Smart Forms

Purpose
You use Smart Forms to create and maintain forms for mass printing in SA
P systems.
Besides using the printer for standard output you can also select the In
ternet
(by using a generated HTML output), a fax, or e-mail as the output mediu
m.
In addition to the tool, SAP delivers a selection of forms for central b
usiness processes.
This includes forms in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as well as
in the
applications SD, FI, and HR.
Smart Forms offers the following advantages:
Creating and maintaining forms requiring half the time
Adapting forms without any programming knowledge due to entirely graphic
al user interface
Integrating input elements into the HTML output, which enables you to us
e a form in
Internet applications as well
Smart Forms replace SAPscript forms. SAPscript forms will still be suppo
rted in the future;
you can use them without making any changes for years to come. You can e
ven use SAPscript
texts in the Smart Forms. Migration of SAPscript forms into Smart Forms
is supported.
Integration
Smart Forms allows you to execute simple modifications to the form and i
n the form logic
by using simple graphical tools; in 90% of all cases, this won't include
any programming effort.
Thus, a user who is familiar with the tool but has only rudimentary prog
ramming knowledge can
configure forms with data from an SAP system for the relevant business p
rocesses.
The result of the form development is a Smart Form. After it is activate
d, the Smart Form
is similar to a callable function module in the SAP system.
The logic of the form is mapped entirely in the Smart Form.
To print a form, you call it from within an application program, in whic
h you retrieve
the application data to be merged into the form. As data retrieval and f
orm logic are separated,
you must only adapt the Smart Form if changes to the form logic are nece
ssary. The application
program passes the data via a function module interface to the Smart For
m.
Tools
To develop a Smart Form you use the Form Builder in which you describe t
he attributes of the Smart Form
by using the integrated graphical tools, such as the Form Painter for th
e layout of a form page or the Table
Painter for the design of table output. The form logic is represented by

a hierarchy structure (tree structure)

that you construct of individual nodes together with the relevant attrib
utes. Besides using existing nodes
for global settings you may create, for example, nodes for the output of
texts, of tables, or of graphics.
To make changes, use Drag&Drop, Copy&Paste, and select different attribu
tes.
These actions do not require writing coding lines or using a Script lang
uage.
You can check individual nodes as well as the entire form and find any e
xisting errors in the tree structure.
The data flow analysis checks whether all fields (variables) have a defi
ned value at the moment they are displayed.
Tables
You can include static and dynamic tables into a Smart Form. Dynamic tab
les enable you to display
tables whose size is determined only at the moment of their output by th
e number of the table items to be displayed.
Table functions are:
Line feeds in individual table cells
Event-controlled output of table headings and footers
Integrated calculation of grand totals and subtotals
Colored boxes and shadings in tables
Miscellaneous
To position output on a form page you use windows. Besides using simple
windows for displaying
output of fixed length there are special window types, for example, for
continuous text or for
distinctions between the original and a copy of a form.
You can include background pictures as graphics, which you can either us
e as copy templates
for a form or print as background graphics.
You can specify spool attributes in the form to allow for postage optimi
zing.