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Beginners Guide to ALE and IDocs a step-by-step approach

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Beginners Guide to ALE and IDocs a step-by9

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January 19, 2008 By Riyaz SAP Read Print

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This article will
help you understand the basics of ALE and IDocs via a simple do-it-yourself example.
CentUp
We will create a custom IDoc in one SAP system and then post some business data through it to another
SAP system.GetSocial
Business data will be picked up from custom data dictionary tables.
This article will help you understand the basics of ALE and IDocs via a simple do-it-yourself example.
We will create a custom IDoc in one SAP system and then post some business data through it to another
SAP system. Business data will be picked up from custom data dictionary tables.
ALE Application Link Enabling is a mechanism by which SAP systems communicate with each other
and with non-SAP EDI subsystems. Thus it helps integration of distributed systems. It supports fail-safe
delivery which implies that sender system does not have to worry about message not reaching the source
due to unavoidable situations. ALE can be used for migration and maintenance of master data as well as
for exchanging transactional data.
The messages that are exchanged are in the form of IDocs or Intermediate Documents. IDocs act like a
container or envelope for the application data. An IDOC is created as a result of execution of an
Outbound ALE. In an Inbound ALE an IDOC serves as an input to create application document. In the
SAP system IDocs are stored in the database tables. They can be used for SAP to SAP and SAP to nonSAP process communication as long as the participating processes can understand the syntax and
semantics of the data. Complete documentation on IDOC is obtained by using transaction WE60.
Every IDoc has exactly one control record along with a number of data records and status records.
Control record has the details of sender/receiver and other control information. Data records contain the
actual business data to be exchanged while the status records are attached to IDoc throughout the process
as the IDoc moves from one step to other.
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Beginners Guide to ALE and IDocs a step-by-step approach

Now, let us understand the ALE Configuration by means of an example scenario below:
The Scenario
Data from custom tables (created in customer
namespace) is to be formatted into an IDoc and sent
from one SAP R/3 system to another using ALE service.
We need to have two instances of SAP R/3 systems or
we can simulate this on two clients of the same SAP R/3
system.
Create three tables as shown below.

Creating Custom IDoc type and Message type

All the objects created should be present on both source as well as target system(s).
1. Create segments Transaction WE31
Create a segment ZRZSEG1
Add all fields of table ZCUSTOMERS to it
Save the segment and go back
Release it using the menu path Edit -> Set Release
Similarly create two more segments given below
Seg. ZRZSEG2 to hold all fields of table ZSOHEADERS
Seg. ZRZSEG3 to hold all fields of table ZSOITEMS
2. Create Basic IDoc type Transaction WE30

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Beginners Guide to ALE and IDocs a step-by-step approach

Create a Basic type ZRZORDER

Add the created segments in the hierarchy shown
Maintain attributes for each of the segments
Save the object and go back
Release the object using the menu path Edit -> Set Release
3. Create/Assign Message type Transactions WE81/WE82
Go to WE81
Create a new Message type ZRZSO_MT
Save the object
Go to WE82 and create new entry
Assign the message type ZRZSO_MT to the basic type ZRZORDER
Also specify the Release Version
Save the object
Thus we have defined the IDoc structure which will hold the data to be transferred. In the next part of the
article we will understand the outbound settings, i.e. the settings to be done in the source system.
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Beginners Guide to ALE and IDocs a step-by-step approach

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Comments
Show Older Comments First

1. shailendra says:
March 15, 2013 at 1:42 PM
Referenced link for above article:
http://shafiq.us/sap/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48:idoc-step-bystep&catid=47:interfaces&Itemid=65
2. Pablo Ghosh Roy says:
January 2, 2013 at 6:29 PM
Hi Riyaz,
I hope you can help me out with an issue I am facing, I need to create a Plant Maintenance Order
via IDOC from data that will be coming into SAP via a 3rd Party System (Using XI). These PM
Orders are the ones that would usually be created using IW31, but we would like to achieve this
functionality using IDOCs.
So basically the incoming IDOCS after being processed must create the Plant Maintenance Orders.
Please advise me with the following information?
Standard IDOC Type to Create Plant Maintenance Orders.
Standard Message Type (Inbound) for the above IDOC.
Thanks,
Pablo
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Beginners Guide to ALE and IDocs a step-by-step approach

3. Ram Mohan says:

December 27, 2012 at 12:20 PM
It is very usefull for a beginner like me.
4. sachn says:
December 4, 2012 at 5:03 PM
good thnks
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