In this article you will learn everything about the META method of the table maintenance BAdI. You will get an understanding of different types of fields and receive an overview of all parameters. At the end of the article you can find a sample implementation you can use for your own project.
Our Table Maintenance BAdI blog series in overview |
Using the logic inside the META method, you can control properties of table as a whole as well as the respective single fields. You can use this method to overwrite settings set in front end. Moreover, you can change editability and visibility of certain fields. Furthermore, you can change the search behaviour from dropdown to search and vice versa. Finally, you can utilize this method to execute authorization check on table level.
This exit is implemented via interface /NLY/IF_BADI_EDITOR, method SET_META_EXIT.
There are different types of fields, which are explained below.
Key fields
Generally, key fields should not be changed in edit mode, as this would result in new entries. Therefore, in case of an update event, key fields should always be locked and not editable.
In any other scenario the following three cases are possible:
- 1 – locked (the field is locked)
- 2 – editable - required (the field is required and null is not allowed)
- 3 – editable - not required (the field is not required and null is allowed)
In the table below you can find an overview.
|
Key Field |
Insert |
Update |
|||
|
true (X) |
key field |
1 |
locked |
1 |
locked (key fields are not editable) |
|
2 |
editable (required) |
||||
|
3 |
editable (not required) |
||||
|
false ( ) |
non-key field |
1 |
locked |
1 |
locked |
|
2 |
editable (required) |
2 |
editable (required) |
||
|
3 |
editable (not required) |
3 |
editable (not required) |
||
Required fields
Per default, key fields are configured as required and non-key fields as not required. But both settings can be changed.
A non-key field can be set as required or mandatory for input. For example, if business users want the customer category attribute to be always filled, you can set this field to required, even if it is not a key field.
The other way around, it is also possible to define a key field as not required, therefore not mandatory for input. This could be the case if your semantic key consists of multiple fields and you allow initial values (null) for one of them.
Non-editable fields
You can set fields to be not editable, so the user cannot change the values of the field on edit or insert actions. The best example are fields like "Changed by" or "Changed on", which will be populated automatically before the database update, but should not be manually changed by the user.
Overview of all parameters
In the tables below you can find an overview of all parameters and possible values.
Table parameters
|
Property |
Type |
Description |
Possible Values |
|
TBLLEN |
CHAR 30 |
Table length |
NextLytics internal use only |
|
TECHNAME |
CHAR 30 |
Technical name of the table (e.g. /BIC/AZOMACOST2) |
|
|
TABNAME |
CHAR 30 |
Table name (e.g. ZOMACOST) |
|
|
DESCR |
CHAR 30 |
Table description |
|
|
EDITABLE |
CHAR 1 |
Table edit setting |
1 Editable 2 Insertable 3 Editable and Insertable 4 Deletable 5 Deletable and Editable 6 Deletable and Insertable 7 Deletable, Editable and Insertable |
|
IS_INLINE |
CHAR 1 |
Enable Inline Editing |
1 Yes 2 No |
|
IS_LOC_FILTER |
CHAR 1 |
Enable Local Filter |
1 Yes 2 No |
|
IS_PRE_FILTER |
CHAR 1 |
Enable Global Filter |
1 Yes 2 No |
|
IS_DELETE_ALL |
CHAR 1 |
Delete ADSO Content |
1 Delete Action available |
|
SUPPRESS_EXPORT |
CHAR 1 |
