ABSTRACT

IDocs are used in most of the SAP applications for transfer of

message from SAP to other systems and vice versa. A lot of
documentation is available on web for IDocs but most of them are
technical in nature. This document is written from perspective of
a functional consultant and this will help in dealing with support
issues related to IDoc. An effort has been made to capture all the
necessary information about IDocs that a functional consultant
needs to be aware of.
OVERVIEW
IDoc is an SAP object that carries data of a business transaction from one
system to another in the form of electronic message. IDoc is an acronym
forIntermediate Document. The purpose of an IDoc is to transfer data or
information from SAP to other systems and vice versa. The transfer from
SAP to non-SAP system is done via EDI Electronic Data Interchange!
subsystems "hereas for transfer bet"een t"o SAP systems# A$E is used.

IDoc can be triggered in SAP system or in EDI subsystem. This depends
on the direction in "hich IDoc is sent and is called as Inbound IDoc and
%utbound IDoc accordingly. In case of outbound flo"# IDoc is triggered in
SAP through document message control "hich is then sent to EDI
subsystem. EDI converts the data from IDoc into &'$ or e(uivalent format
and then sends the data to partner system through Internet.
)or inbound flo"# EDI converts partner data and IDoc is created in SAP.
After successful processing of this IDoc# Application Document is posted in
SAP.
EDI STANDARDS AND IDOC
*EDI is electronic e+change of business document bet"een the computer
systems of business partners# using a standard format over a
communication net"or,-. EDI stands for Electronic Data Interchange.

)or transmission of information electronically# t"o "idely used standards
are A.SI AS/ &01 and EDI)A/T. A.SI AS/ &01 is a committee formed by
representatives of major organi2ations# government bodies and EDI
soft"are companies "hich defines standards and guidelines for information
interchange over EDI. 3.4EDI)A/T stands for 3nited .ations EDI for
Administration# commerce and Transport and "as formed in 0567 using
A.SI &01 and 3.TDI 3nited .ations Trade Data interchange! as base
standards. A.SI &01 describes business document as transactions and
each transaction is represented by three digit number e.g. 678 9 Purchase
%rder# 677 - Purchase %rder Ac,no"ledgement. EDI)A/T describes
business document as messages# represented by standard names e.g.
%:DE:S for purchase order.

IDOC TERMINOLOGIES
IDOC (BASIC) TYPE
IDoc Types are based on the EDI standards and mostly on EDI)A/T
standards.
;asic Types or IDoc Type! defines the structure of an IDoc. Each basic
type describes standard IDoc segments# format of data fields and their si2e.
;asic Type also defines number of segments and fields in an IDoc. All the
fields that are necessary for transmission of message for a particular
business transaction are mapped in different segments. It also defines the
structure and relationship of IDoc segments along "ith mandatory and
optional segments.




IDOC EXTENSION
;asic type contains all the standard fields that are necessary for carrying
out a business transaction. <o"ever# if any additional values are to be sent
to the partner then "e can ma,e use of the IDoc E+tension feature. IDoc
e+tension is e+tension of basic type and contains additional custom IDoc
segments and fields that are not available in standard basic type.

IDOC SEGMENTS
IDoc segments contain the actual data that is sent to or received from a
partner. These segments contain the actual values that are sent as part of
IDoc transmission.
PARENT AND CI!D SEGMENTS
IDoc segment is termed as Parent segment if it contains its o"n segments.
The dependent segments are called as child segments.



INBO"ND#O"TBO"ND IDOCS
IDocs sent outside the system are termed as %utbound IDocs and the ones
that are received into the system# are called as Inbound IDocs.

IDOC DIRECTION
This signifies the direction is "hich information is sent and is similar to
terminology used in mails. If information is sent outside the system then the
direction is outbo+ "hen it is received into the system then direction is
inbo+. In SAP %utbo+ direction is represent by *0- i.e. outbo+ and Inbo+
direction is represented by *1-.


PARTNER
Partner is the ;usiness Partner "ith "hich the e+change of information is
to ta,e place using IDoc. It can be a vendor or customer or any other
system. Depending on the direction of information in "hich the information
is sent it plays a role of either a *sending partner- or a *receiving partner-.



