Extension Center PDF

Administration Guide
SAP SuccessFactors Foundation

Document Version: Q3 2016 September 12
Extension Center
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Content
What's New in This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Getting Started with Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
2.1
What is Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
2.2
How do you enable Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.3
What permissions do you need to use Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4
How does Extension Center work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.5
How do you get started with Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.6
What are the different elements of Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

What is an Object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
What is a Picklist?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
How do you create a new extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
How do you create a picklist?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.1
How do you use an existing picklist?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
How do you create an object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.1
How do you configure fields?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.2
How do you configure relationships?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.3
How do you configure rules?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

How do you manage field-level rules?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
How do you use an existing rule?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
5.4
How do you configure workflows?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

How do you use an existing workflow?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.5
How do you configure the UI for the extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.6
How do you configure object properties?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5.7
How do you configure object and field security?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5.8
How do you use an existing object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
How do you delete an object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
How do you configure an extension to access it from the Employee Files page?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
How do you delete an extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
How do you publish an extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
9.1
How do you prepare to publish an extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

How do you configure source and target instances in Provisioning?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
How do you enable permissions in the source instance to publish the extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
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9.2
How do you publish the extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
9.3
How to synchronize instance configurations?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
9.4
How do you interpret the publishing status?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
10
How does the Employee use the extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
10.1
How do you access an extension from the Home Page?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

How do you create a custom tile for accessing an extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
How do you access an extension using the Links tile?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
10.2
How do you use the extension from the Manage Data page in Admin Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
10.3
How do you use the extension from the Employee Files page?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
11
How does the Manager review the application?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
11.1
How does the manager approve or send back the request?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
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FAQ: Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
12.1
How do you add Extension Center to your Favorites?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
12.2
What is an Uncategorized extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
12.3
Are all features available in MDF for creating extensions available in Extension Center? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
12.4
Why does the MDF object definition always fail when publishing the extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
13
Reference Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
13.1
Data Type Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
13.2
Relationship Types Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
13.3
Rule Category Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Extension Center
Content
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What's New in This Guide
This document describes changes to the Extension Center Implementation Guide for the recent releases. If the
information you are looking for is not described in this guide or if you find something described incorrectly, please
send mail to SAPSuccessFactorsDocumentation@sap.com and we'll update this guide.
Q3 2016
Table 1: The following table summarizes changes to this guide for the Q3 2016 release
What's New
Description
More Info
This is the first version of the Extension
What is Extension Center? [page 5]
September 12
Extension Center Administration Guide
Center Administration Guide. Using this

guide you can configure and use Exten
sion Center. An example has been used
to take you through the flow and allow
you to easily get started.
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Extension Center
What's New in This Guide
Getting Started with Extension Center
2.1
What is Extension Center?
Extension Center allows you to create and manage extensions.

An extension is a custom application, which is configured to process employee-centric business needs. For
example, as an Admin you can create applications to manage different HR Programs, such as company car
requests, employee wellness programs, tuition reimbursement request, pension plan programs, and so on.
This document aims to familiarize the HR Admin with the process of creating and managing extensions in
Extension Center.
2.2
How do you enable Extension Center?
To use Extension Center, you must be authorized to use MDF and Generic Objects. In addition, you also need to
enable the following options in Provisioning.
Enable Extension Center
Note
After enabling Extension Center, ensure that the Metadata is refreshed. To do this:
1. Go to Admin Center.
2. Search and click ODATA API Metadata Refresh and Export.
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The ODATA API Metadata Refresh and Export page appears:
3. Click Refresh.
Employee Central Foundation Objects must be selected for workflow
Enable Generic Objects and Enable the Attachment Manager
Remember
As a customer, you do not have access to Provisioning. To complete tasks in Provisioning, contact SAP Cloud
Support.
2.3
What permissions do you need to use Extension Center?
Before you can start using Extension Center, you need to define certain permissions that will allow users to create
new extensions and objects.
Note
As you will see from the steps, Extension Center, like MDF, leverages the Role-Based Permissions (RBP)
framework.
To set permissions:
2. In the Search field, type Manage Permission Roles.
3. In the list of permission roles, select the role you'd like to grant access to Extension center. For example,
System Admin.
4. On the Permission Role Detail page, in the Permission Settings section, click Permission.
5. On the Permission Settings page, select
User Permissions
Metadata Framework .
6. Select the following options:

Configure Object Definitions
Configure Business Rules
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Read/Write Permission on Metadata Framework

Import Permission on Metadata Framework
Admin access to MDF OData API
Manage Configuration UI
7. Click Done when you finish selecting the options.

