UNIT-1 BASIC SETTINGS

Organizational Units in SAP ERP Financials Let us look at the important organizational units in Financial Accounting: The Client is the highest level in the SAP ERP system hierarchy. Specifications or ata affecting all organizational units in SAP ERP applications are entere here. This ensures that the user oes not have to enter the same information more than once. An e!ample of this is currencies. Each client in an SAP ERP system is an in epen ent unit having separate master recor s" ta#les an ata. Also remem#er" in or er to logon to a system" you nee to enter a client key an have a user master recor in the client. The ne!t organizational unit is the Company Code. The company co e is an in epen ent #alancing or legal accounting entity. $t is the minimum structure re%uire in SAP ERP Financial Accounting. Since most government an ta! authorities re%uire the registration of a legal entity for every company" a separate &ompany &o e is usually create for every country. For e!ample" if your company has offices in ifferent countries" each country 'ill have a &ompany &o e. The Business Area is the thir unit. (usiness Areas are freely efina#le an are use to create separate financial statements. They can #e use across &ompany &o es an are for internal purposes. Remem#er" #usiness areas are not assigne to company co es" an their use is optional. Creating a Company Code The simplest 'ay to create a &ompany &o e is to copy an e!isting one" an then make the necessary changes. A &ompany &o e is efine #y a four) igit alphanumeric key. *hen copying an e!isting &ompany &o e" the follo'ing ata are copie : + + + + + ,efinition: This inclu es the - character key to i entify the company co e an other ata like name" city" a ress an country. .lo#al parameters: These inclu e the &hart of Accounts" Fiscal /ear an other ,efault settings. /ou also get a#out 012 customizing ta#les. $n a ition" you get the Accounts an &ompany co e segment. These refer to the .eneral Le ger accounts. Finally" you get the Account ,etermination. Account ,etermination is the process of configuring the system such that accounts are automatically etermine an up ate as a result of a #usiness transaction else'here. ,ue to the integrate nature of SAP ERP" Account ,etermination plays a very important role. For e!ample" 'hen a goo s receipt is poste in 3aterials 3anagement" F$ is automatically up ate .

The SAP system recommen s this proce ure as many ta#les alrea y have the SAP efault ata" 'hich only nee s a 4ustments if re%uire . Company Code Let us no' look at ho' to create a &ompany &o e.

/ou nee to create a ne' company co e 'ith a - character key an a name that you choose. $n the 5&opy6 metho " you can copy the template that comes 'ith any SAP system. 7nce this is one" the follo'ing changes have to #e ma e. + + + 8ame of the company 9 Enter the name of your &ompany here. A ress 9 This ata is nee e for correspon ence an is recor e on evaluation reports. &urrency 9 A currency is efine for every company co e. The efine &urrency is consi ere as the &ompany:s Local Currency. Any other currency is regar e as it:s Foreign &urrency. The system translates amounts poste in Foreign &urrencies into the Local &urrency. Remem#er that SAP ERP always tracks the amount in the currency entere at the ocument level an in local currency. 8e!t" you e it the Language key. This is re%uire to ena#le the system to automatically create te!ts in the correct language. &ity an &ountry key 9 This is re%uire to specify the home country. $t is important for foreign payment transactions. (ase on this selection" other countries are interprete as foreign. The system also supports ifferent a ress formats for foreign correspon ence.

