PUBLIC

Document Version: 2H 2020 – 2020-11-06

Extension Center
© 2020 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

THE BEST RUN

Content

1 What's New in Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

2 Getting Started with Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

2.1 What is Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
2.2 How does Extension Center work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Enabling Extension Center as a feature in Upgrade Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.4 Prerequisites for Using Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.5 Role-Based Permissions for Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.6 What are the different elements of Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
What is an Object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
How Picklists Relate to Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3 Creating an Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

4 Creating a Picklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

5 Resuing Existing Picklists in Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

6 Viewing Large Picklists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

7 How do you delete a picklist?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

8 Creating an Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
8.1 Configuring Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
8.2 Configuring Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
8.3 Configuring Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Configuring Field-Level Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Reusing an Existing Rule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
8.4 Configuring Workflows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Reusing an Existing Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
8.5 Configuring UI for an Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
8.6 Configuring Object Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
8.7 Configuring Object and Field Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
8.8 Enabling Read Access Log of MDF Objects in Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
8.9 Checking Russian Data Privacy Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.10 Reusing an Existing Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

9 Deleting an Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

10 Duplicating Objects And Picklists From an Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

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11 Configure an Extension to Access it From the Employee Files Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

12 Deleting an Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

13 Publishing an Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
13.1 How do you prepare to publish an extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Configuring Source and Target Instances in Provisioning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Configuring Permission Settings in the Source Instance to Publish an Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
13.2 Publishing an Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
13.3 Synchronizing Instance Configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
13.4 Extension Publishing Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Accessing an Extension from the Home Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

14 How Do Employees Use Extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

14.1 Using an Extension in Manage Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
14.2 Using Extensions in Employee Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

15 How does the Manager review the application?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

15.1 Approving or Sending Back a Request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

16 Reporting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
16.1 Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
16.2 Prerequisites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
16.3 Viewing MDF Objects from Analytics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

17 FAQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
17.1 How do you add Extension Center to your Favorites?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
17.2 What is an Uncategorized extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
17.3 Are all features available in MDF for creating extensions available in Extension Center? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
17.4 Why does the MDF object definition always fail when publishing the extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

18 Reference Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
18.1 Data Type Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
18.2 Relationship Types Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
18.3 Rule Category Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

19 Working with SAP Cloud Platform Extensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

19.1 Configuring Access Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
19.2 Configuring Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
19.3 Configuring Permission Roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

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1 What's New in Extension Center

This document describes changes to the Extension Center Implementation Guide for the recent releases.

2H 2020

The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the 2H 2020 release
What's New Description More Info

Enabling read access log for MDF objects You can enable read access log for MDF Enabling Read Access Log of MDF Ob­
in Extension Center objects containing personally sensitive jects in Extension Center [page 51]
data in Extension Center.

Q4 2019

The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the Q4 2019 release

What's New Description More Info

None, Basic, and Multiple Changes Per SAP recommends that all custom MDF Configuring Object and Field Security
Day (MCPD) effective-dated object defi- objects are created as RBP secured. The [page 49]
nitions created in the Extension Center default value of the 'Secured' field on the
are RBP secured by default. Security tab is set to 'Yes' for all the cus­
tom objects in the Extension Center. By
default secured is set to Yes for None, Ba­
sic, and Multiple Changes Per Day
(MCPD) effective-dated objects and not
for From Parent effective-dated object
definitions. As the newly-created object
definitions are RBP secured, you need to
ensure that you grant the necessary per­
missions before you could access such
custom object definitions from the
Manage Data page.

Q3 2019

The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the Q3 2019 release

What's New Description More Info

August 9

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What's New Description More Info

Read Access and Change Log In Extension Center, we have renamed Enabling Read Access Log of MDF Ob­
jects in Extension Center [page 51]
Configuration renamed as Change Log section Read Access and Change Log
Configuration Configuration to Change Log
Configuration as read access log configu-
ration was never supported.

Q2 2019

The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the Q2 2019 release

What's New Description More Info

June 19

Improved usability when publishing an When you publish an extension, you can Publishing an Extension [page 70]

extension now choose the target instance by select­

ing the Target Data Center, Target
Environment, and Target Company from
dropdown lists, and publish the extension
under the user that you enter in the
Target User field. Previously, the target
company information had to be entered
manually.

Q1 2018

The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the Q1 2018 release

What's New Description More Info

March 01

Configuring an object for data protection Added a procedure to configure the ob­ Enabling Read Access Log of MDF Ob­
and privacy ject for data protection and privacy. jects in Extension Center [page 51]

Q4 2017

The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the Q4 2017 release

What's New Description More Info

October 09

Extension Center
What's New in Extension Center PUBLIC 5
What's New Description More Info

Enabling Generic Objects while upgrad­ Added a prerequisite and note regarding Enabling Extension Center as a feature in
ing Extension Center enabling Generic Objects while upgrad­ Upgrade Center [page 10]
ing Extension Center.

Q3 2017

The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the Q3 2017 release

What's New Description More Info

August 04

Reporting Added a new section about Reporting. Overview [page 90]

Q2 2017

The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the Q2 2017 release

What's New Description More Info

April 27

Show all fields in Object Details page. You can now view all the fields in the Configuring Fields [page 25]
Object Details page for an existing object.

SAP Cloud Platform Extensions It is now possible to configure SAP Cloud Working with SAP Cloud Platform Exten­
Platform extensions in Extension Center. sions [page 101]

Q1 2017

The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the Q1 2017 release

What's New Description More Info

February 23

Updated the procedure for permission Made changes to the field names and im­ [This content was later removed.]
settings ages to reflect the latest UI.

Updated the procedure to create an ob­ Made changes to the field names and im­ Creating an Object [page 23]
ject ages to reflect the latest UI.

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What's New Description More Info

Updated to procedure for configuring Made changes to the field names and im­ Configuring Fields [page 25]
fields ages to reflect the latest UI.

February 10

Enable Extension Center as a feature in This feature allows you to enable Exten­ Enabling Extension Center as a feature in
Upgrade Center sion Center as a feature in Upgrade Cen­ Upgrade Center [page 10]
ter. You can leverage Extension Center
without contacting SAP Cloud Support
for Provisioning.

Duplicate existing Objects and Picklists in This feature allows you to clone Objects Duplicating Objects And Picklists From
a new extension and Picklists from an existing extension an Extension [page 56]
and quickly get started on a new exten­
sion.

Consistent behavior in MDF during Pick­ Checks have been added to display a How do you delete a picklist? [page 22]
list deletion warning message when a picklist in use
or is being referred to is deleted. The
message includes information about the
object definitions and other Picklists re­
ferred.

Configure the fields in Object Definition Updated the description for Max Length Configuring Fields [page 25]
for maximum length and Decimal Precision fields with recom­
mended limits.

Values are added for UI Field Renderer Updated the description for UI Field Ren­ Configuring Fields [page 25]
derer with the possible values for Pick­
lists and Generic Objects.

Limit on the top-level MDF objects A note is added which clearly states the Creating an Object [page 23]
default limit for the top-level MDF objects
and what you have to do to create more
top-level MDF objects.

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2 Getting Started with Extension Center

2.1 What is Extension Center?

Extension Center allows you to create and manage SF Native extensions and configure SAP Cloud Platform
extensions.

An SF Native extension is a custom application, which is configured to process employee-centric business needs.
For example, as an Admin you can create applications to manage different HR Programs, such as company car
requests, employee wellness programs, tuition reimbursement request, pension plan programs, and so on.

An SAP Cloud Platform extension is an application, designed to serve a certain scenario or task flow. This
application is deployed in the SAP Cloud Platform for your extension subaccount.

This document aims to familiarize the HR Admin with the process of creating and managing SF Native extensions in
Extension Center, and configuring SAP Cloud Platform extensions.

2.2 How does Extension Center work?

To explain how Extension Center works, we’ll use an example of a Company Car Request Management process. In
this example, the process starts with the HR Admin creating an Extension, which is an interface that allows the
employee to request for a car. The manager then approves or denies the request raised by the employee.

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In Extension Center, this would involve the following steps:

● Creating an Extension
● Creating Picklists
● Creating and Configuring Objects
● Publishing an Extension

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Subsequent sections describe these stages in detail.

Related Information

Creating an Extension [page 18]

Creating a Picklist [page 19]
Creating an Object [page 23]
How do you prepare to publish an extension? [page 67]

2.3 Enabling Extension Center as a feature in Upgrade Center

Prerequisites

When you are upgrading the Extension Center as a feature in Upgrade Center, if Generic Objects are not enabled,
the system enables the Generic Objects and in turn upgrades the Extension Center.

 Note

After you enable Generic Objects through Upgrade Center, it is not possible to roll-back the change.

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Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center.
2. Search and click Upgrade Center.

The Welcome to the SuccessFactors Upgrade Center page is displayed.

3. Under Recommended Upgrades, click Learn More & Upgrade Now for Extension Center.

Recommended Upgrades

 Note

If Extension Center is already enabled, it is not displayed under Recommended Upgrades.

The Extension Center page is displayed with the description about Extension Center and the prerequisites to
enable Extension Center using Upgrade Center.

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 Extension Center - Upgrade Now
4. Click Upgrade Now to continue the upgrade Extension Center process.

The Upgrade to Extension Center dialog is displayed.

Upgrade to Extension Center

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  Note

Click Save for Later to upgrade Extension Center at a later point in time.

5. Click Yes to upgrade the Extension Center.

A successful upgrade message is displayed.

Upgrade to Extension Center - Successful

6. Click OK.

 Remember

To undo this feature, go to Completed Upgrades page, and click Undo under Actions.

Completed Upgrades - Undo

2.4 Prerequisites for Using Extension Center

To use Extension Center, you must be authorized to use MDF and Generic Objects. In addition, you also need to
enable the following options in Provisioning.

