smartforms!

[Former Member]

Could you plase explain me the difference between

1. form attributes

2. form interface

3. global definations

4. pages and widow.

and if i hv a big program how to proceed to work on smartform.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

HI ajay,

form attributes refer to the attributes that are particular to the smartform that u r developing like how u want the form to get printed, ie as portrait or landscape etc..

form interface defines the communication parameters of the form with the driver pgm. contains the import export and tables that will be used for communication.

global definitons contain the variables that are used globally within the smartform. like any other pgm, if u want to use a variable in ur pgm, u need to declare it here.

pages refer to each page in the smartform. a form may contain many pages which may hav different layouts and features included. each of these pages will contain windows which are used to distinguish areas within the form. so u can include windows like the header, footer or anything else and then put them into ur page which gives u the final layout.

Hope u got some brief idea...

u will get inifinite sites from net to learn smartforms. just search for 'sap smartforms'

reward if useful

[Former Member]

Hi,

1.Form Attributes:

To develop a Smart Form you use the Form Builder in which you describe the attributes of the Smart Form by using the integrated graphical tools, such as the Form Painter for the layout of a form page or the Table Painter for the design of table output. The form logic is represented by a hierarchy structure (tree structure) that you construct of individual nodes together with the relevant attributes. Besides using existing nodes for global settings you may create, for example, nodes for the output of texts, of tables, or of graphics. To make changes, use Drag&Drop, Copy&Paste, and select different attributes. These actions do not require writing coding lines or using a Script language.

2.Form Interface:

The logic of the form is mapped entirely in the Smart Form. To print a form, you call it from within an application program, in which you retrieve the application data to be merged into the form. As data retrieval and form logic are separated, you must only adapt the Smart Form if changes to the form logic are necessary. The application program passes the data via a function module interface to the Smart Form.

3.Global Definitions:

Use

Global definitions apply for the entire form. You can use any objects defined there in all nodes of the tree.

Features

The following global definitions are possible:

Variables or constants whose types are stored in the ABAP Dictionary

Types as free ABAP coding, provided there is no type in the ABAP Dictionary

Field symbols

You can initialize the global data before you start processing the start page. Usage examples are: conversion of selected application data, optimizing form logic by previously reorganizing internal tables, and so on.

On the Form routines tab you enter routines that you want to use in the form via the program lines node. Within these form routines you cannot access any global data unless you explicitly pass them to the form routine interface.

Fore more information see Advanced Form Development.

Activities

To maintain global definitions use the node Global Settings ® Global definitions.

4.Pages and Windows:

Each form consists of one or more pages. The first page in the tree structure is the start page (when you create a form, the start page already exists). With this page, processing of the form starts.

When you call pages repeatedly or process pages again because the main window is not filled yet, a page node creates several print pages.

Windows are output areas for all output data. You can set the size and position of a window graphically in the Form Painter. There are main windows and secondary windows. The most important difference is that the output in a main window can cover several pages.

Reward points if it is helpful.

Regards,

Omkar.