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In this tutorial, we’ll be learning about two elements of SAP ABAP report programming and dialog programming. They are fundamental features in ABAP selection screens, and we will learn how they are used and why.
What is a Report and Report Programming in SAP?
- SAP ABAP supports the creation of ‘reports’
- A report is a structure that presents data in an orderly manner
- Creating reports means we can write a report in SAP ABAP
- A report usually uses the WRITE statement within an iteration i.e. a loop
- We also have pre-defined reports that we can use, that are triggered based on user input
Use of SAP ABAP Report Programs
- Reports are used when we have to select sections of data from one or more tables
- Report programs are used when we need reports of a special format
- They are also used when we need to send the report to someone via email
- Report programs can be used when we need to download the report from SAP and send it across for distribution
What are Events in SAP ABAP?
| EVENT | DEFINITION |
| INITIALIZATION | This event is triggered at the starting point before the program displays the selection screen |
| AT SELECTION-SCREEN | This event is triggered on user input – it processed user input to perform actions |
| START-OF-SELECTION | This event is triggered when the user selects ‘execution’ option i.e. when we want to exit the selection screen |
| END-OF-SELECTION | This event is triggered when we execute the last line of the START-OF-SELECTION statement |
| TOP-OF-PAGE | This event is triggered on the first WRITE statement at the top of the page |
| END-OF-PAGE | This is the last event, it is triggered when we reach the end of the page |
Example of Events in SAP ABAP
REPORT ZR_SS_DATAFLAIR_SAMPLE_001 NO STANDARD PAGE HEADING MESSAGE-ID ZNNR LINE-SIZE 50 LINE-COUNT 75(4).
DATA : BEGIN OF IT_PLANT OCCURS 0,
MATNR LIKE MARA-MATNR,
WERKS LIKE MARC-WERKS,
PSTAT LIKE MARC-PSTAT,
EKGRP LIKE MARC-EKGRP,
END OF IT_PLANT.
DATA : BEGIN OF IT_PONO OCCURS 0,
EBELN LIKE EKKO-EBELN,
EBELP LIKE EKPO-EBELP,
MATNR LIKE EKPO-MATNR,
WERKS LIKE EKPO-WERKS,
LGORT LIKE EKPO-LGORT,
END OF IT_PONO.
TABLES EKKO.
SELECTION-SCREEN BEGIN OF BLOCK B1 WITH FRAME TITLE TEXT-001.
PARAMETERS : P_WERKS LIKE MARC-WERKS MODIF ID S1.
SELECT-OPTIONS : S_EBELN FOR EKKO-EBELN NO INTERVALS MODIF ID S2.
SELECTION-SCREEN END OF BLOCK B1.
SELECTION-SCREEN BEGIN OF BLOCK B2 WITH FRAME TITLE TEXT-004.
SELECTION-SCREEN BEGIN OF LINE.
PARAMETERS : R1 RADIOBUTTON GROUP G1 DEFAULT 'X'.
SELECTION-SCREEN COMMENT 5(20) TEXT-002 FOR FIELD R1.
SELECTION-SCREEN END OF LINE.
SELECTION-SCREEN BEGIN OF LINE.
PARAMETERS : R2 RADIOBUTTON GROUP G1.
SELECTION-SCREEN COMMENT 5(20) TEXT-003 FOR FIELD R2.
SELECTION-SCREEN END OF LINE.
SELECTION-SCREEN END OF BLOCK B2.
INITIALIZATION.
P_WERKS = '999'.
S_EBELN-LOW = '6729482600'.
S_EBELN-OPTION = 'EQ'.
S_EBELN-SIGN = 'I'.
APPEND S_EBELN.
CLEAR S_EBELN.
AT SELECTION-SCREEN OUTPUT.
LOOP AT SCREEN.
IF R1 EQ 'X' AND SCREEN-GROUP1 EQ 'S2'.
SCREEN-INPUT = 0.
MODIFY SCREEN.
ENDIF.
IF R2 EQ 'X' AND SCREEN-GROUP1 EQ 'S1'.
SCREEN-INPUT = 0.
MODIFY SCREEN.
ENDIF.
ENDLOOP.
at selection-screen.
SELECT SINGLE *
FROM EKKO
INTO EKKO
WHERE EBELN IN S_EBELN.
IF SY-SUBRC <> 0.
SET CURSOR FIELD 'S_EBELN-LOW'.
MESSAGE E999 WITH TEXT-005.
ENDIF.
START-OF-SELECTION.
IF R1 EQ 'X'.
SELECT MATNR
WERKS
PSTAT
EKGRP
FROM MARC
INTO TABLE IT_PLANT
WHERE WERKS = P_WERKS.
LOOP AT IT_PLANT.
WRITE : SY-VLINE , 2 IT_PLANT-MATNR COLOR COL_KEY,
21 SY-VLINE , 22 IT_PLANT-WERKS COLOR COL_KEY,
27 SY-VLINE ,28 IT_PLANT-PSTAT COLOR COL_NORMAL,
43 SY-VLINE ,44 IT_PLANT-EKGRP COLOR COL_NORMAL.
ENDLOOP.
ENDIF.
IF R2 EQ 'X'.
SELECT EBELN EBELP MATNR WERKS LGORT
FROM EKPO
INTO TABLE IT_PONO
WHERE EBELN IN S_EBELN.
LOOP AT IT_PONO.