To ensure that the approvers are able to approve the request, they will also need to have access to the
workflow. You must set the Workflow permissions for the approvers.
Tip
It would be a good idea to spend some time defining the approval workflow before setting permissions. This
will help you grant the right people access.
8. On the Permission Settings page, select
following:
Manage Foundation Objects Types
Workflow , and select the
Create
Insert
Correct
Delete
View (Note that this is selected by default)
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Note
If you are building an extension which involves workflow, please ensure you grant relevant permissions to
the target population.
2.4
How does Extension Center work?
To explain how Extension Center works, well use an example of a Company Car Request Management process. In
this example, the process starts with the HR Admin creating an Extension, which is an interface that allows the
employee to request for a car. The manager then approves or denies the request raised by the employee.
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Extension Center
In Extension Center, this would involve the following steps:

Creating an Extension
Creating Picklists
Creating and Configuring Objects
Publishing an Extension
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Subsequent sections describe these stages in detail.
Related Information
How do you create a new extension? [page 15]
How do you create a picklist? [page 16]
How do you create an object? [page 19]
How do you prepare to publish an extension? [page 58]
2.5
How do you get started with Extension Center?
In the Extension Center, you can do the following:

Create new extensions as well as edit existing ones to meet your business needs. In the example shown below,
there are 8 extensions. To name a few - Pension Plan, Asset Management, Inventory and Company Car.
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Extension Center
You can toggle between the Grid view and the List view for the available extensions.
Grid View
List View
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Search existing extensions, objects, rules, workflows and UIs by typing the keyword in the Search field. Note
that as you enter the name, extensions matching the name search are displayed below.
You can open an extension by clicking it. The obejcts defined within the extension appear.
You can view the objects by toggling between following views: Grid, List, and EntityRelationship Diagram
(ERD).
Grid View: Displays objects using Tiles
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List View: Displays objects as a list
ERD View: An ERD model (also known as the Entity-Relationship View) shows the relationships that exist between
objects and instances of those entity types.
2.6
What are the different elements of Extension Center?
2.6.1 What is an Object?

An object is an entity that defines different aspects of an Extension, such as information about fields, relationships,
workflows, rules, and security for an object.
For example, for the Company Car Request Management extension, there can be two objects:
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Car Request
Request Acknowledgement
2.6.2 What is a Picklist?

You can also use Extension Center to create a picklist. Picklists are values which appear in a dropdown, allowing
the user to easily make a selection. This allows you to limit the types of values a user can enter in the form,
eliminating the chances of an incorrect value.
For example, the Admin can create the following picklists for the employees to choose from while requesting for a
car:
Car Category
Car Lease Duration
Car Make
Note that the Extension Center picklists can be used by other Extension Center objects.
You can also add existing picklists to your extension. You don't have to re-create it each time. For more
information, see the chapter How Do You Reuse an Existing Picklist?.
Related Information
How do you use an existing picklist? [page 17]
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How do you create a new extension?
Procedure
2. In the Search field, type Extension Center.
This will bring up the Extension Center page.
3. Click Create Extension.
4. Enter the following on the Extension Detail page:
a. Icon & Title: Enter an appropriate title for your extension and click on the icon to select a logo.
b. External Code: Enter a unique code that identifies the Extension Center.
c. Description: Enter a brief description about the extension you are creating.
5. Click Action and select Save Extension.
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How do you create a new extension?
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How do you create a picklist?
Procedure
1. Go to Extension Center.
2. Select the extension to which you want to add an existing Object.
3. Click Add New Picklist.
The Edit Picklist page opens:
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4. Enter the following details:

a. Picklist Code: Enter the code that uniquely identifies the picklist.
Note that currently we do not support Non-unique External Code in picklist.
b. Picklist Name: Enter a unique name for your picklist.
c. Parent Picklist: You will need to specify this only if you want to create a cascading relationship between
picklists, that is, values selected in the parent picklist determine the values displayed in the child picklist.
For example, to limit the car models displayed based on car type, you will specify the Car Type picklist as
the parent picklist and the Car Model picklist as the child picklist.
d. Effective Start Date: Picklists are effective-dated. This means that there can be different sets of picklist
values for different start dates. Enter the effective start date for your picklist.
Note
The following fields are not supported currently:
Insert a New Record: Allows you to access the picklist history
Display Order: Allows you to sort the picklist values in Alphabetical or Numeric order
5. To add a value to the picklist, click Add Value, enter Label and a relevant External Code, and set the Active
status. You can also add a Parent Picklist Value, if applicable. You can add as many values as needed.
6. Click Save.
4.1
How do you use an existing picklist?
See how you can reuse a picklist
Context
To reuse a picklist:
Procedure
2. Select the extension you would like to work with.
3. Click Add Existing Picklist.
The Add Existing Picklist page opens.
4. In the Search field, enter the name of the picklist you want to reuse:
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5. Select the checkbox next to the Object.

