Rehan Zaidi - The Ultimate SAP User Guide: The Essential SAP Training Handbook for Consultants and Project Teams

Authors Acknowledgments

I would like to thank and dedicate this book to my mother who is my main strength. I am very grateful to our editor Krista Wiebe ofClear Cut Editing (www.clearcutediting.com). She provided help with the overallediting, formation of the chapters, and provided layout suggestions. I am alsothankful to Mr. Rick Porter (founder of Revelation Software, which is based in Australia )for his cooperation during this project. I am also indebted to the reviewersfor helping me strengthen the content of the book. To all those who purchasethis book - I am forever grateful to you. I would like to extend my apologiesto anyone I have missed here.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my publisher,Jon Reed, who felt that this was a subject worth publishing and who agreed togo on this journey with me. The idea was to create a guide with tips and tricksthat would be valuable for an SAP user. When I presented the idea to Jon, heagreed that the need for a user guide was an excellent reason to pursue thepublication of my book.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Jon Reed would like to thank Andy Klee of JDEtips forproviding the basis for Jon and Rehan to originally meet and collaborate. TheUltimate SAP series would not be possible without the expert advice of MorrisRosenthal and Rachel Meyers. Thanks also to our expert readers, whose biosappear in the back of this book. Finally, Jon would like to thank Rehan Zaidifor his diligence and the outstanding end result.

Contents

Chapter5: Executing Report Transactions and
Downloading Output .

6.2.2 Multiple SelectionSpecifications and Other
Available Options .

8.6 UsingRSTXPDFT4 Program to Convert Spool
Requests to PDFs .

Chapter 10: SAP Business Workplace
Part 1- Managing Documents .

Chapter 11: SAP Business Workplace
Part 2- Managing Workflow Work Items .

Foreword

W hen Ifirst met Rehan Zaidi, the author of the UltimateSAP User Guide, he was still an aspiring writer. The year was 2003. As theFounding Editor of ERPtips, I was looking for writing talent. But that was notan easy thing to find, especially in the ERP world. I needed authors who had adeep SAP experience as well.

Rehan was already an expert SAP developer, user, and all-aroundHCM smart guy. Writing about SAP was new to him, but from his first articles,Rehan showed the ability to express complex and sometimes nerdy SAP concepts inways readers could easily understand something you will see on every page ofthis book.

It was a pleasure to edit Rehan's work. With each article,his ability to illustrate SAP concepts improved. Rehan was especially good atmaking sure that readers had takeaways from each article. You didn't have toread ten of his pieces to get something worthwhile. Each article had a stand-alonepurpose.

The same is true of this User Guide. Each chapter has aclear objective for the reader. Whether it's Chapter 1 (SAP overview andbasics), Chapter 4 (personalizing your SAP system), or Chapter 9 (creating yourown reports), each chapter will give you something you can use immediately. The Ultimate SAP User Guide is a muchmore affordable alternative to a costly SAP training manual. You can also useit (or adapt it) for an instructor-led course, making it one of the moreflexible SAP books out there.

I don't issue SAP books very often from JonERP.com. Irarely find an author with talent who can fill an important gap in the market.The last time around, JonERP published TheUltimate SAP Pricing Guide by SAP pricing expert Matthias Liebich. It'sgreat to be adding to the JonERP Ultimate series with another book that I canbe proud to share with the SAP community.

One thing about the JonERP Ultimate series: We don'tpublish 500 page encyclopedias. When we put out a book, we make sure it's easyto consume without weighing down your carry-on.

Over the years, I have heard from thousands of SAPprofessionals who are at some kind of crossroads in their SAP career. Even withthe changes in the marketplace brought on by new technologies, many are eagerto know if there are still chances in the SAP field.

What I tell them is that there are certainlyopportunities, but despite what you might hear about SAP skills shortages,there's nothing easy about the SAP career path anymore. You have to develop anarea of mastery and outperform your colleagues. But in a career paradox, youalso need to be a team player. Shining at the expense of helping others out andbeing an expert AND a teacher is how you move ahead in today's SAP field.

Rehan has figured this out. The clues to his success canbe found throughout this user guide. SAP professionals who want to excel atany skill level need to adopt a continuous learning mindset. To pull thisoff, you need to have the right reference tools handy. I believe this book cando that for you otherwise I would not have published it. Publishing is farfrom easy, but it's an honor to get this book out there. I trust that you willget as much out of reading it as we did sharing it with you.

Jon Reed, JonERP.com

Introduction

T hisbook is intended for all SAP users across every module, as well as beginnerswho are just starting out in the SAP world. If you are a new user, or if youhave spent some time working on SAP, this book has a lot to offer. In addition,project team members and novice consultants may also find it useful.

This book will show users how to get the most out of theirSAP system, and it will enable them to get their job done in as little time aspossible. Even if you are an advanced user who works on SAP for hours each day,you will still find this book to be a valuable resource. There are manyfeatures (or newer options) of which even advanced users are not aware. Thereare plenty of lesser known tips and tricks, as well, that will help to broadenyour knowledge of SAP. This book also provides more efficient ways of doingtasks that you carry out every day. We have made sure to update this book withthe newest and less known GUI features, with which very few users arefamiliar.

The SAP User Guide is designed to be a one-stop resource to help youcarry out day-to-day activities quickly and easily without the need to searchfor resources on the Internet or elsewhere. The chapters have been created in agoal-directed fashion, i.e., each chapter contains a number of sections, andeach section is based on a task that may be performed or may be required by auser in their daily work.