When you enter a business transaction, the system links the field status definitions of the specified account and the posting key. In this case, the fields of a group assume the status with the higher priority.
The suppression of fields and the required-entry status have the highest priority. The optional status is always secondary to this.
If you assign the optional status for a group of fields (for example, by defining the posting key) and then later assign the required status or suppress the fields (for example, using the account), the optional status does not take effect.
Example
In the reconciliation account for domestic receivables, the groups Text
, Terms of payment
, Cash discount deduction
, Invoice reference
, and Hedging
are assigned the optional status. If an outstanding receivable is posted to a customer account belonging to this reconciliation account, this definition is referred to when defining posting key 06. The posting key determines that the text field is a required field; the fields for the invoice reference and hedging are suppressed.
If the system finds inconsistencies when linking the definitions, it issues an appropriate message. A definition is inconsistent if you suppress fields with a definition, and then assign required status to a definition that is to be linked with this definition.
The following figure shows possible status definitions and their linking results.
Status definitions
Integration with Other Applications
It is possible, for example, that you suppressed fields because you were not using the Controlling
component. If you now implement this component, you must change your screen layout accordingly.
With the help of the field status definitions, you can now also show the required fields at any time. The checks for these fields, which are supported by the program, are carried out from the point when the changes are made.
Changing the Field Status Definition
For changes to the field status definitions you should consider the following:
If you suppress fields later and have already posted data with these fields, this data is no longer visible when displaying or editing the documents.
If you define fields as required-entry fields later, an entry in this field is obligatory when changing documents.