PUBLIC

Document Version: Q4 2019 – 2020-02-01

Picklist Migration
© 2020 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

THE BEST RUN

Content

1 What's New In Picklist Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Picklists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3 Picklist Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4 Checking If Picklists Have Been Migrated Yet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

5 Preparing for Picklist Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5.1 Identifying Picklist Data Issues You Need to Resolve Offline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5.2 Resolving Data Conflicts in Partially Matched Picklists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

5.3 Troubleshooting Data Issues Before Picklist Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

5.4 EC2MDF Mapping Required for Picklist Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

6 Picklist Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

6.1 Searching for a Picklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

6.2 Creating a Picklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

6.3 Editing a Picklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

6.4 Picklist Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Creating and Editing a Picklist Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Sort Order for Picklist Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Deleting Picklist Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

6.5 Picklist Versions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Inserting a New Picklist Version. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Deleting a Picklist Version. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

6.6 Deleting a Picklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

7 Making Picklist Value Fields Visible and Editable in Picklist Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

8 Disabling Sync of Non-Unique External Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

9 Troubleshooting Issues After Picklist Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

10 Field Mapping During Migration from Legacy to MDF Picklists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Picklist Migration
2 PUBLIC Content
1 What's New In Picklist Migration

A summary of recent changes to this guide.

Q4 2019

What's New Description More Info

January 24, 2020

Validation check always available Now, the Validation Check & Merge Tool N/A
for Picklist Migration page is stays availa­
ble from the first pre-check until migra­
tion is completed, whether you have is­
sues to resolve or not. New messages on
the page help you check the migration
status of your instance.

November 8, 2019

Picklist Center available pre-migration Now, Picklist Center is always available if Checking If Picklists Have Been Migrated
the Metadata Framework (MDF) is ena­ Yet [page 9]
bled, regardless of picklist migration sta­
tus. You can see your migration status by
checking a message at the top of the
page.

Content aligned with MDF guide Now that Picklist Center is the only N/A
method for managing MDF picklists,
we've aligned content in this guide with
content in the MDF guide.

Removed limitation on size of legacy Removed warning that legacy picklists N/A
picklists with more than 50,000 options cannot
be migrated. This restriction has been
lifted and no longer applies.

Q3 2019

What's New Description More Info

September 14, 2019

Corrected field mapping Corrrected information about MDF Pick­ Field Mapping During Migration from
list field values for EXTERNAL_CODE af­ Legacy to MDF Picklists [page 33]
ter migration.

Picklist Migration
What's New In Picklist Migration PUBLIC 3
What's New Description More Info

Removed limitation on size of legacy Removed warning that legacy picklists N/A
picklists with more than 50,000 options cannot
be migrated. This restriction has been
lifted and no longer applies.

August 9, 2019

Resolving premigration data conflicts Updates to the premigration validation Resolving Data Conflicts in Partially
page reduce the number of options avail­
Matched Picklists [page 12]
able. We simplified this content.

SAP Knowledge Base We added links to the SAP Knowledge Troubleshooting Data Issues Before Pick­
Base for more information about how to
list Migration [page 14]
resolve different types of issues.
Troubleshooting Issues After Picklist Mi­
gration [page 31]

Q2 2019

What's New Description More Info

Troubleshooting note We added a note about external codes Troubleshooting Issues After Picklist Mi­
gration [page 31]
and integrations, to help with trouble­
shooting.

Q1 2019

What's New Description More Info

April 5, 2019

Premigration Check Results You can now view validation check results Identifying Picklist Data Issues You Need
on the Validation Check & Merge Tool for to Resolve Offline [page 10]
Picklist Migration page, to identify data
conflicts that are preventing picklist mi­
gration.

Picklist Merge Tool page renamed The Picklist Merge Tool is now part of the Resolving Data Conflicts in Partially
Validation Check & Merge Tool for Picklist Matched Picklists [page 12]
Migration.

Links to more information about data We've added links to Knowledge Base Ar­ Troubleshooting Data Issues Before Pick­
conflicts ticles to help you understand and resolve list Migration [page 14]
different types of data conflicts that are
preventing picklist migration.

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 What's New Description More Info

EC2MDF mapping If you use Employee Central, ensure that EC2MDF Mapping Required for Picklist
Migration [page 14]
EC2MDF mapping is set up before your
picklist migration.

If you didn't, resolve the resulting issues

using this Knowledge Base Article
https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/
notes/2770463 .

Limitations of Picklist Merge Tool Added a note that the Picklist Merge Tool Resolving Data Conflicts in Partially
only supports merging of picklists with Matched Picklists [page 12]
less than 10,000 options. For larger pick­
lists, you need to use legacy picklist man­
agement tools to resolve the conflict, by
renaming one of the picklists so that it
treated separately and is not merged
with the other.

March 8, 2019

Working with large picklists Add information about managing large [content removed]
picklists. Picklists that exceed 200 values
are considered large picklists. Such pick­
lists are managed differently.

