Navigating the SAP Menu - Basics

After you log on to an SAP system, the SAP Easy Access user menu appears on the left side of the screen as a tree structure. This is the point of entry into the SAP system.

The navigation area

• You can expand and collapse menus in the navigation area by choosing the dropdown arrows to the left of each menu item.
• To open an application in the navigation area, do one of the following:
  • Double-click on an entry.
  • Select an entry and press the ENTER key.
  • Select an entry and, from the menu bar, choose Edit Execute (F2).
• To run an application in a separate SAP window (a new session), choose Edit Execute in New Window (CTRL+F2).
• You can access the most important commands and functions in the navigation area by opening the context menu of an entry. To open the context menu, position the cursor on any item in the tree and choose the secondary mouse button. From here, you can access documentation written for the application.

The easy access menu is designed for all SAP modules including HCM to simplify navigation. The most important folders in HCM are Personnel Management, Time Management, and Payroll.

In the example shown, you can see the path with folders and subfolders to the transaction, Display (in HR Master Data): Human Resources→Personnel Management→Administration→HR Master Data→Display.

Most SAP screens are divided into the following four quadrants:

1. Quadrant: Search Area

   You can use the quadrant to search for objects. For example, the application "PA20 – Display personnel master data" searches for the correct person and personnel number.

2. Quadrant: Selection Area

   In general, all objects found according to the search criteria are displayed in this quadrant. For example, if you search for "Beck*" in the "PA20" application, both "Becker" and "Beckmann" are displayed in the hit list.

3. Quadrant: Overview (Work area above)

   The object selected in the hit list is displayed in the quadrant. Also, additional basic and overview data are often displayed. In the example of the PA20 application, a personnel number and some basic data such as the cost center are displayed.

4. Quadrant: Details (Work area below)

   In the fourth quadrant, further detailed information about the object is displayed or can be selected. In the example of the PA20 application, you can specify for example your place of residence, your working hours, and your basic salary.

After you have selected an infotype, such as addresses, some button options are available to you in the application toolbar. One is the display, which leads to a new screen and shows detailed information, such as a person's permanent residence.

Further details on using the Display HR Master Data transaction are explained in later sections.

A personnel administrator needs further information from the HR master data, for example, where a person was born. To do this, the administrator must open the SAP Easy Access menu path again and call up the HR master data→Display transaction again. This poses a problem in everyday work because it is time-consuming and inconvenient. Therefore, there are other ways to access the transaction more quickly. One of them is the use of technical names of transactions and the command field.

1. In the menu bar, you can turn on the technical settings from the SAP Easy Access screen by choosing Extras→Settings and selecting the checkbox, Display Technical Names.
2. In the command field, enter the technical names of the transactions directly, such as PA20.