+ +

Country Templates /ou can use the country templates that SAP offers in any ne' system as a tool to create your ne' company co e. /ou can configure #usiness activities for a specific country. A country template contains cross application" F$" &7 an other country)specific templates for other areas. &ompany co e ;;;1 is a template in SAP ERP stan ar system. $t is for a general company co e 'ith chart of accounts $8T an no specific country specifications. To create a company co e for a country that has a country template you can use the <country installation program: to copy country)specific ta#les from the country template to the company co e. This company co e is then configure for the correspon ing country. Then you copy this company co e into your ne' company co e. nternational Accounting Re!uirements SAP supports various $nternational Reporting re%uirements. The sli e epicts the SAP recommen e approach an alternative approach availa#le in SAP ERP Financials to meet these reporting re%uirements. Controlling Area A controlling area represents a close system for cost accounting purposes. $t may inclu e single or multiple company co es that may use ifferent currencies. These company co es must use the same operative chart of accounts. All internal allocations refer e!clusively to o#4ects in the same controlling area. Ledgers and Ledger Approac" in #ew $eneral Ledger Accounting A le ger is a section of a ata#ase ta#le. A le ger only contains those imensions of the totals ta#le that the le ger is #ase on an that are re%uire for reporting. $n the Le ger Approach" you can use several le gers in parallel. This allo's you to pro uce financial statements accor ing to ifferent accounting principles. There is e!actly one lea ing

le ger in every client an only the lea ing le ger is integrate 'ith &7. This makes it important to eci e 'hich accounting principle is epicte in the lea ing le ger. The non)lea ing le gers are parallel le gers to the lea ing le ger. Any num#er of parallel le gers can #e efine as per re%uirement. Account Approac" %s& Ledger Approac" The le ger approach offers various a vantages over the account approach: + + + /ou maintain a separate le ger for every accounting principle. /ou can use ifferent fiscal year variants in this scenario. The num#er of .=L accounts is managea#le.

>o'ever" the isa vantage of the le ger approach is that the ata volume increases ue to the other le gers. Scenarios ' (e)inition and Assignment A scenario efines 'hich fiel s are up ate in the le gers uring a posting? that is" for each le ger" you efine 'hich fiel s are fille 'ith posting ata from other application components. SAP provi es various scenarios such as cost center up ate" preparation for consoli ation" #usiness area" profit center up ate" segmentation" an cost)of)sales accounting. /ou assign the esire scenario to your le gers. T"e *ariant Principle The variant principle is a three)step metho that is use to assign special properties to one or more SAP ERP o#4ects. $nstea of efining an o#4ect" say Fiscal year" every time you create a ne' company co e" you can efine a variant for the fiscal year" say @-. Then you can etermine the values for this variant. Finally you can assign the variant @- to one or several of SAP ERP o#4ects" say the company co es in 'hich you use this fiscal year. The main a vantage of using variants is that it is easier to maintain properties 'hich are common among several #usiness o#4ects. T"e Fiscal +ear The fiscal year variant efines the relationship #et'een the fiscal year an the calen ar year. $t can #e efine as year)in epen ent" or year) epen ent Aor year)specificB. $n a fiscal year 'e post transactions into perio s in the fiscal year. Each of these perio s is kno'n as a posting perio . Thus" in a fiscal year or a calen ar year" Canuary 'oul represent the first posting perio . *e" therefore" efine posting perio s an 'hat are kno'n as <special perio s: in a fiscal year variant. $n a fiscal year variant" you can inclu e a ma!imum of 1D perio s that may consist of 1E normal perio s an - special perio s. Special perio s are optional. They are normally use for closing postings so that you can

compare the closing months 'ith the other perio s in the year. Suppose you have 1E posting perio s an - special perio s" you can use the special perio s in ifferent 'ays: + + + + Perio 10" or the first special perio can #e use for Accrual an ,eferral postings. Similarly" Perio 1- can #e use for Au it postings. Perio 12 can #e use for .eneral 3eeting of sharehol ers. Perio 1D can #e use for A 4ustment postings.