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What's New In Picklist Migration PUBLIC 5
2 Picklists

A picklists is a configurable set of options from which a user can make a selection, typically in a drop-down menu or
smart search list. You can define the picklists used in your system to limit the values a user can enter in a form,
preventing them from entering an invalid value.

 Example

For example, there are many places in the system where users must select a country or region, such as in an
employee's home address in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central or the location of a job requisition in SAP
SuccessFactors Recruiting. You can configure a picklist that defines which countries and regions that are
available for users to select.

Picklists can also have a parent-child relationship, in which options in the child picklist are associated with a
specific option in the parent picklist. These are sometimes known as "cascading picklists".

 Example

For example, in places where users select a country or region, they might also select a subdivision such as a
state or province. In this case, you want the list of states or provinces to be dependent on the selection of a
country or region. To do this, you set up a picklist for country/region as the parent picklist and each
corresponding picklist for state or province options as a child picklist.

 Note

Historically, picklists in different SAP SuccessFactors solutions were managed differently, either with a CSV
import/export tool for legacy picklists and with Metadata Framework (MDF) tools for MDF picklists. Management
of legacy picklists was cumbersome and error-prone. To simplify the system and reduce the risk of errors, we
introduced the Picklist Center and are migrating all legacy picklists to MDF.

Related Information

Picklist Migration [page 7]

Picklist Center [page 16]
Picklist Migration [page 7]
Picklist Center [page 16]
Field Mapping During Migration from Legacy to MDF Picklists [page 33]

Picklist Migration
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3 Picklist Migration

We are in the process of migrating all picklists to one common framework, the Metadata Framework (MDF), and
one common administration tool, the Picklist Center. All legacy picklists will be migrated, for all customers.

Here is an overview of the migration process.

1. Precheck
Our development team analyzes your existing picklists to determine the best course of action for your instance
or instances.
2. Scheduling
Your picklist migration dates are scheduled, according to the complexity and amount of preparation required.
3. Communication
We contact you directly in advance of your migration through a Support Service Alert email, with dates and
instructions.
4. Preparation
In many cases, you don’t need to do anything to prepare for your picklist migration, other than plan for post-
migration testing. We do everything for you.
In some cases, however, we need your input before we can proceed. To find out if there are issues you need to
resolve, use the temporary Validation Check & Merge Tool for Picklist Migration page to view the issues we
found. Then use existing picklist management tools to resolve each issue so we can proceed with migration.

 Remember

You have to resolve picklist data issues in all of your instances (Development, Test, Production), in both
datacenter environments (Preview and Production). Depending on the number of issues you have to
resolve, you may choose to do so manually, by correcting them in each instance. Or you may choose to
correct them in one instance and then use instance management tools such as Instance Sync or Instance
Refresh to push the corrections to other instances.

5. Testing in Preview
After your Preview system is migrated, test the picklists in your system to verify that they’re working as
expected. Then, prepare for migration of your Production system.
6. After Migration
○ All picklists in your system are now MDF picklists.
○ You can now use Picklist Center to manage all picklists.
○ The legacy Picklist Management import/export tool is no longer available.

 Remember

There’s no change to end-user behavior. Users of your system can still use picklists to select from the same
picklist options as before. Only the back-end framework and administration tools have changed.

You can find out more about the migration plan on the Customer Community .

Picklist Migration
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Related Information

Preparing for Picklist Migration [page 10]

Checking If Picklists Have Been Migrated Yet [page 9]

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4 Checking If Picklists Have Been Migrated
Yet

Check to see if picklists in your system have been migrated or not.

Prerequisites

You either have permission to manage picklists or permission to access Platform Feature Settings.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Picklist Center and look for a message at the top of the page.

○ Before migration, it says Legacy picklists have not been migrated yet and provides a link to Picklists
Management page.
○ After migration, for the first 7 days, it says Congratulations, you can now manage all your picklists in Picklist
Center. After that, there's no message. The Picklists Management page is no longer available.
○ If you can't see Picklist Center at all, you either lack the required permission or the Metadata Framework
(MDF) isn't enabled yet. If MDF is not enabled, picklists have not been migrated yet.

2. If you don't have permission to manage picklists, go to Admin Center Platform Feature Settings and find
the Unified Picklist Management checkbox.

○ If the checkbox is checked, picklists have been migrated.

○ If it's unchecked, picklists have not been migrated yet.

 Note

Manually checking or unchecking the Unified Picklist Management checkbox has no effect. Although the UI
appears to let you change it, no change is saved. When you reload the page, the checkbox resets to the
accurate state, based the migration status.

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5 Preparing for Picklist Migration

There may be actions you need to take in order to prepare your system for picklist migration.

