ABAP Archives

From sd.sap.com

• Stand alone SAPConsole 7.10
  

• Secrets and Tips for a Successful SAP Console Implementation (Author: Asriel Saporta)
• Why do companies require a WM Consultant for a SAPConsole Implementation? (Author: Asriel Saporta)

• RF and SAP Console (Author: John Lenhardt, Tranzation)

• There have been some significant announcements and developments in the area of SAPConsole, RF Barcoding and RFID (Author: Asriel Saporta)

If the administrator is responsible for creating the prerequisites for the usage of the RF terminal, he/she should set up a process so that when the telnet server is called up via the RF terminal, the connection to the SAPConsole will be established automatically for the user. The RF terminal user only has to enter the user name and password to start working in the R/3 System.

If this pre-selection has not been made, it is necessary to provide the RF terminal user with the information about which command line has to be entered after connecting to the telnet server.

In the SAPConsole Administrator you can define different profiles. The profiles could differ either in the R/3 to connect to, the trans(action) code to start with, or the I/O Engine to be used or in all three factors. If the administrator wishes to assign one or more users to one specific profile, this has to be done via the telnet administrator. The users themselves are defined in the telnet server and each of them could then be assigned to a profile in the SAPConsole Administrator.

There are different possibilities to define the work-process depending on your own preferences and the I/O Engine used. Consider the following two examples:

Example 1: Given that there is a need to define different profiles for different activities

Example 2: Given that the RF terminals used have different screen sizes

The escape sequences recognized by the SAPVtio engine can be configured in the text file created for that purpose. The following will explain the format of this file, so that the terminal configuration can be extended or new terminal support added.

Here, an example of the terminal configuration file contents:

Each line in the file identifies one escape sequence recognized by SAPVtio. A line starting with ‘%’ is considered commented and is disregarded. Any text on that line following a ‘%’ sign is a comment.

The escape sequence is identified by 3 parameters:

1. The escape sequence characters (not including the ESC character which starts the sequence)
2. The ASCII key code that is to be generated upon recognition of this sequence (usually 0 for extended keys)
3. The Windows Virtual Key code to be generated upon recognition of this sequence

Possible "File" entry:

"\\.\PIPE\Pipe%VarName%In"

In this example, %VarName% is a placeholder and is replaced by the value of the VarName environment variable at runtime. If "VarName" equals "Val00" at runtime, then the SAPVtio constructs the "\\.\PIPE\PipeVal00In" string as the file name and uses it to open the pipe.

SAPVtio treats expressions surrounded by percentage signs as environment variables with two exceptions. When the expression is %pid%, SAPVtio embeds the running process ID, and does not treat the expression as an environment variable. The placeholder expression %tid% is expanded to the current running thread ID. Consequently, if the "File" entry is "\\.\PIPE\Pipe%JustName%In%pid%" and the process ID is "100" at runtime and the "JustName" environment variable equals "TheValue", the pipe name used (as a result of the runtime expansion) will be "\\.\PIPE\PipeTheValueIn100".

In short: All expressions between % signs are placeholders to be expanded at runtime. If the expression is %pid%, it is replaced by the process ID. %tid% is replaced by the thread ID. All other placeholders are treated as environment variables and are replaced with their values.

Use

File – Applies to direct input only.

The telnet server does not intercept any input from the client, but rather lets it pass on to the running program.

In this mode, the SAPVtio usually receives the data through a named or an anonymous pipe. Therefore, all the rules for specifying the output file name can be applied to the input file name, that is:

When "STDIN$" is specified as the file name, it is treated as an anonymous pipe

Every identifier between the %…% signs is expanded to the value of the corresponding environment variable, except for two cases:

%pid% is expanded to the running process number

%tid% is expanded to the running thread number

Terminal configuration – In this field, you can specify the file that will contain the escape sequences recognized by SAPVtio.

When the SAPVtio receives the input in a raw mode (through a pipe), the special keys (arrows, function keys etc.) are passed on in the form of escape sequences. These sequences can slightly differ for different terminal emulations, and can therefore be configured externally. The sequences can be specified in the terminal configuration file using a special format. Refer to the Specifying escape sequences section in the appendix.

