Customer/Custom defined objects are developed in customer namespace and are thus not affected or overwritten by upgrades. In the case of SAP objects, as part of an upgrade or Support Package import, SAP may provide new versions of existing SAP objects. If customer have modified SAP objects in a previous release, so it’s necessary to perform modification adjustment in transaction SPDD and SPAU to retain these modifications.
Five types of SAP system changes are there:
Customizing : Involves setting system business parameters using special Customizing transactions. Changes are scheduled and organized in advance. Customizing is mandatory before using the SAP system in a live environment. Do not confuse with technical parameters from transaction RZ10!
Customer developments : Creation of customer-specific objects according to naming conventions.
Enhancements : Customer changes to SAP Repository objects without the need for modifications.
Modification: Customer-specific changes to SAP Repository objects. When SAP objects are changed, the customer version has to be modified to match the new SAP version.
Advanced correction : Apply bug fixes from SAP directly to the SAP system.
Below is the type of changes that required modification adjustment or not.
Modifications that need adjustment :
Manually implemented advanced correction in accordance with a SAP Note.
Adjustments of customer beyond customizing ( repair )
Customer transports ( <SID>K9* )
No Modifications required :
Advanced correction with SAP transport will probably be part of a new release
SAP Support Packages
SAP Add-ons
Classification of Modified objects to be adjusted :
–> Without modification adjustment, we would lose all modifications we made to objects that conflict with SAP modifications when we upgrade the system. The modification adjustment lets us make our modifications to the appropriate new objects in the upgrade.
–> We can identify modifications as repairs to the SAP standard or as imports of SAP objects. Requests in the customer namespace (number range 900000 to 9ZZZZZ) “modify” the SAP objects included in them. All other requests are dealt with as preliminary corrections.
–> The ABAP Dictionary objects (tables, data elements, domains, and so on) can be adjusted during Productive operation before the activation of the ABAP Dictionary. The adjusted objects are collected in a repair that is released to a transport request. We should not release this transport request; instead it must be flagged for export in transaction SPDD. Towards the end of the upgrade, SUM exports this transport request into the transport directory /usr/sap/trans and then registers it for transport in the file umodauto.lst.
–> Repository objects (reports, screens, and so on) are adjusted toward the end of the upgrade, during downtime. At this stage, the import of SAP objects has already been completed. However, the old, modified version is still available in the versions database. As with ABAP Dictionary objects, all adjustments are released to a transport request that is noted and then exported and registered by SUM.
All ABAP Dictionary objects that have been modified by customers must be compared to the new SAP standard during this upgrade process. To avoid loss of data and table fields that customers may have created, conflicting structures must be merged before the mass activation of ABAP Dictionary objects in the upgrade process.
If objects need to be adjusted, use the transactions SPDD and SPAU/SPAU_ENH. All modifications made by customers are then merged with the new SAP object versions to retain data; otherwise, the new SAP version will be activated and data may be lost. The activation takes place on the shadow instance. When the upgrade is completed, the SAP system is successfully running at the new release level. Customer-developed objects and modifications have been preserved.
What is SPDD:
Transaction SPDD allows us to adjust modifications to ABAP Dictionary objects during an upgrade or support package import. We must complete all modification adjustments before continuing with the import. If we do not do this, modifications to dictionary objects will be lost. This can lead to data loss. The following objects are handled in SPDD:
Domains
Data elements
Tables (structures, transparent tables, pooled and cluster tables including their technical settings, indexes of transparent tables)
Changes to other ABAP Dictionary objects such as type groups, table types, views, search helps and lock objects cannot result in the loss of data. These objects are not handled by transaction SPDD, but by transaction SPAU in the post processing of the upgrade.
SPDD provides the following functions :
Display : Within individual packages or corrections, the objects are displayed according to type. To view a changed object, select it with a double-click and we can automatically shown an overview of all existing versions of the selected object.
Comparing old and new versions : Selecting an individual object lets us view all existing versions of the object stored in version management. The display is the same as the one with which it’s presented when we compare two objects in version management. The information reflects the status of the objects after their activation. For example, a comment in a table field indicating deletion means that the field will be deleted after activation, provided no maintenance is carried out beforehand.
Maintenance : Transaction SPDD lets us compare the most important attributes of old (modified) and new (SAP standard) versions of domains and data elements. This helps us to decide how to proceed. Perform the adjustments required in transaction SE11, preferably in a second window.
Reset to original : If, after comparing the results of the analysis, we conclude that if we do not wish to retain previous modifications, choose Reset to original for the object in question. For example, you may need this function if you have patched an object by hand. When SAP delivers the same patch together with other corrections in the next upgrade, we can return to the SAP standard because that no longer need our own modification.
Marking objects as processed : To facilitate work with the generated object list, we can assign the status Completed to each object. Selecting the function changes the status of the object and indicates this by highlighting it with a different color. The completed flag is meant only to assist us in organizing our work and has no other internal function.
Marking for Transport : The Select for transport function helps us to adjust other SAP systems.
What is SPAU:
Transaction SPAU allows us to adjust repository objects. The following objects are handled in SPAU:
Notes
Programs
Function modules
Screens
Interfaces
Documentation
Text elements
Notes should be adjusted before adjusting the rest of the modification to avoid errors in Note implementation due to modifications.
We have the following 2 options:
*Adjust all modifications before continuing with the import. This is recommended if we only need to adjust a small number of objects.
*Perform the modification adjustment and the remaining phases in parallel. This is recommended if we need to adjust a large number of objects.
Automatic adjustment : Customer modification can be automatically adopted. Clicking on the icon causes the system to automatically adjust the object (only With Modification Assistant category).
Semi-automatic adjustment : Semi-automatic means that each tool will individually offer us support during the adjustment process. When adjusting programs, the split-screen editor is called, whereas in the other tools any entries made in the collision dialog box lead to the necessary adjustments being made automatically. As with the green traffic light, the semi-automatic adjustment icon only appears in the With Modification Assistant category.
Manual adjustment : Objects in the Without Modification Assistant category have to be adjusted manually by re-implementing the modifications in the corresponding ABAP Workbench tool. Manual adjustment means that we have to make adjustment manually. Please use the corresponding workbench tool to edit the object. We can also use Version Management, to retrieve old versions. In rare cases, the red traffic light may also appear in the With Modification Assistant category.
Unknown adjustment mode: The adjustment mode (manual, semi-automatic, automatic) for at least one of the objects in question could not be determined for modification adjustment with the
Modification Assistant. If this is the case and we can start transaction SPAU, a dialog box informs us that we can start a background process by choosing the appropriate button, which determines the adjustment modes for all objects.
Reset to original: If we choose Reset to original for an object displayed in the overview, no modifications are adopted for this object. The original is the version that was last imported into the