A
Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Contents
In this chapter you will
learn:

Why the ABAP List
Viewer (ALV) is useful

Some of the time-saving
features of ALV, as well as
its ability to enhance
information display

The differences between
reports written with and
without the ALV

Technical information
(sample code) to help you
build reports with ALV
“functionality”
Overview ................................................................................................................. A–2
What Is The ABAP List Viewer? ........................................................................... A–2
ABAP List Viewer: Cost Versus Benefit Analysis .............................................. A–3
Report Lists Without ABAP List Viewer .............................................................. A–4
Report Lists With ABAP List Viewer.................................................................... A–5
Technical Notes ..................................................................................................... A–9
Sample Code Using ALV (Release 4.0B) ........................................................... A–10
Review .................................................................................................................. A–15
Where to Learn More ........................................................................................... A–15
Report Development Tools
A–1
Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Overview
Overview
If it becomes necessary to write ABAP code to create your reports, then consider using the
ABAP List Viewer (ALV) to simplify your development. Available in the R/3 System since
Release 3.1, the ABAP List Viewer supports many of the standard R/3 reports. The ALV
provides additional program code you can quickly add to any custom report for any SAP
module.
Many reports developed for Release 4.0 (and later) utilize the ABAP List Viewer.
Additionally, many older standard R/3 reports (and reporting tools) have been modified to
include the ABAP List Viewer.
The ABAP List Viewer can be used with any application component or module in the R/3
System. We recommend that developers should adopt ABAP List Viewer as a design
principle in all report development activities that occur in your organization.
Note: At the time of press, limited technical support is available for the ABAP List
Viewer. However, we believe that support limitations should not prevent you from
taking advantage of the functionality offered by ALV.
What Is The ABAP List Viewer?
The ALV is a set of function modules that are added to program code. Programs created
before Release 3.1 can be enhanced with the ALV by adding links to the function modules.
Developers can use the functionality of the ALV when creating new reports, thus saving
time which might otherwise have been spent on report enhancement. Using the ALV also
provides a uniform user-interface and list format for ABAP reports. This standardization
helps eliminate redundant functions.
The ABAP List Viewer enables both simple and sequential (hierarchical) report lists. Simple
lists contain a number of non-hierarchical, user-defined columns. Sequential lists contain
columns that consist of column headings and their subordinate rows.
Goals of ALV
A–2
The primary goals of the ABAP List Viewer are to provide:

Users with a consistent, user-friendly, and functional method of manipulating the
data which appears on report lists.

ABAP developers with an efficient and consistent method of programming functions
that are commonly needed or requested in reports.
Reporting Made Easy
Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
ABAP List Viewer: Cost Versus Benefit Analysis
ABAP List Viewer: Cost Versus Benefit Analysis
Before taking advantage of the features of ALV, developers may want to consider the
benefits gained versus the “extra time” taken to include ALV in report development. The
following table shows estimates of time expenditures in report development. Note that an
estimated 50% of report developers’ time is consumed by building “fancy” features and
enhancing the look-and-feel of custom reports.
ABAP Report Development Activity Without ALV
Percentage of Time Taken to Complete
Finding the right tables and table relationships that
need to be included in order for the program to be
written
50%
Providing “fancy” features, such as sorting,
subtotals, and interactivity
30%
Enhancing the look of the report with column
headings, vertical lines, and color
20%
Total
100%
SAP developed the ABAP List Viewer to help reduce the time and effort spent on some of
the report development activities. By using the ALV in the programming of custom reports,
you could reduce the development time by an estimated 40% (see table below).
ABAP Report Development Activity With ALV
Percentage of Time Taken to Complete
Finding the right tables and table relationships that
need to be included in order for the program to be
written
50%
Preparing field catalog and sort sequence for ALV
1%
Providing “fancy” features, such as sorting,
subtotals, and interactivity
9%
Enhancing the look of the report with column
headings, vertical lines, and color
0%
Total
60%
Although, the use of ALV adds one more development activity (that is, preparation of the
field catalog), the development time spent on other activities is either eliminated or vastly
reduced.
Report Development Tools
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Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Report Lists Without ABAP List Viewer
Report Lists Without ABAP List Viewer
When a report is written, the report list (output) depends almost entirely on how the
developer programmed the report.
Shown below is a sample report list where the programmer did not to use the ABAP List
Viewer. For illustration purposes, consider a report that was simply written (using the
WRITE command) to the screen. The output of a report created with just the WRITE
statement is shown below:
Function bar is blank
No column headings
List data is “dead.” It is simply
a so-called “data dump”
A key point to note is that the function bar is blank. In addition, the data in the list is “dead”
which means that data listed cannot be used for any further data retrieval. It is essentially a
“data-dump.” Among other things, there are no headings for the columns. Any additional
functionality would have to be programmed. In short, the interface between the data you
see on the screen and the user’s eyes (the GUI) is limited and bland.
Report users routinely ask for additional features in their reports. Often they are looking for
the ability to:
Hint: These
functions are
all available
in ALV
A–4