● Enable Extension Center

 Note

After enabling Extension Center, ensure that the Metadata is refreshed. To do this:
1. Go to Admin Center.
2. Search and click ODATA API Metadata Refresh and Export.

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 The ODATA API Metadata Refresh and Export page appears:

3. Click Refresh.

 Note

○ Ensure that the user is granted the access to perform Refresh Metadata Cache.
○ Admin who has permission to OData API can refresh metadata cache.
○ To access ODATA API Metadata Refresh and Export, on the Permission Setting page, select
Administrator Permissions Manage Integration Tools Access to OData API Metadata
Refresh and Export .
○ Once the refresh is done, you will get a successful refresh message along with the date and
timestamp of the refresh.

● Employee Central Foundation Objects must be selected for workflow

● Enable Generic Objects and Enable the Attachment Manager

 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.

 Note

Now, you can enable Extension Center as a feature in Upgrade Center without contacting SAP Cloud Support
for Provisioning. For more details on how to enable Extension Center as a feature in Upgrade Center, refer
Enabling Extension Center as a feature in Upgrade Center [page 10].

2.5 Role-Based Permissions for Extension Center

You need role-based permissions listed to use the Extension Center.

Extension Center, like MDF, leverages the Role-Based Permissions (RBP) framework to restrict and grant access.
The permission role using Extension Center needs the following permissions.

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● In Administrator Permission Metadata Framework :
○ Configure Object Definitions
○ Configure Business Rules
○ Access to non-secured objects
○ Import Permission on Metadata Framework
○ Admin Access to MDF OData API
○ Manage Configuration UI
● In Administrator Permission Manage Instance Synchronization :
○ Sync MDF Data
○ Sync MDF Picklists
○ Sync MDF Object Definitions
○ Sync MDF Configuration UI
○ Sync MDF Rules
● In Administrator Permission Manage Business Configuration , choose the visibility and actions allowed for
the objects listed.

 Note

Visibility for an element indicates whether or not it appears on BCUI. Actions indicate the operations that
can be performed on the element.

● In Administrator Permission Manage Foundation Object Types Workflow :

 Tip

It would be a good idea to spend some time defining the approval workflow before setting permissions,
which helps grant the right people access.

○ View (selected by default)

○ Create
○ Insert
○ Correct
○ Delete

 Note

If you’re building an extension that involves workflow, please ensure that you grant relevant permissions to
the target population.

Related Information

What Are Role-Based Permissions?

Assigning Permissions to a Role

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2.6 What are the different elements of Extension Center?

2.6.1 What is an Object?

An object is an entity that defines different aspects of an Extension, such as information about fields, relationships,
workflows, rules, and security for an object.

For example, for the Company Car Request Management extension, there can be two objects:

● Car Request
● Request Acknowledgement

2.6.2 How Picklists Relate to Extension Center

You can use extension center to create picklists.

Picklists are values which appear in a dropdown, allowing the user to easily make a selection. This allows you to
limit the types of values a user can enter in the form, eliminating the chances of an incorrect value.

Example of Picklist Showing Car Category, Lease Duration, and Car Make

 Note

● Extension Center picklists can be used by other Extension Center objects.

● You can also add existing picklists to your extension.

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Related Information

Resuing Existing Picklists in Extension [page 20]

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3 Creating an Extension

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center.
2. In the Search field, type Extension Center.
This will bring up the Extension Center page.
3. Click Create Extension.
4. Enter the following on the Extension Detail page:
a. Icon & Title: Enter an appropriate title for your extension and click on the icon to select a logo.
b. External Code: Enter a unique code that identifies the Extension Center.
c. Description: Enter a brief description about the extension you are creating.

5. Click Action and select Save Extension.

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4 Creating a Picklist

Context

If you are in the Picklist Center and you have legacy picklists in your system, you see a banner message directing
you to the Picklist Management page to import and export them as a CSV file.

Procedure

1. Go to Extension Center.
2. Select the extension to which you want to add a new picklist.

3. Go to Picklist(s) Add New Picklist .

You’re directed to Picklist Center. Configure all necessary fields of the new picklist in the Picklist Center and
save your changes. For more information, see Creating a Picklist

Next Steps

After creating a new picklist in the Picklist Center, add the new picklist to the extension in the Extension Center. For
more information, see Resuing Existing Picklists in Extension [page 20].

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5 Resuing Existing Picklists in Extension

Reuse existing picklists in an extension.

Procedure

1. Go to Extension Center.
2. Select the extension you would like to work with.

3. Go to Picklist(s) Add Existing Picklist .

4. Select picklists you want to add to the extension and save your choices.
5. Save your changes.

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6 Viewing Large Picklists

Picklists that exceed 200 values are considered large picklists. Such picklists can only be viewed in the picklist
viewer.

Context

Using picklist management page, you can search, sort, group, and filter picklist values. Icons to perform these
operations are available on upper right corner of the page. Use  for sorting, use  for filtering, use  for
grouping, and use to show or hide any column in the UI. There are different steps to work with large picklist. If you
want to work with your picklist offline, use Admin Center Import and Export Data .

Procedure

1. Go to the picklist management tool that is relevant to your situation:

○ If your legacy picklists have not been migrated to to MDF, use Configure Object Definition page or
Extension Center page to manage MDF picklists.
○ If your picklists have been migrated to MDF, use Picklist Center.

 Note

To manage legacy picklists, use the legacy Picklist Management to export and import them as a CSV file.
For more information about working with legacy picklists, please refer to the Implementing Picklists guide.

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

2. Select a large Picklist which you want to work with.

The picklist is displayed.

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7 How do you delete a picklist?

From the Extension Detail page, you can also remove a picklist by clicking Remove Picklist from Extension icon.

Remove Picklist from Extension

 Note

Whenever a picklist that is used or referenced in object definitions or other picklists is deleted, a message is
displayed, which contains the information about the object definitions and other picklists where the picklist is
used. This is also applicable to parent-child picklists.

Extension Center
22 PUBLIC How do you delete a picklist?
8 Creating an Object

Describes how you can create and configure an object for extensions in Extension Center.

Context

Let's take the example of the company car request. To create an object that allows the employee to request for a
company car:

Procedure

1. Go to Extension Center.
2. Select the extension to which you want to add an object. In this example, select Company Car.

The Extension Detail page appears.

3. Click Object(s) Add New Object .

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 23
 The Object Detail page appears.

4. Fill out the fields as follows:

a. Label: Enter a suitable title for your Object. Choose a name that will make it easy for you to identify the
extension later.
b. Code: Enter a unique code that identifies the Object.
c. Description: Enter a brief description about the Object you are creating.
For example, you can create a Car Request object for the Company Car Management extension.

 Note

Currently, the Cascade flag field, as seen in the Admin Center Configure Object Definitions page is not
supported. Using the Cascade flag, you can set the following values:
○ Save: User is allowed to edit the referenced field in the Config UI Runtime page.
○ None: User will not be allowed to edit the referenced fields in the Configure UI Runtime Page.

 Tip

Use the Configure Object Definitions page to apply these settings.

 Tip

All the mandatory fields except Effective Dating have a default value. You will not be able to save the object
without defining the Effective Dating field in the Properties tab.

5. When you finish, select Action Save Object .

Extension Center
24 PUBLIC Creating an Object
Results

This creates Car Request object for Company Car Management extension.

 Note

There is a limit on top-level custom MDF objects that you can create in the system. The default limit being 25
MDF objects. This limit is not applicable to MDF entities like objects that are associated with parent-child
relationship, module delivered objects, picklists and rules. If you need to create more top-level MDF objects,
create a SAP Support case that specifies the business justification. SAP Cloud Support will authorize 25
additional top level MDF objects for you.

For more information on how to create the request, see Knowledge Base Article https://
launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2388700/E .

8.1 Configuring Fields

Context

Let us now look at how you can add fields to your object. Continuing with the example of the car request, let’s
create the following fields for the Car Request object:

● Name
● Employee ID
● Location

These fields can be used by the employee to enter details like name, employee ID, and location while requesting for
a company car.

Procedure

1. Click Add Field.

This brings up the Fields page.

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 25
  Note

You can modify the first two fields that appear on the screen to suit your requirements. You can also delete
them or use the toggle switch to mark them as not required.To add more than two fields, click the Add Field
tab at the bottom of the page.

2. Fill in the following details:

Field Description

Label The label to translate for the field. The default value for this
is the field name. To enter a translated label name, click the
Translations button.

Note that to make entries for translation, click the icon in the
Label field.

Default Value: The label that you wish to translate appears in

this field.

Tko_KR: The Korean translator can use this field to enter the
field name after translation.

zh_CN_SF: The Chinese translator can use this field to enter

the field name after translation.

Name A unique identifier for the field.

Data Type The supported data types from the dropdown. For more de­
tails on different data types, refer Data Type Table [page
96].

Visibility Editable: Select this to indicate that the field should be visi­
ble and editable.

Read Only: Select this to indicate that the field will be visible
but the user will not be allowed to make changes.

Not Visible: Select this when the field needs to be used for
reference but should not be displayed in the UI.

Required Yes,if the field is required. This would make it mandatory for
the user to fill out. For example, in case of the company car
request, if the Required field for employee ID, name, and lo­
cation is set to Yes, it becomes mandatory for the user to fill
out these fields before submitting the request.

3. You can view and edit additional options in the Advanced Options section by clicking the down arrow icon:

Extension Center
26 PUBLIC Creating an Object
  Note

The Inactivated by field displayed in the Configure Object Definitions page is not supported by Extension
Center. In the Configure Object Definitions page, this field shows who inactivated the field – User or System.
Also, Hide seconds is not currently supported. This field will allow you to hide the seconds for Time Data
Type.

