IDOCs

IDOCs

Objective:-

To understand what is an IDOC.

The need for using IDOCs

Uses of IDOCs

Creating a Custom IDOC

Enhancing an existing IDOC

Programming Logic for IDOC interface

IDOCs

What is an IDOC ?

The term IDOC stands for Intermediate Document. Its not a

process. An IDOC is simply a data container that is used to exchange
information between any two processes that can understand the
syntax and semantics of the data.

An IDOC is created as a result of execution of an outbound ALE or

EDI process. In an inbound ALE or EDI process, an IDOC serves
as an input to create application document.

IDOCs are independent of sending and receiving system. They

can be used for SAP to SAP and SAP to non-SAP process
communications as long as the participating processes can
understand the syntax and semantics of the data.
IDOCs

IDOCs are independent of the direction of data exchange.An IDOC

can be used by an inbound as well as an outbound process.

For e.g the ORDERS01 IDOC is used by the purchasing module

to send a purchase order and is also used by the sales and
distribution module to accept a sales order. This avoids creating
redundant IDOC types for the same information.
IDOCs

Asynchronous
Document-related

System 1 System 2

SAP
IDoc Document
Document Transaction
Message

R/3 System EDI subsystem

R/3 System
R/2 System
3rd party software
Outbound Data Flow

SAP application

Document

Message Control (NAST)

Document
NAST
Record

IDoc Interface & ALE Services

IDoc

System 2, e.g. EDI subsystem

Inbound Data Flow

System 2, e.g. EDI subsystem

IDoc

IDoc Interface & ALE Services

IDoc +
Process

SAP Business Workflow IDoc +

Function Module

Document

SAP application
Advantages of using IDOCs

For e.g Standard IDOC MATMAS01 is used to exchange material

master information with the legacy system in version 3.1G. Now the
company decides to go in for a version upgrade to 3.1H in which
MATMAS01 has been enhanced .You can continue to use the older
version and then decide to switch to the enhanced IDOC later.

Ability to create and enhance IDOCs

Using the standard tools ( IDOC editor and segment editor ) you can
either enhance standard SAP IDOCs or create new IDOCs in the system
to support custom interface.

The newly developed IDOCs integrate seamlessly into the standard ALE/
EDI interface because they are developed using standard tools provided
by the system. They also become available in the standard
list of SAP IDOCs and can take advantage of all the tools are designed
like IDOC monitoring, error handling and archiving.
Advantages of using IDOCs

Following are the benefits of IDOCs over Flat files.

Independence from Applications

The biggest advantage of using the IDOC interface is that its an

open interface i.e independent of the internal structure used by SAP
to store data and independent of sending and receiving applications.

Communication with Back-Level IDOCs

The standard IDOCs and the segments within the IDOC have a
version associated with them.Each time a standard IDOC or a
segment is enhanced, the system assigns it a newer version.
Partner applications that were developed using a previous version
of the IDOCs are fully supported. SAP can generate and process
back-level IDOCs. This version management technology offers
backward compatibility.
Advantages of using IDOCs

Custom IDOCs are distinguished from SAP IDOCs by their names,

as they start with Z.

Standard Monitoring Tools

Several tools are available to monitor the state of the system. They
range from simple IDOC display to IDOC statistics.

IDOC type Documentation

Each IDOC in the system is thoroughly documented .The usage is

detailed down to the field level with possible values for each field and
how it affects the process.

The documentation of any IDOC can be obtained using transaction

WE60.
Archiving Tools
Tools are available for miscellaneous tasks such as archiving ,
data cleanup and restoring information back into SAP.
Use of IDOCs

EDI integration

EDI is electronic exchange of business documents between SAP and

non-SAP systems.Several applications ( purchasing, sales or
shipping ) in SAP are enabled for EDI.
To use EDI first the application document viz.. purchase order is
created. EDI interface layer converts the application document into
an IDOC which is transferred to an EDI subsystem.The EDI
subsystem translates the IDOC into an industry-standard format
and then transfers it to a business partner over a network.

ALE Integration

ALE (Application Link Enabling) enables the exchange of data

between two SAP systems.This system allows SAP business
processes and applications to be distributed across multiple
SAP systems.ALE ensures integration in a distributed SAP
environment.
Use of IDOCs

OCR Application integration

OCR( Optical Character Recognition ) is a technology that scans

and interprets printed matter using pattern recognition. You can
integrate an OCR application with SAP via IDOCs. Documents in a
standard format can be scanned to generate IDOCs, which then can
be transferred to the SAP system for processing.

