Fax from SAP R/3 SD & MM Modules

Using InterFAX Mail-to-Fax

 How To

SAP's newer "Fax and Paging/SMS Interface" allows simpler access to faxing via InterFAX.
For more, see How to fax from SAP R/3 Fax and Paging/SMS Interface

InterFAX provides mail-to-fax functionality for SAP R/3. Users of the Sales and Distribution
Module (SD, shown below left) and Materials Management Module (MM, shown below
right) can define a special output type, which converts SAP documents to a PDF and emails
them as an attachment to the InterFAX server. The InterFAX server immediately sends the
attachment by fax to a fax number, which is defined in the SAP customer or vendor object,
using a special email format.

SAP R/3 Sales and Distribution Module

.
SAP R/3 Materials Management Module

Configuration Process
In order to make things work, some configuration and coding is required in the SAP Basis
Services module and in the SD or MM module. The process is as follows:

1. An authorized user of SAP Basis Services needs to enable outgoing emails in SAP,
and configure SMTP settings as required by InterFAX mail-to-fax.
2. Once SMTP has been properly configured, a user of the relevant SAP module (SD or
MM) must create a new output type for InterFAX mail-to-fax, and also define fax
numbers in the customer or vendor objects.
3. After the SD or MM user has defined an output type, a SAP developer needs to create
or modify the ABAP code of the relevant processing program, so that the documents
output from SAP are converted to PDF and attached to an email, as required by
InterFAX mail-to-fax. Code example and instructions on modifying it for your
specific needs.

How to Fax
Faxing from SAP is done indirectly. You do not actively send a fax, but rather faxes are
triggered when you perform operations on a customer (in the SD module) or a vendor (in the
MM module). Typically, a fax is sent when you save a customer or vendor object. The fax
number must be defined in the Telebox field of the customer or vendor object - all faxes to the
customer or vendor are sent to this number.

 Actions that trigger sending of faxes are defined in the special output type you create
for InterFAX mail-to-fax. How to define the output type.
  Fax numbers are defined by editing customer details in the XD02 transaction (SD
Module) or by editing vendor details in the XK02 transaction (MM Module). Detailed
instructions on defining customer details.
 To view sent faxes, access the SOST transaction, and view the queue for the special e-
mail processing job created by your SAP Basis Services administrator. In the queue,
each item represents either a fax or another email sent by SAP. You can distinguish
the faxes by looking at the Recipient column - for faxes, this will always be an address
@fax.tc. The Status column indicates the status of the fax:
o Items with a yellow icon are faxes waiting to be sent.
o Items with a green icon have been sent successfully.
o Items with a red icon have been sent, but did not go through successfully.

o Configuring Outgoing Email in SAP Basis Services

o Defining Output Type and Fax Numbers in SD or MM Module
o InterFAX Smart Forms Processing Program Example
o InterFAX Sapscript Processing Program Example
o Writing ABAP Processing Program for InterFAX Mail-to-Fax
o InterFAX Sapscript Form Mail Object

Configuring Outgoing Email in SAP Basis

Services
InterFAX mail-to-fax receives documents by email, and then transmits them to a fax machine.
SAP will need to send documents by email to the InterFAX server, in order to have them
transmitted by fax. For this reason, it is necessary to properly configure outgoing email
facilities in SAP:
  In the RZ10 transaction, the instance profile must contain a required parameter, which
allows SAP to connect to an outgoing email server.
 In SAPConnect Administration, the SMTP node (which handles outgoing email) must
be activated and have the appropriate settings.
 Also in SAPConnect Administration, a job must be scheduled to take emails from the
outgoing queue and send them.
 The user or users who will send faxes from the SD or MM module must have an
internal e-mail address. This address will be the sender of the emails sent by SAP,
which will subsequently be delivered by fax.

Below are detailed instructions for each of these tasks.

NOTE: You can find additional information on email/SMTP configuration on OSS, note
#455140, and in SAP Basis Services Online Documentation.

Setting Parameter in Instance Profile (RZ10 Transaction)

To set the required parameter in your instance profile:

1. Access the RZ10 transaction, and select Instance Profile.

2. Look for a parameter named icm/server_port_2. If it does not exist, create it.
3. Set the icm/server_port_1 parameter value to the following: PROT=SMTP, PORT=1080,
TIMEOUT=180

4. If you created the parameter or changed the value, restart the instance to update the
new value.

Activating and Configuring SMTP node (SAPconnect

Administration)
To activate and configure SMTP node:

1. Access the SCOT transaction (SAPconnect Administration).

2. From the Settings menu, select Define Domain. The Internet Mail Addresses dialog is
displayed.
 /li>

3. In the Default domain field, type your company's web domain without the prefix
http://www. (for example, mycompany.com) and click the confirmation button.
4. In SAPconnect Administration, ensure you are in node view, and select the SMTP
node.

The SAPconnect: General node data dialog is displayed.

5. In the General node data dialog, ensure that:
o Node in use is selected.
o The Mail host field contains your SMTP (outgoing mail) provider. For
example, smtp.provider.com
o The Mail port field contains the correct port used to connect to your SMTP
server.
6. Under Supported address types, click the Set button next to the Internet checkbox. The
Address type for node dialog is displayed.
 7. In the Address area box, if it does not contain an asterisk (*, meaning that all
addresses are permitted), ensure that all addresses under the domain fax.tc are
permitted for outgoing emails.
8. Under Output Formats for SAP Documents, from the SAPscript/Smart Forms drop-
down menu, select PDF.