$n or er to post a special perio " you nee to use a posting date #elonging to the last normal posting perio . Also" the special perio must #e open for posting. 8ote that opening an closing of posting perio s are not ealt 'ith in etail here. Remem#er that posting perio s are efine in the fiscal year variant. +ear' ndependent Fiscal +ear *ariant A fiscal year variant can #e a calen ar year or a non)calen ar year. $f the variant uses the same num#er of posting perio s" an if each perio al'ays starts an en s on the same ay every year" such a variant is kno'n as year)in epen ent. $n a calen ar year variant" the posting perio s 'ill correspon to the months in the year. Thus" a calen ar year variant must have 1E posting perio s. /ou can assign up to a ma!imum of special perio s. $n a non)calen ar year" you create posting perio s #y assigning en have from 1 to 1D posting perio s. ates to each perio . /ou can

$f the non)calen ar year oes not start on Canuary 1st" then the perio s of the year that #elong to the previous or the coming fiscal year must have an in icator ,- or .-. The e!ample on the right sho's a non)calen ar year 'ith D posting perio s from April to 3arch. The months Canuary to 3arch therefore still #elong to the ol fiscal year an have the in icator '-. +ear'Speci)ic Fiscal +ear *ariants Let us take a closer look at the year)specific fiscal year variant. A year)specific fiscal year variant is one 'here + + the start an en years? or ates of posting perio s for some years are ifferent from that of other

some fiscal years use a ifferent num#er of posting perio s.

A shortene fiscal year is one 'hich has fe'er posting perio s than others. Such a fiscal year is al'ays year)specific" since it represents a year relate e!ception. This coul #e re%uire if closing has to #e carrie out #efore the en of the normal fiscal year. E!amples of this 'oul #e 'here the company nee s to change the #eginning of the fiscal year" or the company is #eing sol out. *e 'oul have to efine the shortene fiscal year an its num#er of posting perio s #efore 'e

can efine the perio

ates. For this year" 'e can only assign a lo'er num#er of posting perio s.

Currencies and E/c"ange Rate Types Let us look at ho' currencies an e!change rates 'ork. &urrencies are i entifie in the system through currency keys. For e!ample" FS, represents the American ,ollar. E!change rates are maintaine #et'een currency pairs using e!change rate types. E!amples of e!change rate types are <(: for <(ank selling rate": <.: for <#uying rate: an <3: for <average rate.: The average rate is the average of the #uying an selling rates. Remem#er that the e!change rate type 0 must e!ist in the system since the system uses this for currency translation uring ocument posting. ,ifferent e!change rate types can #e use for ifferent purposes" such as valuation" translation or planning. Translation Ratios *hen more than one currency is use " there is a nee to maintain a relationship #et'een the currencies. This relationship is maintaine using translation ratios per e/c"ange rate type. This is usually one only once. Translation ratios can #e maintaine on the #asis of time perio as inflation can heavily influence the relationship #et'een t'o currencies. 0aintaining E/c"ange Rates SAP ERP Financials offers tools to maintain e!change rates in the system" an to avoi ay maintenance 'ork. *e can use one of the follo'ing tools for each e!change rate type: + $nversion $nversion is the ol est e!change rate tool an is sel om use to ay. $f you have maintaine an e!change rate for EFR to FS, an are using inversion" you o not nee to maintain a separate rate for FS, to EFR. The system 'ill calculate it for you. + (ase currency Assume that you have maintaine a rate for FS, to EFR an for FS, to .(P. 8o' if you have marke FS, as the #ase" or reference currency" you o not nee to maintain a separate e!change rate #et'een EFR an .(P. The system 'ill calculate it via the FS, rates. + E!change rate sprea s The E!change rate sprea is the ifference #et'een the selling rate an the average rate" an the average rate an the #uying rate. $f you maintain sprea s" you o not nee to maintain the #uying an selling rates separately. The system can calculate them from the average rate an the sprea . E/c"ange Rate Spreads /ou have seen 'hat e!change rate sprea s are. Let us no' look at a com#ination of #ase currency an e!change rate sprea s. ay)to)