Use the "…" button to browse through your file system to find the adequate file.

Echo input characters– When checked, the SAPVtio will automatically transfer any character read from the input stream to the output stream. Although useful in some telnet applications, this option must be unchecked when using SAPVtio with SAPConsole.

Standard console events input– If you have an application (such as SAPConsole) that runs on a telnet server which does all the escape sequence interpreting work internally, use this option. This will leave the terminal emulation work to the telnet server and expect the input from the Windows Console.

Use

File – Applies to direct output only.

As mentioned above, in direct mode the output is written with vt220 emulation escapes. Telnet servers provide a path-through route from the program to the client. This route is usually an anonymous or a named pipe. When "STDIN$" is specified as the file name, it is treated as an anonymous pipe. \\.\PIPE\Pipe%VarName% is specified as a file name for a named pipe. Every identifier between the %…% signs is expanded to the value of the corresponding environment variable, except for two cases:

• %pid% is expanded to the running process number
• %tid% is expanded to the running thread number

Technically, these pipes are opened as file handles and you write to them the same way you write to files. Your telnet server documentation should provide you with the information about which way the server makes such a path-through route (direct route) available.

In the concept of pattern expansion you find an example.

The runtime expansion is required since all instances of SAPConsole will probably need a different pipe name. Telnet servers assign a unique name to each pipe when they create it. SAPVtio is expected to know the name of the pipe it is supposed to open and to use. To convey the pipe name from the telnet server to the running process (in this case to SAPVtio), servers usually name the pipes based on some rule or template. For example, some embed the process ID in a constant string to make it unique. Others simply set a predefined environment variable to the name of the created pipe. The pattern expansion mechanism was created to support all these possibilities.

LF to CRLF convert – Depending on the requirement of the telnet server, this option can be selected. Each LF (line feed) sequence will then be converted to CRLF (Carriage Return Line Feed).

Standard console output – For interpreted output.

SAPVtio behaves as if it were telnet-ignorant. It writes regular Windows Console output. The telnet server then interprets and converts this output into telnet commands.

Convert attributes to colors

Since SAPConsole is oriented towards character based terminal devices, different types of screen fields are distinguished by having different terminal-oriented attributes, such as being underlined or reverse video (inverse). For example, a field where the user has to enter data is marked as such using the inverse attribute to catch the attention of the user and request an entry.

The Windows console does not support all those attributes. On the other hand, a Windows console application can produce colored output.

Some telnet servers, like the Seattle Lab SLnet product, enable the display of different terminal attributes – inverse, bold and underlined – on the radio frequency (RF) terminals by mapping them to a combination of different console colors.

The server interprets certain colors as mapping to certain terminal attributes, and sends their corresponding escape commands to the client terminal. This makes it possible for SAPVtio to write console-oriented (colored) output and still keep the terminal-oriented visual separation between field types on the client´s side.

To define the mapping of console color combinations to attributes that your server supports, click on Convert attributes to colors. This opens the mapping dialog box:

Input (Terminal) Attributes and Output (Console) Attributes

You can adjust different attributes here (according to the mapping) to slightly modify the output on the RF terminal. Depending on how the foreground and background colors are combined, the text on the RF terminal will be shown as inverse, bold and/or underlined.

Use

SAPVtio has to be configured according to the requirements of the telnet server used.

Procedure

Telnet servers, in general, offer two modes of work: direct (raw mode) and indirect (advanced mode).

In direct mode, the telnet server passes the output of the program directly to the client without any intervention or filtering. This requires SAPVtio to write escape sequences directly to the client.

In indirect mode, the telnet server expects the output to be coming from a telnet-ignorant program, which regularly calls up Windows Console and uses it to communicate its output. In this case, the server interprets these communications and translates them into their equivalent terminal emulation escape sequences, which will then be send directly to the client.

Also, though very rarely, a telnet server may offer similar modes of work for special key (for example, function keys) input. It might be configured to translate incoming escapes into their corresponding Windows virtual key codes, or to let the original escape path go directly to the program, which recognizes and interprets it.

The SAPVtio configuration dialog box allows you to specify which type of input SAPVtio has to expect and which type of output it is to produce.