ICR Application integration

Bar-code system is an example ICR ( Intelligent Character

Recognition ) technology. Data encoded using bar-codes can be
captured and stored as an IDOC, which then can be passed to SAP
for further processing.
Comparing Flat File Structure
to
IDOC Structure
Comparison

The best way to explain the IDOC architecture is to compare your

legacy world to how SAP implements the same concept in IDOC
lingo.

Lname(10) Fname(10) SSN(11) DOB(8) Employee header occurs once mandatory

Week no(1) Hrs worked(3) Hrly rate(3) Client site(20) Work des.(50) Weekly details multiple
Total hrs(3) Total amount(10) Summary once

Assume that you have an application that records an employees

weekly hours .At the end of the month, a file containing the monthly
report data for each is sent to external system. This application has
been replaced by the SAP system ,and a standard IDOC has been
developed to support the process.
Comparison

Following are some properties of the file:

It has three types of records: employee header information,

weekly details and monthly summaries.

Each record type has certain properties ,such as whether its

optional or mandatory, number of times it can be repeated,
field names, data type for each field, and length of each field.

The client site and work description in the weekly details is

not always available.
IDOC version of the flat file

ZMREPT01 Segments
Lname Fname SSN Dob
Z1EMHDR
(M,1,1)

Z1WKDET
Week no Hrly Rate Tot Hrs
(O,1,99999)

Z1CLDET
(O,1,1)
Clsite Work desc.

Z1SUMRY
(O,1,1)
Tot hrs Tot amount
Comparison

Smith John 123-45-6789 102668

1 30 40 Houston Brewery Beer Testing
2 30 40 Network Computers High Level Consulting
3 30 50 Network Computers Programming
4 50 60 DSP Systems EDI Programming

140 6900

An example of the monthly report file for one particular employee

IDOC Definition Components

Name:

A basic IDOC type can be assigned up to a thirty-character name in

release 4.0 onwards. To encompass all releases we have used an 8
character name ZMREPT01.

Custom IDOC types always start with Z the last two character
represents the version number.After a basic IDOC type is released
and you move to a newer version of the SAP system, any changes
to the structure of the basic IDOC type will create a new basic IDOC
type i.e the version number is incremented by 1.

Thus ZMREPT02 represents an enhanced version of this IDOC.

Segments of a previous version are never deleted. This is necessary
to maintain backward compatibility.
IDOC Definition Components

List of permitted segments:

These segments make up the IDOC structure. The current example

has four segments: Z1EMHDR, Z1WKDET , Z1CLDET and
Z1SUMRY.

Arrangement of segments:

Arrangement specifies the physical sequence and any parent-child

relationship in the segments. A parent-child relationship signifies
that the child segment cannot exist without the parent and is
commonly used for text segments. It gives an IDOC type a
hierarchical structure.
IDOC Definition Components
Mandatory versus Optional segments:

When used in an IDOC type,each segment

has an attribute that defines whether the
segment is optional or mandatory.
In the example given, Z1EMHDR is a mandatory
segment because the monthly report will not make
sense without the employees basic
information.

Minimum / Maximum range for each segment:

Each segment has an attribute that
defines the minimum and the maximum number
of times a data record corresponding to a segment can exist in an
IDOC.

In the example given, data records corresponding to the Z1WKDET

segment can occur multiple times.
IDOC Definition Components

SEGMENTS

A segment defines the format and structure of a data record.

Segments are reusable components, which means they can be used
in more than one IDOC type. A segment consists of various fields
that represent data in a data record.

Segment Components

A segment in the SAP system is technically implemented as three

physically separate pieces.

1) Segment type
This is version independent name of the segment. SAP provided
segment types begin with E1, whereas custom-defined segment
types begin with Z1.
In the example Z1EMPHDR and Z1WKDET are segment types.
IDOC Definition Components

2) Segment definition
This is version dependent definition of a segment where you specify
the fields that belong to the segment. SAP segment definitions start
with E2, whereas customer segment definitions start with Z2.

The name of a segment definition is 10 characters long and is

automatically assigned by the system from the name of the segment
type.
For e.g for the segment type E1EDKA1, the segment definition is
E2EDKA1.

The last three characters represent the version of the segment.

