Using Raw Data Interface in SAP Scripting, allows you to connect to external text management systems. This interface contains all the data from SAP Script forms in SAP system but doesn’t contain any layout information such as font size, color, type, etc. The external system to which you are connected via interface manages the layout and performs data management.
Using Raw Data Interface, you can easily connect to an external system but there is no mechanism to verify if the form is printed correctly in the external system and the layout is managed.
To enable Raw Data interface (RDI) for external system integration, following settings have to be performed in SAP system −
Output Device − To perform RDI integration, there should be at least one output device that needs to be configured for external printing.
Printing to External System via RDI − You can flag a form for external printing in SAP system and if you don’t select this customizing setting, application settings are applied on the forms.
Form Definition in External System − For each form that is to be printed in the external text system, you have to define the form definition in the external text system.
Print Status Management − All the forms that you print via RDI to an external system, you need to maintain the print status of all the documents with unsuccessful print forms.
Table name STXRDID is used to maintain all the information regarding SAPscript RDI. You can view the information in this table using Transaction Code − SE11 or SE80.
This is Transaction Code: SE11. Mention the database table name and click Display.
This is Transaction code: SE80. Enter the table name and click Execute.
To get the print output, these techniques can be used −
SAPScript allows you to use raw data output format where the output mode is defined in the script itself or in runtime in the print program. The preferred format to use here is RDI because of less overhead and compact spool files.
You have to select SAPscript formatting in RDI output mode.
When you compare SAPScript formatting with SmartForms and PDF based print forms, Smartforms are advancement of SAPScript and are used to get XML based raw data output in XSF format. PDF based print forms provides raw data output format known as XFP with or without context evaluation.