Handling Originals

You can select files in several ways:

• Create Original:
  • Click the "Create Original" button to open a system dialog box.
  • Select an appropriate workstation application, followed by the relevant original application file. The available original files depend on the chosen application. For instance, selecting the BMP application allows you to choose from bitmap files.
• Open Original:
  • Click the "Open Original" button to open an explorer window.
  • First, select the file, and then choose the relevant application for it. For example, a .txt file could be edited with Microsoft Word, Notepad, or Wordpad. (These applications must be defined in Customizing to be available.)
  • You can view the originals with the selected applications or use the SAP Visual Enterprise Viewer to display the originals directly from the document info record.
• Drag and drop files from Windows Explorer into your document in SAP GUI.
• In the Manage Documents app, add a file and save your document for a straightforward upload.

A simple upload is possible if it has been predefined in Customizing.

When checking in original files, you can use SAP databases or HTTP content servers. After the originals are securely checked in, you can delete the source files from your work area. You can also set up automatic check-in for originals that meet specific status criteria. This allows you to create content versions of originals without the need to create a new document info record. Further details on this process will be explained later.

You can get a first impression of the original by using a thumbnail display. This is available to you when you link files to the document info record and saved them. However, only one file can be displayed as a thumbnail in the document info record. This is stored according to the format in Customizing for Document Management. If there are several files in the document info record with formats that have been defined in Customizing, the thumbnails are displayed in the order that you defined.

Within the document browser view, you can display the files of the individually assigned document info records as thumbnails. The files of the document info record which the format was defined in Customizing is also displayed here.

During the check-out process, the system checks the status network. If a status with the status type "O" (original processing status) exists for the document type, and can be accessed, then the system automatically sets the status with status type "O". In addition, the user name is used as the person responsible. This ensures that only the person responsible can edit the document info record. All other users are only allowed to display the document. For example, when the originals are checked out, you can, in Customizing, activate a query to alert the user against overwriting a file with the same name. If no status with status type "O" exists, the system retains the current status. If several statuses with status type "O" exist, the system displays a selection screen.

Another way to retrieve the original master state is by versioning the file. When you create content versions, the document version remains unchanged.

To edit the chosen original and check it into the secure storage area, follow a different method. Load the file as a new content version in the secure storage area.

When you create multiple content versions, you can choose which version will be the active one. If needed, you can also delete a content version.

If the document info record is linked to another object, such as a material, the work scheduler or production supervisor can only view the active version.

When versioning the entire document info record, only the active content versions are copied into the new document version.

If you reset the file, the old version becomes the active one again.

Please remember that if you transfer the object links, the end-user can still edit the object links directly. If originals with content versions exist in the previous version, only the active ones are transferred.

After you have created several document info records, you want to provide them with files/originals. To do this, you first copy files from an existing document to a network drive. These files are then linked to your documents and stored in a secure storage area. The files are edited and versioned. At the end, the entire document is released and then versioned.

First, suitable files are required. Therefore, an existing document is opened and files are copied to the N:\ drive.

Watch the following video, which shows the file transfer.

The created documents are then opened, the files are assigned, and stored in the secure storage area. Finally, the individual original is checked.

Watch the next video, which shows the file assignment and storage.

After the files for the first document have been assigned, you also want to supply your second document with files.

To do this, you now use the Manage Documents app, which is shown in the following video.

Now you first check the file information in the Manage Documents app and compare it with the Product Master app.

The following video shows this comparison.

After viewing the files in different ways, you also want to edit them.

In the following video, you can see how this is done in the Manage Documents app.

You now want to save several processing statuses of a file.

Therefore, you are now working with content versions, which can be seen in the next video. You also check these change states in the classic SAP GUI menu.

After editing the files and sharing the document, you want to create new versions.

You can do this in different ways, as shown in the following video.

The documents are all linked to materials.

The following video now shows you how to display the originals in the material and product.