SAP ABAP Data Element SX_DEVTYPE (SAPconnect: Device type)
Hierarchy
☛ SAP_BASIS (Software Component) SAP Basis Component
   ⤷ BC-SRV-COM (Application Component) Communication Services: Mail, Fax, SMS, Telephony
     ⤷ SCON (Package) SAPconnect - External Communication
Basic Data
Data Element SX_DEVTYPE
Short Description SAPconnect: Device type  
Data Type
Category of Dictionary Type D   Domain
Type of Object Referenced     No Information
Domain / Name of Reference Type RSPOPTYPE    
Data Type CHAR   Character String 
Length 8    
Decimal Places 0    
Output Length 8    
Value Table TSP0A    
Further Characteristics
Search Help: Name    
Search Help: Parameters    
Parameter ID   
Default Component name    
Change document    
No Input History    
Basic direction is set to LTR    
No BIDI Filtering    
Field Label
  Length  Field Label  
Short 9 Dev. type 
Medium 9 Dev. type 
Long 9 Dev. type 
Heading 0   
Documentation

Definition

For the format conversion when sending externally using SAPconnect, you may be required to specify a device type. This device type provides information (formatting, character set, driver) that is used when converting some SAP internal formats into certain standard formats.

As standard, the following target formats (formats the information is converted into) required a device type: PDF, PS, PCL, TXT (the latter is for the conversion of SAPscript/Smart Form documents).

When using device types for the format conversion, there are two main scenarios:

  1. Converting SAPscript / Smart Forms documents to PDF or TXT
  2. All other conversions that require a device type.

In the first case, essentially only the character set belonging to the device type is relevant. For the second, the conversion process is the same as for printing, therefore all other information belonging to the device type is relevant, particularly the driver. This also means that in the second case, the actual target format depends on the device type (or its driver) only. For this reason, when maintaining the language-dependent device types, the system checks whether the target format and the driver are compatible. For example, target format PS is compatible with device type POST2, but it is not compatible with device type HPLJ4, since the driver of this device type generates a PCL instead of a PS.

As well as assigning device types to target formats, you can configure device type usage in the language-dependent device type maintenance so that special device types are used for particular languages or format categories (output formats). Entering language and output format details is optional. If one of these fields is kept empty, then this serves as a generic entry. Selecting the device type during the send process is then done using a "best fit" procedure.

The following search sequence is used for this:

  1. Target format, language, output format
  2. Target format, language (output format empty)
  3. Target format, output format (language empty)
  4. Target format (language and output format empty)

Example

Assuming the following settings have been made when maintaining the device types:

Target Format    Format    Name    Output Format    Device Type

PDF                PDF1

PDF    JA    Japanese        JPPDF

PDF    ZH    Chinese        CNPDF

PDF    ZH    Chinese    ABAP List    ZPDF1

PDF            ABAP List    ZPDF2

The following device type would then be used, providing PDF has been entered as the respective output format in the corresponding SAPconnect node:

Output Format    Language    Device Type

SAPscript/Smart Forms    EN    PDF1

SAPscript/Smart Forms    JA    JPPDF

SAPscript/Smart Forms    ZH    CNPDF

ABAP List    EN    ZPDF2

ABAP List    JA    JPPDF

ABAP List    ZH    ZPDF1

Comment on Language

The language always refers to the language of the document (in most cases, this is the logon language when the document was created). The language in which the SAPconnect send process is running has no impact here.

Note

  • Note 785564 contains a list of device types that are relevant for SAPconnect. This list is constantly kept up to date.
  • Note 762870 contains additional information about language-dependent device types.

History
Last changed by/on SAP  19990505 
SAP Release Created in