A very efficient com#ination of e!change rate tools: Fsing a #ase currency for the average rate Ai.e." 3B. Fsing sprea s to calculate the #uying an selling rates Ai.e." ( an .B. Base Currency A #ase currency can #e assigne to an e!change rate type. 7nce this is one" you have only to maintain e!change rates for all other currencies 'ith respect to this #ase currency. A translation #et'een t'o foreign currencies is calculate through the #ase currency" that is" #y com#ining t'o e!change rates. (irect1 ndirect 2uotation o) E/c"ange Rates Let us look at the ifference #et'een irect an in irect %uotation of e!change rates. ,irect %uotation represents a currency value e!presse in units of the local currency per unit of a foreign currency. 7n the other han " in irect %uotation represents a currency value e!presse in units of the foreign currency per unit of the local currency. >o' you efine the e!change rates epen s on the market stan ar or the in ivi ual #usiness transaction. The use is neither country)specific nor application)specific. For each currency pair" you efine 'hich %uotation is the stan ar . $f an e!change rate is maintaine 'ithout using the stan ar " the rate 'ill #e highlighte . 3or4lists )or 0aintaining E/c"ange Rates *hen e!change rate ta#les are maintaine #y more than one employee" as may #e re%uire " several pro#lems can occur. This is circumvente #y SAP. >ere" you can efine 'orklists an then maintain the e!change rates using the transaction T&FR38T. There are several a vantages in the SAP metho : + + + /ou can maintain 4ust the relevant e!change rates. These can #e maintaine via 'orklists. /ou can assign authorizations for these 'orklists.

(esign o) E/c"ange Rate in (i))erent 2uotations E!change rates can #e entere #y the user as a irect or an in irect %uotation. T'o prefi!es can #e set that can #e use to ifferentiate #et'een irect an in irect %uotations uring input an isplay. The prefi! has to #e entere #efore entering the e!change rate. This means that if there is a prefi! efine for each" you are force to consi er 'hich prefi! to enter" an therefore 'hich rate to consi er uring input" there#y eliminating errors.

UNIT SAP NAVIGATOR

Getting Started with SAP

There are a num#er of ifferent versions of SAP. ,epen ing on the version your company has implemente " your SAP screen may look slightly ifferent from 'hat you see in this course. Typically" SAP components are accessi#le using a general front)en program calle the SAP .F$ Aor .raphical Fser $nterfaceB. The SAP .F$ is the stan ar program for accessing almost all SAP solutions. The SAP .F$ program connects your computer 'ith a specific SAP system. For starting SAP .F$" SAP provi es a program calle SAP Logon. *hen you are 'orking 'ith SAP" it is important to recognize the proper 'ay to access an e!it the system. Let us look at ho' this 'orks 'ith SAP .F$ Logging On to SAP Alisa nee s to log on to the SAP system. She can o so #y ou#le)clicking the SAP Logon icon on her esktop. The system then opens the SAP Logon 'in o'. She then selects the system that she 'ants to access an clicks Logon. Alisa kno's that for logging on to SAP" she nee s a User name an Password. She also kno's that she has the option to select a logon language uring the logon process. Since Alisa is logging on for the first time" her system a ministrator gives her an initial pass'or . ,uring the process" she 'ill #e prompte to enter a ne' pass'or " 'hich she can use for logging on in future. C"anging +our Password in SAP Alisa is re%uire #y $,ES security stan ar s to change her pass'or every 0; ays. To change her pass'or " she can click New Password on the applications tool#ar. The system opens a ne' 'in o'" in 'hich she has to enter a ne' pass'or " an then re)enter it to confirm" as she i 'hile logging on to SAP for the first time. Logging O)) )rom SAP *hen Alisa has finishe using the SAP system" it is important for her to log off from the system. Logging off ensures that she is not unnecessarily using a session an also protects her company from the risks associate 'ith leaving an open session unatten e . The preferre metho for logging off the SAP system is to use the Log off icon. The system then isplays a ialog #o! in icating that any unsave ata 'ill #e lost. She is then prompte to confirm that she 'ants to log off. She may click Yes to e!it the SAP system. #a%igation Components The SAP system contains several key components that provi e options for navigation there#y making your 'ork in SAP easier. These components are menu #ar" stan ar tool#ar" title #ar"

