First Steps in SAP ABAP - 2nd Edition

2.1   Using parameters as input variables

The statement PARAMETERS (always plural) is a simple way to allow users to provide input to a report that is stored in a variable. Specify the name of the parameter, its type, and if you would like, a default value:

PARAMETERS pa_name type c length 12 DEFAULT 'HUGO'.

(In this example, we already used the type c for character which will be explained shortly, but yes: it is the type you expect it to be).

When you start the report, the system will display a simple input field with the given default value that you can overwrite, see Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: A parameter as an input variable

The parameter serves as an input field and as a variable.

Now let’s use the input variable to make our welcome greeting a bit more personal, introducing chain statements as well:

  WRITE: 'Hello', pa_name.

Did you try your own name with some lower-case letters and find that they were displayed as upper-case letters? You can use the keyword addition lower-case for the PARAMETERS keyword to account for lower-case letters. Note that this is not a conversion to lower case, but the permission for lower-case letters (omit the conversion to upper case).

The user interface (UI) in Figure 2.1 shows the name of the input variable, which is not always understandable to the user. If you consider that the length of a parameter name is restricted to eight characters, you may want to include more meaningful text.

You can provide additional text for this variable by using the menu Goto • Text Elements • Selection Texts. Enter Your name for the selection text of PA_NAME, as shown in Figure 2.2.

Figure 2.2: Maintenance of text for a parameter variable

It is important to note that you have to activate the selection text in this view before returning to the coding of your report (by using F3).

If you chose to activate an object and you have more than one object in an inactive state, the system will display these objects in a list. This allows you to selectively activate some of the objects or all of them. In the following example, the report is inactive. When you activate the selection text, both objects are part of the list displayed: object REPS (S for source), and object REPT (T for text), see Figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3: List of inactive objects

The advantage of a selection text is that this text can be translated into other languages. If you choose a different language during logon, your report will show the text for the parameter in that language (assuming that the text has been translated into that language).

To summarize:

• A PARAMETERS statement declares a local variable.
• At the beginning of the report, the selection screen displays an input field, so that the user can specify the value of the variable.
• The input field on the selection screen has a text label associated with it that can be translated.