GuiXT simplifies several common SCM business scenarios. For example, say you want to issue a billing document to the printer. Traditionally, in transaction code VF03, you need to follow menu path Billing document>Issue output to>Printer. Now you can instead use GuiXT to set up a button that, when you click on it, automatically sends your billing document to the printer. GuiXT can save time spent navigating through menu paths by creating buttons to perform other daily business tasks, such as displaying all billing documents.

I’ll describe several ways for you to take advantage of these flexible options, which can enhance your user interface. For each section, step-by-step instructions guide you through the process. For more information about GuiXT, visit www.synactive.com. Follow menu path Download>Version Info>Click here to display all previous versions to download the current version of GuiXT, 2007 Q3 1.

Install and Activate GuiXT

Execute the SAP Front-End Configuration Wizard to install GuiXT on your PC. The installation screen that appears allows you to add, remove, or update the components on your computer (Figure 1). When the screen prompts you to specify which components should reside on your computer, select check box GUI XT and then click on the Next button.

Figure 1

GuiXT component installation screen

After you have completed the installation of GuiXT, log on to the SAP system to view the SAP Easy Access screen. To activate GuiXT, press Alt+F12 on your keyboard or click on the bar icon in the standard toolbar. If the component is installed and the administrator permits access to the entire organization, all SAP users can activate this tool on their PC.

Add Buttons on Screen

Creating buttons is a very useful GuiXT feature. For example, you can add a button that is attached to a specific function or SAP activity. By clicking on the button, the relevant function is immediately generated. This is especially useful if, for example, you need to issue an output to the printer or to a certain screen. GuiXT buttons are faster and more efficient than manually executing this function through several menu paths. Buttons also customize the overall appearance of a screen.

Steps in Detail

Step 1. Ensure that GuiXT is activated. I described this step in the “Install and Activate GuiXT” section of this article.

Step 2. Start SAP logon. Start SAP logon by entering your user ID and password. After you start SAP logon, the GuiXT window appears automatically.

Step 3. Begin transaction code VF03. Go to transaction VF03 by following menu path Logistics>Sales and distribution>Billing>Billing Document>Display. In transaction VF03, follow menu path Billing document>Issue output to>Printer.

Step 4. Identify the corresponding function code. Press F1 on your keyboard to look up the corresponding function code in the Technical Information screen that appears. Function code DRCK uses function Printer and transaction code VF03 uses program SAPMV60A in the Function data tab (Figure 2). To continue, click on the green check mark icon.

Figure 2

Screen for function code DRCK

Step 5. Access the GuiXT Editor. Follow menu path Edit>Script in the GuiXT window. The GuiXT Editor appears and proposes a script name that includes the name of the GUI program, the ID for the language (if applicable), and the number of the screen where you want the button to appear.

Step 6. Write the GuiXT script. In the screen that appears in step 5, enter the following code to execute the function:

• Pushbutton (the feature you want to include)
  
  
• 12,01 (where you want to create the button on screen — row 12, column 1)
  
  
• “Printer” (button text)
  
  
• “DRCK” (function code to activate the function)

The final script should be Pushbutton (12,01) “Printer” “DRCK”.

Step 7. Save the script. The GuiXT tool suggests the file name SAPMV60A.0101.txt. SAPMV60A is the name of the GUI program and 0101 is the screen number where you want the button to appear. In this example, there is no language ID because the script is language independent.

Step 8. Restart transaction code VF03. To see the effect, you must refresh the SAPGUI screen by starting the transaction again.

Step 9. Watch for error messages. Be observant of any GuiXT messages that may appear. If there is any problem, error text is displayed in the GuiXT window. Mistakes found in the code frequently trigger error messages that also detect the location of the problem. Now, click on the Printer button to view the screen activated by the function Billing document>Issue output to>Printer.

Perform steps 1 through 9 again to create a Screen button that triggers the screen activated by the function Billing document>Issue output to>Screen. In the GuiXT Editor screen, enter the following code to execute the function:

• Pushbutton (the feature you want to include)
  
  
• (12,10) (where you want to create the button on screen — row 12, column 10)
  
  
• “Screen” (button text)
  
  
• “LIST” (function code to activate the function)

The final script should be Pushbutton (12,10) “Screen” “LIST”.