Field Description

Max Length The Maximum allowed data length for the data type String.
The default value for this field is 255.

 Note
To configure the fields in the Object Definition UI,
consider the following limits:
○ Maximum length for externalName and
externalCode is 128 characters
○ Maximum length for String data type is 4000
characters for pre-delivered objects

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 27
 Field Description

○ Maximum length for Number data type is 4000

characters, but it is recommended not to exceed
38.
○ Sum of maxLength and decimal precision for
Decimal data type is 4000 characters, but it is
recommended not to exceed 38.

UI Field Renderer The name to display for the picklist on the UI. This field also
defines the label that appears in dropdown menus when
selecting a picklist or generic object value in Manage Data.
If this field is defined, the external code is not displayed.

The possible field values are as follows:

○ displayPickListWithoutExternalCode (for picklists)
○ displayGOWithoutExternalCode (for generic objects)

Include Inactive Users Yes, if you want to display data for inactive users, along with
that of active users. Default value is No.

Hide Old Value Yes, if you do not want to strikethrough the previous value of
a record in the History for the field. Effective dated objects
have a history view. In the history view, records for different
start-dates are shown. The text with a strikethrough
indicates the previous value of the field.

Help Text The label to translate for the field. You can give instructions
for the user.

Transient Yes, to make the field transient. Values of transient field are
not stored in the database, but are determined at runtime,
based on rules or associations.

Private or Sensitive Yes, to display the value saved on that field as ***. For
example, you might want to set this to Yes for a password
field. If you set this to No, it behaves like any other field.

Default Value You can set a default value for the field. When a default
value is selected for a field, it will initialize the new page with
the given value. For example, if you set the default value for
a string field as ABC, when you go to the Manage Data page
to create a new object, you will see ABC already listed in
that field.

Status Active: Active fields are available in the system. You can use
them to import, UI, OData, rules, and so on.

Extension Center
28 PUBLIC Creating an Object
 Field Description

Inactive Inactive fields are not available in the system. You

cannot use them to import, UI, OData, rules, and so on.
Note that you cannot make the fields inactive from the UI.

Database Field Name The field name as it should be stored in the database.

Field Criteria Source Field Name: Field whose values restrict the possible
values for the field that you are defining.

Destination Field Value: Name of the field whose value is

being restricted. This is the name of the field that you are
defining. For example, you can restrict choices of dates
based on an effective start date, or you can restrict choices
such as countries, time zones, and so on, by location.

defaultDestinationValue: You can create a default

destination in cases where the destination field value is not
set. Currently it only stores constant values.

You can add or delete field criteria by clicking the

corresponding icon. Field criteria is used to restrict the
value of a field, based on the value of another field.

condition The field ID.

conditionValues A list of values that makes the condition true. Make sure
that you enter the values correctly because there are no
system validations for this.

Valid Value Source  Note

This field needs to be set for the following field types so
as to map them with the parent object:

○ Picklist ID of the picklist.

○ Generic Object: Object ID of the generic object you
want to reference.
○ Foundation Object: Object ID of the foundation object
you want to reference.

Decimal Precision Specific precision for decimal value. Default precision value
is 17.

 Note
Sum of maxLength and decimal precision for Decimal
data type is 4000 characters, but it is recommended
not to exceed 38.

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 29
 Field Description

Show Trailing Zeroes Yes: It sets zeros for the decimal value. For example, if user
gives 111 for the decimal field where Show Trailing Zeroes is
set to set after save user will see the value as
111.00000000000000000 (There are 17 zeroes since the
default precision is 17.).

4. Scroll down on the Fields page to add business keys and searchable fields to the object definition.

 Note

You can define fields for an MDF object that can be used to search. These fields can be used in the search panel
on the Manage Data page to search for objects. A business key is a unique key used to identify a record. If you
search for a business key that is defined, then it will appear in the search results, by default. When a field is set
as a business key, the field automatically becomes a required field.

5. Click Action Save Object .

 Note

You can now view all the fields in the Object Details page for an existing object. To do this, set Show all fields
to Yes in the Fields page. By default this option is set to No.

The Show all fields switch is not enabled on new Object Details page.

8.2 Configuring Relationships

Context

Let us now look at how you can define relationships (also known as associations) between objects. In Extension
Center, you can define a hierarchical relationship between two objects. You can add a relationship to define either a
parent-child relationship or a valid-when relationship between the object that you are creating, and another object.

An ERD model (also known as the Entity-Relationship View) graphically shows the relationships between objects.
On the Extension Detail page, multiple levels of objects can be displayed in the ERD View. You can also drag and
drop any object vertically and laterally.

Extension Center
30 PUBLIC Creating an Object
Continuing with the example of the car request, the following image shows a one-to-one relationship between
Request Acknowledgement and Company Car Request object.

To define a relationship between two objects:

Procedure

1. Go to the Relationships tab.

2. 2. Click Add Relationship.
3. Fill in the following details:

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Creating an Object PUBLIC 31
 In This Field... Enter...

Label A label for this relationship. Specify a name that will allow
you to identify the relationship later.

For this example, enter RelationCar.

Name The name of the relationship. This is the name by which the
relationship is identified. For this example, enter
cust_Relation_Car. It is important that the name
starts with cust.

Destination Object The object that you want to establish a relationship with. The
object that you want to establish a relationship with.

In this example, we will define the relationship for the object

City with the object Car Request.

Multiplicity The type of relationship: is it One-to-One or One-to-Many.

For this example, let’s specify One-to-One.

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32 PUBLIC Creating an Object
 In This Field... Enter...

Type The type of field, from the drop-down menu. For this exam­
ple, we will select Composite. A detailed description of rela­
tionship types is described in Relationship Types Table [page
98].

 Note

UIAssociationRenderer, available in the Manage Data and Manage Configurable UI pages in Admin Center, is
currently not supported.

4. You can view and edit additional options in the Advanced Options section by clicking the down arrow icon:

 Note

You need to fill in the Destination Object Column and Source Object Column options when you set
Relationship type to Join By Column.

In this field... Enter...

Visibility Editable: User can add and delete data for this association.

Read Only: User can only view records of this association. A

user cannot add, delete, or edit any association data.

Not Visible: User cannot view this association. Determines

whether the association is visible.

Source Object Column The field name of the parent object to which the object
should be mapped.

For example, you have created two entities, Person, which is

non-effective-dated, and PersonInfo, which is effective-
dated. Person is the parent object and PersonInfo is the
child object as it shares the same external code as Person.
When Join-by-Column relationship is defined, Person object
is entered in the Source Object Column field.

Destination Object Column The field name of the child object to which the object should
be mapped. For example, you have created two entities,
Person, which is non-effective-dated, and PersonInfo, which
is effective-dated. Person is the parent object and
PersonInfo is the child object as it shares the same external
code as Person. When Join-by-Column relationship is
defined, PersonInfo object is entered in the Destination
Object Column field.

Required Yes, to make this field required. Determines whether the

association is required for object definition. If required, at

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Creating an Object PUBLIC 33
 In this field... Enter...

least one record for the association must exist when an

instance is created of the object that you are defining.

Transient Yes, to make the field transient. Values of transient field are
not stored in the database, but are populated at runtime in
the user interface, based on rules or associations.

Status Active and Inactive. Inactive fields are not available in the
system. You cannot use them in import, UI, OData, rules,
and so on. If you do not enable the corresponding module,
fields become inactive automatically. Note that you cannot
make the fields inactive from the UI. This is a read-only field.

5. You can add a condition to ensure that the association is dependent on the value of the parent field and will be
visible when the condition value matches the parent field's value. For example, to assign the new country object
to Legal Entity, the Condition fieldID is countryOfRegistration.code and Condition Values is <Country Code>.

In this field... Enter...

fieldId The parent field

value Value of the parent field

6. Click Add Field Criteria to restrict the possible values for the field you are defining. Note that this applies only
when relationship is set to Valid-When.

In this field... Enter...

Source Field Name Field whose values restrict the possible values for the field
that you are defining.

Destination Field Value Name of the field whose value is being restricted. This is the
name of the field that you are defining. For example, you can
restrict choices of dates based on an effective start date, or
you can restrict choices such as countries, time zones, and
so on, by location.

defaultDestinationValue The default destination value .You can create a default desti­
nation in cases where the destination field value is not set.
Currently it only stores constant values.

7. Click Action Save Object .

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34 PUBLIC Creating an Object
8.3 Configuring Rules

Context

Let us now look at configuring rules. Rules help you ensure consistent behavior on the occurrence of an event. You
can also use rules to keep a check on data changes (by triggering an approval).

Rules can also be used to autofill field data (for example, time zone information can be auto filled based on location
information).

Procedure

1. Go to the Rules tab.

2. Click Add New Rule and enter the details.

3. To enter the Basic Information, click icon.

4. Enter the following details:

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 35
 In This Field... Enter...

Rule Name Name by which you want to refer to this rule in the UI. For ex­
ample, SetCurrentUserforCar.

Rule ID Unique external code for the rule. For example, SetCurrentU­
serforCar.

Start date The date when this rule should be applied for the first time.
By default this is set to 01/01/1900.

Rule Type Any rule type from the drop-down menu. For more informa­
tion on different rule types, refer the “Implementing Busi­
ness Rules in SuccessFactors Guide”. For this example,
choose Mass Change. Mass change indicates multiple re­
cords will be updated as part of the change.

Description A brief description for the rule. For example, enter “Set a cur­
rent user for car”.

5. Configure parameters for the rule you are creating.

 Note

Parameters are used by rules to trigger the workflow.

6. To add a new parameter, click icon.

In This Field... Enter...

Name The name for the parameter. For example, Request for com­
pany car.

