This chapter contains the topic:
User Defined Data for Distribution allows you to enter and maintain additional pertinent data for sales orders, purchase orders, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transactions, inventory items, customers and suppliers. This functionality accommodates those entities that use EDI and require a greater number of fields in which to store trading partner specific data that is applicable to sales and purchase orders. However, you can take advantage of this functionality even if you do not use EDI.
You do not need to perform any setup and can start entering data into any of the fields you want to use. However, you can use the set up programs to hide fields that you do not want to use. You can also control how the system verifies the data you enter in the field by attaching an override data item. For the transaction tables, you can also choose which fields require you to enter values and set up default values.
You enter the user defined data as part of the order entry process and when revising EDI transactions. The transaction tables include user defined data at the header and detail level for sales orders and purchase orders, as well as shipment headers. There are four additional tables to accommodate the transfer of user defined data in and out of the system via EDI transactions.
You can enter any user defined data you want and it becomes part of the order. When an order includes user defined data and you duplicate or release an order from a blanket or quote order, you can determine if the data from the original order displays and whether to include it in the new order. When the inventory commitment or shipment confirmation programs split a sales order detail line due to insufficient quantities, the program copies the user defined data from the original line to the new line.
When you enter user defined data for customers, suppliers, and items, you can use it as supplemental information or as default values for the user defined data in the orders and shipments. You set up these values using the User Defined Data Defaults program (P40062).
You enter user defined data by data type, which allows you to store more than one set of user defined data per customer, supplier, item or order. For example, you can use one type of user defined data to store internal information specific to order processing, while another stores information for a specific type of retailers to which your company sells, and another to store trading partner specific information for EDI processing.
You define the various types of information you would like to maintain in User Defined Code (UDC) 40/UD for the Type Code field.
If you want to tailor the title of the generic user defined field that displays on an entry program to the type of data that displays, you can define vocabulary overrides for each field in each program by the values for the Data Type field.
The User Defined Data processing options for each order entry program control whether the User Defined Data (header and detail) screens display automatically when you enter an order. This allows you to display the user defined data at the header level, the detail level or not at all. In addition, they also control whether you can access these screens using a function exit or by entering a value in the Option field to view and maintain the data in existing orders. You can also enter the version of the program you want to use in the processing option.
Note:
You cannot use user defined data in the Sales Update, Receipts, or Voucher Match programs when these programs create Account Ledger (F0911), Accounts Receivable Ledger (F0311), or Accounts Payable Ledger (F0411) records. For example, if you store amounts in a user defined field in the sales order detail, the system does not include these amounts in the Sales Update program (P42800) for the Accounts Receivable Functional Server (XT0311Z1) when creating the F0311 record.You can set up user defined data fields for sales orders, purchase orders, shipments, inventory items, customers, and suppliers.
All of the user defined data tables have an identical set of various types of generic fields. You can enter the following type of data in various lengths:
Numbers
Dates
Quantities
Units of Measure
Amounts
Codes
References
Descriptions
You can enter up to 8 numeric characters in the Number fields. If you use this field to store an address number, only the short address number displays.
You can enter up to 15 numeric characters in the Quantity fields. Each quantity field has an accompanying two position Unit of Measure (UOM) field. You can leave the UOM field blank or enter a value, which must be in UDC 00/UM. If the Data Item Class in the data dictionary for the Quantity field is QTYINV, the field requires a unit of measure and the program enters EA (each) into the field. If the Data Item Class is not QTYINV, the UOM field remains blank.
You can enter up to 21 characters in the Amount fields.
The Reference fields vary in size from 12 to 40 characters and you should enter non-numeric data.
The Code fields range in size from 1 to 10 characters.
There are User Reserved UDC tables for each of the ten Code fields, which are different than the standard UDC tables. These allow you to specify different codes for each UDC table based on the Data Type value and the program in which the field exists.
As the codes in the User Reserved UDC tables differ by data type and program, you cannot use the User Defined Codes program (P00051) to enter codes in the table. The system allows you to do so; however, the entry programs for user defined data will disregard these entries.
You can only access, add, and update the User Reserved UDC tables for these UDC fields from the entry program for the user defined data by choosing Field Level Help (F1) in the Code field. Any entries in the table for the data type display on the User Reserved UDC Selection (P0027S) program. To add codes for the data type, choose User Defined Code Revisions (F10) to access the User Reserved UDC Revisions program (P0027).
