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Defining Pick Lists

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to Add data to a Segmented Pick List in SAP Fieldglass..

Pick Lists

Pick Lists are drop-down fields that present users with pre-defined values that they can select. Pick Lists collect the choices that are made available in the dropdown menus.

Source Pick Lists

A Source Pick List leverages values already available in the application and makes them available as choices in Pick Lists.

split screenshot of the Reason for Job Posting pick list options appearing in the optional Reason for Job Posting field dropdown menu on a Job Posting setup page

In this example, the section Reason for Job Posting leverages a list of Job Posting reasons to create the options available in the dropdown list.

The source pick list called Reason For Job Posting was added to the job posting to capture the core reason for the creation of the Job Posting.

The list derives from the list of reasons for the Job Posting, so any changes to that list will immediately be reflected in this pick list.

Segmented Pick Lists

Larger lists of related data can be created as segmented pick lists. They allow the buyer to set up the custom field so that the user can only select valid value combinations as they choose each segment. Available options in each segment are dependent on the selection in the previous segment.

split screenshot of the Business Area segmented pick list admin object page showing the values for Region and Department, and the Job Posting showing the Business Area segmented pick list, illustrating how the selection of the region effects the subsequent selection of the department

The options available in the Department field are dependent upon what was selected in the preceding Region field. So selecting, say, Asia from the Region field could change the options in the Department field from those illustrated here.

Navigating the Pick List Admin Object

screenshot of Configuration section of the Admin Menu, the Pick Lists link is highlighted

1	To view the list of pick lists configured in WorkingNet’s tenant, select Pick List from the Configuration section of the admin menu.

Pick List List Page

Pick lists that are listed as defined by SAP Fieldglass are defaulted and cannot be edited.

2	Type indicates the type of pick list. There are several types of pick lists that can be selected, depending upon how the tenant is configured.
3	If the pick list is a custom field source type, a source for the pick list can be assigned. The Source column will indicate the source that has been assigned.
4	Items indicates the number of items included in the pick list. Often this represents the number of values included in the pick list, but it can also represent the number of segments included in a segmented pick list.
5	To view the details of a pick list, select the appropriate link in the Name column.

Pick List Details Page

The details that appear on a pick list details page vary depending upon the type of pick list. A segmented pick list, as illustrated here, has more data objects than a standard pick list, which would only display the name and type of the pick list, and the values assigned to it.

6	Number of Segments indicates the number of segments in this segmented pick list. The segments themselves would be listed in the Segment Headers section below.
7	Delimiter indicates what character is used to separate the values on an integration connector.
8	The number of Segment Headers correspond to the number of segments indicated in the Number of Segments row in the Details section above.
9	The column headers in the Values section correspond to the names of the segment headers listed above.

Create a Pick List

WorkingNet wants to capture data concerning what they call Business Area when hiring managers create job postings. Their data for this list is tier-based, consisting of information about regions and departments.

Each value that’s available is based on the value of the level above it, which means that it will need to be a segmented pick list.

As the SAP Fieldglass administrator for WorkingNet, you’ll need to create this segmented pick list.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Picklist Uploads

Most pick list values are uploaded via the Pick List Value Upload Connector. This makes it much easier to configure, add, remove, or update pick lists as needed- especially when there are hundreds of values to be maintained.

screenshot of CSV file in Upload format over screenshot of Pick List Details for Reason for Job Posting in the application showing the correlation of the first row of data in the spreadsheet to the Name of the picklist, and how the separated data in subsequent rows populate the segment values

In order to configure this pick list, we would take the file you see here and upload it into our organization's tenant in SAP Fieldglass. When the file loads successfully, the configuration details for this pick list will look exactly the same as we saw in the UI.

The Type of upload is entered as the Pick List Value Upload. This lets the application know what kind of data you’re loading into system. In this case, values for a pick list are being uploaded.

A Pick List Value Upload cannot occur until a pick list is first configured, which can be done with a Pick List Configuration Upload Connector. There are several types of Pick Lists in SAP Fieldglass based on what type of value should be populated. When creating a Pick List, it is mandatory to choose one.

Here are four of the most commonly used:

Custom Field Source is used to provide a list of Active items that exist in the tenant, like users or job posting templates.
Custom Field Pick List is used to provide a list of Buyer-defined items for a custom field.
Custom Field Segmented Pick List is used to provide a Segmented Pick List for a custom field. You can set up valid combinations of data to limit the user's choices for each segment of the custom field.
Integration Pick List is used to create a Pick List for use in Integrations.

The first value in the Pick List column/section is the name of our pick list: Reason for Job Posting.

All the values underneath the Name comprise the list of valid values in the application. The values listed here match the values in the Values section of the Pick List details.

Segmented Picklist Upload

screenshot of CSV file in Download format over screenshot of Pick List Details for Region + Finance Contact in UI in the application showing the relationship of the first data row to the name of the picklist, and the data in subsequent rows to the picklist values

The upload file for a Segmented Pick List includes the same header values as the Pick List upload file:

1	The Name of the Pick List is the first value listed in the upload file.
2	The Pick List Type indicates the type of pick list that this data object represents. In this case, the pick list type is a Custom Field Segmented Pick List. The pick list type is determined when the pick list is configured using the Pick List Configuration Upload Connector. The Pick List Type does not correspond to the Type value listed in the Values connector. Instead, the Type value in the connector indicates the manner in which SAP Fieldglass should process the data in the connector.
3	A Delimiter separates the data items in the Pick List Values Upload connector so SAP Fieldglass can process the data correctly. As illustrated here, a semicolon is used to separate the values to indicate which value in each row corresponds to a Region, and which represents a Finance Contact.
4	Segment Headers represent the columns in the Values list. They identify the values that appear in the respective columns. The number and names of the Segment Headers are configured when initially setting up the pick list using the Pick List Configuration Upload connector. The number of segment headers listed here should match the number indicated in the Number of Segments section of the pick list details.
5	Unlike the values in a standard pick list, values listed under Pick List Values represent the segments. The data in the connector is presented by row, but in a single column. The values are presented in the order in which the segment headers are listed and are separated by the chosen delimiter. In this example, the first value represents the Region and the second value is the associated Finance Contact, with the values separated by a semicolon.

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