Some common issues include:

● Data conflicts in partially matched picklists that need your decision

● Configuration errors and other picklist data issues that need to be fixed
● EC2MDF mapping not set up properly

 Remember

You have to resolve picklist data issues in all of your instances (Development, Test, Production), in both
datacenter environments (Preview and Production). Depending on the number of issues you have to resolve,
you may choose to do so manually, by correcting them in each instance. Or you may choose to correct them in
one instance and then use instance management tools such as Instance Sync or Instance Refresh to push the
corrections to other instances.

Related Information

EC2MDF Mapping Required for Picklist Migration [page 14]

Resolving Data Conflicts in Partially Matched Picklists [page 12]
Identifying Picklist Data Issues You Need to Resolve Offline [page 10]
Troubleshooting Data Issues Before Picklist Migration [page 14]

5.1 Identifying Picklist Data Issues You Need to Resolve

Offline

Run the premigration validation check and view a list of picklist data issues that are preventing picklist migration.
Then resolve each issue offline, using picklist management tools.

Context

To resolve issues for legacy picklists, use the Picklists Management tool.

To resolve issues for MDF picklists, use the Picklist Center tool.

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Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Manage Picklist Migration Conflicts .

You’re taken to the Validation Check & Merge Tool for Picklist Migration page.

If you don't see this page, you: (1) haven’t yet been scheduled for migration yet or (2) have successfully
completed migration. You don't have to complete this task.
2. Open the Premigration Check Results tab to run the premigration check and see a list of data issues we find.

The premigration check is run and results are updated each time you visit the tab.
3. Read onscreen instructions about how to use the tab.
4. Use the information provided for each issue listed to resolve it offline, using picklist management tools.

If you're not sure how to resolve an issue, consult the SAP Knowledge Base. Troubleshooting Data Issues
Before Picklist Migration [page 14]
5. Rerun the check and update the results each time you resolve an issue, by reopening the Premigration Check
Results tab.

If an issue was successfully resolved, it disappears from the list.

6. Continue working through each of the identified data conflicts until they’re all resolved.

Results

When all conflicts are resolved, a message appears and confirms that the instance is ready for picklist migration.

Next Steps

Repeat this process for each instance.

 Remember

You have to resolve picklist data issues in all of your instances (Development, Test, Production), in both
datacenter environments (Preview and Production). Depending on the number of issues you have to resolve,
you may choose to do so manually, by correcting them in each instance. Or you may choose to correct them in
one instance and then use instance management tools such as Instance Sync or Instance Refresh to push the
corrections to other instances.

Related Information

Troubleshooting Data Issues Before Picklist Migration [page 14]

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5.2 Resolving Data Conflicts in Partially Matched Picklists

If we find data conflicts that are preventing picklist migration, you need to resolve them. You can either update
picklists so that they match perfectly or decide to keep them both separate during migration. We removed the
option to merge them automatically because it was overused and causing errors.

Context

Sometimes we're not sure how to map a legacy picklist to the new MDF picklist fields. We’re able to partially match
a legacy picklist with its corresponding MDF picklist, but there are some option values that we don't know how to
handle.

 Example

Here is an example. You have two existing picklists called Salutation , one legacy picklist and one MDF
picklist. We recognize the picklists are related because the names and IDs match, but option values don't match
exactly so we don't know how to proceed. The MDF picklist has three options (Mr., Mrs., Ms.) but the legacy
picklist has four (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss). You have to decide how to handle the additional option ("Miss") in the
legacy picklist.

In this case, it's likely you don't want to keep them separate and have two different Salutation picklists in
your system after migration. So, the best choice is to make them match perfectly, using picklist management
tools. However, if two picklists really are meant to serve different purposes and have different options, you can
decide to keep them separate and continue to use them both after migration.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Manage Picklist Migration Conflicts .

You’re taken to the Validation Check & Merge Tool for Picklist Migration page.

If you don't see this page, you: (1) haven’t yet been scheduled for migration yet or (2) have successfully
completed migration. You don't have to complete this task.
2. Check the Decision Required tab to see the data conflicts we found.

For example: Decision Required (2) indicates that there are two issues to resolve.

Example of Picklist Conflicts Requiring a Decision

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12 PUBLIC Preparing for Picklist Migration
 3. For each conflict listed, select the row to see details.

Example of a Data Conflict Between Two Picklists

4. Identify conflicts between legacy and MDF picklists.

Each row compares an option in the legacy picklist with its corresponding option in the MDF picklist.
○ A checkmark indicates that the options match, so there’s no conflict to resolve.
○ If the options don't match, you have to decide how to proceed. You can either update picklists so that they
match perfectly or decide to keep them separate during migration.
5. Decide how to resolve the conflict.

○ Choose Save to keep the picklists separate during migration. Picklists aren’t merged and both picklists are
available after migration.
○ Choose Skip if you're not sure yet or if you choose not to keep both picklists during migration. Skip if you
prefer to update the picklists offline so that they match perfectly.

 Note

Saved decisions aren’t final. You can change your decisions on the Decision Made tab at any time, until you
finalize them.

