Mandatory Fields

Mandatory fields are fields which must be filled in before an object can be saved. In the editor, you can meet two basic types of mandatory fields: Mandatory plain attributes and mandatory relations.

Mandatory Plain Attributes

Mandatory fields referencing the plain attributes (that is the fields containing data stored in the actual business object) are distinguished from other fields by bold font or an asterisk. Please see Global Settings > Representation > Mandatory Fields Settings.

Depending on the customization, they can also have colored background in the field. If you attempt to save an object with some mandatory fields left empty, you will get an information box identifying the field with missing information.

Mandatory Relations

Mandatory Relation in the Reference View

Reference View represents an n:1 relation between the edited object and an object of another business object type. If such relation is mandatory (the edited object must be linked to just one object of the target object type), the corresponding reference view is distinguished from other reference views by bold font of the reference view label.

If you attempt to save an object with a mandatory reference view left empty, you will get an information box identifying the reference view with missing information.

Note: The Reference View can have three view options (depending on the customization). Please see the Reference View Display Options chapter.

Mandatory Relations in Reference Catalogs

Reference catalogs represents an n:m relation between the edited object and objects of another business object type. If such relation is mandatory (the edited object must be linked to at least one object of the target object type), the corresponding reference list is distinguished from other reference lists by bold font of the tab label.

If you attempt to save an object with a mandatory relation left empty, you will get an information box identifying the reference list with missing information again.

Note: Which attributes are mandatory is mostly a question of customization. Attributes can be made mandatory on the object type level (specifying data which have to be present for an object of a particular object type to exist - see Object Type Customizer) and on the view level (specifying fields which have to be filled in before the view can be saved - see View Customizer).

Note: The colors used for emphasizing mandatory fields and relations depend on the selected color scheme (GUI Style). The whole description and all images above apply to the 'Classic' GUI style.