Significance of Sap Smart Forms

SAP Smart Forms is introduced in the SAP Basis Release 4.6C as a tool for creating and maintaining forms. SAP Smart Forms allows you to perform simple modifications to the form and in the logic by using simple graphical tools. In 90% of cases, this will not include any programming effort. Thus, any user without any programming knowledge could configure forms with data from an SAP System for relevant business processes.To print a form, you will need a program for data retrieval and a Smart Form that consists of the entire from logic. As retrieval of data and the form logic are separated, you have to only adapt the Smart Form if changes to the logic are necessary. The application program will pass the data through a function module interface to the Smart Form. When activating a Smart Form, the system will automatically generate a function module. At runtime, the system will process this function module.You can put in static and dynamic tables. These include line feeds in individual table cells, triggering proceedings for table headings and subtotals, and data sorting before output. You can verify individual nodes as well as the whole form and find any existing errors in the tree structure. The data flow analysis checks whether all fields have a distinct value at the moment they are displayed. Smart Forms allow you to incorporate graphics, which you could display either as part of the form or as background graphics. You can use background graphics to copy the outline of an existing form or to lend forms for a company-specific look. While taking printout, you can suppress the background graphic, if desired. Smart Forms will also support postage optimizing. SAP Smart Forms allows you to reduce very much the implementation costs of mySAP.com solutions as forms can be adjusted in least time. You plan a form using the graphical Form Painter and the graphical Table Painter. Logic of form is represented by a hierarchy structure (tree structure) that consists of individual nodes, such as nodes for global settings, nodes for output tables, nodes for texts or nodes for graphics. To make any changes, use Drag & Drop or Copy & Paste, and then select different attributes.These do not include writing code lines or using a Script language. Using your form report maintained in the Form Builder, Smart Forms will generate a function module that encapsulate the layout, content and form logic. So no need of group of function modules to print a form, but only one will do. System provides a generated XML output of the processed form for web publishing. Smart Forms provide a data stream called XML for Smart Forms (XSF) to let the use of 3rd party printing tools. This XSF passes form content from R/3 to an exterior product without passing any outline information about the Smart Form. The main advantages of smart forms are.1.It displays table structures.2.Outputs of the background graphics, for designing forms in particular use of templates which were scanned. 3.Colored output of the texts 4.User-friendly and incorporated form painter for the graphical design of forms