6. Repeat steps for each conflict listed and choose Save for all of the partially matched picklists that you want to
keep separate during migration.
7. Review your decisions on the Decision Made tab, one last time before finalizing them.

 Remember

For each conflict that you chose to Skip, you need to resolve the conflict offline with picklist management
tools. Edit one or both of the picklists so that they match perfectly.

8. Choose Mark as 'Complete' to finalize your decisions.

Results

Your decision for each data conflict is saved. There’s no immediate effect but we use your decisions during picklist
migration.

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Next Steps

For each conflict that you chose to Skip, use picklist management tools to edit them manually so that they match
perfectly. Perfectly matching picklists have:

● same name with the same letter case (uppercase or lowercase)

● same identifiers
● same labels
● same status (active or inactive)
● same locales/translations defined
● same parent-child relationships.

Repeat this process for each instance.

 Remember

You have to resolve picklist data issues in all of your instances (Development, Test, Production), in both
datacenter environments (Preview and Production). Depending on the number of issues you have to resolve,
you may choose to do so manually, by correcting them in each instance. Or you may choose to correct them in
one instance and then use instance management tools such as Instance Sync or Instance Refresh to push the
corrections to other instances.

5.3 Troubleshooting Data Issues Before Picklist Migration

Refer to the SAP Knowledge Base to find detailed information about how to resolve different types of data conflict
before picklist migration.

Start with the central list of known premigration issues. Then follow links to find detailed information about the
issue you're facing.

Related Information

How to Resolve Pre-Migration Picklist Issues

5.4 EC2MDF Mapping Required for Picklist Migration

If you use Employee Central, ensure that EC2MDF mapping is set up before your picklist migration.

If it isn’t set up, it doesn’t prevent picklist migration from proceeding as scheduled. However, completing migration
without having this set up causes more issues for you to resolve later, after migration.

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Related Information

How to Fix EC2MDF Out Of Sync Errors

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6 Picklist Center

Use the Picklist Center to manage all MDF picklists, whether they are legacy picklists that have been migrated or
picklists that were originally created in MDF.

The Picklist Center offers the following advantages:

● Ease of management
You can change a single picklist value or subset of picklist values, and edit the attributes and values of a picklist.
You can choose the picklist name and then navigate to the picklist element that you want to change.
● Mandatory, unique external codes
Through both the UI and the import/export mechanisms (admin tool and scheduled job), you can enter a
unique external code for every picklist (including parent-child picklists).
● Single, suitewide set of picklists
You only have to manage a single picklist for each picklist type. For example, if you need a picklist for country/
region in several places, you don't have to maintain separate one for different solutions and create a mapping
between them.
● Effective-dating
You can assign an effective date to picklist values so that they are only shown as of their assigned effective
date.

Related Information

Creating a Picklist [page 17]

Editing a Picklist [page 19]
Creating and Editing a Picklist Value [page 21]
Making Picklist Value Fields Visible and Editable in Picklist Center [page 27]
Disabling Sync of Non-Unique External Code [page 29]

6.1 Searching for a Picklist

By default, you can search for a picklist using its external code or the picklist’s name. However, you can also search
for a picklist using its display order, status, and so on.

Context

On the Picklist Center page, you can search, create, sort, delete, and filter picklists. You can also filter your picklists
by their effective date and define the columns to be displayed on the page. Icons to perform these operations are
displayed prominently against the Picklists table.

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Procedure

1. To search for your migrated MDF picklists, go to Admin Center > Picklist Center.
2. In the Search field, enter the external code of the picklist or the picklist's name. You can also choose the
effective date in the As of date field, to further filter the picklists to help you located your picklist.

The picklist is displayed.

6.2 Creating a Picklist

Create an MDF picklist using the Picklist Center.

Prerequisites

You have permission to manage picklists in the system.

Context

 Tip

Since picklist values are entered individually, one after another, it takes time to create a large picklist from
scratch. To add a large number of picklist values at once, we recommend using Admin Center Import and
Export Data .

 Remember

When you have cascading picklists, always create the parent picklist before creating the child picklist. This is
required to map the parent and child picklist correctly.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Picklist Center .

2. Click the + icon, to create a new picklist.

The Create a New Picklist window is displayed on the UI.

3. Enter the picklist data.

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 Field Description

Code Unique business key that is used to identify the picklist. (If
you’re familiar with legacy picklists, these are the equivalent
of the picklist ID.)

Name Name of the picklist. For example, if the picklist is for the
type of address (home, mailing, business, billing, and so on),
you could name the picklist "Address Type."

Status Specifies whether the picklist is active or inactive, that is,

whether it’s available for use.

Effective Start Date A picklist can have different sets of picklist values for differ-
ent start dates.

 Example
To add a new value New York to the Location picklist
but you want this picklist to be available for this location
after January 1, 2017. Enter in 01/01/2017 as the ef­
fective date, this picklist that contains the new value is
available after the January date.

