Here’s a little trick that you will not use every day but when you need to unlock a program variant it will be great to have this in your back pocket.

In regards to this Blog a program variant is the variant used on a report / program’s selection screen.  This variant can be protected by the user who creates or changes it.  Once protected, only that user can change the variant.  Protecting a variant can be done for many reasons but one big reason is to protect a variant of a reports being ran in a background jobs.

This Blog assumes the reader knows how to setup a selection screen variant and does not go into any detail on creating a variant.

The program used to unprotect a variant is RSVARENT (Cancel Variant Protection).

You will need authorization to one of the following transaction to run the program, SA38, SE38 or SE80.  Recommend trying SA38 first that is the transaction used in this Blog.

You will need the technical name for the program for which the variant is used.

This Blog assumes you know how to find the Tech name but one hint is to use the following menu path System > Status while in the report/program.  If you are not sure on how to find the technical name you probably should find someone with technical background to help run this program.

As I have mentioned in the past my goal is that any knowledgeable SAP person can successfully use the following information, however this is not a step by step instruction manual and does require a good understanding of SAP and SAP Selection Variants.

Process for Unprotecting Program Variants

1. Example – Protected Variant

The below screen shot shows a protected program variant.

2. Steps – Program RSVARENT / Transaction SA38

• Transaction SA38 / Program RSVARENT
• Enter “Report Name” (Technical name of Program)
• Enter “Variant Name”
• Execute

If successful you will receive the below “variant unlocked” message.

If you have question on this or any other PortSAP Consulting blog please feel free to contact us at Blog@PortSAP.com.  Or if you are looking for Top Quality SAP Consultants please feel free to contact us.

The author, Ray Hornbrook, has over 18 years of SAP functional and technical experience.  Ray started his career in SAP as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for a SAP implementation in 1998 and is now a Senior Level SAP Consultant.  Since Ray has worked both sides of SAP, business end user and IT professional, he is able to communicate effectively with both IT and Business team members.  Having a background as an SAP business end user has helped Ray greatly in his consulting career.  The business background helps him better communicate with the business members of the team.  As well as helping bridge gaps in communication between the IT and Business team members.

To find out more about Ray Hornbrook please check out his LinkedIn profile by clicking HERE.

End of document – www.portsap.com

Neither PortSAP Consulting nor the author of this Blog is associated with SAP AG or with any of its subsidiary or alliance company. Trademarks used in our website are registered trademarks of respective companies and neither PortSAP Consulting nor the author of this Blog is associated affiliated with these companies.