application tool#ar" an status #ar. The SAP Easy Access screen is the initial screen isplaye after logging on to the SAP system. This screen is the user)specific point of entry into the SAP system an serves as a gate'ay to the rest of the system. 0ain #a%igation cons As she continues to e!plore the SAP system" Alisa notices that there are stan ar navigation icons. She investigates further to etermine the function of each of these icons. #a%igating t"e Tree Structure Alisa fin s that the Stan ar SAP Tree is a tool for accessing the SAP transactions. The Stan ar SAP Tree isplays a hierarchy of the menus availa#le in the SAP system. Fsing the tree is one of the #est 'ays to #ecome familiar 'ith the system. The elements of an SAP Tree are the SAP menu icon" 'ork areas" arro's" fol ers" an transactions. 8avigation 'ithin the stan ar tree is referre to as menu path navigation. Alisa navigates #y clicking on the arro's to rill o'n through the fol ers to the esire transaction. She can locate a variety of transactions #y navigating in the SAP Easy Access menu. The stan ar transactions that are availa#le inclu e Create" Change" an Display. Fields in an SAP Screen Fiel s are the areas on a screen that contain specific ata use in the SAP ata#ase. They contain items" such as information a#out customers" employees" ven ors" e%uipment" an or ers. $nformation can #e entere in the form of te!t" num#ers" ates" or co es. Some entries can also #e in the form of ranges that may #e use for searching 'ithin the ata. An a vantage of SAP is that once you enter ata" it can then #e share among various screens" transactions" an applications. Alisa o#serves that a ta# page comprises several screens organize as ta#s for clarity an ease of access. She also notices that ifferent fiel s re%uire ifferent types of input" such as an input fiel " check#o!" an a ra io #utton. Fields in an SAP Screen 5Continued6 Alisa o#serves that the ifferent fiel s on an SAP screen may #e man atory" or optional" or may automatically isplay ata. The three types of input control for fiel s on an SAP screen are man atory isplay" or optional. A fiel value can efault to a man atory or optional fiel . #a%igating 7etween Fields Alisa fin s that she can navigate #et'een fiel s on a screen #y simply clicking a esire fiel . She iscovers that she also can use the key#oar to move #et'een fiel s. + + + + To move #et'een fiel s" you can use the up an down arrow keys. To a vance to the ne!t fiel " you can use the Tab key. To move #ack to the previous fiel " you can use the Shift an Tab keys To move 'ithin a fiel " you can use the left an right arrow keys.

0ultiple Sessions in SAP Alisa fin s that she can use a session to create or change ata 'hile using another session to isplay ata. She can also copy ata #et'een sessions. This is especially helpful 'hen she is in the mi le of a transaction an nee s to verify information in another transaction to complete the former. #a%igating 7etween Sessions Alisa fin s it useful to minimize the sessions that she is not using. She can reopen a minimize session using the *in o's status #ar. She also fin s that using the Alt G Ta# *in o's function allo's her to toggle #et'een the open sessions. The chosen session #ecomes the active 'in o' #y moving in front of all the other session 'in o's. Also" she can create up to si! sessions. *hile she is logge on to SAP" she can move #et'een sessions 'ithout losing any ata. >o'ever" #efore en ing a session" she must save any ata that she 'ants to keep.
Help F n!ti"n# and Per$"nali$ing SAP

