SmartForms Creation: Flow Control, Addresses, Folders, and Translations
Flow Control
Within the object tree structure visible on the left side of the screen in the Smartforms transaction, several options allow us to control the form processing. They are:
- ALTERNATIVE: Used for nodes or objects alternately including their successors.
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To create an alternative, right-click on the corresponding window and select CREATE=>PROCESS LOGIC=>ALTERNATIVE.
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In the General Properties tab, we'll specify the condition that determines the processing path.
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Then, within the TRUE and FALSE nodes, we'll create the necessary objects to continue processing.
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If the condition is true, the system will process the true node or object. Otherwise, it will process the false node.
- LOOPS: Used to read data from an internal table line by line. Depending on how the successor nodes or objects are related, there is the possibility to process the following data.
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To create a Loop, right-click on the corresponding window and select CREATE=>PROCESS LOGIC=>LOOP.
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Similar to tables, in the DATA tab, we'll enter the name of the internal table to iterate along with a structure of the same type as the table.
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We can also specify conditions for iterating through the table in the WHERE CONDITION window and the sorting of the internal table in the Sorting Criteria window.
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We'll use the Events tab to define events at the beginning and end of a node (folder, complex paragraph, table, loop), where additional contents are displayed.
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The Events tab is especially useful for displaying table headers and total lines.
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In the Calculations tab, we can determine calculations to be performed with the fields of the table we are iterating over.
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In the Output Conditions tab, we'll specify the style to be used.
- COMMANDS: A command is used when we want to move to a new page in the form. The page to which we want to jump must exist. We can go to a new page only while displaying the contents of a main window.
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To create a command, right-click on the main window and select CREATE=>PROCESS LOGIC=>COMMAND.
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In the General Properties tab, if we check GO TO A NEW PAGE, we'll have to specify the page.
- OUTPUT CONDITIONS: All objects we create have the Conditions tab. Here, we can suppress processing based on certain conditions. If the condition is true, the system will process the node or object. If the condition is false, the system will ignore the processing of that object or node and all its successors.
Addresses
We can create an address object or node that allows us to use addresses stored in the SAP system's standard table ADRC with a format determined according to the postal rules of the sender's country.
ADRC TABLE - Standard SAP system table that stores addresses (central address management).
To create an address, right-click on a window and select CREATE=>ADDRESS.
Then, we'll co mplete the following fields that appear in the General Properties tab:
- Typ e: Indicates th e type of address.
- Address number: Is the address number of the ADRC address master.
- Person number: If the address number does not belo ng to an organization, we can fill in this field.
Additional settings can then be specified in the Additional Address Data frame.
Folders
As a form becomes more extensive, the hierarchy of nodes in the hierarchical structure becomes less clear. To avoid this, related nodes can be combined by adding them to a folder node.
- To create a folder node, right-click on the node in the tree structure and select create/folder.
- Then, we'll enter a unique name for the node and a description.
- To assign other nodes to the folder, we'll use "drag and drop" to include them in the folder node or insert new nodes as successors.
Text translations
All texts displayed in forms, styles, and generally in any ABAP program can be translated into other languages. To perform text translation, we'll use transaction SE63.
TRANSACTION SE63 - We'll use transaction SE63 to translate texts, whether used in SmartForms or in SAP documentation in general.
- To translate Smartforms, we'll select the menu option Translation => ABAP Objects => OTHER EXPLANATORY TEXTS.
- In the dialog box that appears on the screen, we'll open the Form and Styles folder and double-click on the SSF SAP Smart form option to translate form texts.
- If we want to translate style texts, we'll select the STYL Styles option.
- When a form or text module is created, the primary or source language is the language of creation.
- In the following screen, we'll enter the following fields:
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Object name: Here, we'll put the form name.
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Source language: This is the source or creation language.
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Target language: This is the language to which we want to translate the form.
- Finally, we'll press the Process button, write the translation, and save the changes.
Then, if we work in a real work environment where we need to pass the translations we just created to other environments, we'll have to add them to a transport order.
We have two ways to do this:
- Running the standard program RS_LXE-RECORD-TORDER (program used to generate a transport order to include translations of texts).
- Adding each translation manually to the transport order using transaction SE10.