SAP Automation

Most of the functions of "Shortcut for SAP systems" can also be executed at operating system level with the command line tool. This allows you to use the functions of "Shortcut for SAP systems" in automation software (this ranges from simple tools such as the Windows Task Scheduler to complex automation applications such as Automic Automation (formerly UC4), ActiveBatch, etc.). The function is executed outside the GUI application.

Possible use cases

Create a daily backup of important system-specific data, e.g. RFC connections (with the "Process table data using R3trans" function).
Automate the pre- and post-processing in the context of an SAP system refresh.
Distribute specific users (e.g. admin users) to any system with the "Copy user" function.
Set the correct passwords for system users after a system refresh (with the "Set password" function).
Ensure the availability of emergency users on your systems with the "Unlock user" function, which is executed periodically, e.g. every 10 minutes (emergency users - like other users - may be locked out due to too many invalid login attempts).
Automatic and periodic extraction of table data into a file (using the "View table data" function).
Use the "Unlock user" function in a self-service to unlock one's own user ID .
Assigning roles within a workflow application.
Copying data from the productive system to the quality and/or test system in order to update data on these systems and thus create better conditions for testing and troubleshooting.
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2 methods for using the command line tool

Calling the command line tool can be done in 2 different ways.

Using a Variant

This requires the administration of a variant (meaning here a variant within "Shortcut for SAP systems" - not a variant in the SAP system). For most functions (for all that are also available in the command line tool), variants can be saved in the GUI application. This variant contains all the necessary data for the execution of the function.

An exemplary application is described here.

Using an XML file

For XML files, the use of the command line tool is very flexible. A variant is not necessary. All necessary data can be transferred in an XML file, which can be created either with a text editor or also by an application.

Numerous programming languages offer frameworks for processing XML files. The XML schema file supplied with our product can support this - depending on the development environment and programming language. There are some examples in the subfolder 'xml'.

Here you can find a blog article describing the possibility with variants as well as with an XML file. More technical documentation can be found here.