Display Order Order in which the picklist values are listed in the picklist
dropdown. The options available currently are alphabetical,
numerical, and custom sort.

Parent Picklist Name of the parent picklist that has been selected, in a sce­
nario where cascading picklists are used.

When legacy picklists are migrated to MDF picklists, an

optionId is generated for existing MDF picklist values. For
legacy picklist option that has been migrated, the existing
optionId is stored in the mapping table.

 Note
After the migration, when you create a picklist from the
Picklist Center, an option ID is generated for all records.
The present effective dated record is used; other effec-
tive dated entries for the parent picklist aren’t consid­
ered.

A new picklist is created.

4. Use the add icon  to create a new picklist value.

The Add New Value window is displayed.

5. Enter picklist values.

For example, if your picklist is State, your values could be Alabama, Alaska, California, and so on.

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 Field Description

External Code MDF external code. A unique business key that is used to
identify the picklist value, for example, state_Alabama.

Label For example, if the external code is state_Alabama, the label

would be Alabama. You can also click on the Globe icon to
add the translated version of the label value.

Status Specifies whether the picklist value is active or inactive, that

is, whether it’s available for use.

Sort Order (L Value) If you chose the display order as Custom, you can enter a
numeric value here to help you define the sort order of the
picklist values.

Parent Picklist Value The value of the parent picklist that causes the picklist value
to appear.

For example, the picklist value Alabama would have a parent

picklist value United States. The picklist value Alberta would
have a parent picklist value Canada.

Non Unique External Code Legacy external code, only used by migrated legacy picklists.
Unlike the MDF external code, it can be blank or duplicated.

 Note

The two grayed-out fields R Value and Value are only enabled for migrated legacy picklists.

6. Click Create to add a picklist value to the picklist.

The picklist values are now created.

6.3 Editing a Picklist

Edit or update an MDF picklist using Picklist Center.

Prerequisites

You have permission to manage picklists in the system.

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Context

You can use Picklist Center to edit all fields in a picklist, from changing the external code to attaching a new parent
picklist.

 Note

If a picklist is referenced elsewhere, editing its external code could lead to data loss on MDF objects where it has
been used.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Picklist Center .

2. Search for the picklist you want to edit and click on the selected picklist's effective start date to start editing
picklist.
3. Click Edit in the Picklist Details page to modify the picklist.

 Note

Since MDF picklists are effective-dated, you can always control the date from which the record takes effect.

4. Click Save.

6.4 Picklist Values

You can add values to your picklist.

For example, if you create a new department, you can add new values such as Human Resources, IT, Finance, and
so on, as values to your picklist. The list of these values is displayed in the picklist dropdown when they’re used in a
different place within the system.

Creating and Editing a Picklist Value [page 21]

Create a new picklist value or edit an existing picklist value, using Picklist Center.

Sort Order for Picklist Values [page 22]

You can choose the sort order for picklist values are listed in the picklist dropdown.

Deleting Picklist Values [page 22]

Delete a picklist value from a picklist, using Picklist Center, when it is no longer required. You can delete up
to 100 picklist values at a time.

Picklist Migration
20 PUBLIC Picklist Center
6.4.1 Creating and Editing a Picklist Value

Create a new picklist value or edit an existing picklist value, using Picklist Center.

Prerequisites

You have permission to manage picklists in the system.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Picklist Center .

2. Search for the picklist you want to edit and click on the selected picklist's effective start date to start editing
picklist.

The Versions page along with its picklist values are displayed.
3. Add or edit a picklist value.

○ Use the add icon  to create a new value.

○ Click an existing value to edit it.

Based on the action you chose, you are directed to either the Add New Value page or the Edit Picklist Value
page.
4. Enter picklist value data, as needed.

 Note

The two grayed-out fields, R Value and Value are only enabled for migrated legacy picklists.

5. Click Save.

Your new picklist value is either created or edited.

Task overview: Picklist Values [page 20]

Related Information

Sort Order for Picklist Values [page 22]

Deleting Picklist Values [page 22]

Picklist Migration
Picklist Center PUBLIC 21
6.4.2 Sort Order for Picklist Values

You can choose the sort order for picklist values are listed in the picklist dropdown.

Picklist values can be sorted in three specific ways. By default, the sorting order is set to Alphabetical. However, you
can change the display order to Numeric or Custom.

While you choose the order of your picklist values while creating your picklist in the Picklist Center, you won't
typically see the manner in which your picklist values are displayed. The values are seen in the order you've chosen
when your picklist is being used in a different place within the system.

For example, if you are entering employee details and choosing the state the employee is from, you can create a
picklist called United States, with the picklist values being all the states within the country. If you have chosen
the display order as Alphabetical, the admin will notice that the states are listed in alphabetical order in the picklist
dropdown.

The three kinds of display orders are:

● Alphabetical. The picklist values are displayed in alphabetical order.

● Numeric. The picklist values are displayed in numeric sequence.
● Custom. You can choose a numeric sort order value that defines how the picklist values are displayed in the
picklist dropdown.