Code The object code of the base object in this field. For example,
cust_demo_companycarRequest

Object The extension object that is the base object of the rule from
the drop-down menu. For example, Request for Company­
Car.

Extension Center
36 PUBLIC Creating an Object
  Note

You can also select an existing rule by clicking Add Existing Rule. Search and select the rule from the
Existing Rules list.

7. To save, select Action Save Object . A new rule will be created in the extension.

 Note

Rules can be triggered at various phases of object creation. Refer the Rule Category Table [page 99] to
find out which phase of object creation triggers which rule.

8.3.1 Configuring Field-Level Rules

Context

Apart from object-level rules, you can also add field-level rules. You can use a rule that you created using the
Configure Business Rules page.

Procedure

1. To do this, click Show in Rule Engine.

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Creating an Object PUBLIC 37
 The Configure Business Rules page appears.

2. To edit, select Take Action Make Correction .

You can now configure the rule as required. If you've used the Admin Center > Configure Business Rules page
before, this works exactly the same way. For more information on working with the Rules, see the MDF
Implementation Guide and the Rules Engine Handbook.
3. When you finish, click Save.

 Note

For more information on working with the Rules UI, see the MDF Implementation Guide.

8.3.2 Reusing an Existing Rule

Context

If a rule already exists, you can reuse it instead of defining a new rule.

Procedure

1. Go to the Rules page.

2. Click Add Existing Rules.

Extension Center
38 PUBLIC Creating an Object
3. Search for an existing rule (say "carStatusRequest"), select it, and click Save.

4. Select Action Save Object , to save the changes for the object.

8.4 Configuring Workflows

Context

Let us now look at defining an approval workflow for the company car request.

Workflows are used to define the approval process. In a typical workflow scenario, when the user submits a change,
the approver gets an approval request in the To Do list. The change is reflected in the system only when the
approver approves the request.

Adding a Workflow

Procedure

1. Go to the Workflows tab.

2. Click Add New Workflow.

This brings up the Workflow page.

3. Let’s now define the workflow for approval. In this example, we'll define a single level of approval from the
manager

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 39
 Here’s the sample of a completed screen defining the workflow. Note that there is no approver type in Step 2.
This indicates manager’s approval is sufficient to approve the application. To add a second level approver, in
Step 2, specify the relationship of the approver. For example, some roles which can be assigned an approver
role include Manager’s Manager, the HR Manager and the Matrix Manager.

In This Field... Enter

Code The unique external code for the workflow.

Name The name by which you want to refer to this workflow in the
UI.

Description The description of the workflow.

Future Dated Alternate Workflow Alternate workflow for future dated transactions, to be se­
lected from drop-down list.

4. In Step 1 and Step2 add the following details:

In This Field... Enter...

Approver Type The type of approver from the drop-down menu. Refer the
following descriptions to understand the different approver
types:

Role: With this, you can evaluate the reporting line of the em­
ployee or initiator and address the workflow. For example, to

Extension Center
40 PUBLIC Creating an Object
 In This Field... Enter...

the manager, manager's manager, or to any job relationship

manager.

Dynamic Role: A dynamic role can be used to route work­

flows to different approvers, depending on attributes that
are used in the workflow content. It is typically used to define
different behaviors in different parts of the company. You can
do so by matching one or more attribute values to specific
approvers of type user, dynamic group, or position.

Dynamic Group: Similar to permission groups, you can de­

fine a group of employees that are dynamically included into
this group on the basis of the employees’ job information at­
tributes. When a workflow is addressed to a dynamic group,
all employees will receive the workflow request in their inbox.

Position: If position is selected, the workflow will go to all em­

ployees who are incumbents of this position at the time
when the participants are evaluated.

Relationship to Approver The appropriate relationship with the approver, in the con­
text of the process. In this example, Employee.

Approver The approver for the request from the dropdown menu. In
this example, Manager.

Edit Transaction Edit with Route Change: This option gives the approver per­
mission to modify the workflow transaction. After the
changes are made, the transaction will be re-evaluated and a
new workflow automatically triggered. This can be the same
workflow, but based on the given changes, this can also re­
sult in a different workflow.

Edit without Route Change: Similar to the above, the ap­

prover can make changes. However, the workflow then con­
tinues to the next step and there is no new workflow.

Context The approver at the source or at the target. For example, if

there is a request for employee transfer, this field will sug­
gest whether the manager at the source or the manager at
the target will approve the request.

No Approver Behavior Skip this Step if the request is not aborted when no approver
is found.

Stop the Workflow if the request is aborted when no ap­

prover is found.

Respect Permission Yes to respect the permission settings.

No if you wish to disregard the permission settings.

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 41
5. You can also enter the Contributors and the CCrole details as follows:

 Note

Employees who are listed in CC-roles are informed whenever a workflow is completed.

In This Field... Enter

CC Role Type The type of approver from the drop-down menu. Refer the
following descriptions to understand the different approver
types:

Role: With this, you can evaluate the reporting line of the em­
ployee or initiator and address the workflow. For example, to
the manager, manager's manager, or to any job relationship
manager.

Dynamic Role: A dynamic role can be used to route work­

flows to different approvers, depending on attributes that
are used in the workflow content. It is typically used to define
different behaviors in different parts of the company. You can
do so by matching one or more attribute values to specific
approvers of type user, dynamic group, or position.

Dynamic Group: Similar to permission groups, you can de­

fine a group of employees that are dynamically included into
this group on the basis of the employees’ job information at­
tributes. When a workflow is addressed to a dynamic group,
all employees will receive the workflow request in their inbox.

Position: If position is selected, the workflow will go to all em­

ployees who are incumbents of this position at the time
when the participants are evaluated.

Actor The actor can also take an action on the workflow. Select
whom you want to assign the role of an actor from the drop-
down menu. For example, an HR Manager can take action on
the workflow.

Relationship to Approver The appropriate relationship with the approver, in the con­
text of the process.

Context The approver at the source or at the target. For example, in

case of an employee transfer, this field will suggest whether
the manager at the source or the manager at the target will
approve the request for the company car.

Respect Permission Yes to honor the permission settings.

No to ignore permission settings.

6. To save the workflow changes for the object, select Action Save Object .

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42 PUBLIC Creating an Object
8.4.1 Reusing an Existing Workflow

Context

If a workflow already exists, you can reuse the workflow instead of defining a new workflow.

Procedure

1. Go to the Workflows page.

2. Click Add Existing Workflow.
3. Select a workflow from the dropdown and click OK. Assuming Car Lease Request was the workflow already
existing, select it from the dropdown.

4. Select Action Save Object , to save the changes for the object.

8.5 Configuring UI for an Extension

Context

You can use the UIs page to define what the form should look like. Taking the example of the car request, let's look
at how we can get the information required by the extension we created.

To add a new configurable UI, click the New UI tab under the UIs tab.

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 43
Procedure

1. In the Id field, specify a unique name for this form. Use a name that would help you identify the form later.
2. In the Select Base Object dropdown, select the base object For example, Request for Company car.

 Note

In the form below, you will see some fields already listed. All previously created picklists and fields
automatically appear on this page. For example, carCategory and carMake are previously created picklists.
Likewise, RequestDate and Reason are previously defined fields.

3. Hover over the page to see a tool bar at the top right corner. Click icon on the tool bar to add a new field.

4. A new field appears on the screen, you can hover over the field to get the icons.

5. Select the icon to provide details for the field.

 Note

Click on the icon to delete the field.

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44 PUBLIC Creating an Object
 In This Field... Enter...

Id The field ID. This is a unique ID created by the system for the new field.

 Note
This is a read only field

Name The name for this field.

Show Label Yes, to display the name of the field.

No, to display the ID of the field.

Required Yes, to indicate this field is mandatory.

No, to indicate the field is optional.

Editable Yes, to allow the user to edit this field. Setting it to No will make it read
only.

Visible Yes, to display the field on the UI. Setting this to No will hide the field.

Value Type User-Defined, if you want the user to enter structure, constant or
enumeration as the value for this field.

Resolver, if you want to set a custom value for this field

 Note
For more information see Value Type User-Defined and Value Type
Resolver rows in this table

Value Type User-Defined The type of value you want the user to enter in this field. Example:
structure, constant or enumeration

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Creating an Object PUBLIC 45
 In This Field... Enter...

 Note
This field will appear if you select the User-Defined option in the
value type field.

Value Type Resolver The custom value that you want the user to enter from the dropdown
menu.

 Note
This field will appear only if you select the Resolver option in the
Value Type field

Label Override The field name that you wish to display in this field.

OnChange UI Rules The rule that you want to apply to this field. This rule will be triggered
when any changes are made to this field.

6. From the font group, set the style of the Field and Label text by applying font settings as desired and click OK.

7. Select Action Save Object .

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46 PUBLIC Creating an Object
8.6 Configuring Object Properties

Context

You can use the Properties configuration page to define and edit the standard aspects of an object like effective
dating, API Visibility and the status. Taking the example of the company car request, let's look at how we can define
the properties of a Company Car Request Object. The Properties tab page displays the Basic Properties and
Advanced Properties sections.

Procedure

1. Enter the following Basic Properties details:

In This Field... Enter...

Effective Dating The effective date, this is the date when a change takes
effect.

For example, if a car lease is to start on the 2nd of August,

you will set the effective date to Aug 2. The end date defines
when it ends.

API Visibility Editable, Read Only, or Not Visible options from the drop-
down menu. Default setting is Not Visible. It controls the
visibility of the object, fields, rules and conditions in the
MDF OData API.

Status Active or Inactive: If set to Inactive, the object instance or

record is not used and not visible anywhere in the system,

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 In This Field... Enter...

including the rule engine, configurable UI designer, and role-

based permissions.