The first segment definition has spaces in last three characters.
The last three characters are incremented by 1 to reflect the new
definition.
IDOC Definition Components

Segment definitions
Z2TEST Z2TEST001 Z2TEST002

Field 1 Field 1 Field 1

Field 2 Field 2 Field 2

Field 3 Field 3 Field 3

Field 4 Field 4 Field 4

Field 5 Field 5

Field 6
IDOC Definition Components

3) Segment Documentation
This represents the data dictionary documentation for each field
in the segment definition.Segment documentation of SAP-provided
segments begins with E3, whereas the segment documentation of
customer-defined segment types with Z3.

There is only one segment documentation per segment.

IDOC Run-Time Components

Although there are several records in an IDOC,they are still

classified as one of the three record type.

Control Record
Data Record
Status Record

At run time the following events occur:-

A unique IDOC number is allocated.
One control record is attached to the IDOC.
Segments translate into data records.
Status records are attached.
Syntax rules are checked.
IDOC Run-Time Components

Control Record IDoc-ID

Sender-ID
Receiver-ID
IDoc type and logical message
External structure

Data Record IDoc-ID

Sequence/Hierarchy
Segment Format definition for
header data
item data

Status Record IDoc-ID

Status information
IDOC Run-Time Components

Transaction WE02 0r WE05 ( IDOC Display )

IDOC Run-Time Components

Control Record

As the name suggests contains all of the control information about an

IDOC, this basically includes IDOC number, sender and receiver
information such as the message type it represents and the IDOC
type.

A control record can be compared to an envelope of a letter,by

looking at the envelope,you can identify the sender and the recipient.

It has following characteristics

There is one and only one control record per IDOC.

The structure of the control record is the same for all Idocs and is
defined by SAP.
It is stored in EDIDC table
IDOC Run-Time Components

Control Record as viewed by IDOC display tool

IDOC Run-Time Components

Data Records

In an IDOC, data records contain the application data.The employee

header information,weekly details,client details and summary
information reside in data records.

A data record has two parts: an administrative section and a data

section.
Administrative section contains the segment name,segment number
and hierarchy level.
Data section is where the actual data resides.This is mapped to a
segment type.
Data records are stored in the EDID2 table.
The complete documentation of the data record can be viewed by
using transaction WE61.
IDOC Run-Time Components

Status Record

These are attached to an IDOC throughout the process as the

IDOC achieves different milestones.
At every milestone a status code,date and time are assigned.
The latest status code is also maintained in the control record.

Status records have following characteristics:-

Multiple status records are usually attached to an IDOC.

In outbound processes, after the IDOC is passed from SAP
to the subsystem,the subsystem generates the status
records and passes them to SAP.
For inbound processes,SAP generates the status records.

List of status code and there details can be seen by executing

transaction WE47.
IDOC Run-Time Components

Details of a status code WE47

Extending / Creating an IDOC

Extending IDOCS

You extend a basic IDOC type when it meets most of your

requirements.

You have extended the SAP screens to include custom field,such as

in the material master and customer master.The master data is to be
distributed across several SAP systems using ALE.This situation is a
perfect candidate and obvious choice for IDOC extension.

Your business partner sends you additional information or expects

additional information on an EDI document.This again should be
taken as a case of IDOC extension.
Extending / Creating an IDOC

Advantages of Extensions

The standard code of processing is still in use.

Developments and corrections of standard code are available

automatically.

Extensions are much less effort than developments.

Extending / Creating an IDOC

Creating IDOCS

You create a new basic IDOC type when the standard basic IDOC
types do not meet your business needs as is or by extending them.

You want to synchronize master data between two SAP

systems,and this master data s not supported in the standard
system.

New basic IDOC types are developed especially for interface to

legacy systems or third-party products using ALE.Data to be
exchanged with Legacy system is usually in a proprietary format
and does not map one to one with a standard SAP business process.
Creating a New IDOC type

Design guidelines to be followed during the creation of an IDOC

Develop an IDOC type for a function,not for a specific application.

For example,the ORDERS02 IDOC is designed for the order process
and not specifically for the sales order entry applications.This IDOC
is used for several documents such as purchase order, sales order ,
order response and order change.

Organize the document to contain header information,detail

information and summary information.

Do not repeat a segment type in an IDOC definition.

For example, consider the monthly report IDOC type ZMREPT01,
if it was asked to add client information to the summary as well,our
instinct would be to attach the Z1CLDET segment to summary
segment Z1SUMRY.SAP does not permit placing a segment type
more than once in an IDOC definition.
Creating a New IDOC type

Use the parent-child relationship when you are going to permit

several entries of the same type in one IDOC.