8ow to Use F- 8elp *hen you are 'orking 'ith SAP" it is important to recognize 'hen you nee help. /ou must also i entify the type of help that you nee . This is the first time Cean)Pierre is using the SAP system. As he is entering employee master ata" he encounters a fiel la#ele Infotype. >e oes not kno' 'hat ata this fiel re%uires. Cean)Pierre has recognize that he nee s help to enter ata correctly in the Infotype fiel . This means he nee s fiel )specific help. *ith SAP" this is easy to get. To get help" Cean)Pierre nee s to click to place his cursor in the re%uire fiel an then use the function keys at the top of his key#oar . Cean)Pierre may press F1 to see the escriptive te!t an technical information a#out the $nfotype fiel . The F1 help provi es more information a#out a fiel " menu" function" or message. Finding Field *alues wit" F9 8elp Cean)Pierre has o#taine information on the entry to #e ma e in the $nfotype fiel . >e no' nee s to locate a particular $nfotype in the SAP system. This is 'here F- help can #e very useful. Searc"ing )or Field *alues The F- help may isplay an e!tensive list of fiel values allo'e for the $nfotype fiel . $t can #e cum#ersome to scroll through the long list to locate the value that you are looking for. To locate a specific value for a fiel " you can use the F- help an perform a search. To e!ecute the search" Cean)Pierre enters a partial te!t an an asterisk A+B an clicks &ontinue. 8ow to Use a 3ildcard Searc" Cean)Pierre has accesse the F- help in or er to vie' the list of allo'e values for the $nfotype fiel . The results of any search can #e limite #y entering restriction information" 'hich consists of an + an partial te!t. The partial te!t is a part of the value that you are searching for. This irects the search to return only those results that contain the partial te!t. This is referre to as 'il car search.

$n or er to transfer the value into the entry fiel " Cean)Pierre ou#le)clicks the infotype he nee s. T"ree Types o) Status 0essages As you are 'orking in SAP" you can see messages appear on the status #ar of your 'in o'. The status #ar provi es information on the transaction or task on 'hich you are 'orking. $t is important to un erstan 'hat these messages mean an ho' you must respon to them. There are three types of status messages. Cean)Pierre has alrea y seen each type of message uring his first 'eek of using SAP. /ou can see the messages that he receive here. 8ow to Use t"e SAP Li7rary and Application 8elp Cean)Pierre accesses SAP Li#rary #y selecting Help SAP Library. The SAP Li#rary is an online collection of all SAP ocumentation availa#le for your SAP system. $t is a ro#ust an rea ily availa#le tool that helps you learn more a#out SAP. The li#rary provi es information on many SAP topics such as ho' to use system functions" system architecture concepts" e!amples of process configuration" an possi#le user errors an their conse%uences. $t also contains tips an tricks to help you perform common tasks %uickly an easily. Cean)Pierre uses the SAP Application >elp to o#tain information on maintaining >R master ata. For this" he opens the 0aintain 8R 0aster (ata screen" an from the menu #ar chooses Help Appli!ation Help. 8ow to Use t"e SAP Li7rary and Application 8elp Cean)Pierre accesses SAP Li#rary #y selecting Help SAP Library. The SAP Li#rary is an online collection of all SAP ocumentation availa#le for your SAP system. $t is a ro#ust an rea ily availa#le tool that helps you learn more a#out SAP. The li#rary provi es information on many SAP topics such as ho' to use system functions" system architecture concepts" e!amples of process configuration" an possi#le user errors an their conse%uences. $t also contains tips an tricks to help you perform common tasks %uickly an easily. Cean)Pierre uses the SAP Application >elp to o#tain information on maintaining >R master ata. For this" he opens the 0aintain 8R 0aster (ata screen" an from the menu #ar chooses Help Appli!ation Help. 8ow to Use t"e $lossary $f Cean)Pierre encounters an unfamiliar term 'hile rea ing a#out sales or ers in the SAP Li#rary" he can use the glossary to iscover its efinition. To fin out the meaning of 5sales area"6 Cean)Pierre first clicke .lossary to open the glossary" selecte the letter S" scrolle o'n on the list isplaye for the letter S 'here the term is locate " an finally" clicke the term sales area. 3"at is a Fa%orite: Cean)Pierre fin s that he is using the same SAP transaction co es many times uring the ay. >e etermines that it 'oul #e easier if he coul access these transaction co es 'ithout follo'ing the stan ar tree menu path. Cean)Pierre notices that he can make his 'ork more efficient #y creating "a#orites for his regular transactions.