WRITE : SY-VLINE , 2 IT_PONO-EBELN COLOR COL_KEY,
12 SY-VLINE , 13 IT_PONO-EBELP COLOR COL_KEY,
18 SY-VLINE , 19 IT_PONO-MATNR COLOR COL_NORMAL,
37 SY-VLINE , 38 IT_PONO-WERKS COLOR COL_NORMAL,
44 SY-VLINE , 45 IT_PONO-LGORT COLOR COL_NORMAL, 49 SY-VLINE..
ENDLOOP.
ENDIF.
TOP-OF-PAGE.
IF R1 EQ 'X'.
WRITE : SY-VLINE ,2 'MATERIAL NUMBER',
21 SY-VLINE , 22 'PLANT',
27 SY-VLINE , 28 'STATUS',
43 SY-VLINE , 44 'GRUP', 48 SY-VLINE.
ULINE AT /1(48).
ENDIF.
IF R2 EQ 'X'.
WRITE : SY-VLINE , 2 'PO NUMBER',
12 SY-VLINE, 13 'ITEM',
18 SY-VLINE,19 'MATERIAL NUMBER',
37 SY-VLINE, 38 'PLANT',
44 SY-VLINE, 45 'GRUP',
49 SY-VLINE.
ULINE AT /1(50).
ENDIF.
END-OF-PAGE.
Output
What is Dialog Programming in SAP ABAP?
- Dialog programming contains objects that are linked to the main program
- ABAP links these objects to each other in a hierarchical manner and executes them sequentially
- The ABAP workbench contains tools to develop dialogs in programming
- The main constituents of dialog programs are as follows –
- Screens: These are the various windows we see in a program
- Menus: These are elements that provide options for navigation or selection
- Module pools: They are modularization techniques having a collection of screens, flow logic, menu bars
- Subroutines: These are modularisation techniques that comprise chunks of code that we can reuse
- Transactions: These are actions performed to and from a source
Components of SAP ABAP Dialog Programming
1. T-code
- T-codes are transaction codes
- The repository browser creates t-code and stores them in ABAP workbench
- We can also use t-code SE93 to create them
- The transaction codes help with the initialisation of screens or programs in ABAP
2. Screens
- All programs in ABAP are made up of screens that are related or connected to each other in some way
- We can create a screen using t-code SE51
- We can also use Screen Painter from ABAP Workbench to create screens
- The layout or design of screen determines where the input/output and other elements are placed on the screen and how it will appear to the user
- The screen also decides the logic and steps to follow for processing
3. GUI Status
- GUI stands for Graphical User Interface, the display that we see on screen
- The GUI status controls the various toolbars available – menu, standard, application, etc.
- We can create GUI status using the Menu Painter from ABAP Workbench
4. ABAP Program
- The ABAP program contains dialog modules
- It basically links the screen, GUI status, screen flow logic, etc. into one integrated unit
- The dialog modules process user input and thus help the GUI status with its function as well
5. Screen Flow Logic
The screen flow logic consists of several events, which are as follows:
a. Process Before Output (PBO): Here the event we have is processed before the program displays the screen
b. Process After Input (PAI): where the event we have is processed after the user performs some action on the screen
c. Process On Help request (POH): where the event we have is processed after user presses key ‘F1’
d. Process On Value request (POV): where the event we have is processed after user presses key ‘F4’
6. Dynpro
- A Web Dynpro is a dynamic program
- It combines the flow logic with the screen
- It is part of dialog program execution
7. Module Pool
- A module pool is a pool or group of all above components
- It also includes the dialog programs
- Module pool is what ties up the loose ends and brings the dialog programming together
8. Toolset
- We must link all objects in dialog programming to the main program
- This will make navigation easier, and moving from one object to another seamless
- Here are the components with the tools and transactions they need –
| TOOL | COMPONENT | TRANSACTION |
| Object Browser | All | SE80 |
| Screen Painter | Screen | SE51 |
| ABAP/4 Editor | ABAP/4 Module Pool | SE38 |
| Menu Painter | Menu | SE41 |
| Maintain Transaction | Transaction (txn) | SE93 |
| ABAP/4 Dictionary | Dictionary object | SE11 |
Creating & Executing Dialog Programs in ABAP
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1. Go to SAP system
2. Choose transaction code SE80
3. Click on ‘Program’ from the dropdown menu
4. Input name for the program – e.g. ‘ZDATAFLAIR_SCREEN’
5. Select from popup, option ‘With TOP INCL’
6. Select the ‘Yes’ button
7. Input a name for the top and check the radio button
8. Enter a title and click on ‘Save’
9. Add a screen by going to Create → Screen
10. Enter name for the screen and a title for the attribute → Hit ‘Save’ again
11. Input a screen number e.g. ‘0211’ and move ahead
12. In the Text screen, add text e.g. ‘Hello World’
13. Hit ‘Save’ and activate screen (Ctrl+F2, Ctrl+F3)
Difference between Report and Dialog Programming in SAP ABAP
| REPORT PROGRAM | DIALOG PROGRAM |
| The relationship between report and database is only one-way | The relationship between dialog and database is two ways |
| The report reads and analyses the data | Dialog works interactively with screen |
| Report does not change the content of the database | Dialog programs can change the contents of the database |
Summary
Thus, in this tutorial, we learnt about SAP ABAP report and dialog programming. They are additional features that form ABAP language’s base, and can be used within selection screens and other elements for user input and reading from the database.