Avoid having too many mandatory segments.Having extra

mandatory segments reduces the reusability of the IDOC.
For example in monthly report IDOC,the weekly details segment
seems to be mandatory.Consider another process that could make
use of this IDOC to send just employee header information and
summary information.If the weekly segment were mandatory,then
the IDOC would not be reusable in that way.

Create segments that can be reused by other IDOCs.

Do not make segments larger then 1,000 bytes. Try to split the
segments into functionally separate segments when a segment
definition exceeds 1,000 bytes.
Creating a New IDOC type

Steps for creating a Basic IDOC type

Step 1: Data analysis

Step2: Create Data Elements

Step3: Create Segments

Step4: Create Basic IDOC type

Sep5: Release the segment type and Basic IDOC type

Step6: Transport Segments and Basic IDOC types

Data Analysis

In this stage you analyze data that needs to be exchanged between

the two processes.Develop the conceptual picture of the IDOC on a
piece of paper.

Follow a top-down approach if you are starting a business-document

level.Break the documents into segments and group the segments that
belong together into a segment group.Identify fields in a segment and
their data type.Identify any parent-child relationships.

Follow a bottom-up approach if you are starting at the field level.

You have been given a docment that contain various values that must
be exchanged between two segments.Group the fields that are
functionally related into segment.Group those segments in a segment
group and arrange them in an IDOC type.Identify any parent-child
relationship.
Create Data Elements

The need to create new data elements is minimal because if you are
extracting data from SAP to put into an IDOC, the data already
exists in the database and is represented by a data element.You
need to create new data elements in following cases:

A data element in SAP does not use one of the allowed data types
for IDOC segments.
Here is a list of allowed data types

1> CHAR Character Strings

2> CLNT Client
3> CUKY Currency key
4> DATS Date field ( YYYYMMDD ) stored as char(8)
5> LANG Language key
6> NUMC Character fields with only digits
7> TIMS Time field ( HHMMSS) stored as char(6)
Create Data Elements

A field in SAP is smaller in length than the industry standard ( this

occurrence is rare ).

Create data elements as already covered in Data workbench section.

Create Segments

Segments are created by using Segment Editor tool.This can be

started by executing the transaction WE31.

Follow these steps to create a segment:

1) Execute transaction WE31.Enter the name for your segment type
( it must start with Z1 ) and click on create icon. The system prompts
you with the name of the development class it uses for the segment.
But you can override the default value.

2) Enter the values in the various fields.You are now maintaining the
first segment definition.The system automatically assigns a name to
the segment definition based on segment type.

3) Save your values and generate the segment definition.Once you

save your segment return to the previous screen and enter a
description for your segment type.Click on save and you are done.
Create Segments

WE31 to create Segments

Create Segments
Create Basic IDOC type

Once you have developed all the needed segment types you are ready
to create the basic IDOC type.You use IDOC editor transaction
WE30.

Follow these steps to create a basic IDOC type:

1) Execute transaction WE30,enter name for your basic IDOC type
( it must start with Z ),select Basic IDOC type button and click Create
icon.

2) On the next screen,select the create New option and enter a

description.Press Enter.

3) Click on the IDOC name and click on the create icon.The system
prompts you to enter a segment type and its attributes.Choose
appropriate values and press Enter.The system transfers name of
segment type to IDOC editor.
Create Basic IDOC type

WE30 to create Basic IDOC types

Create Basic IDOC type
Create Basic IDOC type

4) To add additional segments, click on the segment created in step 3

and repeat the procedure described in step 3.
Note that after you create the first segment, the system prompts you
for the level ( same level or child ) at which you want to create the
next new segment.

5> Save your basic IDOC type.

Release the Segment type and Basic IDOC type

When you are satisfied with your IDOC structure and segments,you
can release them formally to signify their completion and make them
available for transport to test and production systems.

First you release the segments,and then you release the basic IDOC
types.

To release a segment,execute WE31,enter segment type and choose

Goto, Release.The system enables a check box in the segment
definitions block.You can select the check box and save your entry.

To release a basic IDOC type,execute transaction WE30.Enter the

basic IDOC type in the Obj.Name field and choose Extras,Release
Type.Confirm the entry,and basic IDOC type is released.

