Make a BDC Recording File

Owned by Darcy Curtin
Jul 21, 2014
3 min read

Follow these steps to create a BDC Recording file to use with the Transaction CoNNector Wizard.

Step-by-step guide

  1. Go to transaction SM35. Click the Recording button.
  2. Click the New Recording button. Enter a recording name and the transaction code you want to run. You can leave the other values at their defaults. Then click the Start Recording button.
  3. Navigate through the transaction screen(s) as you  normally would. Be sure to make an entry in every field that you need NLINK to populate with data. Go all the way through the transaction, including clicking the Save button to create the document when you are done.
    You may see some Coding Block dialogs pop up while you are recording that you don’t normally see when you are processing the transaction online. These are fine—just click the check mark to move past them and keep going.
  4. At this point, the recording will be complete and you will see the results of the recording in a spreadsheet-looking layout. Click the Export button and save the recording as a text file to your local drive. This is the file that the NLINK Wizard will read.
  5. When you leave the result screen, SAP may ask if you want to save the recording. You can save it if you want to, but NLINK does not need it.

 

Hints for Making a Good Recording

Practice the transaction before you start the recording. Make sure you know all the data you will need and that you can fill in all the necessary fields without doing any lookups.

Do not click on or enter data in any unnecessary fields.

If your transaction includes multiple line items, look for a “single entry” screen instead of using a “list” screen. For example, in MB1B you can choose Edit>>New Item from the menu or click the New Item button on the initial screen. Any time you can avoid the list-type entry you are more likely to end up with a robust and flexible recording.

If you have to use a list-type entry screen, try to find a way to scroll the list so that you are always entering data in the “same” row. For example, in MB1B you can choose Edit>>New Items from the menu after entering data in the first row in the collective processing screen. This will scroll the list so that the row labeled Item 2 is now the first row. This lets the recording always refer to the screen fields with the same array value which means the screens can be condensed when the Wizard reads the recording file.

If your transaction includes multiple line items, be sure to enter at least three items. Put data in all the same fields on each line item. This makes sure the recording includes all the possible OKCODEs (the values that tell the program which screen to show next). Assuming you have followed the two previous tips, the Wizard will take care of condensing the multiple entries for you.