Working with ABAP Development Tools (Quick Launch)

This Quick Launch page aims to provide you with the compact knowledge you may need when working with ABAP Development Tools for SAP NetWeaver during the introductory or training period. Find the complete version including cheat sheets in the IDE (Help > Help Contents > ABAP Development User Guide > Getting Started > Quick Launch)

Getting Started…

• To start, create an ABAP project. An ABAP project always represents one system connection. TIP: To be able to work in multiple ABAP systems in parallel, you only need to create one additional ABAP project.
• Open ABAP development objects in your project using Ctrl + Shift + A. or double-click the corresponding node in the ABAP project.
• Browse the contents of an ABAP system in the Project Explorer. The root of an ABAP project contains a list of ABAP packages that are grouped either under the favorites list (Favorite Packages) or the System Library node. You can find the development objects simply by expanding the package node.
• Add ABAP packages that are relevant for your work to the list of favorites.
• Use Link with Editor :  whenever you change an object in the editor, this object will be selected in the expanded Project Explorer tree.
• Use the Outline view to display the structure of a development object.
• Add a new ABAP development object (for example: a new class) to a package by selecting the package and using the context menu New > ABAP Class

Working with the Editor

• You can open multiple development objects in multiple editor tabs.
• Search for references to your development object using the Where-Used function (Ctrl + Shift + G) .
• Open the Quick Outline in the editor using Ctrl + O.
• Navigate the source code using F3 or Ctrl + Click.
• To navigate between editors, click the back or forward arrow key on the toolbar.
• To switch between the class, its local types or its ABAP Unit test classes, use the bottom tabs of the class editor.
• Press F2 to display the signature of a class or method.

  Writing ABAP Source Code  

• To change the source simply start typing directly in the editor.
• Use code completion (Ctrl + Space) in the editor.
• Insert source code templates using code completion and then Shift + Enter.
• Start the ABAP language help with F1 in the source code editor.
• Format the complete source code (Shift + F1) or a source code block (Ctrl + Shift + F1) within the editor.
• Activate one or multiple development objects using the corresponding icons in the toolbar.
• Compare source code objects, even across different ABAP systems, using the Compare with function in the context menu of the editor or Project Explorer.

Running ABAP Unit Tests

• Run ABAP Unit tests for one or multiple development objects using the context menu Run As > ABAP Unit Test or  Ctrl+ Shift + F10 in the editor or Project Explorer
• ABAP Unit test results are displayed automatically for you in the ABAP Unit Runner view.

Running ABAP Programs and Test Environments  

• Run ABAP programs or test environment for classes or function modules using the context menu Run As > ABAP Application in the Project Explorer or by pressing F8.

Working with ABAP Runtime Errors (ABAP Short Dumps)

• If a runtime error occurs in a program that you have started, the IDE will alert you to an ABAP feed with a small window. However, you can also subscribe to an ABAP feed from the ABAP repository. To subscribe to an additional ABAP feed, press Ctrl + 3 and select Feed Reader.

Getting User Assistance Support  

• The Welcome page (Help > Welcome) provides a standardized set of pages that introduce the ABAP Development Tools to new users.
• To access the complete reference user guide in the context of standard ABAP development, choose Help > Contents > ABAP Development User Guide.
• Press F1 to request context-sensitive help for a given tool or UI component.
• The cheat sheets provided will guide you interactively through some essential tasks.
• The ABAP Samples Gallery (Help > Welcome > Samples) allows you to take a look at the source code of a variety of ABAP samples that are available in your development system.

Most Common Keyboard Shortcuts