Learn about another option available to you that, with the help of an ABAP programmer, allows you to add custom fields for your business partner to track special data.
Key Concept
User-defined attributes allow you and your ABAP programmer to modify existing, generic attributes in the system to meet your business needs. They enable you to create reports that provide information on the data contained in the custom fields.
You can use three ways to add a custom field for your business partner: marketing attributes, user-defined attributes, and Easy Enhancement Workbench, as I mentioned in part 1 of this series. In this article, let’s focus on the second technique — user-defined attributes. In this case SAP has pre-coded special fields to support users’ requirements — you just have to customize them. In the business partner data, they appear on the Classification tab as generic attributes 1 through 10. You only need to configure the possible values for these fields.
The benefit of using this option is that you don’t need to know the classification system (the business partner attributes). Furthermore, you can store the custom information directly in the associated business partner table, rather than the behind-the-scenes links that business partner attributes require. This approach is useful if you need to add custom fields quickly. You would also use this approach if you needed to report on a custom field using ABAP reports.
Note
Part 1 of this series, “Add Custom Fields for Your Business Partner: Part 1 — Marketing Attributes,” appeared in the June 2007 CRM hub of SAPexperts.
Figure 1)Figure 2The next step is to configure the label for the field. You need to change the text Attribute 1 to the appropriate text, such as Meal Pref. To configure the descriptive text for the attributes, complete the steps below. Note that you need to work with your ABAP programmer to modify the text.
Figure 1
Select the user attribute to configure, in this example Attribute 1
Figure 2
Add the possible entries for Attribute 1
In business partner maintenance (transaction BP), select the user- defined field for which you want to change the label — in my case this is Attribute 1. Press the F1 key to bring up the Performance Assistant screen (Figure 3). Click on the technical information icon 
to change the data dictionary information, which is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 3
F1 help on the attribute screen in business partner maintenance
Figure 4
Technical Information for the Attribute 1 field
Double-click on the data element CRMT_BU_KATR1 to view the data dictionary details. Follow menu path Utilities(M)> Versions to create a new version of the object. Then place your cursor on ShortFieldLabel and right-click. Follow menu path Modification Operations>Change Subobject. Here the ABAP programmer can modify the Attribute 1 field label to reflect something more meaningful, such as Meal Pref. Click on the activate icon 
to activate your modification for use. Figure 5 shows the renamed attribute.
Figure 5
The Meal Pref. attribute and its options
Ned Falk
Ned Falk is a senior education consultant at SAP. In prior positions, he implemented many ERP solutions, including SAP R/3. While at SAP, he initially focused on logistics. Now he focuses on SAP HANA, SAP BW (formerly SAP NetWeaver BW), SAP CRM, and the integration of SAP BW and SAP BusinessObjects tools. You can meet him in person when he teaches SAP HANA, SAP BW, or SAP CRM classes from the Atlanta SAP office, or in a virtual training class over the web. If you need an SAP education plan for SAP HANA, SAP BW, BusinessObjects, or SAP CRM, you may contact Ned via email.
You may contact the author at ned.falk@sap.com.
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