An object cannot be deactivated, if data exists or if it is

referenced by an active association. If an object that is
referenced in a rule is deactivated, that rule is invalidated.
Data cannot be imported or exported for an inactive object.

2. Enter the following Advance Properties details :

Field Description

MDF Version History No: If this option is selected, or no selection is made, history
records are not stored for any operation.

Delete History: If this option is selected, only the history

records from the delete operation of that object type are
available in internal history or audit tables. The data deleted
by a full purge import and translatable fields are also
included.

Complete History If this option is selected, the history

records from the create/insert/update/delete operation of
that object type are available in internal history or audit
tables. The data deleted by a full purge import and
translatable fields are also included.

It is essential to have a snapshot of data on any given date.

This is particularly important in integrations such as
Employee Central to payroll, or Employee Central to User
Management. When a record is updated, corrected, or
deleted in MDF, you can track the previous values. When a

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48 PUBLIC Creating an Object
 Field Description

record is deleted, it is marked as deleted and the date of

deletion is recorded.

Default Screen The default configurable UI to an Extension center object.

The assigned default UI is used in all places where the
Extension center object appears, such as the Manage Data
page, the Workflow Approval page, the MDF quick card, and
the "Details" popup.

For example, in this field you can enter the ID of the already
configured UI for this object.

Subject User Field The user field that will initiate the workflow as per the input.
The input given by the user can be any user-defined field or
ExternalCode. If no value is specified in this field, and
ExternalCode is of user datatype, this field takes the value
ExternalCode by default.

Todo Category The kind of requests you want to set for the object you are
defining.

For example, for the company car request object, Generic

Object Change Requests is set as the Todo category.

PII Yes, to allow Russian users to save their data in Russian DB

first and then the global DB.

Pending Data Yes, if you have chosen a workflow routing that involves an
approval, and you want the data changes to take effect only
if approved. If the changes are not approved, the system
rejects the changes.

No, if the data updates can be made without any approval

via workflow.

3. To save, select Action > Save Object.

8.7 Configuring Object and Field Security

Define permissions to control access to an object in the Security tab.

Context

SAP recommends that all custom MDF objects are created as RBP secured. Use the Security tab to define and add
security at both object level and field level.

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 49
You can add information about adding object, field, and association level security to the MDF object that you’re
defining, see MDF Security Using Role-Based Permissions (RBP) section in the Implementation Guide >
Implementing the Metadata Framework (MDF).

Procedure

1. Go to the Security tab.

2. Set up the following fields.

Field Directions

Secured
○ This field is set to Yes by default when the Effective
Dating in the Properties page is set to None, Basic, or
Multiple Changes Per Day.
○ When the Effective Dating in the Properties page is set
to From Parent, this field is by default set No. You can't
configure object-level security settings of this type of
object definition. If you want to configure field level
overrides, choose Yes.

Permission Category Select a permission category where you can find the object
definition later in the Manage Permission Roles tool.

RBP Subject User Field Specify a required user field of the current object definition.
The value of this field is used to set up target population in
RBP.

CREATE Respects Target Criteria ○ When this field is set to Yes, users can only create new
objects whose values of fields are within their target
population.
○ When this field is set to No, users can create new ob­
jects regardless of field level overrides, but don't have
access to those objects beyond their permissions.

Base Data Field For Blocking Specify a required date field of the current object definition.
The value of this field is used as the effective end date for
data blocking in RBP.
○ When the Effective Dating field is set to None, specify a
required date field. If this field is left blank, you can't set
up data blocking for this object definition in RBP.
○ When the Effective Dating field is set to Basic or Multiple
Changes Per Day, specify a required date field of the
current object definition.
○ When a user field is specified in the RBP Subject
User Field and this field is left blank, this field is set
to mdfSystemEffectiveEndDate automatically after
saving.

Extension Center
50 PUBLIC Creating an Object
 Field Directions

○ When both RBP Subject User Field and this field are
left blank, you can't set up data blocking for this
object definition in RBP.

3. Click Add Permission Role.

4. Select one or more permission roles you want to give permissions to and confirm.
5. Click Add Roles.

 Note

Hide seconds isn’t currently supported. This field allows you to hide the seconds for Time Data Type.

6. Set the view, edit, and import/export rights for this role.

For example, you want the Admin to have all the permissions. You can use the toggle switch to mark Yes against
each of these rights.
7. You can also control the access to the individual fields of an object by selecting Not Override, View, and No
Access options.

○ Not Override: Both View and edit rights

○ View: Read-only rights
○ No Access: Not visible in the UI

Related Information

Data Blocking

8.8 Enabling Read Access Log of MDF Objects in Extension

Center

You can enable read access log for MDF objects containing personally sensitive data in Extension Center.

Procedure

1. Go to the Object Detail page of the object in Extension Center.

2. Choose a user type field of the object as the Data Subject Field.

Data Subject Field indicates the person whom the information is about.

Status and Data Subject Field Type are read-only.

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 51
  Note

You can't add the following types of field as the Data Subject Field Type:
○ The field isn't a custom field.
○ The field is transient.
○ The field has been selected as a RAL or context field.
○ The parent field of a composite child entity.
○ The Private or Sensitive Information attribute of the field is set to Yes.

3. Choose a module and a functional area to indicate where the read access log comes from.
4. Add context fields if more context information is needed for the read access log.

 Note

You can't add the following types of field or association as a context field:
○ The field isn’t a custom field.
○ The field data type is Attachment, CLOB, or Data Source.
○ The field is transient.
○ The field has been selected as a RAL or data subject field.
○ The parent field of a composite child entity.
○ The Private or Sensitive Information attribute of the field is set to Yes.
○ Generic Object, Foundation Object, PickList, or Translatable fields of a referenced object.
○ The association type is Valid When or Join By Column.
○ The association of a referenced object.

5. Add custom fields as the Read Access Logged Fields.

 Note

You can't add the following types of field or association as a RAL field:
○ The field isn’t a custom field.
○ The field data type is Auto Number or Data Source.
○ The field has already been selected as a context field.
○ The field is configured as a searchable field.
○ The field has been selected as a context or data subject field.
○ Generic Object, Foundation Object, PickList, or Translatable fields of a referenced object.
○ The association type is Valid When or Join By Column.
○ The association of a referenced object.

6. Save your changes.

Extension Center
52 PUBLIC Creating an Object
8.9 Checking Russian Data Privacy Configuration

You can check if records of an object containing personally identifiable information are saved to Russian data
centers.

Context

The Russian Data Privacy Configuration tool is only for read. You can't change the configuration.

Procedure

1. Go to the Object Detail page of the object in Extension Center.

2. Open the DPP tap.
3. Scroll down to the bottom and check whether this object is enabled for Russian Data Privacy.

8.10 Reusing an Existing Object

Context

You can reuse and add an Object from the existing list of Objects.

Procedure

1. Go to Extension Center.
2. Select the Extension to which you want to add the existing Object.
3. Click Add Existing Object.

Extension Center
Creating an Object PUBLIC 53
 The Add Existing Object page opens.
4. Enter the object title or the external code of the object you want to add in the search box.

 Note

You can also add standard SuccessFactors objects listed under the SuccessFactors Objects tab.

5. Select the checkbox next to the object.

6. Click Save.

Extension Center
54 PUBLIC Creating an Object
9 Deleting an Object

Context

From the Extension Detail page, you can also delete an object by clicking the Delete Object icon.

 Note

This only deletes the object from the extension. The object remains in the system for future reuse.

Extension Center
Deleting an Object PUBLIC 55
10 Duplicating Objects And Picklists From an
Extension

You can duplicate existing objects and picklists form an existing extension to a new extension. In the following
procedure, the Company Car extension is selected to duplicate the objects and picklists to a new extension. The
successful completion of the procedure results in duplicating the Objects and Picklists.

Context

 Note

The Rules, Workflows, and ConfigUIs associated with the Objects are not duplicated.

Procedure

1. Go to Extension Center.
2. Select the Extension from which you want to duplicate the objects and picklists.

3. Click Action Duplicate Extension .

Action - Duplicate Extension

The Duplicate Extension dialog is displayed.

4. Enter the suffix in the Suffix text box to name the new extension.

Preview shows the new extension name with the suffix. Enter the new suffix in case the validation fails.

Extension Center
56 PUBLIC Duplicating Objects And Picklists From an Extension
 Duplicate Extension - Suffix
5. Click OK.

The Duplicate Extension dialog is displayed.

Duplicate Extension - Successful

6. Click OK to close the Duplicate Extension dialog.
7. Click the newly created extension.

You can view the suffix added to this Extension in the External Code field.

Extension Center
Duplicating Objects And Picklists From an Extension PUBLIC 57
 New Extension with the Suffix
8. Similarly click Object(s) and Picklist(s) for this newly created Extension to view them. For objects, the suffix is
added in the Code and for the picklist, it is added in the Picklist Code.

Duplicated Object with the Suffix

Extension Center
58 PUBLIC Duplicating Objects And Picklists From an Extension
 Duplicated Picklist with the Suffix

Extension Center
Duplicating Objects And Picklists From an Extension PUBLIC 59
11 Configure an Extension to Access it From
the Employee Files Page

You can configure the application to access the extension from the Employee Files page, provided that the
extension has an object, where the externalCode field has Type set as User.

Context

Let's configure an extension that has an object, where the externalCode field has Type set as User, and on the
Security tab, the security is set to Yes, and the Permission Category is set as Miscellaneous Permissions.

Extension Center
60 PUBLIC Configure an Extension to Access it From the Employee Files Page
Procedure

1. To configure the Employee File layout to add the extension you want employees to access, log in as admin, go
to Admin Center Configure Employee Files , and click Add New View. The employee scorecard dashboard
appears.

