- The change pointers technique automatically initiates the outbound process when we create or change master data.
- When we want to reflect changes made to master data (i.e. customer master, vendor master, material master) visible to other clients listed in the customer distribution model, we follow the change pointer technique.
- The change pointers technique is based on the change document technique, which tracks changes made to key documents in SAP, such as the material master, customer master, vendor master & sales orders.
- Changes made to a document are recorded in the change document Header table CDHDR and Item table CDPOS.
- Additional change pointers are written in the BDCP and BDCPS tables.
- BDCPS table stores the status of changed documents processed or not.
- The SMD (Shared Master Data) tool is connected to the change document interface. If the master data changes are to be distributed, the application writes a change document.
- The contents of the document are passed to the SMD tool. The tool writes change pointers, reads the application data, and creates the Master IDoc.
- In simple words, if we change anything in SAP, like a material master, vendor information, etc. It will create an entry in the change pointers table (BDCP, BDCPS).
- After that, we run the RBDMIDOC program to pick up these change pointers and send the IDOC to other systems to reflect the changes appropriately.
Change Pointers – Configuration
Step 1: Enable Change Pointers Globally
- Go to transaction BD61.
- Check the flag, go to Activation Status, and click on save.
- We will get the below message.
Step 2: Enable Change Pointers for a Message Type
- Go to transaction BD50.
- Click on New Entries and enter Message Type and check the Active flag and click on Save.
Step 3: Specify the Fields for which Change Pointers are to be written
- For standard master data objects such as the material, customer, and vendor objects, SAP already provides a list of fields for which change pointers are written.
- If we want to add new fields, we must add entries for the required fields.
- If we are not interested in IDocs being generated for changes to a particular field, we can remove it from the list.
- For example, if we do not want to distribute the material master for changes made to the Catalog Profile (RBNRM) field, we can delete this entry from the table.
- Go to transaction BD52.
In the pop-up, enter the Message Type and click on Continue.
- Click on New Entries, add the Table Name and Field, and click on Save.
Step 4: Changing a Field in the Master Data
- Change a field in the master data object for which the change pointer is enabled.
- For example, if we change the net weight of a material in the material master data, a change pointer is written.
Step 5: Executing program RBDMIDOC to process Change Pointers
- Execute program RBDMIDOC to initiate the process of generating an IDoc.
- On the selection screen, specify the message type and click on Execute. For example, if we specify MATMAS. After we execute the process, it displays the number of entries processed.
- The below information messages will be displayed.