PARTNER TYPE
Partner type4role is used to identify partners "ithin the sap systems.
Partner type is =3 for customer# $I for vendor and $S for $ogical System.



MESSAGE TYPE
IDoc processing involves transmission or receipt of document in the form of
a message# each of "hich represents a document in SAP. These
documents can be %rder# Shipment /onfirmation# Advance Shipping
.otification# >oods :eceipt# or Invoice. 'essage type is associated "ith
;asic IDoc Type ;asic Type! and defines the ,ind of data or document that
is e+changed "ith the partner.

PROCESS CODE
The process code contains the details of the )unction 'odule that are used
for IDoc processing. 'essage Type can be lin,ed to the Process code.

PORT
IDoc Port contains the information about the "ay data is sent bet"een the
source or target system. The type of port defines the information contained
"ithin the port. )or port type *Internet- Port "ill contain IP address of the
target system. )or port type *file-# directory or file name information is
maintained. *t:)/- port contains information about the :)/ destination of
the target system. )or IDoc transmission using A$E *t:)/- ports are used.

PARTNER PROFILE MAINTENANCE
PARTNER PRO$I!E (%E&')
Partner profile must be maintained for all the business partners to "hom
"e "ant to send or receive the IDocs. The T/%DE for maintaining the
partner profile is ?E18.


Double clic,ing on the Partner "ill sho" the follo"ing screen@

Partner profile contains parameters for Inbound and %utbound processing
of IDocs. )or each message type "e can maintain# inbound4outbound
options# message control# post processing options and contact information
"ithin Inbound and outbound parameters.

O"TBO"ND OPTIONS (O"TBO"ND PARAMETERS)
This involves sender4receiver port# %utput mode and relation to IDoc type
i.e. ;asic Type and e+tension.

MESSAGE CONTRO! (O"TBO"ND PARAMETERS)
This contains application for "hich IDoc "ill be created e.g. E) for
Purchase order# the message type of the application that "ill trigger the
IDoc and Process /ode that "ill convert SAP document to an IDoc. )or
e+ample# if P% is to be sent to the Aendor A&&&&B# then in the outbound
option of the partner A&&&&B "e need to maintain the message type B&&0
and lin, it to the Process /ode 'E08. So "hen message type B&&0 is
triggered in the P% then an IDoc "ill be created for the partner vendor
A&&&&B.

Process /ode is lin,ed to the )unction 'odule in SAP that converts
application data into an IDoc. Standard function modules are provided by
SAP for this conversion ho"ever these can also be customi2ed as per
business needs.

Change Message Indicator indicates "hether the IDoc is sent as a
notification of change. )or e+ample# Purchase %rder change messages are
sent to vendor using EDI standard message type 6C8.
Separate message type should be triggered in the purchase order for P%
change. Additional line "ith change message type must be added in the
'essage control tab "ith change message indicator on.


INBO"ND OPTIONS (INBO"ND PARAMETERS)

)or inbound options process code is maintained in the Inbound screen
only. IDoc processing can be triggered by bac,ground program and
triggered immediately.



POST PROCESSING (INBO"ND#O"TBO"ND PARAMETERS)

In the post processing option "e can maintain the "or,flo" details of the
users or positions to "hich an error notification "ill be sent if an IDoc
processing fails.

TE!EPONY (INBO"ND#O"TBO"ND PARAMETERS)
?e can also maintain the contact details in the telephony option.

EDI STANDARD (O"TBO"ND PARAMETERS)
EDI standard screen contains the details of the Standard EDI terminology
used for the IDoc transmission.

)or e+ample# 'essage Type 8! is an EDI standard for Purchase %rder
IDoc and is lin,ed to IDoc 'essage Type Orders.
IDOC STR"CT"RE AND RECORDS
STR"CT"RE
IDoc structure is divided into /ontrol :ecord# Data :ecords and Status
records.



These records are stored in the transparent tables in SAP. These are
EDID/# EDIDD and EDIDS.

CONTRO! RECORD (EDIDC)
It contains information such as IDoc number# direction# IDoc Status# ;asic
Type# 'essage Type# Partner Sender4:eceiver!# date and time of
creation4update# Interchange )ile or ISA number#etc.




DATA RECORD (EDID()
It contains the details of the IDoc segments.

IDoc segment has fields that contain the data necessary for posting the
documents.