2. Under User Portlets, click Insert Portlet. The Choose a Portlet page appears.

3. Corresponding to the MDF portlet, click Create & Add. The Live Profile MDF Information portlet appears.

Extension Center
Configure an Extension to Access it From the Employee Files Page PUBLIC 61
4. Enter Portlet Title, Portlet Description, and for MDF Screen ID, select a UI of the extension, you are adding to the
Employee Files page.
5. Click Save. A portlet for the extension is now added to the new Dashboard.
6. Enter Dashboard Name, its Description, select Layout, and click Save Dashboard.

Extension Center
62 PUBLIC Configure an Extension to Access it From the Employee Files Page
 A new employee scorecard has been successfully added. The extension can now be accessed from the
Employee Files page of users, who have the necessary role-based permissions.

Next Steps

Once you configure the Employee Files, you must grant the role-based permissions needed to access the extension
from the Employee Files page.

1. Go to Admin Center Manage Permission Roles Permission Role Employee Views , and select the
check box corresponding to the portlet created for accessing the extension.
2. On the Miscellaneous Permissions tab, configure all the necessary permissions to access the extension.

Extension Center
Configure an Extension to Access it From the Employee Files Page PUBLIC 63
3. Click Done.
4. On the Permission Role Detail page, scroll to the Grant this role to section, grant the role to the appropriate
target users, and click Done.

5. Click Save Changes.

Extension Center
64 PUBLIC Configure an Extension to Access it From the Employee Files Page
The employees with the necessary role-based permissions can now access the extension from the Employee Files
page in the application.

Extension Center
Configure an Extension to Access it From the Employee Files Page PUBLIC 65
12 Deleting an Extension

Context

From Extension Center, you can also delete an extension by clicking the Delete Extension icon:

 Note

When you delete an extension only the extension gets deleted not the objects, workflows, rules, and UIs
associated with it. These objects, workflows, rules, and UIs can be used in other extensions if required.

Extension Center
66 PUBLIC Deleting an Extension
13 Publishing an Extension

13.1 How do you prepare to publish an extension?

You can publish an extension only after you set up the instances involved in publishing of the extension.

Before publishing an extension, you must:

● Configure instances as explained in Configuring Source and Target Instances in Provisioning [page 67]
● Enable RBP as explained in Configuring Permission Settings in the Source Instance to Publish an Extension
[page 68].

Related Information

Publishing an Extension [page 70]

13.1.1 Configuring Source and Target Instances in Provisioning

Helps you configure both the instances involved in publishing of the extension.

Context

To begin with, you must have the Source and Target instances configured in Provisioning. For example,

● Source instance: PLTAHU01

● Target instance: PLTAHU01C

 Note

As a customer, you don’t have access to Provisioning. Contact SAP Cloud Product Support to enable these
options.

To enable Source and Target instances in your SAP SuccessFactors system, go to Provisioning Company
Instance Company Settings , and enable Instance Synchronization Tool.

Next, set up Target instance to accept artifacts from the Source instance.

Extension Center
Publishing an Extension PUBLIC 67
Procedure

1. In Provisioning, go to Company Instance Instance Synchronization Company Permissions . The

Synchronize Company Data Permission page appears.
2. Select either Configure Instance in the same Data Center or Configure Instance in different Data Center
depending on whether your Source and Target instances are on the same Data Center or not.
3. Enter Target Data Admin's User ID, and select the Source instance (in this case, the one with Company ID as
PLTAHU01). The Select objects that the company can push dialog box appears.
4. Select all Configuration Items, and click Done.
5. On the Synchronize Company Data Permission page, click Save

13.1.2 Configuring Permission Settings in the Source Instance

to Publish an Extension

Helps you configure the permission group and the permissions role, required for publishing the extension.

Prerequisites

Create a permission group for users that will be granted the permission to publish Extension Center.

Creating a Permission Group

1. Log in as an admin, and go to Admin Center.

2. In the Tools Search field, enter Manage Permission Groups. The Manage Permission Groups page appears.
3. To create a new group for publishing Extension Center, click Create New. The Permission Group dialog box
appears.

Extension Center
68 PUBLIC Publishing an Extension
4. In the Definition tab, enter Group Name.
5. Under Choose Member Group, select the users, you want to be able to publish Extension Center.
6. Click Done.

You have successfully created a permission group, with users, who can publish Extension Center.

Context

Once your permission group is ready, grant the group the appropriate role-based permissions for synchronizing the
artifacts from source instance to target instance.

Procedure

1. Log in as an admin, and go to Admin Center. In the Tools search field, enter Manage Permission Roles.
2. Select the role for which you wish to give access to use Extension Center. For example, System Admin.
3. On the Permission Role Detail page, in the Permission Settings section, click Permission.
4. On the Permission Settings dialog box, under Administrator Permissions, select Manage Instance
Synchronization.

Extension Center
Publishing an Extension PUBLIC 69
5. Click Select All.

6. Click Done, and on the Permission Role Detail page, scroll down to the Grant this role to section and click Add.
The Grant this role to dialog box appears.
7. In Step 1, use Permission Group, and select the permission group created for publishing Extension Center.
8. In Step 2, select Target Population, and in the dropdown menu, select Granted User (Self).
9. Click Done, and on the Permission Role List page, click Save Changes.

13.2 Publishing an Extension

Enables you to publish the extension from the Source instance to the Target instance.

Procedure

1. Log in to the Source instance (PLTAHU01) as an admin, and go to Admin Center.

2. In the Tools Search field, enter Extension Center. The Extension Center page appears.
3. Select the extension you want to publish. The Extension Detail page appears, which shows the list of objects
defined for the extension.

Extension Center
70 PUBLIC Publishing an Extension
  Note

If there are no objects available for publishing, create an object as described in Creating an Object [page
23], or to create a new extension, refer to Creating an Extension [page 18].

4. For each object: create Rules, Workflows, configure UIs, on the Security tab, set the security to Yes, under
Permission Category, select Miscellaneous Permissions, and then click Action Save Object to save the
changes.

5. Click the Back to: Extension link, and on the Extension Detail page, click Action Publish Extension . The
Publish Extension dialog box appears.

6. Select the Target Data Center, Target Environment, and Target Company from the dropdown lists, enter the
target user, and choose Next.

 Note

If the target information is not available, configure it as explained in Configuring Source and Target
Instances in Provisioning [page 67].

As a customer, you do not have access to Provisioning. Contact SAP Cloud Product Support to enable
these options.

7. Open the Go to sync RBP link in a new window, and configure the RBP synchronization as explained in
Synchronizing Instance Configurations [page 75], and click Confirm.

Extension Center
Publishing an Extension PUBLIC 71
 The Extension Published dialog box appears. You can see the current status of your publishing activity, by
clicking the Go to Monitor Jobs Tools link.

Once you close the dialog box and return to the Extension Detail page, the Status could be Publishing in
Progress, which changes to Previously Published in some time.

Extension Center
72 PUBLIC Publishing an Extension
Next Steps

Due to a current limitation in the product, when you publish an extension, the MDF Object Definition artifact may
fail. To rectify the failure,

1. Either, click the Go to Monitor Jobs Tools link on the Extension Published confirmation page, or, go to Admin
Center Instance Synchronization Monitor Tool . The Instance Synchronization Monitor Tool page appears.
2. Click Search. The extension you published appears in the search results.

3. In the Actions column, corresponding to the extension, click Details. The Sync Details pop-up window appears.

Extension Center
Publishing an Extension PUBLIC 73
If the entire column of Failed Count shows "0", then your publishing was successful. Else, if the count for MDF
Object Definition is "1", re-publish the extension on the same Target instance, and it resolves the issue.

Extension Center
74 PUBLIC Publishing an Extension
13.3 Synchronizing Instance Configurations

Enables you to synchronize the role-based permissions of the source and the target instances.

Context

You define role-based permissions and permission group, specific to the publishing activity, on the Source instance.
When you publish an extension, the role-based permissions and permission group must be replicated on the target
instance, as well. This synchronization is achieved using the Synchronize Company Configurations tool.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center Synchronize Instance Configurations . The Synchronize Company Configurations

page appears.
2. Click the link for "Synchronize Company Configurations tool". The configuration sync wizard appears.

 Note

If your previous instance synchronization was not completed, you will have two options: either to continue
with the synchronization from where you left by clicking the Resume it now link, or to start afresh by clicking
the start over from the beginning.

3. Select the target instance you want to synchronize.

4. Under Which type of data you want to copy?, select RBP Permission Groups and RBP Permission Groups, and
click Start. The Dependency Description dialog box appears.
5. Click Auto-Select Dependencies. The dependent artifacts are automatically selected. The artifacts, which are
uncompatible for sync or are inaccessible to you, are ignored.
6. Click Start, and you are on the Name tab of the wizard.
7. Provide a Name, a User ID from the target instance, and click Next. The Copy Data Model page appears.
8. For the Copy Data Model and Copy Picklists pages, click Next without selecting any options.
9. For the question on whether you want to overwrite the existing picklists on the target instance, select No, and
click Next. The Copy RBP Permissions Groups page appears.
10. Select the group you created for publishing the extension, and click Next. A question, whether you want to
overwrite the existing RBP groups on the target instance, appears. Select Yes, and click Next. The Copy RBP
Permissions Roles page appears
11. Select the permission role you created for publishing the extension and click Next. A question, whether you
want to overwrite the existing RBP roles on the target instance, appears. Select Yes, and click Next. The Copy
MDF Rules page appears.
12. Click Next without selecting any options on the Copy MDF Rules and Copy MDF Object Definition pages, and on
the questions for overwriting the existing MDF rules and the existing MDF Object Definition on the target
instance, select No and click Next. The Summary page appears.