This step prevents further modification to basic IDOC type

Release the Segment type and Basic IDOC type

Release Segment type

Release the Segment type and Basic IDOC type

Release Basic IDOC type

Transport Segments and Basic IDOC types

Changes to basic IDOC type and segments are automatically

recorded in a change request.After you transport the objects,you
can also manually retransport them from the segment editor and
IDOC editor screens by choosing Segment,Transport and
Development Object,Transport respectively.

Transporting a segment, transports all the segment definitions and

documentation,but transporting an IDOC does not automatically
transport all the segments.

Note:-
If you release a basic IDOC type without releasing its segments
and then, by transporting the basic IDOC type,the segments are not
transported.
Extending a Basic IDOC type

To extend a basic IDOC type,you also need to understand what is

permitted and what is not.The concept of extending a basic IDOC
type means adding one or more custom segments to one or more
existing SAP segments of a basic IDOC type.

The formal procedure of extending a basic IDOC type is as follows:

1) Start with data analysis.Identify a segment in the basic IDOC type

that needs to be extended.

2) Create a custom segment with your fields.

3) Create an IDOC extension that ties the custom segment to the SAP
segment which is to be extended.

4) Tie the extension to a basic IDOC type to create an IDOC type.

Extending a Basic IDOC type

Assume that you have extended the customer master screen to include
additional sales data information about your customer.This includes
two custom fields delivery priority and customer ranking.In order to
distribute customer master data between two SAP systems,you need
to also distribute information in the two custom fields.

The basic IDOC type for customer master is DEBMAS01.

Step 1: Data Analysis

In this step you analyze the basic IDOC type and identify segments
that need to be extended.In this example standard SAP segment
E1KNVVM contains the sales data information and Z1KNVVM is
a custom segment that contains user-defined fields.

Thus DEBMAS01 is extended by extending the E1KNVVM segment.

The segment to be extended is called reference segment.
Extending a Basic IDOC type

Step 2: Create Custom Segments

In this step you create the custom segment Z1KNVVM. This segment
contains two fields and required data elements: ZZDELPRTY
( Delivery priority ) and ZZRANK ( Customer Rank ).

Step 3: Create an IDOC extension

You use the IDOC editor transaction WE30 to create an IDOC

extension.

(a)Enter the name for your IDOC extension in the Obj.Name field.
This entry can be any meaningful name and does not have to start
with Z.Click on Extension type radio button and then on Create icon.

(b)On the next screen,click on the create New button and enter a
description for your extension and linked basic type .Press Enter.
Extending a Basic IDOC type

Create an IDOC extension

Extending a Basic IDOC type

(c) Select the extension type E1KNVVM and say Create.The system
informs you that the segment is added as a child segment..Confirm
the entry and the system prompts you with a dialog box to enter the
name of the custom segment and various attributes such as maximum
number and mandatory versus optional.Enter the appropriate values
and press Enter.

Specify attributes of custom segment

Extending a Basic IDOC type

(d) Save your extension.The system my prompt you for a change

request if the changes to Repository Objects option is turned on.
Extending a Basic IDOC type
Programming in IDOC Interface

The programming tasks in the IDOC interface can be categorized

as follow:

Program for custom IDOCs

These programs are specifically written for new basic IDOC types
developed for your process.A separate program is written for outbound
process and inbound process.

Programs for IDOC extensions

These programs are written specifically for extended IDOCs.Standard
user exits are available in the outbound and inbound IDOC process for
populating data and reading data in the extended segments.

Program to enhance the process

These programs are written to enhance the process flow for existing
IDOCs and add custom checks to the IDOC interface.
Programming in IDOC Interface
IDOC generation Program for custom IDOC with Selection Screen
The program logic contains the following blocks:
1. Provide a selection screen to allow a user to specify the various objects
for which IDOCs are to be generated.

2. Determine the key of the application document from the object specified
in step 1.

3. Select application data from the database using the object key identified
in step 2.

4. Populate control record information.

5. Populate an internal table of type EDIDD with data records for various
segments.

6. Call the ALE service layer( MASTER_IDOC_DISTRIBUTE) to create the

IDOCs in the database.

7.Commit work.
Programming in IDOC Interface

Inbound Program for Custom Basic IDOC types

The program logic contains the following blocks:
1. Read control record information.Verify control information (message
type).If the message type is incorrect,then raise the exception.

2. Read the IDOC data for an IDOC.

3. Parse through each data record.If using the call transaction,then build
the BDC data table;if not ,build internal tables.

4. Call the posting program and capture the results.

5. Populate return parameters.

6. Return from the function module.The results of execution are passed

to the ALE layer.