Transferring Data

The following principle applies to data transfer in functional locations and equipment hierarchies:

Starting point: superior object

For example, if a piece of equipment is installed from a functional location, there is no query with regard to data transfer. All fields in the equipment master that contain entries at this point remain unaffected and are identified as individually maintained fields. Data from the functional location is automatically copied to any fields that do not contain entries.

Starting point: subordinate object

If the installation is performed from the equipment master record, the data transfer can be influenced using the Installation with Data Transfer function. You can then select the field that needs to be maintained individually (or independent of the functional location) and the field that needs to be copied from the functional location.

You can use the Data Origin function to change the data inheritance options for each field for the functional location. For equipment, the switch is made by dismantling the equipment and then installing and configuring fields using the Installation with Data Transfer function.

For example, the responsible work center of the functional location Ventilators changes for several functional locations. The employee responsible for maintaining master data changes the master record for the reference functional location Ventilators and saves the entry. The system changes automatically for all functional locations that have been assigned to this reference location and pieces of equipment that are installed at these locations. It then issues a message informing the employee of the number of functional locations and pieces of equipment to which the data was transferred.

When the data of a master record is changed and this change is to be copied into other master records using data transfer, it may be that the objects in question are locked by another user at this time. In this case, the system displays an overview of the objects to which data could not be transferred as well as the names of the users who are blocking the objects.

The employee responsible will not always be able to process the list of locked objects immediately. For this reason, the system stores a list of the objects that were locked during the data transfer in a separate database table.

Display the list of these objects from the screen Technical Objects by choosing Environment → Take up data transfer.

The Take Up Data Transfer screen is displayed. It contains a list of all technical objects that still have to be processed for the data transfer. Position your cursor on the object that you require and choose the Edit object.

You go directly to the master record of the object you selected. The system automatically performs the data transfer and issues a message to inform you of this fact. Save the master record. In this way, you save the transferred data and return to the list of objects. Position the cursor on the next required object, and repeat steps 2 and 3 for all other objects that you want to process.

For reference functional locations and functional locations, you can display the origin of the data in the master data fields. There are two different display options available, including the following:

• Individual display for an individual field
• Overview display

For reference functional locations and functional locations, you can determine where entered data needs to originate for the individual master data fields. For reference functional locations, you can specify whether the data needs to originate from a superior location in the structure or needs to be maintained individually for the master record. For functional locations, you can specify whether data needs to originate from a superior location in the structure or reference functional location, or whether it needs to be maintained individually for the master record.

For pieces of equipment, there is an overview display (list of data origin) for each tab page, but there is no field-based display or change option.

When you perform a mass change, note the following points regarding data origin:

• Fields for which no data origin has been specified (for example, Description) are changed for all of the selected objects.
• Fields for which a data origin has been specified are only changed if the data origin is set to Maintained Individually. If the data origin is Functional Location or Superordinate (Superior) Equipment (for equipment) or Reference Location or Functional Location (for functional locations), then the mass change is not performed.

• When you perform a mass change, all of the technical objects that are under the selected technical object in the hierarchy are also changed. If a large number of objects have to be processed, you may experience lock table overflow. Resulting inheritance breaks can be processed in the transaction code, IL21.
• If there is an inheritance break in an object before you perform a mass change, this inheritance break is repaired during the mass change. It is also repaired for the other objects under the same superior object.
• If inheritance breaks are repaired, the message log contains a general message to this effect. It does not contain messages for each individually repaired object. This is to avoid cluttering the message log with information that is not related to the mass changes function.