Reference from a free business object to an existing business object
At the Open Module’s second selection level, the existing system-defined business objects are available, such as the Orders, Spaces, Addresses and Persons business objects. You can make a reference from a free business object at the Open Module’s third selection level to an existing business object at the second selection level – for example Spaces.
 | If multiple (either fixed or free) fields are present on the third level that refer to the same business object on the first or second level, then no drill-down filtering is used. So all business objects are shown as if no drill-down selection was made. |
Example
At the second selection level, the Spaces step has been added. At the third level, free business object 4 has been configured as Courses. For end users this means that they can select a space at the second selection level and descend to the third level to retrieve the courses linked to that space.
How to configure this?
Procedure
1. Add the Spaces step in TSIs .
| | For more information on adding selection levels and steps in TSIs , refer to TSIs . |
2. In Field Definer, select Free business object 4, and set its status to Under construction.
3. Enter a translation for the free business object 4, for example Courses.
4. Descend to the Details selection level, select a free field (this can be a free integer field or a free string field), and set the In use property to Yes.
5. Change the field type of the selected free field to Space.
You have now created a reference from the free business object Courses to the existing business object Spaces.
| | For more information on configuring a free field as a reference field, refer to the Modifying the field type section in the Field Definer. |
6. Enter a translation for this field, for example Space, and save your settings.
7. Use ‘regular’ date/time fields if you want to register the start date/time and end date/time of a course.
8. Enter a translation for the date-time fields field, for example Start date/time of course, and End date/time of course, and save your settings.
 | The Start date and End date fields should only be used in combination with the reference date functionality. If you do not want to use a reference date, you should not use the Start date and End date fields. The Start date and End date fields can be removed using Layouts . |
9. Go back to the Business Objects selection level and set the status of Free business object 4 to Completed.
10. In TSI Manager, select Open Module.
11. Descend to the TSI selection level, and select the layout of Free step 4.
12. On the action panel, click Jump to Layouts, and set the status of the layout to Under construction.
13. Add the free fields Space, Start date/time of course, and End date/time of course, which you added to free business object 4 in FieldDefiner, to the layout.
14. Delete the Start date and End date fields from the layout.
15. Save the settings and then set the layout's status back to Completed.