 Note

You will see the Sort Order (L Value) field when you create or edit a picklist value only if you chose Custom
as the display order while creating your picklist.

Parent topic: Picklist Values [page 20]

Related Information

Creating and Editing a Picklist Value [page 21]

Deleting Picklist Values [page 22]

6.4.3 Deleting Picklist Values

Delete a picklist value from a picklist, using Picklist Center, when it is no longer required. You can delete up to 100
picklist values at a time.

Prerequisites

You have permission to manage picklists in the system.

Picklist Migration
22 PUBLIC Picklist Center
Context

You can select picklist values for deletion by choosing the checkbox against each picklist value.

 Note

If you delete a picklist value that is referenced elsewhere within the application, it will result in permanent data
loss.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Picklist Center .

2. In the Picklist Search field, enter the external code or name of the picklist. Choose the picklist from which you
want to remove picklist values.

 Note

You can also click on the effective start date of the picklist to view the picklist values associated to the
picklist.

You will be directed to the Versions page of the picklist to make any edits to it.
3. Choose the picklist values that you want to delete and click on the Delete icon.

You will see a warning message reminding you of data loss if you delete a picklist value that is being used
elsewhere in the system.
4. Click Delete to continue.

Your picklist value is now deleted.

Task overview: Picklist Values [page 20]

Related Information

Creating and Editing a Picklist Value [page 21]

Sort Order for Picklist Values [page 22]

Picklist Migration
Picklist Center PUBLIC 23
6.5 Picklist Versions

MDF picklists are effective-dated. To make changes to the picklist values for a different date, create a new version of
a picklist with a different effective start date, and then, modify your picklist values. For more information, see
Inserting a New Picklist Version.

You can view any version of the selected picklist on the Versions page. In addition to the version of the picklist, you
can also view the status of the version, its effective start date, when it was last modified, and details of the user who
modified the selected picklist version.

To view picklist versions

1. Go to the Picklist Center and search for the picklist you want to view.
2. Click on the external code of the picklist to be directed to the Versions page. All the versions associated with
the picklist are listed here.
3. Click on the picklist version you want to work with.

Related Information

Inserting a New Picklist Version [page 24]

6.5.1 Inserting a New Picklist Version

You can add new version for a selected picklist as required by your company.

Context

You can only add one version for a picklist at a time. You can’t insert a time slice earlier than the initial record and
you can’t insert a time slice for an existing version with the same effective start date.

Procedure

1. Go to the Picklist Center and search for the picklist you want to view.

 Note

To manage legacy picklists, use the legacy Picklist Management to export and import them as a CSV file.

Picklist Migration
24 PUBLIC Picklist Center
 In either situation, if you want to work offline with your picklist, use MDF Import and Export page.

2. Click on the external code of the picklist you want to create a version for.

You’re directed to the Versions page. All the versions associated with the picklist are listed here.
3. Click + to add a version.
4. Select the date using date picker option from the Add New Version dialog.

By default, current date is selected on the Add New Version dialog.

5. Click OK.

Results

The new version for the picklist gets added in the Versions page. When you insert a version between the existing
versions of the picklist, all the picklist values and the header information that are available for the previous versions
are carried over to the inserted version.

6.5.2 Deleting a Picklist Version

You can delete a version from the picklist when its no longer required.

Context

You can only delete one version at a time.

Procedure

1. Go to the Picklist Center and search for the picklist you want to view.

 Note

To manage legacy picklists, use the legacy Picklist Management to export and import them as a CSV file.

In either situation, if you want to work offline with your picklist, use MDF Import and Export page.

2. Click on the external code of the picklist.

You’re directed to the Versions page. All the versions associated with the picklist are listed.
3. Select the version of the picklist that you want to delete and click Delete from the picklist header.

The Delete dialog is displayed.

4. Click Delete to delete the version.

Picklist Migration
Picklist Center PUBLIC 25
Results

The selected picklist version gets deleted. If the selected version is the only version left and if it isn’t referenced, the
picklist itself gets deleted. If picklist has a reference, an error message is displayed asking you to confirm your
decision to delete it.

6.6 Deleting a Picklist

If your picklist has only one version, then you can delete an entire picklist.

Context

You can select the picklist you want to delete by choosing the checkbox against each picklist.

 Note

When you delete a picklist with multiple versions, all of its versions are deleted, if you confirm the same. If you
want to delete a specific version, you must go to the picklist details page, to do so.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Picklist Center .

2. In the Picklist Search field, enter the external code or name of the picklist and click the one that you want to
delete.

You can also click on the effective start date of the picklist to view picklist data.

You’re directed to the Versions page of the picklist to make any edits to it.
3. Click Delete in the top-right corner of the Versions page to modify the picklist.

You see a warning message letting you know that you'd encounter data loss if this picklist version was
referenced elsewhere.
4. Click Delete to continue.