WARNING: The SAPscript/Smart Forms output format must be set to PDF for mail-
to-fax to work. InterFAX mail-to-fax sends the attachment of an e-mail to a specified
fax number. The SAP document must be output as a PDF file, so it can be attached to
the e-mail and subsequently faxed by InterFAX.

9. Click the confirmation button. In SAPconnect: General node data, click the
confirmation button again.

Scheduling a Job (SAPconnect Administration)

To schedule a job that sends outgoing emails (SAPconnect Administration):

1. Access the SCOT transaction (SAPconnect Administration).

2. From the View menu, select Jobs.
o If there is an existing job of the variant SAP&CONNECTALL, a job is already
scheduled to send outgoing emails. Do not proceed to the next step. You are
done configuring SMTP job scheduling.
 o If there is no existing job of this type, proceed to the next step.
3. From the Job menu, select Create.
4. Select the following options for the new job:
o Type a name for the job.
o Select the SAP&CONNECTALL job variant.
o Select the option Schedule Periodically.
o Specify a reasonably short time interval (for example, 10 minutes). Users will
need to wait for this time interval before their faxes are sent.

Defining Email Addresses for Fax Users (SU01

Transaction)
To define internal email addresses for users who need to send faxes:

1. Identify which SAP users will need to send SAP documents by fax. Because document
outputs are often linked to saving of orders (or other relevant objects), the users who
send faxes will likely be the users who are permitted to edit and save these objects.
2. Access the SU01 transaction.
3. If any of the relevant users do not have an internal email address, create an address for
each of them. When creating each new address, ensure that Comm. Method is set to
INT E-Mail.
Defining Output Type and Fax Numbers in SD or MM Module

A user of the Sales and Distribution or Materials Management modules needs to do two things
to enable faxing from the relevant SAP module:

 Create a new output type for InterFAX mail-to-fax, and assign it to the relevant access
sequence.
 Define fax numbers, in a special email format, in the customer or vendor objects.

Below are detailed instructions for each of these tasks.

Creating a New Output Type (Transaction SPRO)

To create a new output type for InterFAX mail-to-fax:

1. Access the SPRO transaction.

2. Do one of the following:
o If you are using the SAP SD module, in the Structure tree, navigate to the following
path: Sales and Distribution > Basic Functions > Output Control > Output
Determination Using the Condition Technique > Maintain Output Determination for
Sales Documents > Maintain Output Types.
o If you are using the SAP MM module, in the Structure tree, navigate to the following
path: Purchasing > Messages > Output Control > Message Types > Define Message
Types for Scheduling Agreement Release/Expediter, and then click Maintain Message
Types for Forecast Delivery Schedule.

The output types overview is displayed.

3. Do one of the following:

 o If you have an existing output type used for regular printing, select this output type,
copy and paste it to create another, identical output type, then double-click the new
output type to edit it.
o If you do not have an existing output type for printing, create a new output type.

Details for the new output type are displayed.

4. At the top of the output type details, type a descriptive name for the new output type, such
as InterFAX Mail-to-Fax.
5. In the General Data tab, type the four-digit code of the Access sequence that is relevant for
sending faxes. Typically, this will be the same access sequence used for regular printing.
6. In the Default Values tab, do the following:
o From the Dispatch Time drop-down menu, select the option relevant for sending of
faxes: sending immediately on save, sending by scheduled job, etc.
o From the Transmission Medium drop-down menu, select 8 - Special function.

WARNING: You must set Transmission Medium to 8, otherwise it will not be

possible to define special handling for the outgoing email, so that it can be delivered to
fax by InterFAX.

7. Check with the SAP developer who will work on this output type, whether they prefer to
modify the existing processing program used for printing to also enable mail-to-fax, or create
a new program for mail-to-fax. Also, ask the developer for the name of the program they will
use for mail-to-fax. Do one of the following:
 o If you copy-pasted from an existing output type used for printing, and the developer
wants to use the same processing program used for printing, do not proceed to the
next step. You are done defining the new output type.
o If you created a new output type, or if the developer wants to create a new program,
proceed to the next step.
8. Ensure that your new output type is selected. From the Dialog Structure tree on the left,
select Processing Routines.

9. Under Processing 1, in the Program field, type the name of the processing program the
developer will use for mail-to-fax (whether this is the existing program used for printing, or a
new program).

Defining Fax Numbers (XD02 or XK02 Transaction)

Repeat the procedure below for each customer (in SD) or vendor (in MM) which needs to
receive faxes via mail-to-fax (these must be all the customers included in the access sequence
you defined for the new output type).

To define fax numbers in a special email format, for a customer (in SD) or a vendor (in MM):

1. If you are using the SD module, access transaction XD02. If you are using the MM module,
access transaction XK02.
2. Find the customer or vendor and edit their details. The Change Customer or Change Vendor
dialog is displayed.
3. Under Communication, use the Telebox field to enter the customer or vendor's fax number,
including all relevant area codes, in InterFAX's special email format. The format is as follows:
faxnumber@fax.tc (for example, if the customer's fax number is 0032-98-11-89-48, the
email format is 003298118948@fax.tc or +3298118948@fax.tc).
4. Save the customer or vendor details.