Handling GuiComboBox while developing BOTs using SAP Intelligent Robotic Process Automation

Many of the SAP ECC GUI screens have GuiComboBox for the fields where user is expected to navigate the list by clicking on the dropdown button first and then select the appropriate value. These field do not allow user to enter the desired value by simply typing it. One of the example is to select the new contract type (description) in transaction RECN.

So if you are trying to automate Contract creation using SAP iRPA, SAP GUI does not allow you to set the contract type field with its description that you see on the SAP GUI. You need to find the underline code for the same and then use it into your iRPA workflow page activity.

If you are an experienced SAP consultant, then this might be a piece of cake for you. But many times finding DB name or domain name and their values is not that straight forward process.

In my use case of finding the code/value of various leasing contract types, you may need to find the data element, domain or database table that stores the contract data. So there are multiple ways to get contract type codes and associated description from SAP–

• Find the DB name behind contract document – VICNCN
• Get the Contract type field name – RECNTYPE
• Check the F4 value list for Contract type, or
• Get the domain name – SMVART
• Get the value table for domain name – TIV26

If your expertise is into some other area and not in SAP, then above steps might be cumbersome and you may not like to get into so much of technical details of the SAP world just to set a single field on the screen using RPA technologies.

So what we have seen that the code/value that you want to set for ‘Residential Lease-In’ contract type is ‘CU02’. In such cases, where SAP GUI is not allowing direct input by typing the description into the field, but forcing a user to choose the correct value from drop down list, SAP iRPA Tester feature comes very handy during BOT development phase.

Here are the easy steps that you can follow to get the correct value that needs to be set.

1. In SAP GUI, navigate to the required transaction/screen that you are planning to automate. E.g. Transaction RECN, and press on ‘Create Object’ icon.

2. Capture the page, set criteria and then define the items as required. E.g. cbContractType

3. Now create a simple workflow and add the captured page into workflow and build the code.

4. Now execute the scenario in the debug mode. On the LOAD event of your screen, click on the Tester view.

5. As our target is to find out the value that needs to be set in for cbContractType, you need to navigate to the page and item cbContractType as shown below. Depending on the item type, SAP iRPA Tester will show all the possible methods/activities. E.g. exist, get, getCaptDate, etc.

6. Now in SAP ECC, choose the contract type as ‘Residential Lease-In’ from the GuiComboBox list and then in the Tester, double click on the ‘get’ activity. This will add the get() activity in the Tester editor and execute it.
8. 

7. You can see ‘CU02’ as a result of this execution. This is the technical value/code for ‘Residential Lease-In’ contract type in SAP ECC.

8. Try using the SET activity in the Tester before using the same in your iRPA workflow page activities.

Try this GET, SET activities for various values of contact types (or any other GuiComboBox list) and check how they are reflecting in SAP GUI.

I hope this blog post will help you in easily finding the GuiComboBox list values while developing the SAP iRPA BOTS and will enhance your BOT building experience.

Happy BOT designing and building to automate the SAP processes using iRPA!!