SAP Note 25549 - Default formats for list printing

Symptom:

How are the default parameters for ABAP print lists determined?
I.) System-List-Print: which format does the print screen suggest?
II.) Execute Program (Proceed): Print button--which format does the
print screen suggest?
III.) Spool request without format?
IV.) Print parameters in SM36?

Cause and prerequisites

Information request.

Solution
I.) Formats are output only if a printer is entered in the field "Output device." When calling up the print menu, this field is only filled as a default if a printer is entered in the user defaults.
When you press the F4 key in the field "Formats", a screen is called which is filled in the following manner:
1.) For device types of the output device, all defined formats are collected.
2.) Every format is assigned a handicap number which depends on the number of lines and columns that appear in the print screen. This number is calculated as follows:
- Too many columns or lines is much more suitable than too few.
- The smaller the difference between the desired number of columns
and the number of columns in the format, the better.
3.) If lines or columns cannot be determined for a particular format,
it is removed from the list.
4.) The list is sorted according to handicap values.
5.) The list contains a dash ("-") which separates formats which have a sufficient number of columns and lines from those which have too few.
Notes:
1.) If you choose a format whose column or line numbers are too small, something will be cut out of the list. The R/3 System generates a warning which you must quit with ENTER.
2.) These formats make sense in that sometimes the proposed number of lines or columns can be decreased, so that a format might then fit.

II.) If a program is executed (e.g., in SE38 with "Execute"
[Proceed]), a screen list appears with the program output.
If the "print" button is pressed, the format is determined
exactly as in "I" above--with, however, the addtion that
it will check if the programmer has a.) already defined a new
format for his or her program (e.g., with NEW-PAGE PRINT ON
LAYOUT) and b.) if a specific screen format is defined in the
program header. These values are accepted first.

III.) If a spool request is generated without an allocated format,
format X_PAPER is used at printing.

IV.) In SM36, X_65_80 is generally suggested as the default format.
If, however, in the report command line the additions "line-size" and
"line-count" are used, the values specified there are used as default.

Additional key words

SAPLSPRI