Extension Center
Publishing an Extension PUBLIC 75
13. Click Run Sync Now, and on the confirmation pop-up, click Confirm Synchronization.

Once the synchronization is complete, a confirmation message appears and you are automatically redirected
to the Instance Synchronization Monitor Tool page.

Next Steps

Although, it is optional, you can check the status of your synchronization job on the Instance Synchronization
Monitor Tool page, and then log in to the target instance to check whether the permission group and the permission
role have been copied properly.

1. Click Search. Your synchronization job appears in the search results.

2. In the Actions column, click Details corresponding to the job. The Sync Details pop-up appears.

Extension Center
76 PUBLIC Publishing an Extension
3. Confirm that the RBP group and role have been copied to the target instance, and click Close.
4. Log in to the target instance as an admin.
5. Go to Admin Center Manage Permission Groups and check the permission group copied from the source
instance.
6. Go to Admin Center Manage Permission Roles and check the permission role copied from the source
instance.

13.4 Extension Publishing Status

Helps you understand the significance of the statuses involved in publishing of an extension.

The publishing status of an extension is available on the Extension Detail page.

● Publishing in Progress: Displays the target instance name in the current publishing process.
● Failed Publishing: Displays the target instance names of failed publish jobs. This appears only if there is at least
one publishing error. If subsequent publishing to the same instance succeeds, this will disappear.
● Previously Published: Displays the target instance names of previous successful jobs. If extension was
published several times to one instance, this instance name appears only once.

Extension Center
Publishing an Extension PUBLIC 77
● Unpublished: If the extension has not been published anywhere yet, status will be Unpublished.

 Note

The publishing job status, a detail report of the error log in case of failed publishing, and further details will
appear on the Instance Sync Tool Monitor page. The HR Admin can see the status and monitor the page. For a
detailed error log, or to analyze the error please contact SAP Cloud Product Support.

13.4.1 Accessing an Extension from the Home Page

You can create Links to the extension or create custom tiles for the extension on the Home Page.

Context

The extensions can be accessed from the Manage Data page, or (extensions with object having the externalCode
field of <Type>: User) can be accessed from the Employee Files page. On the Home Page v12, you can either add
links to the Manage Data page and the Employee Files page and make them available on the Links tile or add
custom tiles for them and provide links to the respective pages.

13.4.1.1 Creating a Custom Tile for an Extension on the Home

Page

Create a custom tile on Home Page of the application and add links to pages such as Employee Files, Employee
Profile Portlet, Manage Data, etc.

Context

Let's add a custom tile for the extension on Home Page v12.

Extension Center
78 PUBLIC Publishing an Extension
Procedure

1. Log in as admin, go to Admin Center Manage Home Page , and on the Default tab, click Add Custom Tile.
The Add Custom Tile page appears.

2. Fill out the tile settings, configure the content, and in the Main Content add the link to access the extension
(from the Manage Data page or the Employee Files page).

Extension Center
Publishing an Extension PUBLIC 79
3. Click Save.

13.4.1.2 Accessing an Extension in the Links Tile on the Home

Page
You can access an extension by adding links to the Links tile on the Home Page v12.

Context

The extensions can be accessed from the Manage Data page, or (extensions with object having the externalCode
field of <Type>: User) can be accessed from the Employee Files page. You can add links to these pages, within the
Links tile.

Extension Center
80 PUBLIC Publishing an Extension
Procedure

1. Log in as admin, go to Admin Center Manage Home Page , and on the Default tab, click Manage Links
corresponding to the Links tile. The Manage Links page appears.

2. Add Link Label, select On by default check box to view the link on the tile by default, and enter the URL for the
extension.

Extension Center
Publishing an Extension PUBLIC 81
3. Click Save, and navigate back to the Home Page.
4. On the Links tile, click Edit. The Links pop-up window appears.

5. From the Available section, select the link(s) you added for accessing the extension. The link(s) appear in the
Selected section.

Extension Center
82 PUBLIC Publishing an Extension
6. Click Save. The link(s) now appear on the Links tile of the Home Page.

Extension Center
Publishing an Extension PUBLIC 83
14 How Do Employees Use Extension?

Once the HR Admin publishes the extension, the employee can use the application created as a result of the
extension.

The employee can access the extension through the Manage Data page or through the Employee Profile page.

Continuing with the example of the Company Car Request, the employee can use this application to request the
company car. Here’s a sample of the workflow the employee will be going through:

14.1 Using an Extension in Manage Data

Shows you how to use an extension created using Extension Center.

Context

The extensions with objects where the externalCode field is not set to type User, cannot be made available on
Employee Files. Such extensions can only be accessed from the Manage Data page. Continuing with the Request for
Company Car example, here's how you can use the new extension for the Company Car Request, using the Manage
Data page.

Extension Center
84 PUBLIC How Do Employees Use Extension?
  Note

To grant access to the Manage Data page, you must enable the relevant role-based permission: go to Admin
Center Manage Permission Roles Permission Role Metadata Framework , and select Manage Data.

Procedure

1. Go to Admin Center.
2. In the Search field, enter Manage Data. This will bring up the Manage Data page.
3. In the Create New dropdown, search for Car Request, and select the relevant form. The Request for Company
Car page opens.
4. Fill out the required fields in form. As you can see the fields are self-explanatory.
5. In the externalCode and externalName fields, type acknowledgement.

 Note

The externalCode and externalName fields will not be visible to the employee. The employee will only see
the fields in step 4.

6. Click Save. You are prompted to confirm your action.

7. Enter a message for the approver in the field and click Confirm. A request for approval is sent to the manager.

Next Steps

Check out the Manager's To Do list to approve or deny the request.

14.2 Using Extensions in Employee Files

Shows you how to test an extension created using Extension Center.

Context

The extensions with objects where the externalCode field is set to type User, can be used from the Employee Files
page. Continuing with the Request for Company Car example, here's how you can use the new extension for the
Company Car Request, from the Employee Files page.

Extension Center
How Do Employees Use Extension? PUBLIC 85
Procedure

1. Go to My Employee File. The Request for Company Car portlet appears on the Employee Files page.
2. Select Edit on the top-right corner of the portlet to create a new company car request. The company car
request form opens.
3. Fill out the required fields in form. As you can see the fields are self-explanatory.
4. In the externalCode and externalName fields, type acknowledgement.
5. Click Save. You are prompted to confirm your action.
6. Enter a message for the approver in the field and click Confirm. A request for approval is sent to the manager.

Extension Center
86 PUBLIC How Do Employees Use Extension?
15 How does the Manager review the
application?

After the employee has requested for the car, the manager receives an application for approval.

Tip: The manager can check the To-Do list to see a list of pending requests. The application sent by the employee
will also appear in this list. Here’s a sample of the workflow the manager will be going through:

Extension Center
How does the Manager review the application? PUBLIC 87
Here’s the sample of the page that the manager will see:

The manager can now approve the request or send it back.

Extension Center
88 PUBLIC How does the Manager review the application?
15.1 Approving or Sending Back a Request

This section describes how the manager can approve or send back a request made by the employee using the
extension created in the Extension Center.

Context

Following the Company Car Request example, let us see how the manager can approve the request or application
submitted by the employee.

Procedure

1. Log in to the SuccessFactors HCM Suite. You will find the pending request in the To Do tile, of your Home page.
2. Select "Request for Company Car" to view the request.
3. Select Approve, to approve the request.

 Note

Optionally, a comment can also be provided in the Comment field of the request before being approved or
sent back to the employee.

Extension Center
How does the Manager review the application? PUBLIC 89
16 Reporting

16.1 Overview

This section deals with generating reports.

For data in your client's MDF instance, reports are generated using SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics. To
create custom reports for your client's MDF data, you can use the report designer.

16.2 Prerequisites

This sections explains what is needed to set up reporting for the MDF.

For MDF data to be available in the report designer, you need to set up the correct object and field level permission
security with role-based permissions (RBP).

Your access to tables and their related fields in reporting depend on their security settings as well.

 Note

You can use Advanced Reporting to report the data involving delivered and custom MDF objects, where the
MDF objects can be used as a data source. Advanced Reporting requires Employee Central. If you don't have
Employee Central, you can export data from MDF objects with Integration Center or MDF Import/Export.

Related Information

Adding Security
Advanced Reporting in the Online Report Designer

Extension Center
90 PUBLIC Reporting
16.3 Viewing MDF Objects from Analytics

This section explains how to access MDF objects to generate reports.

Context

After you have set up the correct permissions, you can access MDF objects to generate reports.

Procedure

1. In the Home menu, choose Analytics.

2. Choose the Reporting tab.

3. Choose Tools Detailed Reporting .

If MDF is installed and the permissions are set up correctly, you see Metadata Framework in your list of
available tables. These MDF tables are treated just like any other tables by Workforce Analytics. For information
about generating reports from these tables, see the Employee Central Master Implementation Guide from the
SAP Help Portal at Employee Central Implementation Guides .

Extension Center
Reporting PUBLIC 91
17 FAQ

17.1 How do you add Extension Center to your Favorites?

Context

You can add Extension Center to your Favorites on the Admin Center page, to make it easily accessible.

Procedure

1. Go to Switch back to NextGen Admin Center > Tools.

2. Click See All.
3. You will find Extension Center under Company Settings.

4. Hover over Extension Center, and click on the icon.

17.2 What is an Uncategorized extension?

● All objects, rules, workflows and configurable UIs that are not part of any other extension are displayed under
‘Uncategorized’ title.
● You can use the objects, rules, workflows, and configurable UIs from this Uncategorized extension in any other
extension you are creating.
● You cannot delete the ‘Uncategorized’ title.