Perform steps 1 through 9 again to create a List Invoices button that triggers the screen activated by function Environment>List billing documents. In the GuiXT Editor screen, enter the following code to execute the function:

• Pushbutton (the feature you want to include)
  
  
• (12,20) (where you want to create the button on screen — row 12, column 20)
  
  
• “List Invoices” (button text)
  
  
• “/OVf05” (function code to activate the function)

The final script should be Pushbutton (12,20) “List Invoices” “/OVf05”.

You need to add an O before transaction code VF05 in your GuiXT script because the transaction must be executed in an additional session. For example, you enter /O to generate a session list; alternatively, you enter /OXXXX (XXXX represents the transaction code) to start the transaction in an additional session.

When you finish entering the required GuiXT script code to create Printer, Screen, and List Invoices buttons, your screen should look like Figure 3.

Figure 3

Three additional buttons are displayed on the screen

If you want to insert the buttons in the toolbar as shown in Figure 4, you must replace the row and column text with the text (toolbar) in your GuiXT script. For example, enter the following code to create a Printer button in the toolbar:

• Pushbutton(toolbar) (the feature you want to include and the location)
  
  
• “Printer” (button text)
  
  
• “DRCK” (function code to activate the function)

The final script should be Pushbutton (toolbar) “Printer” “DRCK”.

Figure 4

Add buttons on the toolbar

The buttons functionality does not change with location; the designer typically decides where the buttons should appear on screen. When you finish entering the required GuiXT script code to create Printer, Screen, and List Invoices buttons in your toolbar, your screen looks like Figure 4.

Delete Unused Fields

GuiXT allows you to delete unused fields on the screen. For example, a company may elect this option if its SCM business needs require less than the standard SAP fields but they do not want to change the customization of their system. Instead, use GuiXT scripts to delete unnecessary screen fields in nine simple steps:

Steps in Detail

Step 1. Ensure that GuiXT is activated. I described this step in the “Install and Activate GuiXT” section of this article.

Step 2. Start SAP logon. Start SAP logon by entering your user ID and password. After you start SAP logon, the GuiXT window appears automatically.

Step 3. Begin transaction code VF03. Go to transaction VF03 by following menu path Logistics>Sales and Distribution>Billing>Billing Document>Display.

Step 4. Evaluate fields. Determine which field or fields you want to delete on the screen. In my example, I decided to delete field Reference no. (reference number), which is shown in Figure 3.

Step 5. Access the GuiXT Editor. Follow menu path Edit>Script in the GuiXT screen. The GuiXT Editor appears and proposes a script name that includes the name of the GUI program (SAPMV60A, for example), the ID for the language (if applicable), and the number of the screen where you want the button to appear (0101, for example).

Step 6. Write the GuiXT script. In the screen that appears in step 5, enter the following code to execute the function:

• del (delete)
  
  
• F (element; in this example, field)
  
  
• [Reference no.] (text name of the field)

The final script should be del F [Reference no.].

For this GuiXT script, you may use the structure (RV60S) and technical field (XBLNR) instead of the text name of the field. Depending on your business needs, this may be a good option for you because the text name does not apply to all languages; the technical name, on the other hand, is always language independent. In my example, I enter code del F[RV60S-XBLNR] for this section of the GuiXT script.

Step 7. Save the script. The GuiXT tool suggests the file name SAPMV60A.0101.txt. SAPMV60A is the name of the GUI program and 0101 is the screen number where you want the button to appear. In this example, there is no language ID because the script is language independent.

Step 8. Restart transaction code VF03. To see the effect, you must refresh the SAPGUI screen by starting the transaction again.

Step 9. Watch for error messages. Be observant of any GuiXT messages that may appear. If there is any problem, the system displays error text in the GuiXT window.

Now, the Reference no. field is deleted successfully from your screen (Figure 5).

Figure 5

The Reference no. field on your screen is deleted

Delete Unused Menu Links

You delete unused menu links with a process similar to the one for deleting unused fields. Use GuiXT functionality to delete unused menu links in nine steps:

Steps in Detail

Step 1. Ensure that GuiXT is activated. I described this step in the “Install and Activate GuiXT” section of this article.

Step 2. Start SAP logon. Start SAP logon by entering your user ID and password. After you start SAP logon, the GuiXT window appears automatically.

Step 3. Begin transaction code VF03. Go to transaction VF03 by following menu path Logistics>Sales and Distribution>Billing>Billing Document>Display.

Step 4. Evaluate menu links. Determine which menu links you want to delete on the screen. In my example, I decided to delete menu link Environment>Acc.determ.analysis>POS calculation (Figure 6).

