Lesson10.Searching for Codes

Lesson 10. Searching for Codes

The previous lesson provided some basic instructions on entering the codes for objects, dates, and units of measure in the data entry fields of initial screens. This next lesson answers the question: What do I do if I don't know the codes?

There are so many codes for so many objects in the SAP database that it is impossible to remember them all and impractical to list them all on job aids, cheat sheets, and the like. For instance, any good-sized company might well own tens of thousands of pieces of equipment, each with its own unique code, which it houses in its plants, which have their own codes. It may also stock the same number of consumable materials, each with its own code, in its warehouses, which also have their own codes.

Fortunately, SAP provides four easy-to-use popup tools for searching for codes:

• Short hit list screens

• Multiple-tab search screens

• Structure search trees

• List-display search screens

To start the process of searching for an unknown code, you simply click inside a data entry field. This action highlights that field and displays a search button (A) to its immediate right (Figure 10.1). Click it, and you are ready to search.

Figure 10.1. Click inside a field to call up its search button (A), and click it to start a search for the correct code for that field.

(If you are keyboard-oriented, you can alternatively click inside a data entry field to highlight it, then hit the F4 function key on your keyboard.)

This lesson describes the design and operation of the four search screens in the SAP system and concludes with some tips for using them effectively.