Changing the SAP Standard

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The SAP System provides a comprehensive infrastructure for business computing. To streamline business processes, however, you may be required to make modifications to the standard. You can enhance, modify or reduce the functions provided for a specific environment. When making changes to the SAP standard, you must first determine which type of modification best suits your needs. There are several ways of how you can modify the standard system:

ABAP Workbench tools are used to modify and enhance the system, and for customer development as well. Customizing and most Personalization take place in the context of the AcceleratedSAP standard implementation method. For information about the modification levels see: Customizing Personalization Modifications Business Add-Ins/Enhancements Customer Development

Customizing
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Customizing is the setting of system parameters via SAPs own interface. Possible changes to the standards have been thought out and organized by SAP. Customizing is an obligatory part of the R/3 implementation process. Additional information can be found in the online documentation under ../../7e/c8130852c511d182c50000e829fbfe/frameset.htmBC - Customizing

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Personalization means to adjust the SAP System to meet the work requirements of specific users or user groups. Personalization is aimed at accelerating and simplifying the business transactions that the SAP System processes. Based on the "What you see is what you need" slogan, application Personalization refers to two sub-areas: Simplifying navigation Simplifying transactions

Simplifying Navigation
As of Release 4.6A, the standard point of entry into the system is the ../../49/2dfe88088b11d396a9006094b9867b/frameset.htmSAP Easy Access user menu. Each user of the SAP System can be assigned a user menu tailored to the individual activities of that user that appears when the user logs on to the system. System administrators can choose

from more than 1200 pre-defined

../../23/07d128f31011d296330000e82de14a/frameset.htmstandard roles and assign these

roles to one, several or all users of a company.

Employee John Miller works as an accountant in the accounts receivable department, posting and maintaining a set of customer accounts. The user menu would look like this:

If necessary, the user could add his own reports, Intranet or Internet links, and so on, to the user menu. Since the user menu contains only those functions that are relevant to the user, navigation is much quicker. For more information, see Simplifying Navigation

Simplifying Transactions
You can adjust not only the menus but also the transactions of the SAP System to the business environment of your company. In many cases, the fields and options contained in the standard transactions are not needed for specific process flows. Besides other tools, you can use transaction and screen variants to adjust the transactions of the SAP System. Using transaction and screen variants you can: Hide fields and even entire screens Preassign values to fields

Change the ready for input status of fields Change the properties of table control columns and hide specific columns Hide menu options

For a description of the other tools for personalizing transactions in the SAP System, see Personalization of an Application.

Enhancements to the Standard

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Enhancements represent potential customer requirements that have not been developed in the standard. Instead, the standard provides for further development of such exits at the customer site, using logic specific to the customer. Upward compatibility is assured since SAP guarantees that the call of an enhancement from the standard software and the calling interface will remain valid in future releases. You can make enhancements to the standard using customer exits. From Release 4.6A, you can implement enhancements for the system standard using a new technique called Business Add-Ins.

Modifying the Standard

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Before you modify your system or develop your own solution, make sure that your requirements cannot be fulfilled by either Customizing or Personalization, or by the exits or business add-ins provided in the system. Before making modifications to the standard, refer to the section on the Modification Assistant.

For information on modifying SAP tables, consult the portion of the ABAP Dictionary documentation called ../../cf/21ebbc446011d189700000e8322d00/frameset.htmMaking Changes to Tables. You can also create append structures for tables and structures with the Modification Assistant (see Modifying Tables and Structures). SSCR (SAP Software Change Registration) is a procedure for registering all modifications to SAP source code and SAP Dictionary objects. For more information on this subject, see the section on the SAP Software Change Registration Procedure (SSCR). You should also consult the sections General development organization and Notes on modifying the standard before modifying the standard.

Customer Development
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During customer development, customer-specific objects are created in the customer namespace.