Figure 6

Delete menu path POS calculation

Step 5. Access the GuiXT Editor. Follow menu path Edit>Script in the GuiXT window. The GuiXT Editor screen appears and proposes a script name that includes the name of the GUI program, the ID for the language (if applicable), and the number of the screen where you want the button to appear.

Step 6. Write the GuiXT script. In the screen that appears in step 5, enter the following code to delete menu path POS calculation:

• del (delete)
  
  
• M (element; in this example, menu path)
  
  
• [4,3,3] (order of links in path)

The final script should be del M[4,3,3].

Step 7. Save the script. The GuiXT tool suggests the file name SAPMV60A.0101.txt. SAPMV60A is the name of the GUI program and 0101 is the screen number where you want the button to appear. In this particular example, no language ID is required because the script is language independent.

Step 8. Restart transaction code VF03. To see the effect, refresh the SAPGUI screen by starting the transaction again.

Step 9. Watch for error messages. Be observant of any GuiXT screen messages that may appear. If there is any problem, the system displays error text in the GuiXT window.

Now, the menu path POS calculation is deleted from your screen (Figure 7).

Figure 7

Menu path POS calculation is now deleted

Change Texts on Screens

Companies frequently discover that standard SAP vocabulary is very different from their own. Many users decide to change standard SAP text to align with familiar company text. Use GuiXT to replace text within a field as well as replace text globally. For example, say you want to replace the field text name Billing document with Invoice. You perform this process in the following eight steps:

Steps in Detail

Step 1. Ensure that GuiXT is activated. I described this step in the “Install and Activate GuiXT” section of this article.

Step 2. Start SAP logon. Start SAP logon by entering your user ID and password. After you start SAP logon, the GuiXT window appears automatically.

Step 3. Begin transaction code VF03. Go to transaction VF03 by following menu path Logistics>Sales and Distribution>Billing>Billing Document>Display.

Step 4. Access the GuiXT Editor. Follow menu path Edit>Script in the GuiXT window. The GuiXT Editor screen appears and proposes a script name that includes the name of the GUI program, the ID for the language (if applicable), and the number of the screen where you want the button to appear.

Step 5. Write the GuiXT script. In the screen that appears in step 5, enter the following code to rename the Billing document field name to Invoice:

• text (the feature you want to change)
  
  
• F (element; in this example, field)
  
  
• [Billing document] (old text)
  
  
• “Invoice” (new text)

The final script should be text F[Billing document] “Invoice”.

Step 6. Save the script. The GuiXT tool suggests the file name SAPMV60A.0101.txt. SAPMV60A is the name of the GUI program and 0101 is the screen number where you want the button to appear. In this particular example, there is no language ID because the script is language independent.

Step 7. Restart transaction code VF03. To see the effect, refresh the SAPGUI screen by starting the transaction again.

Step 8. Watch for error messages. Be observant of any GuiXT screen messages that may appear. If there is any problem, the system displays error text in the GuiXT window.

The old field name is replaced with a new name to correspond with the company’s needs (Figure 8).

Figure 8

Change field text from Billing document to Invoice

If you want to make a global replacement of a specific word, follow steps 1-8 and modify your text in step 5 to:

• Globaltextreplace (the feature you want to change)
  
  
• “Billing document” (old text)
  
  
• “Invoice” (new text)

The final script should be Globaltextreplace “Billing document” “Invoice”. Figure 9 displays the results of your global text replacement.

Figure 9

Screen with global text replacements

Figure 10 shows an overview of the Synactive GuiXT window. The screen elements for the active SAPGUI screen are shown and on the right, you see the GuiXT script file that contains several script examples. Use the scripts mentioned in this article as a template to implement your own ideas in accordance with your company needs. To further your understanding of GuiXT, refer to several SAP Notes such as 139773, 387348, and 184281.

Figure 10

Synactive GuiXT screen displays screen elements and a GuiXT script

Maria Nikolova

Maria Nikolova has worked as a senior SAP expert for the National Electricity Company (NEK) in Bulgaria since January 1999. Maria has a master’s degree in telecommunications as an engineer from the Technical University in Sofia, Bulgaria. She has experience with an MIS project implementation of SAP R/3 (headquarters and rollout), the authorization concept and user administration, SAP Customer Competence Center (SAP CCC) , SRM, and the SD, HR, CO, Asset Management (AM), MM, and PM modules. Prior to joining NEK, she worked as a manager of Equipment Engineering Ltd. for four years.

You may contact the author at searchsapmnikolova@yahoo.com.

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