SAP S/4HANA Output Management and SAP Forms Service by Adobe
This lesson provides an overview of the features of SAP Forms service by Adobe. More details will be explained in the following lessons.
SAP S/4HANA output management provides gateway-based forms using SAP Forms service by Adobe. These forms are not available with any other existing output solution. Layout options are the same as for SAP Interactive Forms by Adobe.
The datasource is represented by a gateway model, instead of an ABAP interface, which means that forms can be maintained without access to the ABAP backend. This means that they are "cloud-ready".
Form metadata is maintained via the SAP Fiori app Maintain Form Templates only. Form layouts can be edited using Adobe LiveCycle Designer (version 10.4 or higher).
SAP Forms service by Adobe supports the reuse of fragments, with the use of master forms for cross-form static data.
As mentioned, forms in SAP Forms service by Adobe are cloud-ready. They are available in all editions of SAP S/4HANA. The data interface of the forms is defined via an SAP gateway service. This kind of service is called a form data provider. Data provision is also defined in the service's implementation.
The customer does not need to create a form data provider, though this would be possible from a technical point-of-view. Instead, SAP offers pre-delivered templates. If the customer needs to enhance or adapt a template, they can create an adapted version and store it under another name in their name space.
The metadata of adapted customer forms can be maintained in the SAP Fiori app Maintain Form Templates. In the app, there is a download/upload function where the actual layout definition can be downloaded from the backend system and uploaded back into the system. The actual layout definition is maintained on the client-side with Adobe LiveCycle Designer.
SAP Forms service by Adobe provides the following form types:
- Master Forms
- Content Forms
- Standalone Forms
Master forms and content forms are new concepts. A master form can be reused across more than one form for the static appearance of information, such as company logo, sender address, bank details, and so on. However, It is not mandatory to use master forms and content forms. Instead, customers can use standalone forms, which include both static and dynamic data.