Sort

Resize rows

Double-click on one information element to jump to another information element

Perform basic calculations

Download “stylized” spreadsheets

Display several colors

Visually separate various pieces of information on the screen
Reporting Made Easy
Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Report Lists With ABAP List Viewer
However, for the most part, these features need to be programmed into the list as added
functionality to the output of the report. While some of these added functions are relatively
easy to program, the manner in which this added functionality works may vary greatly. For
example, one programmer may decide to enable a single-click as sufficient user input to
jump to a next level of information, while another programmer requires a double-click.
Similarly, one programmer may set the output of a field at 10 characters long, but another
programmer may program it as 20 characters.
Report Lists With ABAP List Viewer
When you insert the ALV code in your ABAP report program, the report list comes “alive.”
Compare the ALV-enabled list shown on page A-6 with the list shown on the previous page.
Although the data is the same, the program has been changed to incorporate the ALV
function modules.
With the ALV, the user is presented with a standard interface which, from the outset,
includes:

Headers for the columns that appear on the list.

Colors that correspond to indented key information

Buttons that appear on the function bar (some of whose functions will be introduced in
the pages that follow)
A feature-rich function bar
gives the user commonly
requested functionality
Function bar is blank
Column headings make data
easier to understand
List data is “alive”
As you review the additional functionality shown above, remember that without the ALV
each function would have to be programmed into the report.
Report Development Tools
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Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Report Lists With ABAP List Viewer
Note: This appendix introduces you to some of the functions that the ALV makes
possible. However, this appendix does not cover the full breadth of ALV functionality.
For more information, refer to the ALV documentation in the R/3 online documentation:
R/3 Library  CA-Cross-Application Components  General Application Functions  ABAP
List Viewer
Guided Tour
This guided tour shows possible ways a user could interact with an ALV-enabled report list.
In an ALV-enabled report list, a user can
select a particular column and execute a
subsequent function, if desired.
2
1. Select the column for Sales doc. With
ALV’s added functionality the color
of the selected column can be
changed, making it easy for the
report user to know which column
has been selected.
1
2. Choose Filter. With the filter option,
a user can call up a desired subset of
information on the output list.
3. Set the filter for the sales documents
to be viewed. In this instance, the
user only wants to views sales
documents that are between the
numbers 1000 and 2000.
3
4
4. Choose Copy to invoke the ALV to
filter the list.
A–6
Reporting Made Easy
Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Report Lists With ABAP List Viewer
5. The resulting filtered list is shown to
the right. To return to the previous
list, a user can simply click the
arrow buttons without having to exit
and re-execute the report.
5
6
6. If not all columns of the report are of
interest to the user, the unwanted
columns can be hidden. This can be
accomplished by setting the current
variant to include only the desired
columns. To hide (or to view
previously hidden columns), choose
Display variant.
In the popup window, the columns that
currently appear in the list are shown in
the left section. Hidden fields (if any)
appear on the right section. In this
example, all fields appear.
7. To make one column disappear,
select the row which lists the column
you want to hide. In this example,
we select Material Group.
7
8
8. Then, click the single right-arrow
button to move the selected column
(Material group) to the hidden fields
section.
Report Development Tools
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Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Report Lists With ABAP List Viewer
The Material Group is now one of the
hidden fields.
9. For this change to take effect, choose
Copy.
9
The “new” output list appears. The
original list may be revisited by simply
choosing the current variant.
A–8
Reporting Made Easy
Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Technical Notes
Technical Notes
In order for the reports to provide the consistency, flexibility, and user-friendliness of the
ALV, it is necessary to include certain statements in the report’s program code. This section
is intended for those who actually write the code for reports.
To include the ALV in a report, the following basic steps must completed:
1. Declare data areas for List Viewer.
2. Declare the internal table to store selected data.
3. Select data into internal table.
4. Build the field catalogs.
5. Build event catalogs.
6. Start ABAP List Viewer using SAP’s standard delivered function modules (see TechTalk
below).
7. Process call back events.
In the standard R/3 System, SAP delivers several function modules related to the ALV.
Use the following function modules with Release 4.0: REUSE_ALV_LIST_DISPLAY (this
is the primary function module) or other function modules that begin with the name
REUSE_ALV*.
K_KKB_LIST_DISPLAY is still available but should no longer be used!
Review the sample program on page A–10 which shows the coding related to each of steps
listed above.
Note: The source code that appears on page A–10 was used to create the sample ALVenabled report list presented in this appendix. You will find the source code
