Beginning the Transaction and Choosing a Data Transfer Object
1. Enter SXDA or /nSXDA. 2. Choose Enter.
3. In the Data Transfer Workbench, click
possible entries to view data transfer
objects.
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Using the Data Transfer Workbench 4. Select a data transfer object from
the menu by placing the cursor on your choice and choosing Enter, or by double-clicking on the selection.
5. After selecting an object, choose
Enter.
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Using the Data Transfer Workbench
The SXDA Main Screen
From the Data Transfer Workbench Main
Screen, perform the following actions:
1. Change the Data transfer object. 2. Create an empty flat file. 3. Edit a flat file.
4. Display a flat file. 5. Perform an easy copy.
6. Start your data transfer program. 7. Export the flat file structure into a
machine-readable format.
7. The Data Transfer Object and its short name you selected should appear.
8. The data transfer object’s filename can be seen. This name may either be the logical or the physical filename.
There are two main options when selecting the location where the file will be retrieved, the application server, and the presentation server.
Selecting an Application Server
1. Selecting the Application Server option means that the file will be retrieved from the current application server, or from any other application server on which your R/3 System is running.
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Using the Data Transfer Workbench 4. Choose a server from the list that
appears.
5. When you have highlighted a server, choose Choose.
6. To cancel this process without selecting a server, choose Back.
Selecting a Presentation Server
1. Selecting the Presentation Server option specifies that the file should be retrieved from your front-end computer.
2. After selecting Presentation server, choose possible entries to specify the directory and the filename.
3. The screenshot to the right represents the possible entries menu for Windows NT.
4. Select the file you want to use and choose Open.
The path and filename will populate the filename for the presentation server.
Since this central tool can read and write files between application servers and presentation servers, most standard data transfer programs require that you have the file on the local application server. Therefore, you may use this tool to copy these files to the application server
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Using the Data Transfer Workbench
Changing the Data Transfer Object
1. Chooseing Other DX object takes you to a screen where you can choose another supported data transfer object.
2. Choose possible entries or press F4.
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Using the Data Transfer Workbench 3. Highlight a new data transfer
object.
4. Choose Enter.
5. The new data transfer object number should appear. 6. Choose Enter.
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Using the Data Transfer Workbench 7. The Data Transfer Workbench will
reflect the change in data transfer objects.
Creating an Empty Flat File
1. Choose Create init. file to create an empty flat file. This file is
considered “empty,” although it does include the following:
! All record types used in the flat file to transfer an object of the chosen data transfer object.
! The record types and some header information.
! The object-specific NODATA sign is either a “/” or a space.
A warning message will appear if you overwrite an existing file. If you ignore this message, the existing file will be lost. To save the existing file in another location, choose Copy.
2. When you choose Create init. file, the popup window to the right should appear.
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Using the Data Transfer Workbench
Editing the Flat File
This option calls an editor for the file specified in File access.
1. From the main screen, choose
Change file.
The first screen is an overview of the structures identified in the file, a description of the file, and the first 100 bytes of the content.
2. Position your cursor on the line you want to edit.
3. Choose Change to edit the content, field by field. Choose Display to read the contents, field by field.
4. You can now edit specific field values without counting bits and bytes.
5. To keep changes, choose Transfer
Data.
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Using the Data Transfer Workbench
Display Flat File
This function operates in the same way as Edit Flat File, although it does not allow you to make any changes.
Copy Files
1. This function enables you to copy files between the front-end and any R/3 application server, or between any two R/3 application servers. During the copy process you may also change the filename.
2. Select a From location. 3. Select a To location.
The default data is the information that appears on your main screen for both the From and To locations. After you have copied the files, the main screen will show the To location in the File access fields. 4. Choose Copy to copy the files.
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Using the Data Transfer Workbench With Release 4.5A the copy function was enhanced. The copying of transfer files has been extended with the following options:
- Copy without conversion: The file is copied unchanged.
- Conversion of fixed length -> delimited tab: This copy function can only be executed from the application server to the presentation server. The data is converted from a fixed length to a tabulator delimited format.
- Conversion of delimited tab. -> fixed length: This copy function can only be executed from the presentation server to the application server. During this copying process, the data is converted from tabulator delimited format to fixed length.
Starting a Data Transfer Program
1. Choose Data transfer.
You can start the corresponding data transfer program from this screen, without knowing the program name.
Using the Data Transfer Workbench
This option is a link to the standard data transfer program maintained for this business object. This example is for the material master. Other programs look different.
Export Structure
By clicking Structure, you can display required flat file structure to be used as input for mapping tools that can understand this machine-readable structure.
The output includes the following information:
! Structures used in the flat file, and whether the structures are optional or mandatory.
Using the Data Transfer Workbench The data transfer object
is preset with the example (in the main screen) and the field name language is preset to English.
The format is similar to report RSEIDOC3, used for the IDoc interface to external mapping tools. If the mapping tool being used is CA-OML certified, it would be able to understand this format.