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Background documentationGeneral Settings for ILM Objects

 

In Customizing for the ILM rules of SAP NetWeaver ILM, all ILM objects have the same general settings, regardless of their higher level object categories - and therefore regardless of their application areas.

To view the general settings of the ILM object categories delivered by SAP, call up the transaction for customizing ILM objects as follows:

  • In the ILM Retention Management Cockpit or ILM Retention Warehouse Cockpit for Administrators as a menu option under Services for Settings

  • In the application system with the transaction code IRM_CUST

Structure

If you call up the list of ILM objects related to one of the object categories delivered by SAP, you can view the following general settings for each ILM object.

Inheriting Possible

The ability of an ILM object to inherit the rules of another ILM object is a basic setting made for an ILM object and is specified during creation. You can view this setting in the list of ILM objects for the object category in addition to the name and description of the ILM object in the Inheriting column.

Note Note

Retention rules can be inherited from all audit areas. Residence rules can be bequeathed only within the same audit area.

End of the note.

If the Inheriting Possible option has been selected for an ILM object, the system shows the Inherit Rule column in the table of ILM rules for the ILM object. This makes it possible to specify in the ILM rules that a document type can inherit the ILM rules of another document type. For example, a change document may inherit the retention rules of the related financial accounting document.

Note Note

The inheritance of ILM rules requires object category-specific settings and BAdI implementations. For access to the inheriting ILM object, the corresponding archive infostructures have to be active. (For more information, see: Providing Archive Infostructures for Data Access)

Example: ILM objects of the SAP Business Suite object category.

End of the note.
Available Time References

All time references that are available for defining ILM rules for the ILM object are registered here.

Time Reference for Explicit and Implicit Start Date Determination.

The value determination for available time references is defined in the object category-specific settings of the ILM objects (for example, the SAP Business Suite object category). Depending on whether the available time references for an ILM object are entered with or without available time offsets, the system uses one of the following methods for start date determination in rule evaluation:

  • Explicit Start Date Determination

    If at least one available time offset is entered for the available time references of the ILM object, the system uses the method for explicit start date determination during rule evaluation. If this is the case, you can enter the time offset explicitly in the ILM rule.

    The time reference stands for an event in the document history. In rule evaluation, the system determines a specific reference date based on the time reference and uses the time offset in relation to the reference date. If you do not specify a time offset, the reference date becomes the start date.

  • Implicit Start Date Determination

    If no available time offset is entered for the available time references of the ILM object, the system uses the method for implicit start date determination during rule evaluation. In this case, a time offset can be implicitly predefined with a Business Add-In. The ILM rule does not permit you to specify a time offset.

    Note Note

    If available time references were registered with a Business Add-In (BAdI), these are not visible in the Customizing table. However, they are available for selection in the ILM rules. For the sake of compatibility, SAP supports the use of available time references that were registered by means of a BAdI.

    End of the note.

For more information, see Explicit and Implicit Start Date Determination

Available Time Offsets

All time time offsets that are available for defining ILM rules for the ILM object are registered here for each time reference (for explicit start date determination). The Time Offset specifies the end of a calendar unit (such as a year or month). The end of the calendar unit in which the determined reference date lies represents the start date of the period to be determined. The specification (of at least) one time offset causes the following:

  • Showing the Time Offset column in the table of ILM rules for the ILM object

  • Using the explicit method for start date determination in the rule evaluation of the ILM object

Value determination for available time references is defined in the object category-specific settings of the ILM objects (for example, the SAP Business Suite object category).

Example Example

If the time reference Creation Date with the time offset End of the Year is entered in a retention rule, the system first determines the specific creation date as the reference date during rule evaluation. Start date determination takes place when the time offset is applied to the reference date. This means that the retention period starts at the end of the year in which the document was created.

End of the example.
Available Standard Condition Fields

All standard condition fields that are available for defining ILM rules for the ILM object are registered here. The entries for each ILM object are a subset of the standard condition fields defined specifically by object category.

If you want to have a value help available for the condition fields for editing ILM Policies (transaction IRMPOL), you need to make the relevant settings in Customizing. The following options are available for determining the value help:

  • The Data Element field determines the value help. The field needs to have an entry in the Standard Condition Fields.

  • The fields Structure for F4 Help and Structure Component for F4 Help determine the value help. Both fields need to have an entry in the Standard Condition Fields.

  • The value help is implemented by BAdI Value Help for Condition Fields (BADI_IRM_OT_FLD_F4) when the BAdI is registered for the field (in BAdI implementation).

Value determination for available standard condition fields is defined in the object category-specific settings of the ILM objects (for example, the SAP Business Suite object category).

Available Condition Fields

All condition fields that are available for defining ILM rules for the ILM object are registered here in addition to the standard condition fields.

In Customizing, the following data defines a condition field:

  • Name of the condition field

  • Data Element

  • Data Type

  • Description (for internal SAP use only)

  • F4 Structure

  • F4 Structure component

  • No intervals

If you want to have a value help available for the condition fields for editing ILM Policies (transaction IRMPOL), you need to make the relevant settings in Customizing. You determine the value help as described in the section Available Standard Condition Fields.

Value determination for available condition fields is defined in the object category-specific settings of the ILM objects (for example, the SAP Business Suite object category).

Note Note

If the available condition fields were registered with a Business Add-In (BAdI), these are not visible in the Customizing table. However, they are available for selection in ILM policies. For the sake of compatibility, SAP supports the use of available condition fields that were registered by means of a BAdI.

End of the note.
Available Policy Categories

This is where you register all policy categories that are permitted for an ILM object. The policy category determines the rule structure according to its purpose (such as retention rules or residence rules). You can select from the overall number of policy categories. For example, you can specify that only retention rules can be defined for an ILM object.

More Information

Business Suite-Specific Settings for ILM Objects

Policy Categories for ILM Rules