Compare Objects Advanced
This workflow compares a selection of objects retrieved from two SAP systems, and generates an HTML report from the comparison results. The Compare Objects Advanced workflow is similar to the Compare Objects workflow in the Synchronization package, however it has more configuration options. For each table that is retrieved and compared, the table's contents are retrieved and compared also.
Creating RFC Destinations
Before you begin, you will need to create RFC Destinations for each of the SAP systems you wish to compare.
Preparing the Workflow
To prepare the Compare Objects Advanced workflow, drag its workflow template from the Templates folder into your own workspace, and modify the workflow as follows:
To specify the systems to compare:
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Select the System 1 parameter and choose ‘Edit RFC Destination’ from its context menu to display the RFC Destination dialog.
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Select the RFC Destination for the first system to compare, then click ‘Save’.
Repeat the above steps to link the System 2 parameter to the RFC Destination for the second system to compare.
To specify a list of objects to compare:
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Select the Objects parameter and choose ‘Edit Table’ from its context menu to display the Table Editor dialog.
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Complete the following columns, then click ‘Save’.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| TYPE | The type of the object to compare. |
| NAME | The name of the object to comp |
To create specifications for the objects to be compared:
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Select the Selects parameter and choose ‘Edit Select List’ from its context menu to display the Select List Editor dialog.
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Update the selection criteria table as follows by adding the appropriate table entries.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Field | The type of the object to compare. |
| Operator | The comparison operator to use. One of BT, CP, EQ, GE, GT, LE, LT or NE. See the Select List Parameters help topic for details. |
| Low Value | The ‘low’ comparison value. |
| High Value | If the BT (Between) operator is used, this column refers to the ‘high’ comparison value. |
| I/E |
Select ‘I’ to include these objects in the filtered results, or ‘E’ to exclude them. If the ‘E’ option is used, you must create an ‘I’ specification for the same object type. |
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If required, click ‘Insert Row’ and continue from step 2 to create additional specifications, then click ‘Save’.
Note that an object list and a set of specifications may be used together to define the objects to be compared.
Derivative object maps allow objects of the same type but with different names to be compared. To create a derivative object map (optional):
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Select the Derivative Objects Map parameter and choose ‘Edit Table’ from its context menu to display the Table Editor dialog.
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Complete the following columns, then click ‘Save’.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| NAME1 | The name of the object to compare on the system referred to by the System 1 parameter. |
| NAME2 | The name of the object to compare on the system referred to by the System 2 parameter. |
| TYPE | The type of the object to compare. |
Each of the derivative objects must be specified using either the Selects or Objects parameters. See the Derivative Object Maps help topic for further details.
To filter the retrieved objects based on their header values (optional):
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Select the Object Header Filter parameter and choose ‘Edit Object Header Filter’ from its context menu to display the Object Header Filter dialog.
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Update the selection criteria table as follows by adding the appropriate table entries.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | Select an object type for which to create a filter. |
| Field | Select the object attribute for which to create the filter. |
| Operator | The comparison operator to use. One of BT, CP, EQ, GE, GT, LE, LT or NE. See the Select List Parameters help topic for details. |
| Low Value | The ‘low’ comparison value. |
| High Value | If the BT (Between) operator is used, this column refers to the ‘high’ comparison value. |
| I/E |
Select ‘I’ to include these objects in the filtered results, or ‘E’ to exclude them. If the ‘E’ option is used, you must create an ‘I’ specification for the same object type. |
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If required, click ‘Insert Row’ and continue from step 2 to create additional specifications, then click ‘Save’.
To exclude object types from the comparison (optional):
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Select the Types to Compare parameter and choose ‘Edit String List’ from its context menu to display the String List Editor dialog.
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Click ‘Delete Row’ to remove existing object types, then click ‘Save’.
To specify the table rows to be compared and reported upon (optional):
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Select the Rows to Read parameter and choose ‘Edit Table’ from its context menu to display the Table Editor dialog.
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Click ‘Insert Row’, complete the following columns, then click ‘Save’.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| TABLE | The name of a retrieved table. |
| FIELD | The name of a column in the retrieved table. |
| OP | The comparison operator to use. One of BT, CP, EQ, GE, GT, LE, LT or NE. See the Select List Parameters help topic for details. |
|
LO |
The ‘low’ comparison value. |
| HI | If the BT (Between) operator is used, this column refers to the ‘high’ comparison value. |
| IE | Enter ‘I’ to include table rows that match this specification, or ‘E’ to exclude them. |
To specify the table columns to be compared and reported upon (optional):
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Select the Columns to Compare parameter and choose ‘Edit Table’ from its context menu to display the Table Editor dialog.
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Click ‘Insert Row’, complete the following columns, then click ‘Save’.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| TABLE | The name of a retrieved table. Alternatively, use the wildcard character ‘*’ to create a specification that applies to all the retrieved tables. |
| FIELD | The name of a table field. |
| IE | Enter ‘I’ to include this table field in the comparison results, or ‘E’ to exclude it. If there are any ‘I’ entries for a table, all ‘E’ entries for the table are ignored. |
To specify the object attributes to be compared and reported upon (optional: if an object attribute filter is not specified, LiveCompare compares a default set of attributes for each object type).
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Select the Object Attribute Filter parameter and choose ‘Edit Object Header Filter’ from its context menu to display the Object Attribute Filter Editor dialog.
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Click ‘Add’ and choose an object type from the SAP Object Types dialog, then click ‘OK’.
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Choose a subfolder from the hierarchy and select the object attributes you wish to compare and report upon. Continue from step 2 to add attribute filters for any additional object types, then click ‘Save’.
To exclude object types from the report (optional):
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Select the Types for Details parameter and choose ‘Edit String List’ from its context menu to display the String List Editor dialog.
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Click ‘Delete Row’ to remove existing object types, then click ‘Save’.
To specify the comparison statuses to include in the report and compared hierarchy results:
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Select the Object Status to Keep parameter and choose ‘Edit String List’ from its context menu to display the String List Editor dialog.
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Enter the comparison statuses to include. By default, the workflow reports on objects with comparison statuses Different, In1, In2, CantCompare or NotIn1Or2. Each comparison status should be added as a separate string entry.
To specify the table row comparison statuses to include in the report: (optional: by default all row comparison statuses are included):
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Select the Row Status to Show parameter and choose ‘Edit String List’ from its context menu to display the String List Editor dialog.
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Click ‘Insert Row’ and add one or more comparison statuses, then click ‘Save’. Each comparison status should be added as a separate string entry.
Save the workflow using the ‘Save’ toolbar button.
Running the Workflow
To run the Compare Objects Advanced workflow, click the 'Run' toolbar button, choose ‘Run Now’ from the diagram’s context menu, or press F5. The currently running workflow action is marked with an animated display. When the workflow execution has completed, select the Report URL dataset and choose ‘View Details’ from the context menu to access the generated report.