Suppress Export |
X Suppress Export |
|
JSFUNCTIONS |
STRING |
JavaScript Functions |
NextLytics internal use only |
| BUTTONS
|
Table |
Custom Buttons Settings. See next table for more details |
|
|
F1HELP |
STRING |
F1 Help |
NextLytics internal use only |
|
CHECK_AUTH_INFOPROV |
CHAR 1 |
Check analysis authorization for InfoProvider |
1 Yes |
ACTIVATION |
CHAR 1 |
Activation |
1 - activate at once (default value) 2 - no activation If no entry is maintained, automatic activation takes place. |
|
ALIAS_TTYPE |
CHAR 10 |
Alias Table Type |
|
|
ALIAS_TABNAME |
CHAR 10 |
Alias Table Name |
|
|
CONTENT_ADMIN |
CHAR 1 |
|
Content Admin ('X'=yes, ' '=no |
|
CONFIG_ADMIN |
CHAR 1 |
|
Configuration Admin ('X'=yes, ' '=no) |
|
TABTYPE |
CHAR 10 |
|
Table Type |
|
TABDESC |
STRING |
|
Description |
|
MAX_ROWS |
NUMC |
Changes the max. rows shown in a table. |
Normally this setting is set to 1000 and can be changed in the configuration. If the table type is custom, it makes sense to configure MAX_ROWS and C_TOTAL_ROWS via coding. |
Field parameters
|
Property |
Type |
Description |
Possible Values |
|
FNAME |
CHAR 30 |
Field name |
|
|
LEN |
NUMC 6 |
Length (No. of Characters) |
|
|
INTLEN |
NUMC 6 |
Internal Length (No. of Characters) |
|
|
TYPE |
CHAR 1 |
ABAP Data Type |
C Character String D Date (Date: YYYYMMDD) T Time (Time: HHMMSS) P Packed number g Character string with variable length (ABAP type STRING) G Long text (XXL) Y File (XXL) > Timestamp M HTML Content j Static Boxed Components J Checkbox ('1'=Yes, '2'=No) |
|
INTTYPE |
CHAR 1 |
Internal ABAP Data Type |
C Character String N Character String with Digits Only D Date (Date: YYYYMMDD) T Time (Time: HHMMSS) X Byte Seq. (hexadecimal), in DDIC metadata also for INT1/2/4 I Integer number (4-byte integer with sign) b 1-byte integer, integer number <= 254 s 2-byte integer, only for length field before LCHR or LRAW P Packed number F Floating point number to accuracy of 8 bytes g Character string with variable length (ABAP type STRING) y Byte sequence with variable length (ABAP type XSTRING) u Structured type, flat v Structured type, deep h Table type V Character string (old Dictionary type VARC) r Reference to class/interface l Reference to data object a Decimal Floating Point Number, 16 Digits e Decimal Floating Point Number, 34 Digits j Static Boxed Components k Generic Boxed Components z Node Line for Structured Objects 8 Whole Number (8-Byte Integer with Sign) |
|
DECIMALS |
NUMC 6 |
Number of Decimal Places |
|
|
DECIMALS_DISP |
CHAR 1 |
Decimal places display |
|
|
DESCR |
CHAR 60 |
Short Description of Repository Objects |
|
|
KEYFLAG |
CHAR 1 |
Identifies a key field of a table |
X Key field |
|
DISPLAY |
CHAR 1 |
Show or hide field (Visibility) |
1 Visible 2 Not Visible, but still in global filter (prefilter) 3 Only Visible in Table View 4 Not Visible - not transferred to frontend So value 2 can be used if field should not be available for the user, but still be available in the global filter/ prefilter for backend filtering. |
|
EDITABLE |
CHAR 1 |
Editabiltity setting |
1 Locked (keep target value) 2 Editable - Required 3 Editable - Not Required 4 Locked (overwrite target value) |
|
SUPPRESS_EXPORT |
CHAR 1 |
Suppress Export |
X Suppress Export |
|
SUPPRESS_LOC_FILTER |
CHAR 1 |
Suppress local filter |
X Suppress local filter |
|
SUPPRESS_PRE_FILTER |
CHAR 1 |
Suppress global filter |
X Suppress global filter |
|
SUPPRESS_GROUP_BY |
CHAR 1 |
Suppress group by |
X Suppress group by |
|
CELLRENDERER |
STRING |
Cell renderer as Function in JS |
|
|
F4HELP |
Table |
Search Info, see next table for details |