STAT"S RECORDS (EDIDS)
IDoc Status defines the processing status of the IDoc. IDoc statuses are
used to trac, the IDoc and its various processing states. Status .umbers
represents IDoc status. /urrent status of the IDoc is present in /ontrol
record.

Initial Status numbers are CD for inbound and 8E for outbound. Successful
status is 7E for inbound and 0C for outbound IDocs.

SENDING AND RECEIVING IDOCS
TRIGGERING AN O"TBO"ND IDOC
%utbound IDocs can be triggered from the output message types of
Purchase %rders# deliveries# 'aterial Documents# invoices# etc. The
follo"ing figure sho"s that once the output B&&0 of P% &&&&&&&0 is
processed an IDoc *888888&&&&&&&&&0- is added4created.

The relationship bet"een the IDoc and the application document can be
found in t"o "ays@
0. :elationship tab of IDoc


1. :elationship tab of Application Document# e.g. P%# S%# 'aterial
Document# etc.

The initial status of this IDoc "ill be E8# "hich after successful processing
"ill convert into status 0C.

A successful outbound IDoc "ill pass through all the above statuses in
reverse order 80-8E-06-8C-01-0C!. Each status represents an IDoc
validation step. If an IDoc passes all the validations it "ould reach status
0C. These different validation steps for outbound IDocs are e+plained
belo"@

80@ IDoc generation successful
E8@ IDoc is ready to be processed by IDoc Processing job
8E@ IDoc data is passed to the Port
06@ IDoc successfully triggered EDI subsystem
8C@ IDoc data translated to EDI format
01@ IDoc is dispatched successfully to the partner
0C@ Partner has received the IDoc successfully

IDoc can possibly fail at any of the above steps during validation.

RECEI)ING AN INBO"ND IDOC
The initial status of an inbound IDoc is CD and successful status is 7E.

Different validation steps for inbound IDocs are e+plained belo"@
78@ IDoc received successfully in the system
CD@ IDoc is ready to be processed by IDoc processing job
7E@ Application document created and saved successfully. The document
number can be found by e+panding the status node 7E
An inbound IDoc goes through all the above statuses in reverse order 78-
CD-7E!.

IDOC #ROCESSING
A"TOMATIC#IMMEDIATE PROCESSING
In this case# IDoc are processed immediately as they generated or added
in the system. The chec, *Transfer IDoc immediately- is selected in
%utbound %ptions and *Trigger Immediately- is selected in Inbound %ption.
These chec,s are generally used "hen the real time information e+change
is necessary bet"een t"o systems.


MAN"A! PROCESSING
IDocs can also be manually processed using the T/%DE ;D6F in SAP.

PROCESSING )IA BAC*GRO"ND +OB
IDoc processing by bac,ground is the most preferred "ay of processing the
IDocs. )ollo"ing Programs are used from processing the IDocs using
bac,ground job@
:;DAPP80 - Inbound IDocs
:SE%3T88 - %utbound IDocs

REPROCESSING IDOCS
On the basis of IDoc statuses different programs can be used for
reprocessing of failed IDocs. These are given below:


TESTING AND EDITING IDOCS
If an IDoc contains error in the data then such IDocs can be edited using
T/ode ?E81 or ?E87. ?hen an IDoc is edited the original IDoc
informationbac,up! is saved in a .e" IDoc under status F8 for inbound! 4
EE for outbound!. These IDoc stays in the system for reference only and
cannot be processed. The status of the edited IDoc becomes C5 inbound!
and E1 outbound!. These IDocs can then be processed using ;D6F
transaction or batch jobs.

Debugging of IDocs can be done using by copying the IDocs using
T/ode?E05. ?E05 is a test tool for Idocs processing. ?E05 copies the
e+isting idoc and creates a ne" IDoc "hich can then be modified as per
testing needs. The ne"ly generated IDoc can also be processed using
;D6F.

CONVERTING IDOC STAT"S
:eport ::/0GID%/GSETGSTAT3S can be used to change the status of
IDoc. Status changes are generally needed to move an IDoc to status C6 9
no further processing

SEARC$ING IDOCS IN SA#
TCODE %E'&#%E',- GENERA! SEARC
IDocs can be displayed in system via T/%DE ?E81 and ?E87. If IDoc
number is not ,no"n then search can be made on the basis of IDoc Date#
Direction# ;ASI/ THPE# 'ESSA>E THPE# and PA:T.E:
.3';E:. Partner number can be found in the %utput 'essages of the
documents.


