Overwrite field labels and documentation for SAP data elements without carrying out any modification

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In this blog, we will get an understanding of how to overwrite texts delivered with SAP data elements by customer-specific texts. These customer-specific texts are then displayed on screens and selection screens instead of the text delivered by SAP. This is known as text enhancement.

What are Text Enhancements and what is the use of it?

Text enhancements are nothing but giving customer-specific field labels and documentation for SAP data elements. These are the global enhancements as they will function in all the SAP applications where those particular data elements are used.

Prerequisite for overwriting SAP field labels:

We can only be able to overwrite field labels for screen fields that are not explicitly assigned a description text by the screen's developer. In such cases, the screen field's “Dict. modified” attribute has the value “F”.

The “Dict. modified” attribute can hold following values:

• SPACE: The field label that best fits the field length
• 1: Short field label
• 2: Medium field label
• 3: Long field label
• 4: Field label for heading
• V: Variable text transfer from the Dictionary (as SPACE):
• F: Fixed - no text transfer from the Dictionary.

                          Fig: Dict Modified field

Description:

Would you like to overwrite field labels and documentation for SAP data elements with customer-specific texts?

Solution:

SAP’s standard data elements have a field labels with different lengths and short description for each. We can overwrite these texts with their own texts.

New field labels can be provided for all screen fields by using project management in following way:

Choose ABAP Workbench → Utilities → Enhancements → Project Management)  (or enter the TCODE CMOD).

Then select “Goto →Text Enhancements → Keyword → Change” to open field label and documentation enhancement for overwriting SAP data elements.

                              Figure: Overwriting SAP Field Labels (1)

Then below screen appears. Enter the data element for which you want to change the text. i.e. MANDT here in this example

Figure: Overwriting SAP Field Labels (2)

In the next screen you will be able to change the short, Medium and long field label of the data element as well as the heading and short description also can be changed.

                                                       Figure: Overwriting SAP Field Labels (3)

After all the modifications are done save it in one transport request. And the changes will be replicated in the system.

Restoring default SAP field labels:

We can undo field label changes; for doing so, choose the menu option to restore SAP field labels.

Field labels are restored by a program that runs in the background. This program checks all of the data elements that we have edited and restores their field labels if necessary.

                                                  Fig: Restoring SAP field labels                             

Enhancing a documentation of Data Elements:

While enhancing the data element documentation, we can copy the SAP documentation as well as our own. In this case, when you select F1 for the corresponding screen field, the system displays the SAP documentation and the customer-specific documentation.

We can generate a list of data elements that have been changed and edit the relevant customer documentation by selecting the corresponding lines in the list. By doing so it will be easy for us by reading that document in F1 help to understand that some changes are done in this data elements field label.

If we want original SAP documentation to be displayed on F1 help then simply delete our own documentation.

Using the below mentioned path you can edit the SAP documentation:

1. 1. Enter the TCODE ‘CMOD’ in command field.
2. 2. Then select “Goto → Text Enhancements →data elements →New customer documentation”

                                Figure: Creating Customer Documentation (1)

For example provide the data element name for which you want to change the documentation.

              Figure: Creating Customer Documentation (2)

After this, one dialog window opens in which we must have to choose either “Original text” or “Template”.

                        Figure: Creating Customer Documentation (3)

“Original text”: Choose this option if you wish to add to the SAP documentation.

“Template”: Choose this option if you wish to create customer-specific documentation without including the original SAP documentation.

Conclusion:

Now we came to an end. This is how we will be able to overwrite field labels and documentation for SAP data elements without carrying out a modification.

Hope this will help.