In SAP Fiori Elements, managing user input efficiently and consistently is crucial to delivering a seamless user experience. Input controls—such as text fields, combo boxes, checkboxes, and date pickers—are essential components that allow users to enter data, make selections, and interact with applications. Unlike freestyle SAPUI5 apps, Fiori Elements applications are built on metadata-driven paradigms, which means input controls must be defined declaratively using annotations and configuration.
This article explores how to manage user input effectively using input controls in SAP Fiori Elements, with a focus on best practices, annotation usage, and practical implementation scenarios.
SAP Fiori Elements provide a framework to rapidly build SAP Fiori applications using a standardized set of templates. These templates (e.g., List Report, Object Page, Overview Page) are generated based on OData service metadata and annotations, minimizing the need for custom UI coding.
Input controls are interactive UI elements that allow users to:
In SAP Fiori Elements, these controls are typically configured through OData annotations (e.g., UI.Field, Common.ValueList, UI.SelectionField), rather than manually created via code.
Used for entering short text, numbers, or identifiers.
UI.Field<Annotation Term="UI.Field">
<PropertyValue Property="Value" Path="CustomerName" />
</Annotation>
Provide a predefined list of selectable values.
Common.ValueList<Annotation Term="Common.ValueList">
<Record Type="Common.ValueListType">
<PropertyValue Property="Label" String="Country" />
<PropertyValue Property="CollectionPath" String="CountrySet" />
<PropertyValue Property="Parameters">
<Collection>
<Record Type="Common.ValueListParameterInOut">
<PropertyValue Property="LocalDataProperty" PropertyPath="Country" />
<PropertyValue Property="ValueListProperty" String="CountryID" />
</Record>
</Collection>
</PropertyValue>
</Record>
</Annotation>
Allow users to select dates using a calendar interface.
UI.Field with Edm.Date typeRepresent binary (true/false) values.
UI.Field with Edm.BooleanIn List Report templates, user input for filtering data is managed through the Smart Filter Bar.
UI.SelectionFields<Annotation Term="UI.SelectionFields">
<Collection>
<PropertyPath>CustomerID</PropertyPath>
<PropertyPath>Country</PropertyPath>
</Collection>
</Annotation>
This annotation tells Fiori Elements which fields to expose in the filter bar and automatically renders the correct input control based on the data type and other annotations.
Fiori Elements supports validation and default value handling through OData annotations and ABAP backend logic:
FieldControl) or via backend service logic.DefaultValue or initialize values in the backend data provider class (e.g., DEFINE method in ABAP).Managing user input using input controls in SAP Fiori Elements is a powerful and streamlined process when leveraging the power of annotations and metadata. By declaratively defining UI behavior and relying on SAP’s intelligent UI rendering, developers can focus on business logic and ensure a consistent, user-friendly experience across applications.
SAP Fiori Elements, when used effectively with the right input controls and annotations, offers rapid development without sacrificing flexibility or quality in managing user interactions.