sap script overview

Editor's Notes

• #4: SAPScript is used to print forms. It has many advantages over conventional reports. In a report program , the programmer has less control over the formatting of the output . By using SAPScript , the programmer has more control to format the output so that the output form looks better. The programmer has more control mechanisms to format fonts, paragraphs, etc in SAPScript forms. In addition to that, SAPScript forms can have graphic elements(e.g. company logo, bar code etc.) attached to it. Forms can be event-triggered (e.g. Generating output as soon as the document is saved) using message control.
• #5: Example of standard SAPScript forms: SD- Quotation Order Confirmation Delivery Note Invoice FI- Customer Statement Checks PP- Purchase Req. Purchase Order Contract IM- Goods Issue Goods Receipt WM- Picking List Packing List Labels
• #6: SAP documents (e.g. sales order, billing document) are printed using forms. Forms are defined and formatted using layout sets. Layout set is a template that defines how the form will look when it actually gets printed. SAPScript is a tool that SAP provides for creating layout sets.
• #7: At a very high level, the only difference between creating a report and a form is the one additional step of formatting the data using the layout set. The output program(written in ABAP) will still extract the needed data. The manual formatting logic is taken from the ABAP program. The layout set defines the format in which the extracted data gets printed. There has to be some mechanism for the output program and the layout set to communicate. The communication is achieved through: Function calls Communication structures Configuration A SAPScript program is made up of two parts : The SAPScript form and the ABAP output program that calls the SAPScript form. The easiest way to create a SAPScript program is to use a standard SAP form for the functionality that you want and then modify it so that it results in a customized output. To find out which form is to be modified it is required to find out the configuration in the system.
• #8: Most people commonly refer to SAPScript as the combination of the output program and the corresponding layout set. However, for SAPScript forms to work, all of its components (including the configuration elements) must be created and configured properly. Output program is written in ABAP. It prepares the data to be displayed in the form. If message control technique is used then, it collects the key data in the document through communication structure and fetches other information from relevant tables based on this key values,otherwise all required data is selected from database based on business logic and feeds it to the layout set via function calls (OPEN_FORM, WRITE_FORM, CLOSE_FORM etc.). Layout set formats the passed data. Output determination configuration (optional) determines the appropriate output program / layout set combination. It defines which event triggers the printing of the forms, and also defines the timing (batch, on-line) and destination (which printer) of the output. This block is optional as it is used only with message control.
• #9: Printer configuration specifies the print control of the output device (e.g. impact, laser printer). Font configuration can be used to specify logos and barcodes, paragraphs and character formats. Note: The standard SAPScript forms are mainly triggered using the message control technique where Output determination configuration is required to find the appropriate output program / layout set combination, time, mode and device. This scenario is mainly used with transactional data. But in a custom scenario, if message control technique is not required then the output program ( also called print program or driver program) directly calls the specific layout set without the help of Output determination configuration. Also in that case information regarding the SAP document is not passed to the output program using communication structure. Whatever data is required to be displayed in the form is fetched from the relevant tables according to the business logic.