IDoc search can also be made on the basis of ISA or Transfer file
:eference.

TCODE %E'.- SEARCING DATA IN IDOC SEGMENTS
If "e are loo,ing for specific information "ithin the IDocs Segments then
this can be found using T/%DE ?E85. This is useful if you are searching
for a particular information in similar ,ind of IDoc "ithin IDoc segments. )or
e+ample# if you "ant to search a particular Purchase %rder number e.g.
088888880 in multiple IDocs "hich lies in Segment E0ED=80 of an IDoc
under field ;E$.:. Then the search can be e+ecuted in the follo"ing
manner.

IDOC VALIDATIONS% COMMON IDOC ERRORS AND SOL"TION
Though# the IDoc failure may not be related to any of the above mentioned
reasons# the best "ay to find the IDoc error is to compare the e+isting IDoc
"ith the good e+ample. >ood e+ample IDoc can be easily searched "ith
any of the IDoc search methods as described above.
DOC"MENTATION &OR IDOC T'#ES
IDoc documentation can be found using T/%DE ?EC8 and can be helpful
to obtain information of the IDoc Type or its particular segment. It also
provides information such as mandatory and optional segments# minimum
and ma+imum number of segments# etc.
GENERAL IN&ORMATION &OR COMMON IDOC MESSAGE T'#ES
The follo"ing list gives the ;asic Type and 'essage Type combination for
common idocs


ARC$IVING(DELETION O& IDOCS &ROM DATABASE
As IDocs gro" older they are archived and deleted from the database.
Archived IDocs can be vie"ed using T/%DE SA:I in Achieve E+plorer
using archiving object as IDoc. )ollo"ing are the fe" programs that are
used for archiving and deletion of IDocs from database.

85915 ViewsProducts: sap_erp_logistics_materials_management Topics: enterprise_resource_planning Tags: sap, edi, idoc
Average User Rating
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158 'omments
) * + ( , Previous)e*t

+an,unat$ Ravi -an 1, %!1. 5:/1 P+

Ver0 use1ul document, 2eep up t$e good wor23
4*pecting more documents li2e t$is 1rom u33333 3

5it$ regards,
Ton03
6i2e %"

Ra,u Pra7$une -an %, %!1. 5:/& A+

8i )iran,an,

5ow999 5$at an e*cellent document3 5or2ing in #AP 1or last . 0ear, 1st time :;ve 1ound suc$ a e*tensive<detailed
document on :=oc3

'ongratulations > 8app0 new 0ear3
6i2e 1"

)arendra ?onnipati -an 8, %!1. 8:5! A+

8i )iran,an ,


5onder1ul =ocument :ts seems ,dont want 4=: 'onsultant to $andle issues o1 4=: w$en we $ave t$is =oc "3

5is$ U 8app0 )ew @ear 7udd03

T$an2s,

)aren
6i2e 1"

Vit$al A$adrac$alam -an 8, %!1. 1!:5& P+

8ello )iran,an,

Ver0 use1ul document3:t will $elp man0 consultants to enric$ t$eir 2nowledge in :=B's3

T$an2 0ou ver0muc$,
Vit$al
6i2e 1"

)i2$il ?arnam -an %8, %!1. 11:%9 A+

8i )iran,an A$ai,

:=B' document is ver0 $elp1ul3

T$an2s,
)i2$il
6i2e 1"

)a0eem 3#3) Ce7 11, %!1. /:/% P+

8i )ira,an,

=ocument is reall0 wonder1ul and it will reall0 $elp1ul 1or man0 #AP consultants to gain t$eir 2nowledge3
?eep posting suc$ documents33333


T$an2s
)a0eem3
6i2e 1"

Adam ?rawcD02 Ce7 1/, %!1. %:!% P+

Ver0 compre$ensive and detailed 7log a7out :=oc3
:n 1act as developer : am ,ust searc$ing 1or general overview so 1or me it is still too tec$nical, $owever : 1ound $ere
some 7asic concepts $ere as well3T$an2 0ou, great ,o79

Regards,
Adam