|
|
F1HELP |
STRING |
F1 Help |
NextLytics internal use only |
|
VARIABLES-NAME |
CHAR 30 |
Variable Name |
|
|
VARIABLES-DESCR |
CHAR 60 |
Variable Description |
|
|
INFOOBJECT |
CHAR 30 |
InfoObject |
|
|
CONVEXIT |
CHAR 5 |
Conversion Routine |
E.g. ALPHA or PERI6. Usually changes to this field are not needed |
|
IOBJTP |
CHAR 3 |
Type of an InfoObject |
CHA Characteristic KYF Key figure TIM Time characteristic DPA Data packet characteristic UNI Unit of measurement XXL XXL InfoObject |
|
DDIC_POSITION |
NUMC 4 |
Position of the table field in DDIC |
|
|
UI_POSITION |
NUMC 4 |
Position of the table field in User Interface |
|
|
CHECK_INFOOBJECT_INTEGRITY |
CHAR 1 |
Check InfoObject integrity |
1 yes 2 no |
|
IOBJ_AUTH_REL_FLAG |
CHAR 1 |
Authorization relevant flag for InfoObject |
X yes NextLytics internal use only, will get populated with an X if this InfoObject is authorization relevant |
|
DISPLAY_TEXT |
Table |
Characteristic display |
NextLytics internal use only 6 No Display 0 Key and Text 1 Text 2 Key 3 Text and Key 4 Long Text 5 Medium-Length Text 7 Short Text B Text and Key as Short Text C Text and Key as Medium Text D Text and Key as Long Text E Key and Text as Short Text F Key and Text as Medium Text G Key and Text as Long Text ) |
|
HIERARCHY_FOR_AUTH |
CHAR 30 |
Hierarchy authorization |
|
F4 Help
The table below explains the fields of F4HELP in detail.
|
Property |
Type |
Description |
Possible Values |
|
SEARCHMODE |
CHAR 6 |
Search Type |
DDIC Search based on table and field in Data Dictionary IOBJ InfoObject CUSTOM Custom |
|
SEARCHNAME |
CHAR 60 |
Search Name |
For example name of the InfoObject, if SEARCHMODE IOBJ is used |
|
SEARCHSTYLE |
CHAR 30 |
Search Style - dropdown or search bar |
SEARCH show search bar DROPDOWN show dropdown Remark: dropdown recommended only for less than 50 values |
|
MIN_CHAR |
NUMC 3 |
Number of minimum characteristics to be entered before search will start |
|
|
STRICT |
CHAR 1 |
Defines whether adding results to dropdown is allowed. |
1 adding results is not allowed |
Buttons
The table below explains the fields of BUTTONS in detail.
|
Property |
Type |
Description |
Possible Values |
| NAME |
CHAR 30 |
Button Name |
|
| DESCR |
CHAR 60 |
Description |
|
| ICON |
CHAR 60 |
Icon |
Any regular icon from font-awesome, like: paper-plane |
| PARENT |
CHAR 30 |
Button Name |
The button name of an other button |
| LOCATION |
CHAR 10 |
Location of the Button in UI |
TOP - Top menu in the upper right of NextTables |
| SORT_ORDER |
NUMC 6 |
Sort order |
Any number |
| ACTION |
CHAR 12 |
Action to be performed |
see tutorial |
| MESSAGE |
STRING |
Message that blocks the request |
see tutorial |
| TOOLTIP |
CHAR 255 |
Button Tooltip |
|
More Information on buttons can be found in this tutorial.
BAdI Structure
You can use the following code snippet as orientation while implementing your own logic. You can find a practical application of this method in this article.
FIELD-SYMBOLS: <l_s_fields_info> TYPE /nly/ts_fields_info,
<l_s_f4help> TYPE /nly/ts_search_info.
*Change properties as needed
LOOP AT CH_T_FIELDS_INFO ASSIGNING <l_s_fields_info>.
CASE <l_s_fields_info>-fname.
WHEN 'FIELD_NAME_1'.
<l_s_fields_info>-editable = '1'.
WHEN 'FIELD_NAME_2'.
loop at <l_s_fields_info>-f4help assigning <l_s_f4help>.
<l_s_f4help>-searchstyle = 'DROPDOWN'.
ENDLOOP.
ENDCASE.
ENDLOOP. Error Handling and Messages
You can pass messages to the user using the CT_MESSAGES table. Please refer to this article for detailed information.
Which License is needed for this feature Professional ✘ | Enterprise ✔