From the "a#orites fol er you can launch transactions" ocument files" an 'e# a resses. 8ow to Use Fa%orites Cean)Pierre can create a Favorite #y clicking an ragging an e!ecuta#le menu item to the "a#orites menu. >e can also use the Add to "a#orites icon or choose "a#orites Add from the menu #ar. >e can also elete a Favorite using the Delete "a#orite icon. Creating 3e7 Lin4s Cean)PierreHs SAP skills have continue to improve. There are several 'e# sites that he uses on a regular #asis to o his 4o#. >e fin s that he can create links to those 'e# sites an launch them irectly from his "a#orites fol er on the SAP $asy A!!ess screen. After accessing the 'e# site" he can return to the SAP system #y closing his internet #ro'ser. 3"at Can Customize: As you 'ork 'ith SAP" you may nee to personalize your user interface. /ou can change + + + + + + the ate format" ecimal notation" the printer that you regularly use" your logon language" current time zone" an the transaction that is isplaye 'hen you log on.

3ost users are likely to mo ify only the first three items on this list accor ing to their personal preference. Any item that you o not change remains set to the system efault. These settings can #e mo ifie #y choosing Syste% #ar. 8ow to Customize Local Layout Cean)Pierre has selecte Syste% &ser Profile (aintain &ser Profile screen is isplaye . 'wn data from the menu #ar" an the &ser Profile 'wn data from the menu

$n the Defaults ta# page" he can customize a num#er of layout options. The selections ma e #y Cean)Pierre in the Defaults ta# page #ecome his efault settings. 7nce save " they 'ill appear in the manner in 'hich he has chosen them" 'henever he logs on to SAP. Let us look at the settings that Cean)Pierre can mo ify: Start 3enu Logon Language 7utput ,evice Personal Time Ione ,ecimal 8otation ,ate Format Setting Options )or 8elp and Status 0essages

/ou can customize SAP #y changing the 'ay help an status messages are isplaye . For this" you nee to choose the Custo%i)ing of Lo!al Layouts icon an then select 'ptions to isplay the 'ptions 'in o'. 3"at Options Can 0odi)y: The 7ptions 'in o' isplays the options that you can mo ify. The options that you are most likely to change are locate un er the .eneral ta#. They etermine the manner in 'hich the help an status messages are isplaye . /ou can mo ify Juick $nfo" (eep at 3essage" an ,ialog (o!.
A%VANCE% NAVIGATION

Using Transaction Codes The SAP system associates technical names 'ith transactions. Every transaction or function in the system has a uni%ue technical name referre to as a transaction co e or Tco e. The sli e epicts some transaction co es an their names. Transaction co es can #e use to provi e a more irect route for launching transactions than navigating the stan ar SAP tree. The first step in 'orking 'ith transaction co es is learning 'hich co es are use for the transactions you 'ant to perform. (isplaying Transaction Codes $n the SAP Easy Access screen" Kera can vie' transaction co es #y setting the option to have the co es isplaye on the SAP stan ar tree structure. She clicks $*tras on the menu #ar an selects Settings from the rop) o'n list. This opens the Settings ialog #o!. She clicks Display te!hni!al na%es an then clicks Continue +$nter,. The system 'ill then collapse the SAP stan ar tree structure. As she navigates through the tree" she 'ill see the transaction co es ne!t to the transactions. Kera can ou#le)click on any transaction co e or name to launch that transaction. Entering Transaction Codes in t"e Command Field Fsing transaction co es provi es another option for navigation in the SAP system. Kera fin s that she can enter a transaction co e in the comman fiel to go irectly to a transaction or function from the Easy Access screen. *ith this metho " transactions can #e accesse 'ithout navigating the SAP stan ar tree structure. Components o) t"e Command Field The comman fiel inclu es a comman list that hol s several of the transaction co es most recently accesse via the comman fiel . This allo's for those transactions to #e easily accesse again at a later ate.

