JULY 15, 2006

 

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WINSHUTTLE, INC. 2005

Towards the end of the article we provide some other points of comparison between the

TxShuttle application and LSMW.

 

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The following are the 14 steps required for updating the customer master records using

the LSMW tool. More details about each of the following steps can be found in the above

referenced articles.

 

1.   Maintain Object Attributes

 - First the transaction XD02 is recorded using a batch-input

recording session. Each field on every screen in the recording is edited and given a name.

Depending on the number of screens visited and the number of fields to be uploaded, this

step could take a long time to finish.

 

2.   Maintain Source Structures

  In this step, a source structure is named for the upload.

 

3.   Maintain Source Fields

Here, all the fields that will be uploaded are given names and

their format is precisely defined.

 

4.   Maintain Structure Relations

  In this step, a relationship I defined between the source

structure and source field. For the customer master loading example, this relationship is

automatically determined and this step does not require any work.

 

5.   Maintain Field Mapping and Conversion Rules

  Here, every field recorded in Step 1 is

mapped to the source fields defined in Step 3.

 

6.   Maintain Fixed Values, Translations, User-defined Routine

  In this step of LSMW, any

data translations that need to be done are defined. In the customer master example, this

step is skipped.

 

7.   Specify Files

  In this step, you point at a tab-delimited file to be uploaded. If the source 

data file is in Excel, then that Excel file would need to be saved as a tab-delimited file.

 

8.   Assign Files

 - This step is automatic for this example.

 

9.   Import Data

  Here, the source file is imported into the system.

 

10. Display Imported Data -

This is an optional step where the imported file can be displayed

for verification.

 

11. Convert Data

 Here the imported data is converted into the appropriate input format.

 

12. Display Converted Data

  This is another optional step where the converted data can be

displayed for verification.

 

13. Create Batch Input Session

  In this step, a batch session is created which can run the

XD02 transactions to make the change to the data.

 

14. Run Batch Input Session

 - In the final step, the batch session is actually executed via the

SM35 transaction.

 

Even though not all 14 steps are required, the process of carrying out such a mass data

change with LSMW is involved and can be quite lengthy.