Two Methods for Modifying SAP Standard Tables

[Arthur Wang]

What are the Two Methods for Modifying SAP ‘Standard Tables’?

You can modify SAP ‘Standard Tables’ using:

– Append Structures
– Customizing INCLUDES

Method 1: Append Structures

The first method for modifying SAP ‘Standard Tables’ is through Append Structures. Essentially, append structures are additional fields that you can add to an existing table without modifying the original table structure. This method is useful when you need to add new fields to an SAP ‘Standard Table’ to meet specific business requirements.

Here are the steps to modify a ‘Standard Table’ using Append Structures:

1. Identify the SAP ‘Standard Table’ that you want to modify.
2. Create a new append structure using transaction code SE11.
3. Add the required fields to the append structure.
4. Assign the append structure to the original table using transaction code SE11.
5. Activate the append structure.

For example, let’s say you want to add a new field to the ‘EKPO’ table, which contains information about purchase order items. You can create a new append structure called ‘ZAPP_EKPO’ with a new field ‘CURRENCY’ and assign it to the ‘EKPO’ table. This will allow you to store additional currency information for each purchase order item.

Method 2: Customizing INCLUDES

The second method for modifying SAP ‘Standard Tables’ is through Customizing INCLUDES. Customizing INCLUDES are predefined programs that allow you to add custom code to SAP ‘Standard Tables’ without modifying the original table structure. This method is useful when you need to add custom logic to an SAP ‘Standard Table’ to meet specific business requirements.

Here are the steps to modify a ‘Standard Table’ using Customizing INCLUDES:

1. Identify the SAP ‘Standard Table’ that you want to modify.
2. Create a new Customizing INCLUDE program using transaction code SE38.
3. Write the custom code that you want to add to the ‘Standard Table’.
4. Assign the Customizing INCLUDE program to the original table using transaction code SM30.
5. Activate the Customizing INCLUDE program.

For example, let’s say you want to add custom validation logic to the ‘KNA1’ table, which contains information about customer master data. You can create a new Customizing INCLUDE program called ‘ZINC_KNA1’ and write custom validation logic to check the customer credit limit. You can then assign this program to the ‘KNA1’ table using transaction code SM30. This will allow you to perform custom validation whenever a user enters or updates customer master data.

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