Before a certificate can be created, the certificate profile must be assigned to at least one object. However, a certificate profile can be assigned to many different objects and object combinations. For example, you can assign a profile to:

• Two different materials
• Three different material groups
• Many material/customer combinations

However, an object combination can have only one profile assigned to it for a key date.

The above table shows that several materials are assigned to the PROF NEW profile. Each material has a different key date. The key date is the date from which the assignment is valid. This date can be in the future.

Material ROH_MATL1 has two assignments. Only one of these is valid. The first assignment for profile PROF ROH is valid from the 07/04/95 to 11/23/95 inclusive. A second assignment is made this time to profile PROF NEW. This second assignment is valid as of 11/24/1995. Depending on the current date, one of these 2 assignments is valid and will be used to create a certificate.

You can have gaps in the validity period.

In all of the transactions for making certificate profile assignments, you can change the validity period for an assignment using the Change validity function.