For further information about creating programs, data modeling, and related topics, consult the ABAP Workbench section of the SAP online documentation. SAP has reserved namespaces for customer objects. Using these namespaces ensures that your objects are not be overwritten by SAP objects when new objects are imported into your system or during a release upgrade. For more information on naming conventions, see ../../2a/6b0b1f547a11d189600000e829fbbd/frameset.htmCustomer Namespaces. Pay attention to the following when developing your own programs and modules: Dividing Up Development Tasks How might authorizations be distributed amongst your developers? Four areas of responsibility come into play here: Maintaining ABAP Dictionary elements such as tables, data elements, and domains Maintaining database tables Maintaining objects such as module pools, function modules, screens, and so on Writing documentation Authorizations relate both to the object type (program, table, development class, and so on) and to the activity (change, display, create, activate, and so on). You need to find a way to allow your developers some freedom while ensuring system consistency. You might assign authorizations as follows: Give developers authorization to edit all programs within an application (this authorization is assigned using the corresponding development classes) and to display all ABAP Dictionary objects. Also allow them to create and activate structures and views (data in the database cannot be changed by structures or views). Give the person(s) responsible for the ABAP Dictionary authorization to create and activate all Dictionary objects. Give the person(s) responsible for the database authorization to create tables in the database. Documentation developers should have appropriate authorization for writing user documentation for the objects (developers may, however, choose to do this themselves). Languages All SAP objects have an original language; this is the language in which the object was created. To simplify the customer development process, you should agree on a development language in which all objects are to be created.

You must enter and maintain texts in the original language for each object in your development. You may also translate these into other languages by choosing Tools ABAP Workbench Utilities Translation Short/long texts. Ergonomic Guidelines Your own applications should look and feel like SAP standard applications and have similar screen layout and function key assignments. For information on how to design your applications, see the documentation SAP Style Guide (BC).

Customizing (BC-CUS)
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If a company has decided to implement the SAP System, they must adapt the software to meet their individual business requirements. This process of customizing the system can be controlled and accelerated using the ../../fc/5dc13690581b20e10000009b38f839/frameset.htmAcceleratedSAP method. To implement the SAP System, the company sets up project teams that are responsible for project planning and project implementation. The term Customizing refers to the process of system configuration during which the members of the project teams make the required system settings. In the SAP System, Customizing activities are performed through the Implementation Guide (IMG).

Customizing supports the project teams in the following situations: Implementing the SAP System Enhancing the SAP System in release and system upgrades ASAP Roadmap as a structure plan for implementing and enhancing the SAP System Tools for making and documenting system settings Recommendations for system settings Customizing projects as a means for controlling the management, editing and analysis processes of the implementation and upgrade projects Support for transferring the system settings from the test system into the production system Support for transferring the system settings by means of Business Configuration Sets in a group rollout Tools for system upgrades and release upgrades Preconfigured industry systems

Customizing provides the following functions:

Customizing does not help you to modify standard SAP functions. The Customizing functions are grouped in the following user roles by user roles: Project Team Members Project team members make system settings and document project progress. To do this, he or she performs project functions. Project administrator Project managers create projects in the R/3 System, determine the project scope and duration, and coordinate the project team members. To do this, he or she performs project management functions.

Customizing Clients
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Use
Clients are part of the defining technical structure of the SAP System. Each client contains its own master records and set of tables. Customizing is either client-specific or cross-client, depending on which business data is configured. Cross-client Customizing is valid for all clients in an SAP System.

Functions
When you install the SAP System, the following clients are available: Client 000 as SAP reference client Client 001 as production preparation client

SAP Reference client (000)

All SAP tables are in the SAP Reference client. Sample entries, which you can change, exist for the tables in which you store your organizational structure. The SAP Reference client contains the following settings: Tables with default values These tables are independent of the organization units. Examples of the organization units No application data, that is, no master data and no movement data Do not use this client in production processing. A default Customizing setting

Company code 0001 in client 000 contains complete Customizing. Country-specific Customizing (legal and business requirements) of all standard countries is delivered in company code templates XX01 (XX = country indicator). SAP updates the settings in each new release. As a result, client 000 always has the current status. For a release upgrade, SAP automatically updates: Table contents and table structures Programs Screens Forms

Online help SAP Reference IMG You can use the SAP reference client to copy default settings into other clients.

You must not make the SAP Reference client productive.

