SAP Interactive Adobe Forms. Part 22. Handle Different Paper Size templates into single Adobe Form
SAP Adobe is still a niche area. With S/4HANA eventually almost all forms will be converted to Adobe. So, if you have not started learning SAP Adobe, it is high time you did it. Put this in your new year resolutions.
This article presents an intriguing method for combining different paper sizes into a single format. While most other countries use A4 paper size, we have a legal need for US-based countries to use LETTER paper size in various roll-outs for different countries. In order to meet this need, we typically need to maintain multiple forms and design two distinct templates, one for the US and one for the other countries.Having a single Global Form Template that works for both A4 and letter sizes would be very beneficial.
SAP HANA ABAP Programming
Before we move forward with this tutorial, we have a quick announcement to make. A new batch of ABAP Programming on SAP HANA is commencing on 18th Jan 2020. If ABAP on HANA is in your kitty list, do take a look into the course content and enroll for the same.
Steps to create Template:
- Create Adobe form with 2 master Pages – LetterMaster and A4Master
- Set Paper Type of LetterMaster page as ‘LETTER’
Go to Object Palette->Select “Master page” tab->Select ‘paper type” as Letter
- Set paper Type of A4Master page as ‘A4’.
Go to Object Palette->Select “Master page” tab->Select ‘paper type” as A4
- Create 2 body pages – LetterDetails and A4Details and create a text field in each body page
If we try to generate output with this template, we would see 2 pages. But our business requirement is to show only one page – either Letter or A4.
How can we achieve it? A conditional flag can come to our rescue.
For that, we have to declare a flag containing identifier for both paper sizes and based on that flag, we have to hide/ display the relevant pages.
- Declare an import parameter in Form interface as IV_PAPER_TYPE with type BOOLEAN.
- In Driver program, we have to pass the value of the above flag as :
When LETTER is needed, set IV_PAPER_TYPE = ‘X’
When A4 is needed, set IV_PAPER_TYPE = ‘-‘
- Drag and drop the import parameter From Interface to Form Context.
- On LetterDetails Page, add the following Java script in INITIALIZATION event to hide the LetterDetails page based on flag value relevant to A4:
if( $record.FLAGS_DYNAMIC_CONTENT.IV_PAPERTYPE_FLAG.value == "-" )
{
this.presence = "hidden";
}- On A4Details Page, add the following Java script in INITIALIZATION event to hide the A4Details page based on flag value relevant to LETTER :
if( $record.FLAGS_DYNAMIC_CONTENT.IV_PAPERTYPE_FLAG.value == "X" )
{
this.presence = "hidden";
}
Here is the Main Trick
We need to link the Body pages with the respective Master pages so that when Form processing runs, Life Cycle Designer should trigger the correct page.
- Set the pagination of LetterDetails page with LetterMaster page
- Set the pagination of A4Details page with A4Master page
Testing :
Execute the driver program and set the Paper Size as LETTER
Execute the driver program and set the Paper Size as A4
I hope you’ll be able to apply this tip to your project at some point. This tip is useful if your organization operates globally using a single SAP system. It’s not necessary to make duplicate forms. All of your templates can be used with a single form. We used two templates in this example, but you can use more than two.
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