Automatic Forwarding: What is a functional document?

[Michael Pokraka]

Hi Kjetil,
Thought I'd test out your theory about checking the German equivalents, b=
ut I
found that the German word is Funktional, which means exactly the same as=
 in
English (not just stating the obvious - sometimes same-sounding words can=
 have
different meanings!).
Had a quick scrabble through the code and it appears to be related to
substitution, though in what way I'm also no nearer.
 
  if FORW_ALL is initial.
    SUBST_DAT-flag1 =3D ' '.
*   forward functional
  else.
    SUBST_DAT-flag1 =3D 'X'.
*   forward all
  endif.
 
flag1 is data element SO_SUFLAG1, which has documentation! This reads:
Forward all documents automatically
 
So, not much closer....
Cheers
Mike
 
Kjetil Kilhavn wrote:
> Here is a shot in the dark: there are some messages (not workitems) whi=
ch
> are executable. For instance, the notification message received when a
> workflow has an error is executable (Ctrl + F6). Could this be a functi=
onal
> document?
>
> The online for the functional documents is as terrible as you said, but
> there is better help for the "send all documents" radiobutton
> -----------
> If this field is selected, all documents are forwarded, not only functi=
onal
> documents. The following documents are also forwarded:
>      Documents to which the sender assigned the attribute No forwarding
>      Documents to which the sender assigned the attribute Blind copy
>      Confidential documents
> -----------
>
> Forget my shot in the dark :-)
>
> It may seem that functional documents is the opposite of personal
> documents, i.e. it is like the classification for tasks where some are
> personal and others are professional - which seems to possibly be
> corresponding to functional. The original (German) field label would
> perhaps explain it better.
> ... ... [wait - hold your breath] ... ...
> Actually, if you go to the data type and look at the long label it is
> "Functional substitute".
> --
> Kjetil Kilhavn
>
>
>
>
>
>                     "Trant, David"
>                     <David.Trant at andrew.        To:     SAP-WUG at MITVMA.=
MIT.EDU
>                     com>                        cc:     (bcc: Kjetil Ki=
lhavn)
>                     Sent by: SAP                Subject:     Re: Automa=
tic
> Forwarding:  What is a functional document?
>                     Workflow
>                     <Owner-SAP-WUG at MITVM
>                     A.MIT.EDU>
>
>
>                     24.02.2004 17:57
>                     Please respond to
>                     "SAP Workflow Users'
>                     Group"
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Jocelyn,
>
> Thanks for your explanation.  I thought I'd share my colleague's respon=
se,
> plus some additional analysis I had done, with the group in case anyone
> else has interest in this topic.  Her response is:
>
> While the explanation below for forwarding "Functional" documents makes
> perfect sense and is how I would have thought it worked, that IS NOT
> consistent with my testing.  When I marked "forward functional document=
s
> only", I DID NOT get any actual workflow work items in my Outlook.  I D=
ID
> receive the "just mail" type of messages (one is attached so you can se=
e
> it).
> So, my testing result seems to be exactly opposite of what you were tol=
d.
> Jan
>
> My additional analysis is documented as follows:
>
> I spoke with Jan this morning and got the results of her testing.  We s=
till
> don't know exactly what a functional document is, but after our
> conversation I opened up a random document in my own R/3 inbox and look=
ed
> at the attributes tab.  I noticed a field called Sensitivity that has t=
he
> following values available:
>
> 501 Standard
> 502 Confidential
> 503 Functional
>
> The help on this field says:
>
> Sensitivity description
>
>
> Use
>
>
>     Select the sensitivity for the document.
>
>
> Dependencies
>
>
>
>
>     Confidential documents, distribution lists and folders are not visi=
ble
>
>     to substitutes who logon to your mailbox.  Your system administrato=
r
> may
>     also have specified that confidential documents cannot be sent to
>
>     external addresses (for example, via fax or Internet).
>
>
>
> It's still somewhat clear as mud, but I think the key to observe is tha=
t a
> lot of this stuff is really geared toward true substitution, i.e. sendi=
ng
> your work to somebody else, versus simply forwarding your own work to a
> different delivery system that is also owned by you.
>
> Jan confirmed that "also place in inbox" has no bearing on work items.
> They always show up in R/3 regardless.  I believe our recommendation sh=
ould
> generally be that if someone is a power user, they consider not using
> automatic forwarding at all.  If they think they still need it so they =
know
> right away that a critical work item has been delivered to them, then t=
hey
> think long and hard whether they expect to read non-work item documents
> directly in R/3.  If they feel comfortable that they'll read notificati=
ons
> in Outlook and not need to view them via the workplace, then do not che=
ck
> "also place in inbox."  Only in the rare case where a user needs to see
> items in Outlook, but normally uses their R/3 workplace to review e-mai=
l
> documents (not work items) should they check this box.  For occasional
> users, the recommendation is to use automatic forwarding, and to not ch=
eck
> "also place in inbox."  Everyone should choose the radio button "forwar=
d
> all documents" unless we learn something later that influences this adv=
ice.
>
> I've posted the question to the workflow users group as to exactly what=
 a
> functional document is.  I'll forward any responses I might get.
>
> David
>
> If someone sees a flaw in the above or has additional information, I'd =
love
> to hear it.  Otherwise, I feel comfortable that we've done enough with =
this
> one to publish a policy and move on.
>
> Thanks again,
> David
>
> P.S.  Jocelyn:  good call on chastising me for outdated and incorrect E=
BP
> knowledge.  I should have followed my gut and not responded at all with=
out
> being sure of the answer :)
>
>  -----Original Message-----
>> From:   SAP Workflow [mailto:Owner-SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU]  On Behalf O=
f
> Dart, Jocelyn
> Sent:   Monday, February 23, 2004 12:50 AM
> To:     SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject:        Re: Automatic Forwarding:  What is a functional documen=
t?
>
> Hi David,
> "Functional" document =3D work item.
> Otherwise they are just mails.  (Email notifications from RSWUWFML are =
just
> mails too of course.)
> Jocelyn
>
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: SAP Workflow [mailto:Owner-SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Trant, David
> Sent: Saturday,21 February 2004 3:51 AM
> To: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: Automatic Forwarding: What is a functional document?
>
>
> When you enable automatic forwarding in office settings in the business
> workplace, there is a checkbox to also place in inbox and radio buttons=
 to
> forward all documents or forward functional documents only.  The "also
> place in inbox" checkbox does not appear to affect workflow items, as t=
hey
> will continue to show up in the R/3 workplace regardless, which makes s=
ense
> to me given that SAP needs to retain ownership of the fact that work
> remains to be done whereas with a simple document, once it is sent, SAP
> does not care anymore.  Where it gets confusing is toggling between
> forwarding all documents and functional documents only.  During tests u=
sing
> one of our more complex workflows, we saw a mixture of documents showin=
g up
> in R/3 when the "forward functional documents" button was chosen in
> conjunction with "also place in inbox" unchecked.  We even saw a workfl=
ow
> item message (the kind generated by RSWUWFML that says you have work to=
 do
> ... login to SAP and do it....) show up in t!
> he R/3 document section.  Of course, from there, trying to double-click=
 on
> the attachment that normally launches a SAPGui session to take you to t=
he
> work fails.  The SAP help, of course, basically says a functional docum=
ent
> is a document that is functional.  Can anyone give me a more useful
> definition?  Right now, we're just telling people to always choose "for=
ward
> all documents," but it would be nice to understand the difference.
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