To isplay this history" Kera 'ill click on the comman list. She can click on a transaction co e from the list an that co e 'ill populate in the comman fiel . She can then click $nter to launch the transaction. Using Slas" Commands $f you 'ere to enter a transaction co e #y itself in the comman fiel on any screen other than the Easy Access screen" you 'oul not #e a#le to launch that transaction. >o'ever" if you enter a L=L along 'ith the appropriate comman an transaction co e you can launch transactions from other transaction screens. This is helpful #ecause you can go irectly from one transaction to another 'ithout having to return to the Easy Access screen. L=nL an L=oL are e!amples of slash comman s. /ou can en a session using 5=n.6 /ou can use 5=o6 to start another transaction in an a itional session in one step. Slas" Commands 3it"out Transaction Codes Fsing a slash comman 'ithout in icating a transaction co e in the comman fiel has a itional functions. + + Entering L=oL in the comman fiel an clicking $nter 'ill sho' an overvie' of the sessions you currently have opene . Entering L=nL in the comman fiel an clicking $nter 'ill en the current transaction.

A(*A#CE( FEATURES C"anging User (e)aults 8o' that Kera has #asic kno'le ge of using SAP" she 'ants to make use of certain a vance features that 'ill help her save time. To maintain her user profile in the system" she chooses Syste% &ser Profile 'wn Data. She can make the esire settings in the Address" Defaults" an Para%eters ta# pages. 7nce she saves her ata" these settings 'ill remain vali until she changes them again. Finding a P ( $n F1 fiel )specific help" there is an icon for Te!hni!al Info. This 'in o' contains the parameter i entifier of a fiel Aor PIDB" along 'ith other technical information. A fiel can #e fille 'ith propose values from SAP memory using a parameter $,. 7nce you kno' the P$, of a fiel " you can assign a efault value to automatically populate that fiel 'henever it appears in a transaction. This change is ma e for your user profile only Ait oes not change the value of the fiel for other users.B $n this e!ample" Kera 'ants the efault value 5MM6 to appear in the Country -rouping fiel " 'henever it is isplaye . She presse ". an chose the Te!hni!al info icon in the ". help 'in o'. As you can see" the P$, for the Country -rouping fiel is 37L. 8ow to Assign a P ( to your User Pro)ile Kera can no' assign the specific efault ata to a particular P$, for her user profile. She follo's the menu path Syste% &ser profile 'wn data to access the 3aintain Fser Profile screen an chooses the Para%eters ta# page. She enters the P$, for the fiel in a #lank Para%eters fiel an then enters the value 5MM6 in

the correspon ing /alue fiel . Kera saves the changes. The ne' efault value 'ill take effect only after she logs off an logs on again to SAP. Result: 7nce the P$, is assigne to her user profile" 'henever Kera uses a transaction that inclu es the country grouping fiel " it 'ill #e fille in 'ith the ata 5MM.6 A Caution Regarding P (s The ata Kera entere as a efault value for the &ountry .rouping P$, 'ill remain assigne until she goes #ack to change it. This is true for all P$,s you assign to your user profile. For e!ample" if Kera oes not 'ant to set MM as the country grouping" she shoul manually change the P$, for 37L. $f she leaves the fiel #lank" the system 'ill automatically take 5;;6 Aor #lankB for the country grouping. >ence" she must either specify country grouping or remove the entire ro' from the user parameter ta#. Using SAP Reports To isplay or analyze information from the SAP ata#ase" you e!ecute a report. $n many cases" the SAP system automatically e!ecutes a report. Sometimes" ho'ever" you may nee to e!ecute a report yourself. Some reports are simply the lists of ocuments" 'hile other reports are linke the SAP system. List Report Analysis Report Reports that are irectly linke to a task sometimes use the ata alrea y entere on your screen as selection criteria. This means you o not have to enter selection criteria 'hen the report is e!ecute . irectly to tasks in