Chapter 7.

Smart Forms Tips and

Tricks
In this chapter, we will see recipes related to Smart Forms such as:
Toggle on/off the Microsoft Word text editor
Using background pictures and print preview
Using folder options for page protection
Printing several forms in one spool request
Converting Smart Form to PDF output
Applying sorting and subtotaling to table fields

Introduction
This chapter explores useful recipes related to Smart Forms. We will start
with a simple recipe that will allow you to change the text editor of the
Smart Form to Microsoft Word. Then we will see how page protection for a
number of text lines may be applied using folders in order to ensure that
certain lines are printed together on one page.
We will also see how to set an image as background of a form page for
only preview and also for print. The procedure for generating multiple form
outputs in a single spool request will be discussed in an upcoming recipe.
We will also see how the preview and the print dialog may be suppressed,

and the output directly converted to PDF. Finally we will see the recipe for
calculating subtotals using sorting criterion at the Smart Form level.
We assume that the reader has basic Smart Forms knowledge. In addition,
the familiarity with the structure of the form-calling program is needed.

Toggle on/off the Microsoft Word text

editor
In this recipe, we will see how we can change the Smart Forms text editor
to Microsoft Word.

How to do it...
Follow these steps:
1. Call transaction SE38 and enter RSCPSETEDITOR in the program field.
Then execute the program. The selection screen of the program is
shown as follows:

2. Make sure the Smart Forms checkbox is checked. Then, click

the Activate button.

3. For switching off the Microsoft Word editor for Smart Forms,
uncheck the Smart Forms indicator and then click
the Activate button on the toolbar.

How it works...
Depending on the settings saved for Smart Form, the editor changes. If
the Smart Form checkbox was on, the text editor appears as Microsoft
Word. Otherwise, the normal Smart Form text editor appears.

See also
http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?
pageId=77987849
http://forums.sdn.sap.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1679160

Using background pictures and print

preview
In this recipe, we will see how a picture may be set as the background
image of forms. We will see how we can set the graphic to appear both on
the print preview and/or hard copy of the Smart Form.

Getting ready
We will first create a background image and upload the image on the SAP
Document Server using the transaction

SE78.

The name of the image we

upload is ZST9_BACKGROUND and is in color (the supported formats

are .tiff and .bmp).

How to do it...
We will now set the graphic as the form background. Follow these steps:
1. Call the transaction SMARTFORMS. Double-click the relevant node in
the left-hand pane of the page for which the background image is
to be set.
2. In the right-hand pane, three tabs will appear for the page. The
third is Background Picture. On this tab, enter the name of the
uploaded graphic. Select the Color Bitmap Image (BCOL) radio
button. Within the Output Mode list, select Print Preview from the
lisbox.

3. The main window is placed on top of the background graphic.

4. Next, we define a text within the MAIN Main Window on the page.

5. A suitable line TESTTEXTFORBACKGROUND is created within the created

text, as shown in the following screenshot:

How it works...
When the Smart Form is called (using a calling program), the background
graphic is displayed along with the line of text in the Print Preview mode.

However, when the form is printed, no background image appears (only the
line of text created appears). This setting is very useful when a pre-printed
paper having the appropriate background graphic is used for printing, and
should not be printed in the form output (since the paper already has the
graphic in it). The user, however, needs to see the background graphic
when the form preview is taken on th screen.

There's more...
If the background graphic appears blurred or the pixel artefacts are visible,
we may need to use a high-resolution graphic. One option may be that we
use a high quality (high-resolution graphic). Also, we may try to control this
using the resolution setting through the Resolution field in the Output
Attributes screen. Instead of keeping it blank, we may enter a value of

200.

The higher the resolution, the clearer will be the graphic (however, the size
of the graphic may decrease as the resolution increases).
We may also slightly change the image's output mode in order to make the
image work as a watermark when printed on paper. Instead of the Print
preview and no print option for the Output Mode, we can choose
the Print preview and print option.

This will print the image on both the Print option (and the Print
Preview option) and when printed on paper, it will make the image appear
as a watermark on top of which text and data will appear.

See also
http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/ABAP/Background+pictures+in+S
mart+Forms

Using folder options for page

protection
In this recipe, we will see how we can create a folder comprising a number
of lines(block of text ) so that they are all printed on the same page. If the
space within a page is not enough for printing all the lines, the entire text
block is printed on the subsequent page, that is, page protected.

How to do it...
For defining a folder with page protection, follow these steps:
1. Right-click on the MAIN window. Then, from the context menu that
appears, choose the optionCreate and then select Folder, as
shown in the following screenshot:

2. Next, enter a suitable folder name. In the right-hand pane, on

the Output Options tab of the created folder, check the Page
Protection indicator.

3. Then add a text under the given folder.

4. Add three lines to the text.

5. Save and activate your Smart Form.

How it works...
When the form output is generated, irrespective of the number of lines
printed above our three-line text, a page protection is applied. If the space
on the page is not enough so that all three lines may be printed, a page
break is automatically triggered and the lines are printed on a fresh new
page. Otherwise, the same page is utilized. In no case will the three lines
be broken into two pages.

Printing several forms in one spool

request

In this recipe, we will see how printed multiple forms may be included in a
single spool request. We will create a number of form pages comprising
employees data. Each page will contain one employee's salary information.
The recipe will focus on the important parts of the program related to Smart
Form processing. We assume that an internal table

EMPLOYEE_LIST

exists that

contain the employee numbers of all personnel to be processed.