(ZFIGALV.txt) on the companion CD supplied with this guidebook series.
Report Development Tools
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Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Sample Code Using ALV (Release 4.0B)
Sample Code Using ALV (Release 4.0B)
**************************************************************
REPORT ZFIGALV .
********Declare Data Areas for List Viewer (Begin)************
TYPE-POOLS: SLIS.
DATA: FIELDCAT TYPE SLIS_T_FIELDCAT_ALV,
FIELDCAT_LN LIKE LINE OF FIELDCAT,
SORTCAT
TYPE SLIS_T_SORTINFO_ALV,
SORTCAT_LN
LIKE LINE OF SORTCAT,
EVENTCAT
TYPE SLIS_T_EVENT,
EVENTCAT_LN
LIKE LINE OF EVENTCAT.
DATA: COL_POS TYPE I.
*******Declare Data Areas for List Viewer (End)***************
*******Declare Internal Table to Store Selected Data (Begin)**
DATA: BEGIN OF IVBAP OCCURS 0,
VBELN LIKE VBAP-VBELN,
POSNR LIKE VBAP-POSNR,
MATNR LIKE VBAP-MATNR,
MATKL LIKE VBAP-MATKL,
CHARG LIKE VBAP-CHARG,
KWMENG LIKE VBAP-KWMENG,
VRKME LIKE VBAP-VRKME,
ARKTX LIKE VBAP-ARKTX,
END OF IVBAP.
*******Declare Internal Table to Store Selected Data (End)****
*******Select Data into Internal Table (Begin) ***************
SELECT VBELN POSNR MATNR MATKL KWMENG VRKME
INTO CORRESPONDING FIELDS OF TABLE IVBAP
A–10
Reporting Made Easy
Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Sample Code Using ALV (Release 4.0B)
FROM VBAP WHERE VBELN NE 0.
******* Select Data into Internal Table (End) ****************
******* Build Field Catalogs (Begin)**************************
PERFORM
PERFORM
PERFORM
PERFORM
PERFORM
BUILD_FIELDCAT.
BUILD_FIELDCAT2.
BUILD_FIELDCAT3.
BUILD_SORTCAT.
BUILD_SORTCAT2.
*******Build Field Catalogs (End)******************************
*******Build Event Catalog (Begin)*****************************
PERFORM BUILD_EVENTCAT.
*******Build Event Catalog (End)*******************************
*******Start List Viewer (Begin)*******************************
PERFORM START_LIST_VIEWER.
*******Start List Viewer (End)*********************************
***************************************************************
***************************************************************
*********FORM ROUTINES (Begin)*********************************
FORM BUILD_FIELDCAT.
ADD 1 TO COL_POS.
FIELDCAT_LN-REF_TABNAME = 'VBAP'.
FIELDCAT_LN-FIELDNAME = 'VBELN'.
FIELDCAT_LN-KEY = 'X'.
FIELDCAT_LN-DO_SUM = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-COL_POS = COL_POS.
FIELDCAT_LN-NO_OUT = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-QFIELDNAME = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-HOTSPOT = 'X'.
APPEND FIELDCAT_LN TO FIELDCAT.
ENDFORM.
FORM BUILD_FIELDCAT2.
ADD 1 TO COL_POS.
FIELDCAT_LN-REF_TABNAME = 'VBAP'.
Report Development Tools
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Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Sample Code Using ALV (Release 4.0B)
FIELDCAT_LN-FIELDNAME = 'MATNR'.
FIELDCAT_LN-KEY = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-DO_SUM = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-COL_POS = COL_POS.
FIELDCAT_LN-NO_OUT = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-QFIELDNAME = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-HOTSPOT = SPACE.
APPEND FIELDCAT_LN TO FIELDCAT.
ENDFORM.
FORM BUILD_FIELDCAT3.
ADD 1 TO COL_POS.
FIELDCAT_LN-REF_TABNAME = 'VBAP'.
FIELDCAT_LN-FIELDNAME = 'MATKL'.
FIELDCAT_LN-KEY = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-DO_SUM = 'X'.
FIELDCAT_LN-COL_POS = COL_POS.
FIELDCAT_LN-NO_OUT = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-QFIELDNAME = SPACE.
FIELDCAT_LN-HOTSPOT = SPACE.
APPEND FIELDCAT_LN TO FIELDCAT.
ENDFORM.
FORM BUILD_SORTCAT.
SORTCAT_LN-SPOS = '1'.
SORTCAT_LN-FIELDNAME = 'MATNR'.
SORTCAT_LN-UP = 'X'.
SORTCAT_LN-DOWN = SPACE.
SORTCAT_LN-SUBTOT = 'X'.
APPEND SORTCAT_LN TO SORTCAT.
ENDFORM.
FORM BUILD_SORTCAT2.
SORTCAT_LN-SPOS = '2'.
SORTCAT_LN-FIELDNAME = 'VRKME'.
SORTCAT_LN-UP = SPACE.
SORTCAT_LN-DOWN = 'X'.
SORTCAT_LN-SUBTOT = SPACE.
APPEND SORTCAT_LN TO SORTCAT.
ENDFORM.
FORM BUILD_EVENTCAT.
EVENTCAT_LN-NAME = 'TOP_OF_PAGE'.
A–12
Reporting Made Easy
Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Sample Code Using ALV (Release 4.0B)
EVENTCAT_LN-FORM = 'PAGE_HEADER'.
APPEND EVENTCAT_LN TO EVENTCAT.
ENDFORM.
FORM START_LIST_VIEWER.
DATA: PGM LIKE SY-REPID.
PGM = SY-REPID.
CALL FUNCTION 'REUSE_ALV_LIST_DISPLAY'
EXPORTING
*
I_INTERFACE_CHECK
= ' '
I_CALLBACK_PROGRAM
= PGM
*
i_callback_pf_status_set = ' '
I_CALLBACK_USER_COMMAND = 'USER_COMMAND'
*
I_STRUCTURE_NAME
=
*
IS_LAYOUT
=
IT_FIELDCAT
= FIELDCAT
*
IT_EXCLUDING
=
*
IT_SPECIAL_GROUPS
=
IT_SORT
= SORTCAT
*
IT_FILTER
=
*
IS_SEL_HIDE
=
*
I_DEFAULT
= 'X'
I_SAVE
= 'A'
*
IS_VARIANT
= ' '
*
IT_EVENTS
=
*
IT_EVENT_EXIT
=
*
IS_PRINT
=
*
I_SCREEN_START_COLUMN
= 0
*
I_SCREEN_START_LINE
= 0
*
I_SCREEN_END_COLUMN
= 0
*
I_SCREEN_END_LINE
= 0
*
IMPORTING
*
E_EXIT_CAUSED_BY_CALLER =
*
es_exit_caused_by_user
=
TABLES
T_OUTTAB
= IVBAP
EXCEPTIONS
PROGRAM_ERROR
= 1
OTHERS
= 2.
ENDFORM.
********Process Call Back Events (Begin)***************************
Report Development Tools
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Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Sample Code Using ALV (Release 4.0B)
FORM USER_COMMAND USING UCOMM LIKE SY-UCOMM
SELFIELD TYPE SLIS_SELFIELD.
READ TABLE IVBAP INDEX SELFIELD-TABINDEX.
CHECK SY-SUBRC = 0.
CASE UCOMM.
WHEN '&IC1'.
CASE SELFIELD-SEL_TAB_FIELD.
WHEN 'IVBAP-VBELN'.
SET PARAMETER ID 'AUN' FIELD IVBAP-VBELN.
CALL TRANSACTION 'VA03' AND SKIP FIRST SCREEN.
WHEN 'IVBAP-MATNR'.
SET PARAMETER ID 'MAT' FIELD IVBAP-MATNR.
CALL TRANSACTION 'MM03' AND SKIP FIRST SCREEN.
ENDCASE.
ENDCASE.
ENDFORM.
********Process Call Back Events (End)******************************
***********FORM ROUTINES (END)**************************************
A–14
Reporting Made Easy
Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Review
Review

