Search Help

Search helps are independent Repository objects that you create using the ABAP Dictionary. They are used to present input help for screen fields which gives list of all possible values for either primary key or non primary keys.

The input help (F4 help) is a standard function of the R/3 System. It permits the user to display a list of possible values for a screen field. A value can be directly copied to an input field by list selection.

The fields having an input help are shown in the R/3 System by the input help key to the right of the field. This key appears as soon as the cursor is positioned on the corresponding screen field. The help can be started either by clicking on this screen element or with function key F4.

Since the input help is a standard function, it should look and behave the same throughout the entire R/3 System. The development environment therefore provides tools for assigning a standardized input help to a screen field.

When you define a parameter of a search help, you must also define whether it should be used to copy data to the input help (IMPORT parameter) or whether to return data from the input help (EXPORT parameter).

Types of Search helps

Elementary search helps:- defines a search path where we will define the table from which the data has to be read and the selection criteria. Through import and export parameters. Used when we gets the data rom a single table.

Collective search helps:- Combination of elementary search helps. When we need to fetch data based on multiple selection criteria s. More than one tables are selection from multiple tables.

Diff Between Elementary search helps & Collective search helps

1) Elementary search helps describe a search path. The elementary search help must define where the data of the hit list should be read from (selection method), how the exchange of values between the screen template and selection method is implemented (interface of the search help) and how the online input help should be defined (online behaviour of the search help).

2) Collective search helps combine several elementary search helps. Collective search help thus can offer several alternative search paths.

3) An elementary search help defines the standard flow of an input help.

4) A collective search help combines several elementary search helps. The user can thus choose one of several alternative search paths with collective search help.

5) A collective search help comprises several elementary search helps. It combines all the search paths that are meaningful for a field.

6) Both elementary search helps and other search helps can be included in a collective search help. If other collective search helps are contained in collective search help, they are expanded to the level of the elementary search helps when the input help is called.