Procedure

In the initial screen of the ABAP Dictionary, select object class Search help, enter the name of the search help and choose Create.

A dialog box appears in which you must select the type of search help.

Select Collective search help and choose .

The maintenance screen for collective search helps is displayed.

Enter an explanatory text in the field Short text.

You can for example find the search help at a later time using this short text.

In the Definition tab page enter the parameters of the collective search help.

Select the Imp flag if it is an import parameter. Select the Exp flag if it is an export parameter.

Define the types for the parameters of a collective search help by assigning a data element. Enter the name of the data element that describes the contents of the search help parameter in the Data element field.

You can assign the parameter a default value in the Default value field.

In exceptions it could be necessary to change the standard process defined by the search help. You can implement the deviation from the standard using a search help exit.

In this case enter the name of the search help exit in the corresponding field.

On the Included search helps tab page, define the search helps that you want to include in the collective search help.

You can include elementary search helps and collective search helps.

Use the Hide flag to control whether an included search help should appear in the dialog box for selecting the elementary search help. If the flag is set, the search help is not offered.

It makes sense to hide search help inclusions if one or more search paths in the standard system should not be used in a concrete R/3 System. Similarly, search help inclusions can also be already hidden in the standard system because they only can be used meaningfully in a few R/3 Systems. You have to cancel the flag in this case.

Position the cursor one after the other on each allocated search help and choose Parameter assignment.

In the next screen, enter the parameter names of the elementary search helps to which the corresponding parameters of the collective search help should be assigned in the field Reference parameter.

You can select the parameters contained in the included search help using the input help. Create a proposal for the assignment with Proposal.

Save your entries.

A dialog box appears in which you have to assign a development class to the search help.

Choose .

Result

The collective search help is activated. You can find information about the activation flow in the activation log, which you can display with Utilities ® Activation log. If errors occurred when the collective search help was activated, the activation log is automatically displayed.

Do not forget to link the search help to a screen field. The search help attachment is not part of the search help definition; it is part of the object definition to which the search help is attached.

Other Options

You can test the flow of an input help defined by the collective search help with . A dialog box appears in which you can simulate the behavior of the search help under different conditions. You can obtain information about the options provided in this window with .

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SEARCH HELP IN ABAP :

The input help (F4 help) is a standard function of the R/3 System. It permits the user to display a list of possible values for a screen field. A value can be directly copied to an input field by list selection.

The fields having an input help are shown in the R/3 System by the input help key to the right of the field. This key appears as soon as the cursor is positioned on the corresponding screen field. The help can be started either by clicking on this screen element or with function key F4.

If the number of possible entries for a field is very large, you can limit the set of displayed values by entering further restrictions.

The display of the possible entries is enhanced with further useful information about the displayed values. This feature is especially useful if the field requires the entry of a formal key.

Since the input help is a standard function, it should look and behave the same throughout the entire R/3 System. The development environment therefore provides tools for assigning a standardized input help to a screen field.

The precise description of the input help for a field is usually defined by its semantics. For this reason, the input help for a field is normally defined in the ABAP Dictionary.


WHY DO U NEED SEARCH HELP?


A number of requirements must be met for the input help of a screen field (search field):

Information (about the context) known to the system must be taken into consideration in the input help. This includes entries the user already made in the current input template as well as information obtained in previous dialog steps. Normally the input help uses the context to limit the set of possible values.

The input help must determine the values that can be offered to the user for selection. The data to be displayed as supplementary information in the list of possible values must also be determined. When the possible values are determined, the restrictions resulting from the context and from further search conditions specified by the user must also be taken into consideration.

The input help must hold a dialog with the user. This dialog always contains the presentation of the possible values (with supplementary information) in list form and the possibility to select a value from this list. A search template in which the user can define conditions for the values to be displayed is also sometimes required

If the user selects a value, the input help must return it to the search field. The input template often contains more fields (often only display fields) containing further explanatory information about the search field. The input help should also update the contents of these fields in this case.


The ABAP Dictionary object search help:


The ABAP Dictionary object search help is used to describe an input help. The definition of a search help contains the information the system needs to satisfy the described requirements.

The interface of the search help controls the data transfer from the input template to the F4 help and back. The interface defines the context data to be used and the data to be returned to the input template when a value is selected.

The internal behavior of the search help describes the F4 process itself. This includes the selection method with which the values to be displayed should be determined as well as the dialog behavior describing the interaction with the user.

As with a function module, search helps distinguish between the interface with which it exchanges data with other software components and the internal behavior (for function modules, the latter is defined by the source text).

It only makes sense to define a search help if there is a mechanism available with which the search help can be accessed from a screen. This mechanism is called the search help attachment and will be described later.

Like the editor for function modules, the editor for search helps also enables you to test an object. You can thus test the behavior of a search help without assigning it to a screen field.


SELECTION METHOD OF SEARCH HELP:

The possible values displayed for a field by the input help are determined at runtime by a selection from the database. When a search help is defined, you must define the database object from which the data should be selected by specifying a table or a view as the selection method.

It makes sense to use a view as selection method if the data about the possible values that is relevant for the input help is distributed on several tables. If this data is all in one table or in the corresponding text table, you can use the table as a selection method. The system automatically ensures that the text of the text table is used in the user's logon language.

If there is not yet a view that combines the data that is relevant for an input help, you must first create it in the ABAP Dictionary.

Maintenance views may not be used as the selection method for search helps. Normally a database view is used. However, you should note that database views (in the R/3 System) are always created with an inner join. As a result, only those values having an entry in each of the tables involved are offered in the input help. Sometimes the values should be determined with an outer join. In this case you should choose a help view as the selection method. You can find more information about help views in the appendix.

If the selection method of a search help is client-dependent, the possible values are only selected in the user's logon client.


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