Customizing and extending TREX to add Email ID in search

[Former Member]

Hello Experts,

We are using TREX for Succession Planning and have a requirement to add a new field Email ID in search options for talent:

Field name: USRID_LONG from IT0105 Subtype 0010

Kindly help with the steps applicable around customizing and extending.

Thanks in advance for your guidence.

Best Regards,

Rahul

[lukemarson]

Hi Rahul,

There are 5 steps required here:

1. Customize TREX search object connectors

2. Create extraction class to extract the data using the required SUBTY (no default extractor class exists to extract using specific subtype's)

3. Customize SAP

4. Recreate search connector objects

5. Customize STVN SuccessionPlanning data element configuration(s)

Without experience of either 1 or 4 I strongly recommend consulting an experienced consultant because the changes are not so easy to do. For point 1, considerations have to be taken towards the transport mechanism as it does not work as per standard transports.

This blog will give you a good starting point to performing steps 1 to 3: [http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/23168]

For step 4 you need to initially change the data element configuration file of the search you are adding your field to. Then you need to go to the AdminConsole and add this field to the search fields/result fields.

Please note that TREX does not return multiple records. For example, if more than one record exists for SUBTY 0010 for a person then no results will be returned for that person.

Good luck!

Luke

[Former Member]

Hi Rahul / Luke,

Roughly - you want to modify the HRTMC_PERSON business template and add a new node connecting it to table IT0105. You should not need to hard-code subtype here, as all of the fields (including USERID_LONG) will display as searchable fields ("Requests"). Look closely at how the delivered config is setup to determine your foreign keys and detailed attributes.

Then complete your SAP config and update the step "Define Search Models and Change Pointers". If you look at the delivered templates and nodes in this SAP config step, you can see how not only subtypes are called, but also secondary tables like HRPAD31 for Qualifications. The template configuration must match your SAP configuration otherwise your new / modified connector will fail and you will recieve "Error While Indexing" when you re-build your connectors. Chris McNarney has written a step-by-step blog that will walk you through the SAP config (see link). However you will need to add / update the HRTMC_PERSON template and create a new node that matches your ESH_COCKPIT Modeler config and update the Change Pointer table to include IT0105. If you still think you need subtype, here is the step to configure it as well.

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/23168

I do not think step 2 is required: "create a custom extraction class".

You do have the option of using the technical template "SUBTY" when you create / modify the Business Templates in TREX, but I do not have experience with this.

Can you provide a little more detail when you write "considerations have to be taken towards the transport mechanism as it does not work as per standard transports"? I actually gave up on this step because I couldn't figure it out and just used the Modeler in ESH_COCKPIT in each client to configure instead of transporting my front-end config. It is more time intensive than transporting, but again I was not able to get this feature to work.

Thanks,

Ben

[lukemarson]

Hi Benjamin,

A custom extraction class is required if none of the standard extraction classes work for extracting the data. In this instance it might not be required, although if you are extracting data that uses a specific SUBTY then it is likely that this will be required, unless a new technical template is created for the SUBTY value(s) required.

TREX transport requests copy the entire TREX transport, rather than just the changes like a standard transport. It also requires RFC setup as per SAP note 1483890 (Importing software components directly to target client). Transports are then done as per standard transports.

Best regards,

Luke

[Former Member]

Luke,

Thanks for your reply and information.

The Note you mentioned is what we struggled with, so I just went ahead and did the manual configuration via the Modeler in ESH_COCKPIT in each environment! A work around if needed.

Ben

[lukemarson]

Hi Rahul,

Did you resolve the issue? If so, please mark the thread as answered - any solution you can provide will be useful for the community.

Best regards,

Luke