Modus

Alternative Input Interfaces for Table Maintenance To provide users with alternatives for table maintenance, additional input interfaces can be accessed through the "Mode" button. When selecting this button with the primary mouse button, a dynamic context menu appears with the following sub-options:

Configurator Combinatorics: Similar to SAP standard, this input interface can only be used for tuned variant table structures. The respective alternative input interface is accessed by selecting it with the primary mouse button.

Configurator

The goal of this type of table maintenance is to configure records in a manner similar to creating a customer order. The middle part of the editing interface is divided into two halves.

On the left side, called the "Configurator", the characteristics are displayed similarly to the SAP Configurator. The order of the characteristics matches the variant table structure. When the dropdown arrow of a characteristic's value window is selected with the primary mouse button, the value pool appears. The characteristic values can be selected via checkboxes, similarly to a list view. Multiple selections are possible. Once the first record is configured, it can be saved into a temporary memory by clicking the "Apply" button.

On the right side, under the "Results" area, the combination is displayed.

The user can now configure the next record.

Alternatively, an existing combination from the results area can be used as a template. By selecting one of the configurations, the three editing icons at the top right of the results area become active. By selecting the icon with the "two sheets" using the primary mouse button, the combination is transferred to the Configurator. The user will be notified that this combination already exists. After editing, the new combination can be transferred back to the results area.

If a combination in the results area needs to be revised, it must be marked using the checkbox. By selecting the "pencil" icon with the primary mouse button, the combination is transferred back to the Configurator. The corrected data should then be transferred back into the results.

To delete combinations from the results area, these must be marked using the checkbox. Multiple combinations can be selected for deletion. The "trash bin" icon becomes active. By clicking with the primary mouse button, the combinations are irrevocably deleted from the temporary storage.

To transfer combinations as records into the variant table, they must first be marked. Then, the "Save" button must be selected with the primary mouse button. The records are stored beneath the existing table entries.

By selecting the "Discard" button, all configurations in the temporary memory are deleted, and the table is reopened in the tabular view.

Combinatorics

This input alternative corresponds to the representation of decision tables in SAP. For the selected table, the user is provided with the fully expanded characteristic combinations. By selecting the checkboxes with the primary mouse button, the desired combinations can be chosen. Once the relevant records are selected, they can be transferred into the variant table by clicking the "Save" button with the primary mouse button. Before this happens, the selected combinations are shown to the user, and they can remove individual records by deselecting the checkbox. Afterward, clicking the "Save" button again will transfer the records into the table. No data consolidation is performed during this transfer.

If there are already records in the variant table when accessing this maintenance interface, these records are displayed as already selected in the expanded view.

To use this alternative maintenance interface, the following restrictions must be observed:

• The combinatorics of all characteristic values must result in fewer than 50 entries.
• Multiple selections within a single cell cannot be used.
• Only characteristics with a fixed value pool can be used. If characteristics without assigned values or with the flag "additional values allowed" are used in the variant table, this maintenance alternative cannot be utilized.
• Only single-valued characteristics can be used.