SAP Note 24860 - Replacement of a matchcode ID by a search help function

Symptom:

You want to convert a physically stored matchcode ID (update type 'S', 'A' or 'P') to a search help function or, in releases lower than 4.0, to a transparent matchcode ID (Update type 'I').

Other terms

F4 help, matchcode search

Reason and Prerequisites

You want to replace the matchcodes with search help functions.

Solution

Important: The conversion described below only works in non-Unicode systems. Matchcodes are no longer supported in Unicode systems. If a Unicode migration is planned, you MUST perform the conversion and the subsequent deletion of the matchcodes BEFORE the migration. Otherwise, you will have to repeat the Unicode migration.

Prerequisites for the conversion

The following prerequisites must be met if you want to convert a physically stored ID to a search help function (or to a transparent storage location for releases prior to Release 4.0):

• All base tables of the ID must be transparent tables.

• No component fields may be defined.

• Note when converting a program-controlled ID that application programs may possibly have to be adapted as well (see below).

Conversion procedure (for Releases 4.0 or higher)

In Release 4, transparent matchcodes were replaced by search help functions. To convert a non-transparent matchcode ID, you must, therefore, proceed as follows (the details can be found in the ABAP documentation on search help functions and views):

• Create a database view which contains the fields and the selection condition of the matchcode ID.

• Change the search help function which results from the matchcode ID by entering the name of the database view that you created in the first step as the selection method.

• If necessary, create a database index to speed up the search (see also Note 17617).

• After a successful conversion, delete the non-transparent matchcode ID by calling transaction SE11 -> Other Dictionary Objects -> enter the name of the matchcode object -> Display -> MC IDs -> Select ID -> Display <-> Change -> Delete.

Conversion procedure (for Releases lower than 4.0)

Proceed as follows to convert a physically stored, standard SAP matchcode ID (update type A,S or P) to a transparent storage location (update type I):

• Copy the ID to be changed into the customer name range (identifiers 0 to 9).

• Then change the update type to I and activate the ID.

• If necessary, create a database index to speed up the search (see also Note 17617).

• If it was an ID of the update type S, you should change the update type of the original ID to A. You save the system unnecessary loads by synchronously maintaining the changes to the ID. For Release 3.0, simply deactivate the original ID.

Modifications after the conversion process
The search process using a search function is case-sensitive, that is, upper/lower case is taken into account when entering a search requirement in text fields.
The number of hits in a search performed using a search help function can be an actual subset of the number of hits of the equivalent search performed using a physically implemented ID. This is because access for search help functions is implemented using an Inner Join, whereas for identifiers implemented physically, an Outer Join is set up.
For example: An ID implements a search for the personnel number of an employee by entering the employee's name and department. The base table contains information on personnel numbers and names. The secondary table contains the departments and their employees. No entry exists, therefore, for employees who are not allocated to a department in the secondary table. These employees cannot be found if you access the tables using a search help function with with the Number, Name and Department fields. On the other hand, such employees are found by means of a physically implemented ID of the same structure.
These definitions should have been cancelled during the conversion to the search help functions if subfields were defined for the identifiers. You can restore the previous format of the output list by using the output design.