E-Mail notifications for new work items in the Business Workplace (RSWUWFML2)

Purpose

The report sends notifications for work items by e-mail to SAP users who have an Internet e-mail address. This enables users who do not normally use the Business Workplace to be informed about new work items. The report is used in particular to replace existing SAP MAPI installations. You can also send SAP shortcut attachments using this report. These enable the receiver of the e-mail to display or execute the work item directly, or to open the Business Workplace in the SAP GUI for windows.

In the case of a periodically scheduled run (not a single run), the report generates notifications for work items for which the following applies:

The work items must have the status ready.< LS>

The work items have been created since the last run (the time and date of the last run is saved in a table).

The work items have a receiver with a valid Internet e-mail address.

See SAP Note 733681 for additions to the documentation.

Advantages:

Users who do not normally use the Business Workplace of a particular SAP system because they use another e-mail client or another SAP system, can be notified easily.

Workflow patterns or tasks do not need to be modified.

The generation of notifications does not need to be modeled in Workflow.

Overall performance is improved. Compared with SAP MAPI, this report is better for performance since it determines the work items for all users with just one selection, while each user must select their Workflow inbox individually in the case of SAP MAPI.

Limitations:

Selection only includes newly created work items. Work items that have been reassigned to another user by forwarding or changes being made to the organizational structure are not included.

Normal SAPoffice messages from the Documents folder are not forwarded by the report.

Active substitution is supported, but passive substitution is not. If an agent has specified a substitute, but the substitution has not yet been activated, then the substitute does not receive the e-mail notification for the person he is substituting. This also applies if the substitute arranged the substitution himself.

There is no password caching for shortcuts. If Single Sign-On is not active, the user needs to log on to the system separately.

The messages are generated in text-only format.

A user can be informed about multiple work items in a collective notification. However, the collective notification does not contain details about the individual work items.

Document and object attachments of a work item are not sent.

No container variables or container expressions can be used in the descriptive texts (Before Work Item Description, After Work Item Description).

Messages are generated in the language of the user for whom the report is running.

Messages can only be sent to SMTP addresses (type INT).

Groupware-specific forms are not supported.

Integration

You schedule this report as a batch job.

Prerequisites

The receivers of e-mail notifications must have maintained an e-mail address in the relevant SAP system. You can maintain a users e-mail address in either the central address management (transaction SU01) or the personal office settings in the Business Workplace, under Automatic Forwarding. You no longer need to activate the Mail Group in the general office settings for RSWUWFML2.

Features

Instance data:

Job Suffix:

Using a job suffix enables you to have multiple instances of the report running simultaneously. Note that the times for the last run are saved for the individual instances. You can set the report parameters differently here.

Tasks:

You can restrict the selection of work items to work items for particular tasks. You can select multiple tasks here.

Send granularity:

If you change this setting, then the default settings in the lower frame are changed dynamically.

One message per work item

One message is sent for each new work item. This contains the description of the work item and accompanying texts, as specified under Standard Text for Notification.

Collective message:

Only one message is sent for all new work items for a particular user. The message does not contain any information about the individual work items.

Add executable message attachments for:

Executable attachments are SAP shortcuts that receivers of messages can use to directly display a work item in the SAP GUI for Windows. SAP shortcuts contain the relevant logon language from the central address management (transaction SU01) for each individual receiver. The system ID and the client contained in the shortcut correspond to the system in which the report is running.

Workflow Inbox

An SAP shortcut is added to the message so that the message receiver can start the Business Workplace directly in the SAP GUI for Windows.

Work Item Display:

An SAP shortcut is added to the message so that the message receiver can display the work item directly in the SAP GUI for Windows.

Work Item Execution

An SAP shortcut is added to the message so that the message receiver can execute the work item directly in the SAP GUI for Windows. Secondary methods are also executed at the same time.

Standard message text

This option enables you to define the message subject and text, which is added to the work item description. The text contains general information for the user about what to do with the message.

Message class for subject

Message class of a T100 message (transaction SE91) from which the subject line for the message is determined. Message class SWU_NOTIF contains the messages that are shipped by SAP.