For example, to activate UDC codes for the Code 3 field in the Customer Defaults-User Defined (F03016) table, you access the Customer Defaults program (P03016) choose Field Level Help (F1) in the Code 3 field and add UDC values. There are three Data Types for Customer Defaults, INT, COM, and EDI. You add AAA, BBB, and CCC for the INT data type, 100, 200, and 300 for the COM data type, and do not add values for the EDI data type. When you add or change records in the Customer Defaults for the INT data type, you must enter AAA, BBB, or CCC in the Code 3 field, or an error occurs. For a COM data type record, you must enter 100, 200, and 300 or an error occurs. For the EDI data type, the system does not verify values in a UDC table and you can enter any value.
After you activate Multi-Currency for your system, the Currency Code field displays for each set of user defined data, allowing you to enter the currency for the data. When you enter a value in an Amount field, the system saves and displays the value using the display decimals for the currency instead of the display decimals for the field from the data dictionary. For example, if the currency is Mexican Pesos and the display decimals are 0, then the amount 2000 displays as 2000 and you cannot enter 2000.20.
Note:
To store the value in the display decimals from the data dictionary, remove CURRENCY from the Data Item Class in the data dictionary for the generic data item belonging to the field. You must make any change to the data dictionary item before you enter any of the user defined data for that field. Any change impacts that field for every data type and every user defined data table. To apply the change to only a specific data type and table, use the User Data Field Control program (P40060) to attach an override data item with the number of display decimals to the field.If you do not need to designate a currency for a particular data type, you can hide the Currency Code field using the User Data Field Control program (P40060) by setting it to inactive status. If the Currency Code is inactive, the system stores any amounts you enter using the display decimals for the field from the data dictionary.
Once you enter amounts for a currency, you can not change the currency code without first clearing the amounts and then entering them for the new currency.
You can also use Quantity fields to store extended amounts. To do so, change the Data Item Class for the user defined field in the data dictionary from QTYINV to CURRENCY. You must make any change to the data dictionary item before you enter any of the user defined data for that field. Any change impacts that field for every data type and every user defined data table. To use a Quantity field to store an extended amount for one data type and table, use the User Data Field Control program (P40060) to attach an override data item to the field for that data type and table, and set the Data Item Class in the data dictionary for that override data item to CURRENCY.
You can change the field titles on any of the user defined data entry screens to something more meaningful than the generic title, for example, Reference 1. The titles can differ by data type, so you can have one set of field titles for one data type and a completely different set of titles for another data type.
In the Vocabulary Overrides program (P9220), locate the video, for example, V03016 (Customer Defaults-User Defined) and create a new record by appending the data type to the video number. For example, for the INT data type you add a Vocabulary Override (VO) record of V03016INT and change the Text Description fields to the text you want to display on the Customer Defaults-User Defined screen. Also, ensure you change the Video Screen Text Override Array (OR) field to Y for each line that you change. When you access the Customer Defaults -User Defined program the VO data that displays for the INT data type is from the V03016INT record.
If you attach another data item to a Code field, the programs no longer use the User Reserved UDC table for the generic data item, because it belongs to the generic item and not the new data item. If the new data item includes a UDC table in the data dictionary, then the program uses that UDC table for selecting and verifying values for the field.
If you use the User Data Field Control program (P40060) to attach a data item to a specific field, consider the following examples:
Example 1: If you attach the Payment Instrument data item to the Code 1 field for the data type INT, when you locate or update INT records, the UDC table 00/RY (Payment Instrument - A/R) displays when you choose Field Level Help (F1) and the value must exist in the table or an error occurs.
Example 2: If you were to attach the Location data item to the Reference 1 field, the Location Window displays when you choose Field Level Help (F1).
Example 3: If you were to attach the Address Number data item to the Number 2 field, the Name Search Window displays when you choose Field Level Help (F1) and the value must exist in the Address Book or an error occurs.
You can use the Required User Defined Fields program (P40061) to require the entry of values in certain fields. If the field is left blank, the system issues either an error or a warning, based on how you set up the field. You use this functionality for user defined data for orders and shipments however; it does not apply to customers, suppliers and items.
Evaluate the type of user defined data you want to use.
Set up vocabulary overrides if you want to use a description that is different than the generic field description.
Set the User Defined Data processing options for the appropriate program to display the user defined data on the Sales Order Entry, Purchase Order Entry or Shipment programs.