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 ● The Uncategorized extensions contain custom objects that are not included in any other extensions. These
extensions do not include SuccessFactors delivered objects or java defined objects such as Position, Cost
Center, and so on even though they are available on the system.
To add deliver objects to an extension, go to Extension Center and click Add Existing Object. Select the standard
SuccessFactors objects listed under the SuccessFactors Objects tab and click Save. For more information on
adding SuccessFactors objects to an extension, see Reusing an Existing Object [page 53].

17.3 Are all features available in MDF for creating extensions

available in Extension Center?

Summarizes the differences between Extension Center and MDF.

Feature Comparison Chart

Extension Center MDF

Support for Inactivated By field Not supported Supported

Non-unique External Code in picklist Not supported Not applicable

Support for Display Order under Picklist Not supported Supported

field

Insert a new record in picklist (to access Not supported Supported

picklist history)

UIAssociationRenderer in Association Not supported Supported

Support for Hide Seconds field Not supported Supported

Cascade flag for Object Field and Associ­ Not supported Supported
ations

Duplicate extension Not supported Not applicable

Extension Center
FAQ PUBLIC 93
17.4 Why does the MDF object definition always fail when
publishing the extension?

In all likelihood, you are seeing the following error:

This is due to a limitation in the workflow today. As a workaround, you are requested to republish the extension. On
republishing, the job will pass.

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Once publishing is done, the status of the extension is changed to Previously Published.

Extension Center
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18 Reference Tables

18.1 Data Type Table

Context

Extension Center supports the following Data Types:

Procedure

Select the Data Type… This is….

String Used for text input fields. MDF allows storing text up to 4K
long.

Number Used to store positive integers. Allowed characters are 0-9. It is

displayed based on the user's locale settings, such as using a
comma or decimal point as the decimal separator.

Auto Number Used to store numbered lists.

Decimal Used to store decimal numbers. It is displayed based on the

user's locale settings, such as using a comma or decimal point
as the decimal separator.

Boolean The two allowed values are Yes and No.

Date Used to store a date from a date picker.

DateTime Used to store the date and time information related to a time
zone This is a more granular data type. Time is converted to
the time zone of the user who views or requests the export,
and not to that of the user who originally entered the time.

Time Used to allow the user to enter times without having to specify
any time zone information. Times are generally displayed in
HH:MM:SS format and are validated to ensure that a valid time
value is entered. However, multiple formats are allowed based

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Select the Data Type… This is….

on the settings in the object definition, for example, HideSec­

onds and TwelveHourFormat.

Picklist Used to restrict the field value from a picklist

Translatable Used to allow the entry of localized strings for different locales

Enum Used to specify exact values.

Generic Object Used to reference a generic object. When the object is created,
this field shows a value help with a list of the instances of that
generic object.

Foundation Object Used to reference a foundation object. When the object is cre­
ated, this field shows a value help with a list of the instances of
that foundation object. Note: Foundation objects are standard
SuccessFactors object.

Attachment Used as navigation property to attach entity.

User Used to reference a user object. When the object is created,

this field shows a value help with a list of active users.

CLOB Used to store a block of text. The advantage of this data type is
that access is fast because an application program can access
any portion of a CLOB object. Additionally, this data type pro­
vides large storage for a user-defined data type.

Auto Complete Used to automatically fill the information based on earlier user
input.

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18.2 Relationship Types Table

Context

Extension Center supports the following Relationship Types:

Procedure

Select this Relationship Type…. When…

Composite Two objects share a parent-child relationship. Note: A child ob­

ject cannot exist on its own and it cannot be used as a top-level
object. Also it is not shown in the dropdown when you create a
new object. For example, for a company car request object, the
Acknowledge Request object is a child object that results only
when the parent object (Company Car Request) is created.

Valid When (or Reference) The associated objects have their own lifecycles and the object
exists even without the parent object.

For example, the car request object can have a Valid When rela­
tionship with a delivery location object. When you use this rela­
tionship type to add a car request object, you are shown an au­
tocomplete for the available locations that are active and effec-
tive on the current entity’s start date. If the current entity is not
effective-dated, the results for current date (according to the
system) are shown.

Effective Dated: It is the date when the action takes effect. An

object with an effective date will also have an effective “end-
date”, indicating when the setting is no longer applicable.

Join By Column You can use this relationship type to model associations that are
neither composite nor reference (Valid When) associations. Set
one field of the parent object definition as the source object
column and one field of the child object definition as the desti­
nation object column. Then the Join by Column association will
make the value of these two object columns reference each
other. For example, you have created two objects, Person,
which is not effective-dated, and PersonInfo, which is effective-
dated. Person is the parent object and the externalCode col­

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Select this Relationship Type…. When…

umn is used as the source. PersonInfo is the child object and,

using the Join By Column, its externalcode column refers to
the Person object. In this way, these two objects always share
the same external code.

Effective Dated: It is the date when the action takes effect. An

object with an effective date will also have an effective “end-
date”, indicating when the setting is no longer applicable.

18.3 Rule Category Table

Rule Category Description

Initialization Initialization rules ("initializeRules") are triggered in the initiali­

zation phase of object creation (an "onInit" event). You can use
these rules to initialize fields to default values. For example, ini­
tialization rules can be used to autofill employee ID field with
the login user ID. Note Initialization rules are not supported
when setting the wfConfig attribute to trigger workflows.

Validation Validation rules ("validateRules") are triggered after a change

to an object is submitted but before the change is saved (an
"onValidate" event). You can use these rules to validate field
values. For example, validation rules can be used to make sure
that numbers cannot be entered in the field Employee Name.

Saving Save rules ("saveRules") are triggered when a user tries to save
changes to an object (an "onSave" event). You can use these
rules to check related field values for correctness. For example,
a field could become required as a consequence of a save.

After Saving Post-save rules ("postSaveRules") are triggered after changes

to an object have been saved (an "onPostSave" event). These
rules are used when you want to send an alert message to the
user. They are not used to set a field value. To activate the alert
and notification feature, you must associate them with a work­
flow. Note By the time a post-save rule is triggered, the Exten­
sion Center object has already been saved and can’t be
changed. Also, post-save rules are not supported when setting
the wfConfig attribute to trigger workflows.

Delete Deletion rules ("deleteRules") are triggered after an object re­

cord is deleted (an "onDelete" event).

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Rule Category Description

Extension Center
100 PUBLIC Reference Tables
19 Working with SAP Cloud Platform
Extensions

In the Extension Center, you can configure SAP Cloud Platform extensions that are applications deployed in this
cloud platform.

The SAP Cloud Platform extensions are applications, designed to serve a certain scenario or task flow. These
applications are deployed in the SAP Cloud Platform for your extension subaccount. Then, they appear in the
Extension Center in the SAP Cloud Platform Extensions tab.

In the context of the SAP Cloud Platform, these applications are called solutions and you can deploy them using the
SAP Cloud Platform tools. For more information, see Solutions.

Prerequisites

● Have the Extension Center enabled. See Prerequisites for Using Extension Center [page 13]
● Have your SAP SuccessFactors company integrated with an SAP Cloud Platform extension subaccount. You
need this to enable the SAP Cloud Platform Extensions tab in the Extension Center. See Configure Extension
Package for SAP SuccessFactors.
● Have your solution installed using the SAP Cloud Platform tools in your extension subaccount. This solution
appears as an extension tile in the SAP Cloud Platform Extensions tab. See Deploying Solutions Using the
Cockpit.

Configuring SAP Cloud Platform Extensions

For each SAP Cloud Platform extension, you can configure:

● Access Points
● Connections
● Permission Roles

To configure each one of these options you are redirected from the Extension Center to the respective tool in SAP
SuccessFactors.

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19.1 Configuring Access Points

Context

Go to the Access Points tab. Depending on the Access Point type, you are redirected to a different tool.

● To open the application URL, on the Application row, choose Action Open Application .
● To configure the Home Page tile for this extension, on the Home Page Tile row, choose Action Configure
Home Page Tile . The Manage Home Page tool appears. See SAP SuccessFactors Home Page.

 Note

To have the Home Page Tile row in the Access Points list, you need to have the Home Page tiles set up for
your extension.

19.2 Configuring Connections

Context

Go to the Connections tab.

● You can change the system user only connections with name
sap_hcmcloud_core_odata_technical_user. To do that, choose Action Configure Connection .
● To check the OAuth client, choose Action Configure OAuth Client . The Manage OAuth2 Client
Applications tool appears. See Authentication using OAuth 2.0.

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19.3 Configuring Permission Roles

Context

Go to the Permission Roles tab. You can configure the permissions for the listed role. Choose Action Configure
Permission Role . The Manage Permission Roles tool appears. See Setting up Groups and Roles.

 Note

You have a Permission Roles tab only if your solution contains roles.

Extension Center
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Important Disclaimers and Legal Information

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● Links with the icon : You are entering a Web site that is not hosted by SAP. By using such links, you agree (unless expressly stated otherwise in your agreements
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● The content of the linked-to site is not SAP documentation. You may not infer any product claims against SAP based on this information.
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any time for any reason without notice. Experimental features are not for productive use. You may not demonstrate, test, examine, evaluate or otherwise use the
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The purpose of experimental features is to get feedback early on, allowing customers and partners to influence the future product accordingly. By providing your feedback
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phrasing rules. SAP does not warrant the correctness and completeness of the example code. SAP shall not be liable for errors or damages caused by the use of example
code unless damages have been caused by SAP's gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Gender-Related Language
We try not to use gender-specific word forms and formulations. As appropriate for context and readability, SAP may use masculine word forms to refer to all genders.

Extension Center
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Extension Center
Important Disclaimers and Legal Information PUBLIC 105
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