Form Technologies
Form technologies allow developers to create forms that will be filled with actual business data at runtime. The following form technologies are available in SAP S/4HANA:
- SAPscript
- Smart Forms
- SAP Interactive Forms by Adobe
- SAP Forms service by Adobe
Output Solutions
An output solution allows for the output type (for example, form, email, print) to be configured, and for the conditions under which it should be created and where it should be sent to be determined.
The following output solutions are available to configure forms into their required output:
- NAST (Message Control, from German Nachrichtensteuerung)
- PPF (Post Processing Framework)
- Print Workbench
- SAP S/4HANA output management
- Application-specific
There has been an evolution in output solutions, but due to upwards compatibility, all solutions remain supported in a general sense.
Output Solutions and Form Technologies in SAP S/4HANA
The output solutions available depend on the SAP S/4HANA edition. Not every output solution is available in every SAP S/4HANA edition. Additionally, within an SAP S/4HANA edition, each individual business application decides which output solutions it supports.
One output solution can use several form technologies. The possible superset of the form technologies depends on the SAP S/4HANA edition.
The following list summarizes these points:
- The respective edition of SAP S/4HANA defines which form technologies are available.
- Per edition, the individual business application decides on the available output solutions.
- In each output solution, one or more form technologies can be used.
Therefore, questions such as Can I only use Adobe Forms in SAP S/4HANA? or Are my existing Smart Forms still supported when moving to SAP S/4HANA? can only be answered by looking at the individual business application.
For example, in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, only SAP Forms service by Adobe is available. Its usage is always configured in SAP S/4HANA output management.
SAP S/4HANA Editions
Play the video to learn more about SAP S/4HANA editions.