Picklist Migration
26 PUBLIC Picklist Center
7 Making Picklist Value Fields Visible and
Editable in Picklist Center

Make additional picklist value fields visible and/or editable in Picklist Center if the default migration settings don't
meet your requirements.

Prerequisites

You have the Configure Object Definitions permission, allowing you to manage MDF object definitions.

Context

Some MDF picklist value fields are read-only or not visible in Picklist Center by default. You can make them visible
and editable by updating the PicklistValue MDF object.

 Example

The legacy picklist field Value is used by SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. During migration, it’s mapped to the
optValue field in MDF. If you're using SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting, you can make the optValue field
editable in Picklist Center after picklist migration.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Configure Object Definition .

2. Select Object Definition in the first search menu.
3. Type Picklist Value in the second search menu and select this object.
4. In the Take Action menu, click Make Correction.
5. In the Fields section, find the field you want to make editable in Picklist Center.
6. Click Details to see all of the properties of this field.
7. Set the Visibility property to Read Only or Editable as required.
8. Click Done to close the Details dialog and Save to save your changes.

Results

You can now view and/or edit this field in Picklist Center.

Picklist Migration
Making Picklist Value Fields Visible and Editable in Picklist Center PUBLIC 27
  Note

The optValue field in the MDF object definition is called Value in Picklist Center because that was the original
field name in legacy picklists.

Picklist Migration
28 PUBLIC Making Picklist Value Fields Visible and Editable in Picklist Center
8 Disabling Sync of Non-Unique External
Code

Disable the automatic sync between the nonUniqueExternalCode and externalCode fields in MDF picklists.

Prerequisites

You have access to Provisioning.

 Remember

As a customer, you don't have access to Provisioning. To complete tasks in Provisioning, contact your
implementation partner. If you're no longer working with an implementation partner, contact SAP Cloud
Support.

Context

The nonUniqueExternalCode field in the PicklistValue MDF object contains the value of the EXTERNAL_CODE
field from a migrated legacy picklist.

In many cases, we can't do a straight one-to-one mapping of external codes because the EXTERNAL_CODE in legacy
picklists could be any value and it wasn't required, but the externalCode in MDF picklists is mandatory and
unique. In such cases, we use to store the value of the legacy EXTERNAL_CODE so that applications that use it can
ensure there's no change to the user experience.

By default, the value of the unique externalCode and the value of the nonUniqueExternalCode copied from
legacy picklists are kept in sync in an MDF picklist. Any change you make to externalCode is automatically copied
into nonUniqueExternalCode as well.

However, you can disable this behavior. If you used the EXTERNAL_CODE field in legacy picklists for a specific
purpose that we couldn't anticipate and you do not want them to be synced automatically with the externalCode
field in MDF picklists, you can choose to disable the sync.

Procedure

1. Log in to Provisioning for the company.

2. Disable the option Picklist Management: Automatically copy External Code to Non Unique External Code.

Picklist Migration
Disabling Sync of Non-Unique External Code PUBLIC 29
Results

The value of the externalCode field in MDF picklists is no longer copied automatically to the
nonUniqueExternalCode field. Instead, they’re treated as two distinct fields and you can use them for different
purposes.

Picklist Migration
30 PUBLIC Disabling Sync of Non-Unique External Code
9 Troubleshooting Issues After Picklist
Migration

Learn more about different types of picklist issues and how to resolve them, after picklist migration.

Troubleshooting Picklists After Migration

Issue Solution

Refer to the SAP Knowledge Base to find detailed information How to Resolve Post-Migration Picklist Issues
about how to resolve different types of post-migration picklist
issues.

When you import a legacy picklist, the import fails. Check whether you’ve provided a value for the external code.

Post migration, the parent_option_id doesn’t exist. As part of migration, the <parent_option_id> reference is
dropped and it’s set to "-1", which is the default value. If this
proves to be an issue, specify the correct mapping using the
Picklist Center.

Migration fails when the child picklist has multiple parent pick­ This isn’t a supported scenario and causes migration to fail.
lists.

Duplicate external codes exist in the existing MDF picklist. Duplicate <external_code> values aren’t supported by MDF.
As a result, during migration, a unique external code is gener­
ated for MDF and the legacy external code is preserved in a
new database field. This new database field appears on the UI
as non-unique external code while the other code is displayed
as the external code. You can edit both these fields using the
Picklist Center.

 Note
To edit the NonUniqueExternalCode field, you first have to
make the field editable using the Configure Object
Definition page in the Admin Center.

Picklist ID is 'null' in the Legacy table 'Null' picklist ID values aren’t supported by migration. Such
picklists aren’t migrated.

Picklist Migration
Troubleshooting Issues After Picklist Migration PUBLIC 31
Issue Solution

Legacy Picklists with no labels Legacy picklists without labels aren't migrated in the following
scenarios:

● Scenario 1: None of the option ID's of a picklist exist in the

label table. In this case, picklist norpicklistValue aren’t mi­
grated.
● Scenario 2: Some of the option ID's of a picklist don’t exist
in the label table. In this case, PicklistValues that aren’t
present in the label table aren't migrated. Picklist and
other picklistValues are migrated.

