SAP Tags: infotype

Vitalii Potceluev
March 9, 2018

How to send custom infotype over SAP ALE

There is a number of infotypes in SAP which are local to some country. SAP doesn’t provide any standard solution to send these country-specific or custom infotypes over ALE, cause standard IDOC contains only international infotypes. If you develop your infotype and want to send it over ALE there are some tips and tricks to handle. Today I want to tell you how to send custom infotype or country-specific infotype over SAP ALE. It’s going to be a long tutorial with a lot of images. More than I’d like to show you what is a short and long infotype record in terms of SAP integration and IDOC structure. And, of course, ABAP source codes will be provided for your convenience. Take a cup of coffee and join me with this unique tutorial never been shared before.

Sending short infotypes over SAP ALE

A short infotype is an infotype, the size of which fits into one IDOC segment. How to check? Open SE11 transaction, find an infotype structure which is PXXXX (XXXX – infotype code), sum all length fields. One IDOC segment can store 1000 symbols. If the infotype structure is longer than 1000 symbols it’s a long infotype and we will need to split it to send over SAP ALE. Will show later how it works.

To add custom infotype to a standard HRMD_A IDOC in WE31 transaction create a new segment to include it into IDOC and send over ALE. Naming rule is Z1PXXXX, 7 symbols. It’s done for prior 4.6C compatibility, so if you work with modern systems you can use longer names. The first three letters ‘Z1P’ is a must. To save time and avoid human mistakes typing all SE11 fields into segment manually you can create a segment from a template. In menu Segment -> Create with template choose DDIC structure and type in PXXXX, where XXXX is your infotype code. When you save segment systems checks its length to comply with 1000 IDOC segment length.

In my scenario, I’ll use country-specific infotype 0293. Here is how it looks like in segment.

New IDOC segment

Don’t forget to release the segment in Edit menu.

How to add standard infotype to PPOME tab

So we have standard infotype which is not shown in PPOME transaction. We want to add standard infotype to PPOME tab to help users enter data. Let’s take infotype 1039 “Shift group” for our example. Usually, we use it for shift planning in time management (transaction PP61). It’s recorded for Organizational units (object type “O”). So it’s easier to enter this infotype in PPOME than in PP01 as SAP advise.

There are three steps to make it happen. We need to create a new screen, it’s logic and enter it in customizing tables.

Infotype 0130

I’ve decided to test procedures infotype 0130. It allows to restrict access to history records for some infotypes. You know that regular permission system doesn’t allow to manage access over the period. If you have access you can change record independently of its date. What if we need to restrict access in “closed periods”? Use infotype 0130.

Test procedure – subtype of 130’s infotype. Infotypes are assigned to test procedure. For example, “Time data” test procedure with 7, 2001, 2002, 2003 infotypes could restrict access to previous records. Just to avoid any changes in history.

Set AUTSW APPRO value in OOAC transaction.

The procedure itself is quite easy. It’s need to create 130 infotype with correct subtype – test procedure – for employees whom you need to restrict history data change. Let’s say it’s May 1st is entered into infotype. It means data before May couldn’t be changed for time infotypes (in case you set Time test procedure).

You’d better to use LSMW to create infotype 130.

To lock or unlock data entry in mass use RPTAPPU0 program.

Advice. To setup procedure don’t forget to add infotype 130 into P_ORGIN object in your roles. And split it by subtypes of 130 infotype. Everybody entering time data should have read access to 130 infotype. Administrator should have change access.

Tag infotype

Sending short infotypes over SAP ALE