Simple extensibility of Data Sources for Output Forms in SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Back in the days, adjusting or extending forms was a time-consuming task which almost always involved ABAP development. However, in SAP S/4HANA Cloud the process of extending forms has become a lot easier with the help of in-app extensibility. So if you have a little knowledge of Data Sources and Adobe LiveCycle you are able to extend your organization’s forms yourself.

In this blog, we will add several standard fields to the standard Kanban Card (for example) by extending the underlaying Data Source.

Prerequisites

– Business roles: The table below contains all business roles required to execute the Kanban process (scope item 1E3).

– Software: Adobe LiveCycle Designer is installed. It can be downloaded from the ‘Install Additional Software’ app.

Overview

1. Extend the Data Source

2. Adjust the Form Template

3. Upload the custom Form Template

4. Configure output determination

5. Result

1. Extend the Data Source

From the SAP Fiori Launchpad, open the app ‘Custom Fields and Logic’.

Figure 1: Custom Fields and Logic app

Next, open the tab Data Source Extensions and create a new Data Source Extensions by clicking the + icon.

Figure 2: Tab Data Source Extensions

Choose the Data Source ‘Manufacturing: Kanban Card Form’ from the drop-down list, give the new Data Source Extension a meaningful description and click on create.

Note: The Extension ID is automatically copied from the description but can also be maintained manually.

Figure 3: New Data Source Extension

Expand the field path to display all standard fields that are available to extend the Data Source. Choose the fields you want to display on the Kanban card. For this example the fields ‘Supplier’, ‘Supplier Name’ and ‘Control Cycle Category’ are chosen and become visible in the right pane.

Click ‘Save’ and subsequently ‘Publish’ to make the extended data source available for use.

Figure 4: Field Selection

2. Adjust the predelivered Form Template

Open the app Maintain Form Templates in the Output Management catalog. In the tab Predelivered Templates, search for the template ‘PP_KANBAN_CARD’. Click the download button for the language of your choosing.

Figure 5: Download Form Template

Extract the downloaded .zip file and open the .xdp file with the Adobe LiveCycle Designer. Here, you can drag-and-drop the fields you added to the Data Source in the previous steps onto the form template.

Figure 6: Adobe LiveCycle Designer

Go to File à Save as and save your custom template ‘YY1_PP_KANBAN_CARD_E_EXTENDED’.

3. Upload the custom Form Template

Once again, open the app Maintain Form Templates in the Output Management catalog and click New. In the next dialog screen you can add the details of the custom Form Template you just created. Click browse to upload the newly created .xdp file.

Figure 7: Create Form Template

4. Configure Output Determination

Go to the app Manage Your Solution in the Implementation Cockpit group and click Configure Your Solution next. Search for “Form template”, choose the Ouput Control configuration item.

Figure 8: Configure Output Determination

Copy the row for the Kanban application object and add your newly created Form Template.

Figure 9: Copy Application Object Type

The Kanban Form Template is now known in the system, bus has to be added to the control cycle which you are using. Therefor open the app Manage Kanban Control Cycle and open the Control Cycle of your liking. Choose the tab Print Control at the bottom of the screen and add your custom Form Template.

Figure 10: Kanban Control Cycle

5. Result

If we print the Kanbans for the control cycle chosen in the previous step we can see the result of the extension, the fields Supplier no, Supplier and Control Cycle are printed on the Kanban Card.

Old:

Figure 11: Old Kanban Card

New:

Figure 12: New Kanban Card

Links

– SAP Help

– Blog from Arun Nair