How to do it...
Follow these steps:
1. First, we call the function module SSF_FUNCTION_MODULE_NAME in order
to get the name of the Smart Form function module. The form
name is passed to the function module. Themyfunction variable is
based on the type RS38l_FNAM (not shown in the following
screenshot):

2. Then appropriate variables are defined for the Smart Form control
structure and output options based on dictionary structures.

3. The function module SSF_OPEN is then called.

4. A loop is run on the internal table

employee_list

for all employees.

For each employee, the form get_employee_data is called, which

fetches the necessary information of the employee in question and

fills the internal table employee_data. The no_open and no_close fields
of the control parameters structure are assigned the value

'X'.

addition, the tdnewid field of the output options structure is

assigned 'X'.
5. The function module of the Smart Form is then called and
necessary data of the employee provided along with control
parameters and output option structures.

6. Finally, the SSF_CLOSE function module is called.

How it works...
After executing the program, multiple pages of the forms are generated.
For each employee, a separate page appears along with the necessary
information.

In

The call of the function module

SSF_OPEN

opens the spool job for form

printing. The tdnewidassigned to 'X' creates a new spool request. Within the
loop, the no_open and no_close fields are set to 'X', which ensures the spool
request is not opened or closed within the loop. The function module of the
Smart Form is called in the loop and generates the necessary output of
each employee. When all employees are processed, the

SSF_CLOSE

function

module is called and the spool request is closed.

There's more...
We can also avoid the usage of the

SSF_OPEN

and SSF_CLOSE function

modules. In this case, when we program that on the first employee, the
spool job is opened and when we program that on the last employee, the
spool job is closed.

See also
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/en/64/bf2f12ed1711d4b6
55006094192fe3/frameset.htm

Converting Smart Forms to PDF

output
In this recipe, we will see how the form output may be suppressed and
returned as internal table to our calling program and then how a PDF is
generated within the program. We will set values to some fields in the
control structure of the Smart Form and use it with
the CONVERT_OTF_2_PDF function module.

How to do it...
For generating PDF output without showing the Smart Form on the screen,
follow these steps:
1. First, we define two structures cont_parameters and myoutput based
on the dictionary structures ssfctrlop and ssfcrescl respectively.

2. Then, we assign 'X' to the setotf and no_dialog fields of the control
structure.

3. The dynamic call of the Smart Form function module is then

carried out.

4. Appropriate variables are then defined. The most important is the

internal table pdf_contentused for storing the converted PDF output
of the form. The filesize and doc_archive tables are necessary for
calling the function module CONVERT_OTF_2_PDF.

5. The function module CONVERT_OTF_2_PDF is then called.

The OTF parameter passes the value of the field

otfdata

of

the myoutput structure.

How it works...
The control structure fields no_dialog and the getotf are assigned the
value 'X'. This ensures that the form output is suppressed but the form
generated is returned to the program in

otf

format. The call to the Smart

Form

function module (stored in the variable

myfunction)

returns to the

program the otf format in the otfdata field of the myoutput structure.
We then pass this otfdata to the function module CONVERT_OTF_2_PDF. The
function module converts the smart form otf to a PDF and stores it in the
internal table pdf_content passed to the function module for table

lines.

The

PDF file may then be saved on the desktop using the

methodCL_GUI_FRONTEND_SERVICES=>GUI_DOWNLOAD, or e-mailed to another user.

See also
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/EN/27/67443cc0063415e
10000000a11405a/frameset.htm

Applying sorting and subtotaling to

table fields
In this recipe, we will see how we can sort a given table within the Smart
Form and calculate totals based on a particular field as the sort criterion. In
this recipe, we will use an example of employees and their allowances and
amounts.

Getting ready
For this recipe, we define a structure in the
database ZST9_EMPLOYEES comprising three
fieldsPERNR, ALLOWANCE, and AMOUNT. We define a table type also
based on this structure, as shown in the following screenshot:

A table EMPLOYEE_TABLE (based on the defined dictionary table type) is

included in the TABLEStab of the Smart Form interface, and a
corresponding work area WA_EMPLOYEE in the global definition.
A table is then created on the Smart Form layout. The loop of the table is
shown as follows:

Appropriate texts are created within the cells in order to print the employee
number, allowance, and amount values passed. A program is then created
and the Smart Form is called. A tabular output is generated.

In this recipe, we will see how sorting along with totaling may be so that the
total of each employee's allowance is printed at the end of each employee's
details.

How to do it...
For subtotaling and sorting, proceed as follows:
1. Double-click the defined table node in the left-hand pane. In the
right-hand pane, on the Datatab, within Sort Criteria, select
the Event on Sort End checkbox. Also, enter PERNR as the field
name.

2. This will add a PERNR Event on Sort End node.

3. We define a subtotal variable in the global definition. This is a

temporary storage variable for totals of each employee's
allowances.

4. On the Calculations tab of the table, we enter the values shown

in the following screenshot:

5. Right-click the PERNR Event on Sort End node to create a table

line. Use the same line type used for the rows of the table
(containing three cells).
6. For the second and third cell, we define texts
outputting SUBTOTAL and VARIABLE and
SUBTOTAL respectively.
7. Also, a line of code is added after the text that clears
the SUBTOTAL variable.

8. The final state will look like the one shown in following screenshot:

How it works...
The settings we did in the Smart Form will output the subtotal of the
allowances of each employee as shown. At the end of each employee, the
total allowances are calculated and printed.

The entries made on the Calculation tab of the table totals all the amounts
of a particular PERNR field (the SORT criterion) and stores in
the SUBTOTAL variable. The output will then be generated at
theEVENT on SORT end. After that, we clear the old value of SUBTOTAL so
that the value of the next employee may be calculated.

See also
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw2004s/helpdata/en/8a/60da59394b11
d5b69b006094192fe3/frameset.htm