Using Cell Details, Comments, Guidelines and Shortcuts

Robert, our new consolidation consultant, wants to:

• Understand how you can acquire further information about a data cell
• Get into the comments concept, observe where comments are saved, and how you can export comments into Excel.
• Understand how to set up shortcuts for forms across different folders, improving efficiency
• Configure guidelines on a form for better data entry guidance

You can choose to display further information on the data in a cell.

This includes the following information:

• Data as it is stored in the database
• If there is a formula, the calculated amount and syntax used in the formula
• Values for each dimension and the display format that is applied to them
• If there is a read-only cell, the reason why there is a read-only cell
• If applicable, the writable document type

When you execute a form from the Enter Package Data app, right-click in a data cell and select Cell Details…. You receive further information such as why a cell is not ready for input.

A comment is a text which relates to a transaction data point. You can enter comments on a data cell in a form. So, the comment is attached to the data cell (a combination of measure and dimension members). It is not attached to the form.

You can use comments to provide qualitative information about the data in a cell, for example, to describe the quality of the data or to explain the reasons behind the data. You can use the comment feature to comment a data or enter additional information.

The comment always refers to transaction data in ACDOCU.

You can enter comments in Input Ready Cells, in Read Only Forms or in Read Only Data Cells.

Anyone authorized to view or edit data shown in a cell can create, view, and edit a comment. If you enter a comment and the cell data is used in another form, the comment also shows in that form. So, the form contributor can create comments, see others' comments, and edit a comment.

Generally speaking, everybody who can view a value can comment on it.

To enter a comment, right-click on a cell and select Comment…. You can enter up to 10,000 characters.

Once you enter a comment on a cell, a triangle displays in blue on the top-right corner of the cell. When you save your data, your comment also saves and the triangle turns gray. Then, when you hover your cursor over the cell, the comment dialog appears. The dialog shows the comment, who created the comment, and when they created the comment.

Here is how you can edit a comment:

• Left-click on the comment in the comment dialog.
• Right-click on the cell with the comment and select Comment....

When you create or edit a comment, the triangle displays in blue until you save your changes. You can also delete a comment. When you delete a comment, the triangle displays in a blue outline until you choose the Save button in the executed form. Once you save the form, the triangle no longer displays. If you reload the form without saving it first, you do not delete the comment.

With the help of the Export Comments, Questions, and Answers Content app (F7182), you can export business data for comments, questions, and answers that you entered in forms into CSV files from the Enter Package Data app.

Here are some key benefits:

• Export business data for comments, questions, and answers.
• Download exported data as CSV files.
• Cancel exports while they are running.
• Delete exported data.
• See a history of exports, with information such as when the export was run and by whom.

The CSV file contains the following data:

• All versions of all comments, questions, and answers of the whole tenant
• Only texts, not amounts or quantities
• Everything exported, including comments, questions, and answers. You cannot choose between them.

Generated CSV files expire after 14 days. You can run a new export only if you delete the existing export or wait until it expires.

Comments are saved in a dedicated SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) HANA database, not in SAP S/4HANA. This applies to the S/4HANA on-premise system and to the S/4HANA on the cloud system. There is no access to the cloud production databases.

The only exception is that development support can access the database. However, it can only do this if absolutely required in support cases and after explicit approval of the affected customer. You cannot check the comments in the HANA database.

Here is the benefit of extracting comments:

• Use the overview of all of a unit's answers to one question to create summarizing text fragments. These fragments are for external and internal reports, such as the annual statement or tax reports.
• Understand why an answer is given, observing its original context during data entry.
• Compare entries of different consolidation units.
• Share collected data with colleagues and teams for further processing.
• Archive intermediate states of the collection process.

For upcoming enhancements on the comments functionality, refer to SAP Note 3047695: https://me.sap.com/notes/3047695/E.

In addition, for the roadmap for SAP Group Report Data Collection, refer to the relevant entry in the SAP Road Map Explorer: https://roadmaps.sap.com/board?PRODUCT=73555000100800001012&range=CURRENT-LAST#Q3%202023.

Optionally, on the Guidelines tab, you can explain how to use the form.

These guidelines display in the Enter Package Data app, where they provide guidance when entering data in the form. They appear in the left panel of your form. To open the guidelines section, choose the i-button (the Guidelines button) in the upper left.

You can add the following data:

• Hyperlinks
• Images
• Tables

It supports copy and paste. For example, if you must make a table that requires features in addition to those available in the guidelines table features, you can create the table in Microsoft Excel and copy and paste it from there into the guidelines.

As an example, assume you have two different folders, one for monthly reporting and one for quarterly reporting. Some forms are different between the two folders, but some forms can be used for both.

Another example would be that some forms are in parallel in a folder for the holding and in a folder for specific branches of activities. To avoid double-maintaining the forms you work with shortcuts in such a scenario.

In this case, you can create shortcuts to assign the same form to different folders. If you update the form, updates are automatically available in all folders.

To create a shortcut, select the form that you want to create a shortcut for and, from the Create drop-down menu, select Shortcut. Select the folder where you want to place the shortcut and save the shortcut.

As a result, you create a shortcut to the form in the selected location, with the same name as the form. The shortcut resembles a normal form. There is no visual difference between the original form and all the shortcuts created from this form afterward.

Changes made to the form from any of the shortcuts apply to the form and all the shortcuts to that form.

You can move folders, forms, and shortcuts from one folder to another.

As shown in the figure, Shortcuts, you can delete folders, forms, or shortcuts. When you delete a normal form and a shortcut form, the deletion message is different.