Useful Transaction Codes in SAP

Often during a career migrating legacy data it becomes a requirement to use more than the LSMW, SE16 and SM35 transactions. This is a list of useful transactions and the effects that make them useful. Where appropriate, an example of when to use the transaction is included.

AL08

List of All Users Logged On

This transaction allows one to see who is logged in and using an SAP system. This is a useful tool when a Fire Fighter account is locked and needs to be unlocked using the SM04 or SM50 transaction. It also allows one to see what transaction is being used at what terminal and for how long. This latter information can be used when deciding whether or not to use the SM12 transaction to delete a system lock.

AL11

SAP Directories

AL11 allows for the browsing of the folders on the SAP server. Chances are that LSMW .read and .conv files will end up in the DIR_TEMP folder. To view them, double-click on the DIR_TEMP folder and then double-click on the file to view it in SAP.

SM04

User List

In most implementations a client can close his own sessions. This is especially helpful when dealing with problematic transactions or RFCs that hang and do not release the session. Double-clicking on the User will bring up the sessions he has open. To close a session, select it and then click the "End Session" button.

SM12

Lock Entry List

Occasionally during an implementation another member of the team will open an object in SAP and then wander off into a meeting or leave for the day. In that case the object cannot be modified and the implementation grinds to a halt. Unlocking the object allows for the data associated with it to be loaded. Most likely the person who had the object locked will not even notice that the object was unlocked.

In the example below a material has been opened in the MM02 transaction. In order to unlock the object simply click on the line to be unlocked and then click the Delete button. When prompted, select Yes to unlock the object.

SM50

Process Overview

This tool shows what processes are running and how long they have been running. When a process is hung in the system without explanation this transaction can be used to end it. Simply select the session to end and then click Program/Session→End Session.

ST05

SQL Trace (Performance Analysis)

Knowing what tables SAP accesses during the performance of a transaction can help develop tools for validating source data prior to loading. To see what SQL statements SAP is using, turn on SQL Tracking just before running the transaction and then stop it afterward. Without filtering, the results are a horrible, useless mixture including every user's transactional interactions with SAP. Filtering by user or transaction is a great way to obtain useful information.

ST06N

Operating System Monitor

An overview of what is happening during a load might shine some light on why loads are going so slowly. Unlike ST06 and OS06 which shows only the application server that the user is logged into, this transaction shows the status of all the servers in a cluster.

SE80 (or SE84 in S4HANA)

ABAP Development Workbench

This transaction is one of the most helpful in SAP, but it wasn't considered for this list until this programmer thought he had forgotten it. SE80 provides so many powerful tools for finding tables, fields and structures based on many search methods and the ability to find any place where these items are used.

In traditional SAP, the Repository Information System was available in SE80, but in S4HANA, that option has been moved to SE84. After a few minutes of gnashing teeth and sweaty palms, it was located and this list of useful transaction codes was appended.

ST22

ABAP Runtime Errors

When a program crashes in SAP, the system provides a breakdown of the error and a detailed explanation of what happened. When those errors occur during an RFC call (or the message is missed) the ST22 transaction can be used to see the detail of that error.

In the first image below, the function called by BODS using RFC into an SAP system returned an error, but without much information. The second image is from ST22 in SAP giving a very detailed description of the error.