SAP Note 14944 - Choosing the working directory for XXL

Symptom:

The XXL List Viewer can not be started. The messages "File open failed" or "File write failed" (error numbers PC023 or PC024) may appear on the screen.

Reason and Prerequisites

This could be due to a problem with the choice of the working directory for the SAP-GUI:

1. As of Release 2.1G, the XXL interface transfers the data contained inits working directory to the local display service (usually Microsoft Excel). The user, therfore, must have write authorization for this working directory.

2. With releases before 2.1G, XXL needed write access to a directory named LISTOBJS, which had to be placed below directory XXL, which in turn had to be placed below the working directory. From 2.1G on, XXL needs write access only to the working directory.

Solution
For Releases from 2.1G on, it is easy to eliminate the problem. Simply choose a working directory for the SAPGUI that the user has write access to. You would normally choose a directory on the local hard drive. SAPGUI itself can be installed on a server on the network.
For Releases up to 2.1F, the Server Installation of the SAPGUI can be problematic for XXL. If you want to follow the requirement that the installation and working directories for the SAPGUI be the same, the user must possess write-authorization for the directory LISTOBJS, which is generally under (beneath) the SAPGUI installation directory. On many networks, this means that the user also has write-authorization for the installation directory itself, which is usually not desirable.
Alternatively, you could choose a local working directory for the SAPGUI and copy XXL (along with its contents and subdirectories) to it as a subdirectory. Doing so, however, will not guarantee a completely functional R/3 Frontend in regard to other SAPGUI components.

Other terms

XXL Working Directory