SAP Send IDOC activity

Use the SAP Send IDOC activity to send an IDOC to the specified SAP endpoint, during run time.

If you send your SAP data directly to the SAP system using an RFC port, you must use the SAP Send IDOC activity. If you send your SAP data as a file through a SAP File Port to the SAP system, you must use the Project > Import > SAP IDOC Schema toolbar menu option during design time to generate a Flat File Schema for your IDOC metadata and use the Write Flat File activity to write the SAP data. For more information, see Generating a Flat File Schema from an IDOC.

To connect to the SAP System from Studio, you must download and install the SAP Jar files and DLLs on your Window's development machine. For more information, see Downloading and installing the SAP Jar Files and DLLs.

During run time, if the SAP Send IDOC activity processes two instances of an IDOC, where both instances have the same IDOC number, the SAP Send IDOC activity appends the data segment of the second instance to the first instance.

Note: An orchestration that contains a SAP Send IDOC activity must have persistence enabled. For more information, see Enabling persistence.
The steps for adding and configuring a SAP Send IDOC activity to an orchestration are described in the following procedures:

Adding a SAP Send IDOC activity to the orchestration

  1. Create or open an orchestration. A graphical representation of the orchestration is displayed.
  2. Select the Activities tab and expand the SAP folder.
  3. Drag the Send IDOC activity onto the orchestration.
  4. Select the activity. The Checklist is displayed.

Creating, selecting, or editing a SAP endpoint

  1. Click Pick Endpoint task from the Checklist and select one of the following actions:
    • Select an existing endpoint:
      1. Select Browse. The Project Explorer is displayed.
      2. Select an existing endpoint and click OK. Go to the Configuring the activity procedure.
    • Select an existing endpoint and edit the endpoint:
      1. Select Browse. The Project Explorer is displayed.
      2. Select an existing endpoint and click OK.
      3. Click Edit. The Edit Endpoint panel is displayed.
    • Create a new endpoint: Select New. The Create Endpoint panel is displayed.
  2. Create or Edit a SAP endpoint.

Configuring the activity

  1. Select the Configure task from the Checklist. The Configure panel is displayed.
  2. Click Browse....
  3. Select an IDOC row and click OK. The Message Type, IDOC Type, and IDOC Extended Type in the Configure task are populated.

Specifying the retry options

  1. Select the Retry task from the Checklist. The Retry panel is displayed.
  2. Configure the retry options for connecting to an SAP System. The following table describes the retry options for connecting to an SAP System:  
    Retry options Description
    1) Wait ___ seconds between each retry. Specifies the number of seconds that the Integration Appliance waits before trying to establish a connection to the SAP System.
    2) Try to connect ___ times before failing. Specifies the maximum number of times the Integration Appliance attempts to establish a connection to the SAP System before issuing an error and stopping the processing of the current orchestration job. If you deploy an orchestration that contains an SAP Send IDOC activity and the Integration Appliance cannot connect to the specified SAP System, the Integration Appliance logs the connections errors as warnings in the system and orchestration logs until the retry count value is reached. When the retry count is reached, the Integration Appliance logs an error in the system and orchestration logs and the stops processing the current orchestration job. For example, you set the retry count to 3. The first, second, and third connection errors appear in the system log as warnings. The Integration Appliance logs the fourth connection error as an error and stops processing the current orchestration job.

Mapping the inputs of the activity

  1. Select the Map Inputs task in the Checklist. The input parameter of the activity are displayed in the To Activity panel. The XML Schema generated from selected IDOC Type and IDOC Extended Type becomes the input parameter of the activity.
  2. Create a map between orchestration variables and the IDOC input parameters and tables. See Creating a map for general instructions on mapping.

Note about Deploying a SAP Orchestration

Before you can deploy an orchestration with SAP activities using the Web Management Console, the Integration Appliance must first be able to establish a connection to the SAP System. If the Integration Appliance is unable to establish the connection to the SAP System, the orchestration is not deployed.