Message number for subject

Number of a T100 message (transaction SE91) from which the subject line for the message is determined. The T100 message can contain two parameters. Parameter &1 is replaced by the system ID. Parameter &2 is replaced by the work item text.

Before work item description

ID of a SAPscript text (transaction SE61) of type Text in Dialog, which is inserted before the actual work item description in the message. The text contains the form of address for the user and the reference to Business Workflow. Ensure that the text matches the send granularity. The system proposes an appropriate text. Includes and symbols within a SAPscript text are expanded. Workflow-specific variables or expressions (for example, from the container) cannot be used, however.

After work item description

ID of a SAPscript text (transaction SE61) of type Text in Dialog, which is inserted after the actual work item description in the message. Ensure that the text matches the send granularity. The system proposes an appropriate text.

SAP shortcut parameter:

Here you can define the ID of an entry in the SAPLogon, which is included as the parameter Description in each shortcut that is sent. This is a useful setting if you want to ensure that the saplogon.ini has the corresponding entry on all user PCs. The parameter is only required if there are multiple saplogon.ini entries for the same system on the users PCs. You can activate an entry of this type individually.

Data for single run

A single run is performed if the input fields contain a data, time, and optionally a user. A single run is recommended if work items are to be sent again from a particular time and date, for example due to a problem when sending the e-mails. Contrary to a periodically scheduled run, in a single run the time of the last run is not saved.

From work item creation date

First day when work items are to be included.

From work item creation time:

Time on first day when work items are to be included.

User:

Notifications are only generated for work items that have this user in the Business Workplace. You must not use this option to restrict the sending of notifications in the productive environment to certain users.

Log:

During its run, the report writes a log in a spool file and an entry in the application log. You can define what is logged:

Errors Only: Only error messages are logged

All: Success and error messages are logged

You can display the application log by calling transaction SLG1. Enter the object=WF and the sub object=NOTIFICATIONS as the selection values.

Properties:

If one message is sent for each work item, the message contains the task description and the standard text. If one message is sent for all work items, the message contains just the standard text. Express mails are sent for express work items.

If the messages include executable attachments, they are sent to each user individually. If executable attachments are not required, all messages that refer to the same work item are sent to a receiver list, which comprises the selected agents.

If you have selected a Collective message, only one message is sent to each receiver per run, regardless of the number of work items for this user.

The results of database queries (for example, e-mail addresses) are buffered to improve system performance.

By making an entry in table SWUTYP2ADR you can specify that all outbound mail messages are send to a specific e-mail address and not directly to the end user. This address can be monitored by an automatic agent who reformats and forwards the mail messages. The table has a maintenance view and can be edited by calling transaction SM30. Add a new entry to the table and leave the field Form Type empty and enter the e-mail address in the Proxy Mail Address field.

The usual logic when using SAP shortcuts applies when logging on to execute shortcuts. If the parameter Description is specified in the SAP shortcut, but there is no saplogon.ini entry with this name, the system displays an error message when you attempt to execute the shortcut. If the parameter Description is not specified, a saplogon.ini entry with the relevant system is selected instead. If a session with the relevant entries for system/client/user/language is already open, a new session is opened automatically without the user needing to log on. If no such session is already open, the user must log on again. If the selected saplogon.ini entry is configured for Single Sign-On, the system logs the user on automatically. If it is not configured, the system displays a logon window in which the user must enter their password.

Selection

1. Determine the relevant work items. Dialog work items and missed deadline work items are included. Forwarding and changes to the organizational structure are not included.

2. Determine the receiver for each determined work item. Active substitution is included, but passive substitution is not. Substitute profiles and task classifications are included.

3. Only receivers who have an Internet e-mail address (type INT) are included.

4. Create message body (partly work item-specific).

5. Send the message to all receivers.

Standard Variants

You can define variants for scheduling. If you use multiple variants you must at least use the job suffix to differentiate between them.

Output

You can generate a log file and an application log.

Documentation available in SE38. Read this documentation and always make sure before creating the background with a SAP User Id you run this program in foreground logging with that user Id.