The ABAP List Viewer (ALV) functionality provided within ABAP can enhance reports
in the R/3 System, and was first made available with Release 3.1. The ALV is a set of
function modules added to program code. Programs created before this release can be
enhanced with the ALV by adding links to the function modules.

Using the ALV provides a uniform user-interface and list format for ABAP reports. This
standardization helps eliminate redundant functions.

Using the ALV enhances the functionality provided with reports while decreasing the
development time by roughly 40%.

The ALV provides the following features:
 Sorting
 Resizing of rows
 Double-clicking on one information element to jump to another information element
 Performing basic calculations
 Downloading of stylized spreadsheets
 Displaying several colors
 Visually separating various pieces of information on the screen

To include the ALV in a report, the following basic steps must completed:
1. Declare data areas for List Viewer.
2. Declare the internal table to store selected data.
3. Select data into internal table.
4. Build field catalogs.
5. Build event catalogs.
6. Start the ABAP List Viewer using SAP’s standard delivered function modules.
7. Process call back events.
Where to Learn More
For more information, refer to the R/3 Library (online documentation).
In the HTML help documentation, go to:
R/3 System Library  CA-Cross-Application Components  General Application Functions 
ABAP List Viewer
Report Development Tools
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Appendix A: ABAP List Viewer (ALV)
Where to Learn More
A–16
Reporting Made Easy