Lesson9.Entering Codes and Text

Lesson 9. Entering Codes and Text

White, read/write data entry fields are found on the initial screens of all SAP transactions, as well as search screens (described in the next lesson) and other procedural popup screens. They accept several types of data from you, including

• Object codes, which are alphanumerical codes for any objects, persons, and activities that are tracked by SAP, such as purchase requisitions, consumable materials, goods shipments, department budgets, and employees;

• Date codes, such as 01/01/2004 (January 1, 2004);

• Unit-of-measure codes, such as USD (US dollars) or lbs (pounds);

• Text, including short phrases such as Equipment is damaged or longer sentences and paragraphs.

Data entry fields appear in four formats on initial screens: single fields, paired fields, line-item fields, and long-text fields.

Single data fields allow you to enter either a single code for any object, date, or unit of measure or a short text phrase of any wording (Figure 9.1).

Figure 9.1. Single data fields for code (A) and text (B) entries.

Paired data fields, which are separated by the word to, give you the option of entering either one code or short-text entry in the first (left) field or a range of codes and text in both fields (Figure 9.2). When you enter a range of data in paired fields, they must be in ascending alphabetical or numerical order. For instance, when you enter object codes, you must enter the lower-numbered code in the first field and the higher-numbered one in the second (right) field.

Figure 9.2. You can enter a single code (A) or a range of codes (B) in paired fields.

For example, Figure 9.2 illustrates two different setups for the paired Material fields, in this case taken from the initial screen of a transaction that displays data about consumable materials. The first screen image (A) shows that only one code is entered in the first of the two fields. Consequently, this transaction will only display data about the one material with that object code. The second screen image (B) shows that a range of codes is entered in the paired fields. Consequently, this transaction will display data about every material with a code that falls inside this range.

Line-item fields are strings of fields in which you can enter several bits of coded and short-text data about an object. For instance, the initial screen for a transaction that creates a requisition contains a table with several rows of line-item fields (Figure 9.3). Each row contains a string of fields in which you enter the details on one material or service that is being requisitioned, such as its description and code, the desired quantity and its unit of measure, and the delivery date.

Figure 9.3. Line-item fields for entering coded and short-text data about a purchase requisition.

Incidentally, notice that this line-item table is headed by an application toolbar (A). You can use this toolbar to sort, filter, and otherwise customize the data entries in the table. We describe the procedures for doing so in Part IV of this book.

Long-text fields are read/write fields in which you enter many lines and paragraphs of text. In some cases, you can partition these text entries into different categories by using text descriptors that are attached to the field.

For instance, the initial screen for creating a requisition (Figure 9.4) contains a long-text field (A) for entering written information about a purchase. This field is accompanied by four text descriptors (B). Click the first one, Item text, and you can enter any general information about the requisition in the long-text field. Click another descriptor, such as Delivery text, and the item text disappears. You can now enter any information about the delivery in the long-text field.

Figure 9.4. A long-text field (A) and its accompanying text descriptors (B). Click one of the text descriptors to enter or display different classes of text data.