Purchase order display - short text in logon language

[Former Member]

Hello,

The material description in our purchase orders are in the vendor language. For our foreign vendor, it's better to read the material description in our language.

But our internal requirement, is : how to display the material description in logon language using ME23N, ME2N, ME2M ... it's better for us to see the material description in user language to analyze the data.

I've seen this answer in the OSS note 491211 - FAQ: Purchase order (general)

Question: Why is the material short text not displayed in the logon language in the purchase order even though it is stored in the logon language in the material master?

Answer:When the purchase order is created, the short text is transferred in the document language and copied to the purchase order. Afterwards, the system displays this copied and possibly changed short text always in display mode regardless of the logon language.

what does this sentence mean exactly "possibly changed short text always in display mode regardless of the logon language" ?

is there any parameter to set ?

Thanks for your help

Regards

Grégory

[Former Member]

Dear Akashl Kumar Kumar,

Many of the questions asked in forums are by seasoned professionals in the industry.They are all been working for decades. I know Jurgen for 12 years and he know SAP for two decades and giving him a  screen shot is a rude behaviour.  Refrain your self giving a standard reply and arguing with seniors like Jurgen.

I hope you will understand and maintain etiquettes in future posts.

Regards.

[former_member190990]

Hi,

There is a communication gap I feel. I was just trying to get Jurgen's advice. I know him well too and have been following his suggestions in this forum for months now. , I am sorry if you mistook it. I was just trying to get your suggestions and advice if I was going wrong somewhere, that is the reason why I shared screenshot. No hardfeelings!

Cheers,

Akash

[JL23]

Looks like I missed to add a smiley behind the year. Here it is

[former_member190990]

Hi Jurgen,

So please suggest what would be an ideal solution for this thread. As the question was that the users need to see material descriptions in local language. Does this hold good or any alternative solutions can be provided?

@Gregory

Does this help meet your requirements?

Regards,

Akash

[JL23]

I already answered that, see the part that starts with " To see the short text in your logon language you need to modify....

Having the option to see the description that will be seen by your vendor when you create the PO  is the last optical control to know if  you really order the right material.

I wont miss this last chance."

This just means that not everything that is technically doable makes sense. A consultant has to consult and must not just degrade to a receiver of requests and make it possible.

[Former Member]

Dear all,

thanks for your answers.

The suggestion from Akash Prekar is helpful but the issue is not really fixed.

It's good to display the material short text in vendor language.

But when our MRP controllers use ME2N, ME2L, ... they want to see the short text in logon language.

The different item text in the PO can not be displayed in their transaction.

So it seems the only valid solution will be a specific dev.

Many thanks for your answers

Have a nice

day

Regards

Grégory

[JL23]

in ME2* transactions I actually agree that it could be in your local language since those transactions are only internal. However you may miss then all the texts from POs that got edited in the PO or do not even have a material master. So it would require a more complex logic to fetch the description.

A kind of impossible in a query like it is used in the background of  ME80FN, which usually works similar to ME2* transactions

[former_member190990]

Hi Gregory,

A couple of things are possible in this scenario-

1. You can maintain Material description in the Purchase Order Text tab in Material Master, which will be visible in the tab 'Texts' (local language) in the Item level of PO.

2. A custom development in the Material Master to add one more short text in local language of Basic Data 1 tab.

Regards,

Akash.

[JL23]

Akash Prekar, did you try your option 1? My materials have about 8 different languages maintained in material master PO text, but when a PO is created, then only the text which corresponds to the vendors language is pulled, and no other

[former_member190990]

Hi Jurgen,

I have tested it and please refer below screenshot in my case. Vendor being from Germany, language German. Material short texts maintained in both EN and DE.

As you said, if you have maintained texts in multiple languages, PO will pull only in the language of the vendor. But I have maintained texts (Tab- 'Purchase Order Text') only in single (local language) in Material Master.

Please advice me if this can be considered as a workaround to fulfil the requirement of this thread.

Regards,

Akash

[JL23]

If you really never need a longer text than the 40 characters from the short description, then you may consider this. But you may have to remove the long text then from your PO forms.

And what if you get someday the requirement to use the long text?

I would not consider this as a thought out workaround

[former_member190990]

Hi Jurgen,

Purchase order texts I believe are not short texts (limited to 40 characters). Please refer the screenshot below as it is allowing me to use long texts as well.

Regards,

Akash

[JL23]

I know, since 1997

[former_member190893]

Hi, as of my knowledge in material master purchase order text tab is there. in that u select the Language which u want and add the material description and convert the  description name. when u create the PO u select the Language which u want. Regards Kumar

[JL23]

kumar kumar  check it to be certain. we are talking about short text and not about long text. And even the long text does not have an option to select the language as it does not make sense to maintain something in German when the vendor has English as communication language, the form would not get  this German text

[former_member190893]

H

Hi,

i am not talking about Long Text.first Create the Language then enter the mat description.

then covert the description to which language u want.

Regards

Kumar

[Former Member]

Hi Jurgen, / Gregory

If User need to see the short text in there Log on Language , Then They should not maintain any Other Language shorttext (Manily Vendor Language ) , It will satisfy the Requirement

As Vendor will receive the PO in his Language . Can this workaround process will work

[JL23]

from where is the screenshot, looks like material master, we are talking PO

[JL23]

To see the short text in your logon language you need to modify the program, there is nothing to achieve this IMG customizing. Maybe a Badi or exit is already able to do it, but in any kind it is a development that  needs to be done by an ABAPer.

From my experience with material master maintenance (I mean, how others do it): often a new material is created by copy. Some (many) users are not well trained, they have never seen the alternative language screen of a material master. They create a new material by copy of another material, they change the description in basic data one screen only. Result: many different material masters which have the same description in the alternative language.

Having the option to see the description that will be seen by your vendor when you create the PO  is the last optical control to know if  you really order the right material.

I wont miss this last chance.

[JL23]

see, in material master you have a view to maintain a description in several languages.

In the purchase order the language is defined by the communication language from vendor master. There is no option to have the description in several different languages in the PO.  A purchase order has just one field for the description   And this short text is copied over from material master when you create the purchase order. And this short text can be changed in the purchase order as it is specific to the purchase order.

If you would get your local language instead of the vendors language, then a change would be made in your local language only, but the vendor would receive the PO in his language and would not know about such change.

Even you never change a description, SAP is made for many, others might do it.

[Former Member]

Hi,

Usually Until you enter vendor number in PO header while creating PO through ME21N, the material short text is displayed as per the languages maintained based on Logon Language.

Once you enter the Vendor number in header it converts the language to what ever the vendor language is maintained which is nothing but the communication language.

So in standard this is process , if you want for foreign vendors to be displayed in Logon language then you need to go for some development using some piece of code to overwrite the std Logic and to display the Logon Language for foreign vendors.

Rgds,