Tip: A Look Behind the Curtain of SAP IDs

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In the context of SAP automation we meet IDs, from the SAP GUI Scripting, which describes an element on the screen unique. The IDs looks e.g. like this

/app/con[0]/ses[0]/wnd[1]/usr/tabsG_TABSTRIP

But what does this ID in detail mean and how is it structured?

You can find very good introductions to SAP GUI Scripting in the SAP Wiki here.

I do not have to repeat what is already described there, so a short summary:

  1. Each level in the ID is separated by a slash /.
  2. app is the application level.
  3. con is the connection level, they could be more than one, the number in the bracket identifies them.
  4. ses is the session level, they could be more than one, the number in the bracket identifies them.
  5. wnd is the window level, the visible window, they could be more than one, the number in the bracket identifies them. The window contains a lot of other elements like menu (mbar), user screen (usr) or status bar (sbar).
  6. usr is the user screen level, which contains the elements we work with most.

So far so well. The user screen can contain

  • box = Frame
  • btn = Button
  • chk = Check Box
  • cmb = Combo Box
  • cntl = Custom Control
  • ctxt = Text Field with Combo Box Button
  • lbl = Label
  • pwd = Password Field
  • rad = Radio Button
  • ssub = Sub Screen
  • tabp = Tab
  • tabs = Tab Strip
  • tbl = Table
  • txt = Text Field

But sometimes we get an ID like this from TAC SE16, user specific settings:

wnd[1]/usr/tabsG_TABSTRIP/tabp0400/ssubTOOLAREA:SAPLWB_CUSTOMIZING:0400

TAC SE16 - User Specific Settings
TAC SE16 - User Specific Settings704×815 14.5 KB

We see it is an additional window with the index 1. The window contains a user screen with a tabstrip with the name G_TABSTRIP and a tab with the name 0400. This tab contains a sub screen with the name TOOLAREA. This sub screen contains a the screen 0400 from the function group WB_CUSTOMIZING, SAPL is only a prefix. With this information we can locate this screen in the SAP backend easily.

SAP Screen Painter
SAP Screen Painter732×608 10.6 KB

The screen number is part of the ID. The screen number is a unique number which represents a screen in SAP ABAP reports or function groups. These screens can be selected dynamically during the execution of an ABAP program. And this is the reason why an ID can change.

This as an explanatory addition to the question here.

You can find deeper technical information about Dynpro fields at the SAP Community here.

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As a tiny addon to the explanation above here a link to a blog post in the SAP Community about SAP GUI Scripting, the API from the past for future automation, with a few more information.

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