Production preparation client (001)

The production preparation client is identical to the SAP Reference client, i.e. you cannot use this client in production processing either. The Customizing settings are made in this client. You Customize it into your test environment. Copy the new or changed table entries which are put in client 000 by SAP during a system or a release upgrade, using Release Customizing. See also: Release-specific implementation guide

Activities
To set up a client: Choose Administration System Administration Administration Client Administration. Then: 1. Defining Clients 2. Copying a Source Client 3. Change country-specific default settings See ../../69/c24c4e4ba111d189750000e8322d00/frameset.htmClient Copy.

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The Implementation Guide (IMG) is the tool which adjusts the SAP System to the requirements of a company. You use the implementation guide to structure and organize the implementation of the SAP System in your company.

Implementation Guide structure

The implementation guide is a hierarchical structure of the application areas in the component hierarchy. It contains all the work steps required for the implementation with documentation. There are three implementation guide variants: SAP Reference IMG

Project IMGs Project view IMGs

The SAP Reference IMG SAP delivers an Implementation Guide, the SAP Reference IMG , that contains the work steps for all applications as IMG activities in the SAP System. See SAP Reference IMG. Project IMGs To reduce the complexity of the configuration process in the SAP Reference IMG, you generally create separate implementation projects. In the implementation projects, you choose only those functions that you need for the processes in your project. You generate separate project IMGs for each implementation project and for release updates. See Project IMG. Project view IMGs You can generate views to structure your project activities by selecting attributes by specified criteria. For example, the mandatory activities view contains only those activities that are required. See Customizing project views.

Using the implementation guide

You can use the IMG to: Configure R/3 functions in your company in a quick, safe and cost-effective manner Adapt standard functions to meet your company requirements Manage, edit and analyze implementation or upgrade projects Document and monitor implementation phases with a project management tool Transfer configuration data automatically from the quality assurance system to the production system to ensure consistency

The implementation project team is led through all required Customizing settings and is given the necessary system configuration documentation for all required steps. See Using the implementation guide.

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The following sections describe how you can simplify the SAP user interface to meet the work requirements of specific users or user groups. Application Personalization can often be undertaken using simple methods (outside the ABAP Workbench). Modifications to the standard are usually not necessary. Modifications are only mentioned if they do not create a lot of extra work at upgrade, or if they are unavoidable.

In the following, this documentation provides various example tasks from the working world. Each example introduces the tools used to adjust the SAP user interface to the desired task and discusses the restrictions you need to pay attention to when using these utilities. The documentation then goes on to discuss the rules that apply when you combine certain functions.

When choosing tools, make sure that you use the same ones consistently in similar situations (when installing the R/3 System or within the same R/3 component) for tailoring the interface of the SAP System. The following examples are designed to give you an overview of the various Personalization possibilities available. Each section contains helpful references to additional literature within the SAP System. Hiding Screen Elements Defining Default Values for Input Fields Revoking an Element's Ready for Input Status Adjusting Table Controls Simplifying Selection Screens Personalizing the Possible Entries Help Moving Fields on a Screen Changing Field Texts Including Graphics and Text Inserting Pushbuttons for Frequently-used Functions Displaying Possible Entries for Fields Defining Additional Elements on a Screen Simplifying Screens for Specific Users

Hiding Screen Elements

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Functions: Transaction Variants and Screen Variants Description: You can hide screens, menu options, table controls, subscreens, tab strip elements, Restrictions: May only be used with dialog transactions

and so on Selection Variants GuiXT Parameter Transactions Hiding selection fields Hiding fields, pushbuttons, frames, and so on The initial screen of a parameter transaction can be hidden (switched off) if all necessary entries for that screen have already been stored as parameters. Field attributes Input, Display, Required field, Highlighted and Invisible can be enabled or disabled at runtime. May only be used with selection screens Cannot be used to hide subscreens May only be used with dialog transactions

Application-Specific Field Selection

No assignment according to user possible Field selection must be implemented by an application developer

Combinations of the Methods Listed Above

The following rule applys when combining the functions listed above: Screen elements that have been hidden by a function remain hidden. This is also true the element is set to Display only by another function.