SAP R/3 for Everyone: Navigating to Initial Screens With the Favorites Folders
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This lesson describes the creation, management, and use of the Favorites folders for navigating to the initial screens of transactions.
The default version of the SAP Easy Access screen displays two sets of navigation folders in its central work area: the SAP or User menu folders (see Lesson 5) and the Favorites folders (Figure 6.1). Both folder sets contain links to the initial screens of transactions and are organized in a multilevel or hierarchical structure of folders and subfolders. You can expand the folders to display their contents by either clicking their control arrows or double-clicking their names.
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Figure 6.1 Favorite transactions are close at hand when their links are put in the Favorites folders.
You have no control over the structure and contents of the SAP and User menu folders on your SAP Easy Access screen. The SAP menu folders are generic components of the software: They contain links to the initial screens of every transaction in the modules in your system. And the User menu folders are created by your SAP administrator to hold links to the initial screens of only those transactions that you are authorized to execute, and no others.
However, you have total control over your Favorites folders. You can create their structure of folders and subfolders, and you can control their contents, which can include links to any of your favorite or frequently run transactions as well as links to your favorite Web pages and e-mail system.
Figure 6.1 is an example of the Favorites folders that was created by a physical plant manager in a shipping company. Notice its structure and contents:
- There are four folders for the manager's favorite work management, material management, finance (budget and cost), and purchasing transaction links (A). Because he uses a small number of transactions in his work, most of these links are displayed with one double-click of a folder's name. This is a good design philosophy for your favorites: The links should be only one or two clicks of a folder away.
- He created two subfolders, Notifications and PM orders, to hold links for two distinct groups of work management transactions (B).
- He created a link to a Web site (C), where he can search for and download SAP job aids, cheat sheets, and other support materials.
The Favorites folders provide quick "point and click" or mouse-directed navigation from the SAP Easy Access screen to the initial screens of transactions (and other places). This lesson describes the tools and procedures for creating and managing them and their contents.
Working With the Favorites Folders
Following are the five tools for creating and managing your Favorites folders and their links:
- Favorites menu
- Favorites shortcut menus
- Command buttons of the application toolbar
- Keystrokes
- Mouse
Favorites Menu
The Favorites menu of the main menu bar contains all the available commands for creating and managing the Favorites folders and their links (Figure 6.2).
- Add: adds transaction links to folders.
- Change: renames folders and links.
- Move up and Move down: rearrange the order of folders and links.
- Delete: deletes folders and links.
- Insert folder: creates new folders.
- Insert transaction: adds transaction links to folders by using their transaction codes.
- Add other objects: adds links to Web links, mail systems and other destinations to folders.
- Download to PC: downloads the Favorites folders to your personal computer or another external storage site.
- Upload from PC: uploads the Favorites folders from your personal computer or another external storage site.
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Figure 6.2 Select and highlight the object of the command, then select the command from the Favorites menu to execute it.
To use the Favorites menu to manage your folders and links, you will usually follow this simple procedure:
- Click the object of the command (a folder or a link) to select and highlight it (A).
- Follow the menu path Favorites > [Command] to execute it on that object.
Shortcut Menus
Three shortcut menus together contain all the available commands for creating and managing the Favorites folders and their links. You can display them by right-clicking the folders and links (Figure 6.3).
- Right-click the Favorites root folder for a menu of commands for adding and deleting folders, links, and other objects to this folder (A).
- Right-click the higher-order folders for a menu of commands for managing them and their contents (B).
- Right-click the links for a menu of commands for working with them, along with commands for navigating to initial screens and adding shortcuts to your desktop (C).
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Figure 6.3 The three shortcut menus for working with the Favorites folders.
To use the shortcut menus to manage your folders and links:
- Right-click the object of the command to select and highlight it (D) and simultaneously display its menu (C).
- Scroll down this menu and left-click a command to execute it on the object.
Application Toolbar
The last five buttons in the application toolbar of the SAP Easy Access screen (Figure 6.4) provide shortcuts for the Add, Delete, Change, Move down, and Move up commands of the Favorites menu. You can use them to manage your folders and links as you would that menu.
- Click the object of the command to select and highlight it.
- Click a shortcut button to execute a command on that object.
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Figure 6.4 The five favorites shortcut buttons of the application toolbar.
Keystrokes
You can use keystrokes to execute commands on objects in your Favorites folders. The available keystrokes are identified on the right side of the Favorites menu (Figure 6.2B).
To use keystrokes to manage your folders and links:
- Click the object of the command to select and highlight it (Figure 6.2A).
- Hit the keystrokes to execute the command on that object.
Mouse
You can rearrange your Favorites folders and their links by clicking-and-dragging them with your mouse. For instance, you can insert folders inside one another, extract subfolders from folders, and move links from one folder to another with this tool.
For example, we can place the Purchasing transactions folder in Figure 6.5 inside the Material Management transactions folder (in other words, we can make it a subfolder of the MM folder) by following these steps:
- Click the object of the command to select and highlight it (A), and hold down the left button on the mouse.
- Drag the cursor towards the new "home" for the object. While it is moving toward its destination, a small box appears on the end of the cursor (B).
- When the cursor lands on its destination, the folder is outlined with a dashed box (C). Release the object there by releasing the mouse button.
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Figure 6.5 Clicking-and-dragging one Favorites folder into another.
We could reverse this process and put the Purchasing transactions folder on the same level as the MM folder by clicking-and-dragging the Purchasing transactions folder into the Favorites root folder.