 Note
Labels of languages that aren’t enabled for a com­
pany aren't migrated. This means that: label_id aren't
migrated from the legacy label table.

EC2MDF mapping wasn’t set up before migration. If you use Employee Central, we strongly recommend that you
ensure EC2MDF mapping is set up before your picklist migra­
tion. However, if you didn't, you may have additional issues to
resolve after migration.

For more information, refer to this Knowledge Base Article

https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2770463 .

External Code field is always unique but doesn't impact inte­ The external code field in new MDF picklists is always unique
gration.
but you don’t have to change any integration.

During migration, the original Option ID value in a legacy pick­

list is copied as-is to the External Code field in MDF if it's
unique. Or, if there are conflicts, a new unique external code
value is assigned. The original legacy Option ID value is always
copied as-is to the "nonUniqueExternalCode field" in MDF.

For integration, the parent picklist mapping is based on the Op­

tion ID in legacy picklists, which is transferred to the "nonUni­
queExternalCode field" in MDF as-is. The generated External
Code in MDF shouldn’t impact any parent picklist fields.

Picklist Migration
32 PUBLIC Troubleshooting Issues After Picklist Migration
10 Field Mapping During Migration from
Legacy to MDF Picklists

A description of how each legacy picklist field is migrated to MDF.

Mapping of Legacy Picklists to MDF Picklists

Legacy Picklist Legacy Field Val­ MDF Picklist MDF Picklist

Field ues MDF Object Field Name Field Values Comments

PICKLISTID ● Not unique Picklist externalCode ● Must be

 Note
● Case-sensi­ unique.
tive ● Case-insen­ The MDF

sitive externalCode field

doesn’t contain the ex­
ternal code value from
legacy picklist.

Case-sensitive legacy
external_code
value is stored in the
nonUniqueExterna
lCode field in MDF.

STATUS Supports the fol­ Picklist status Supports the fol­ Original legacy value is cop­
lowing values: Value lowing values: ied to status field in MDF.

● ACTIVE ● ACTIVE Values are mapped as fol­

lows:
● OBSOLETE ● INACTIVE
● DELETED ● ACTIVE in legacy maps
to ACTIVE in MDF
● DELETED in legacy
maps to INACTIVE in
MDF
● OBSOLETE in legacy
maps to INACTIVE in
MDF

EXTERNAL_COD ● No con­ Picklist nonUniqueExt ● Not unique Original legacy value is cop­
E straints ernalCode ied or a new unique value is
Value ● Can be null/
● Not unique empty assigned where there are
● Can be null/ conflicts.
empty.
Original legacy value is cop­
ied to
nonUniqueExternalC
ode field in MDF.

Picklist Migration
Field Mapping During Migration from Legacy to MDF Picklists PUBLIC 33
Legacy Picklist Legacy Field Val­ MDF Picklist MDF Picklist
Field ues MDF Object Field Name Field Values Comments

OPTIONID Unique primary Picklist N/A N/A Original legacy value is cop­
key Value ied to a mapping table but
is still visible in the picklist
object in MDF.

VALUE Present Picklist optValue Not present be­ Original legacy value is cop­
Value fore migration ied to optValue field in
MDF.

Before migration, the

optValue isn’t present in
MDF. This field is created
during migration to hold the
legacy value.

L_VALUE Present Picklist lValue Not present be­ Original legacy value is cop­
Value fore migration ied to lValue field in MDF.

Before migration, the

lValue isn’t present in
MDF. This field is created
during migration to hold the
legacy value.

R_VALUE Present Picklist rValue Not present be­ Original legacy value is cop­
Value fore migration ied to rValue field in MDF.

Before migration, the

rValue isn’t present in
MDF. This field is created
during migration to hold the
legacy value.

MINVAL Present Picklist minVal Not present be­ Original legacy value is cop­
Value fore migration ied to minVal field in MDF.

Before migration, the

minVal isn’t present in
MDF. This field is created
during migration to hold the
legacy value.

Picklist Migration
34 PUBLIC Field Mapping During Migration from Legacy to MDF Picklists
Legacy Picklist Legacy Field Val­ MDF Picklist MDF Picklist
Field ues MDF Object Field Name Field Values Comments

MAXVAL Present Picklist maxVal Not present be­ Original legacy value is cop­
Value fore migration ied to maxVal field in MDF.

Before migration, the

maxVal isn’t present in
MDF. This field is created
during migration to hold the
legacy value.

Picklist Migration
Field Mapping During Migration from Legacy to MDF Picklists PUBLIC 35
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36 PUBLIC Important Disclaimers and Legal Information
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Important Disclaimers and Legal Information PUBLIC 37
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