic shows the one-to-one relationship of a document version to a chosen change number.