SAP R. 3 for Everyone. Step-by-Step Instructions, Practical Advice, and Other Tips and Tricks for Working with SAP
Authors: Mazzullo J. Wheatley P.
Published year: 2003
Pages: 39-40/132
Buy this book on amazon.com >>

SAP and User Menu Folders

Many SAP administrators provide two alternative sets of menu folders to their users: the SAP menu folders (Figure 5.1 and Figure 5.2) and the User menu folders (Figure 5.3).

Figure 5.3. The User menu contains links to only those transactions that a particular user is allowed to execute.


The SAP menu folders contain links to the initial screens of every transaction [1] in all the installed modules in your system. They are basically the generic menu folders that come with the software.

[1] The one exception is customized screens.

For example, the Human Resources folder of the SAP menu holds the links for every transaction in a package of several modules that are used by organizations to manage their recruitment efforts, personnel, benefits, budgets and pensions, records, and time-entry data. Similarly, the Accounting folder holds the links for all the transactions in the Financial and Controlling modules, which are used to manage budgets and costs, and the Logistics folder holds the links for all the transactions in the Purchasing and Inventory modules (among others), which are used to manage the purchasing, storage, and inventory of equipment and consumable materials.

The User menu folders are custom-made by the SAP administrator for each user of their system. They store links to the initial screens of only those transactions that are used to do the company's business and which a given user is authorized to execute. The root folder of this folder set, User menu (Figure 5.3A), usually displays the name of that user.

For example, all employees in a company might be authorized to search the SAP database for a record of their work hours with the Display HR Master Data ( PA20 ) transaction. If this is the case, their personal user menu folders will contain a subfolder, perhaps called HR Master Data , which holds a link to that transaction (Figure 5.3B).

You can choose to display either of the two sets of menu folders, along with the Favorites folders , with the first two buttons in the application toolbar of the SAP Easy Access screen.

  • Click the first, the User menu button (C), to display your customized User menu folders .

  • Click the second, the SAP menu button (D), to display the generic SAP menu folders .

You can also follow the menu path Menu > User menu or Menu > SAP menu to display one of these two sets of menu folders.


Searching for Transactions

You can search the menu folders by keywords for specific folders and transaction links by using the Find (Figure 5.4A) and Find again buttons (B) of the standard toolbar. Follow this procedure.

Procedure: Searching for a Transaction With Keywords

Step 1.

Click the Find button (A), or

Hit the Ctrl + F keys on your keyboard.

Step 2.

The Search in menu tree popup screen appears (inset).

  • Enter one or more keywords in the Find field (C). For this example, we entered purchase order .

  • Select the In texts option (it should be preselected) so that the system searches the names of the transactions, not their transaction codes (D).

  • Hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

    Figure 5.4. You can search for folders and transaction links with keywords via the Search in menu tree screen .


Step 3.

The system expands the menu folders and displays the first occurrence of the keywords (Figure 5.5A), which is highlighted.

  • Click the Find again button (Figure 5.4B) or hit the Ctrl + G keys on your keyboard to locate the next occurrence of the keywords (Figure 5.5B).

  • Continue until you find the folder or transaction link you are looking for.

You may wonder : Why are there multiple occurrences of keywords?

This reflects the integrated nature of the SAP modules. They are discrete building blocks of the system, like the bricks of a wall, but once they are hooked together, the boundaries between them disappear and you can communicate and move between them with great ease.

For instance, the transaction for creating purchase orders is a part of the Purchasing module, and thus you will find a link to its initial screen in that module's menu folders. However, warehouse operators, physical plant managers, administrative assistants, computer trainers , and many other business people need to order supplies , so there are also links to this same transaction in the Warehouse, Plant Maintenance, Human Resources , and Learning Management folders , among others.


Figure 5.5. The search starts at the top of the menu folder and progresses steadily downward each time you click the Find again button . The results of the first two searches with the keywords "purchase order" are shown in these two screen images.


SAP R. 3 for Everyone. Step-by-Step Instructions, Practical Advice, and Other Tips and Tricks for Working with SAP
Authors: Mazzullo J. Wheatley P.
Published year: 2003
Pages: 39-40/132
Buy this book on amazon.com >>

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