Definition

Use

SAPVtio was developed to provide an easy and vendor-independent way to use SAPConsole from all prominent RF devices. It takes advantage of the fact that all devices have built-in support for telnet emulation.

For devices that support ANSI/vt220 telnet emulation, you do not need an external I/O Engine, but only a running telnet server and SAPVtio as the I/O Engine.

Although the telnet protocol and the emulation are well known and accepted independent standards, there are sometimes subtleties in the way different RF vendors and different telnet servers implement them. SAPVtio can easily be configured to work with different implementations. This flexibility allows SAPVtio to support the widest range of devices and telnet servers.

For any profile, for which you choose SAPVtio as I/O Engine, you need to configure it to support the environment, in which it is to work. If you choose SAPVtio, the Config. button in the "Terminal Engine" section of the SAPConsole Administrator will be enabled. Click on it to open the configuration options for SAPVtio: SAP Terminal Server Configuration

Terminal Engine

Definition

Use

(1) Name of the I/O Engine

(2) Configuration of the I/O Engine

(3) Description of the I/O Engine

Config. – If the Engine is configurable, the button will be enabled. Click on it to configure the I/O Engine.

There are three possibilities to characterize the behavior of an I/O Engine:

1. Non-configurable: The Config. button will be disabled and there is no need to change the configuration.
2. Configurable – system-wide: The terminal engine is configurable, but does not support profiles. If you change the configuration in one profile, it will be changed in all other profiles at the same time.
3. Configurable – by profile: You have to configure the I/O Engine for each profile. The configuration will not be taken over from one profile to another. Cloning a profile – as described in the next section – does not clone the internal configuration of the I/O Engine.

Use

Each instance of the SAPConsole uses a group of settings, which is called a profile. A profile is identified by a unique name. A profile holds the information that determines the behavior of a running SAPConsole instance, that is, which R/3 System to connect to, for example.

The profile also includes the information on which I/O Engine a SAPConsole instance is to use.

The name of the profile to be used is passed on to the SAPConsole instance as command line parameter (for example, "sapconsole –p ").

Procedure

(Arrow sign = Name of the default profile)

Creating a new profile: You create a new profile by clicking on the main item with the right mouse button. If you confirm with the left mouse button you have the possibility to create a new profile. After you have created a profile, select Apply to save it.

Editing a profile: Select a profile, change its settings and select Apply to save it.

Selecting a profile: If you select one of the profiles from the profile tree, its settings are shown in the right half of the dialog box. The bottom right corner of the SAPConsole Administrator screen contains the name of the currently viewed/edited profile.

Clicking on a profile with the right mouse button gives you the following options:

• Set As Default – Set the specific profile to be the default profile (double-clicking leads to the same result). If no profile is specified on the command line, the SAPConsole uses the settings of the default profile. The name of the default profile is always bold.
• Clone- Copy the same configuration with the new profile name. The new name and a sequential number is automatically assigned. The configuration of the I/O Engine will not necessarily be copied (refer to the
Terminal Engine section).

• Remove – Delete the current profile

• Edit name – Rename the profile

(arrow sign =

Use

The SAPConsole Administrator offers you two ways to define a connection to the SAP System:

You can enter the R/3 connection parameters manually. In this case, you can add a new system, which requires the determination of a host and router.

Procedure

Host name – Name of the host

System ID – Number of the system you want to log on to

Router – Complete SAP router string

Trans Code – The first transaction code that will be executed

System – Description of system configuration (SAPLogon)

Trans Code – First transaction code that will be executed

General Settings

Use

Procedure

Truncation of unused lines – The ability to define whether unused lines require truncation (for example, frames and empty lines).

SAPLogon Selection – Offers you the option of choosing between two ways of logging on to the system. For further explanation refer to the SAP R/3 Connections section.

Code Page: Various character sets and language support

ANSI Code page – The default ANSI code page.

OEM Code page – The default OEM code page.

By number - A specific code page number to be defined.

ref: http://help.sap.com/saphelp_470/helpdata/es/10/deeb38f94cb138e10000000a114084/frameset.htm

Definition

The SAPConsole Administrator offers you the option of creating and maintaining usage profiles. It is available as a Microsoft Windows control panel applet.

Use