6. Click Save.
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How do you create an object?
Describes how you can create and configure an object for extensions in Extension Center.
Context
Let's take the example of the company car request. To create an object that allows the employee to request for a
company car:
Procedure
2. Select the extension to which you want to add an object. In this example, select Company Car.
The Extension Detail page appears.
3. Click Add New Object.
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The Object Detail page appears.
4. Fill out the fields as follows:

a. Title: Enter a suitable title for your Object. Choose a name that will make it easy for you to identify the
extension later.
b. External Code: Enter a unique code that identifies the Object.
c. Description: Enter a brief description about the Object you are creating.
For example, you can create a Car Request object for the Company Car Management extension.
Note
Currently, the Cascade flag field, as seen in the Admin Center Configure Object Definitions
supported. Using the Cascade flag, you can set the following values:
page is not
Save: User is allowed to edit the referenced field in the Config UI Runtime page.
None: User will not be allowed to edit the referenced fields in the Configure UI Runtime Page.
Tip
Use the Configure Object Definitions page to apply these settings.
Tip
All the mandatory fields except Effective Dating have a default value. You will not be able to save the object
without defining the Effective Dating field in the Properties tab.
5. When you finish, select
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Action
Save Object .
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5.1
How do you configure fields?
Context
Let us now look at how you can add fields to your object. Continuing with the example of the car request, lets
create the following fields for the Car Request object:
Name
Employee ID
Location
These fields can be used by the employee to enter details like name, employee ID, and location while requesting for
a company car.
Procedure
1. Click Add Field.
This brings up the Fields page.
Note
You can modify the first two fields that appear on the screen to suit your requirements. You can also delete
them or use the toggle switch to mark them as not required.To add more than two fields, click the Add Field
tab at the bottom of the page.
2. Fill in the following details:

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Field
Description
Label
The label to translate for the field. The default value for this
is the field name. To enter a translated label name, click the
Translations button.
Note that to make entries for translation, click the icon in
the Label field.
Default Value: The label that you wish to translate appears in
this field.
Tko_KR: The Korean translator can use this field to enter the
field name after translation.
zh_CN_SF: The Chinese translator can use this field to enter
the field name after translation.
External Code Type
A unique identifier for the field.
Type
The supported data types from the dropdown. For more de

tails on different data types, refer Data Type Table [page
87].
Visibility
Editable: Select this to indicate that the field should be visi

ble and editable.
Read Only: Select this to indicate that the field will be visible
but the user will not be allowed to make changes.
Not Visible: Select this when the field needs to be used for
reference but should not be displayed in the UI.
Required
Yes,if the field is required. This would make it mandatory for

the user to fill out. For example, in case of the company car
request, if the Required field for employee ID, name, and lo
cation is set to Yes, it becomes mandatory for the user to fill
out these fields before submitting the request.
3. You can view and edit additional options in the Advanced Options section by clicking the down arrow icon:
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Note
The Inactivated by field displayed in the Configure Object Definitions page is not supported by Extension
Center. In the Configure Object Definitions page, this field shows who inactivated the field User or System.
Also, Hide seconds is not currently supported. This field will allow you to hide the seconds for Time Data
Type.
Field
Description
Max Length
The Maximum allowed data length for the data type String.
The default value for this field is 255.
UI Field Renderer
The name to display for the picklist on the UI. This field also
defines the label that appears in dropdown menus when
selecting a picklist or generic object value in Manage Data.
If this field is defined, the external code is not displayed.
Include Inactive Users
Yes, if you want to display data for inactive users, along

with that of active users. Default value is No.
Hide Old Value
Yes, if you do not want to strikethrough the previous value

of a record in the History for the field. Effective dated
objects have a history view. In the history view, records for
different start-dates are shown. The text with a
strikethrough indicates the previous value of the field.
Help Text
The label to translate for the field. You can give instructions
for the user.
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Field
Description
Transient
Yes, to make the field transient. Values of transient field are

not stored in the database, but are determined at runtime,
based on rules or associations.
Private or Sensitive
Yes, to display the value saved on that field as ***. For

example, you might want to set this to Yes for a password
field. If you set this to No, it behaves like any other field.
Default Value
You can set a default value for the field. When a default
value is selected for a field, it will initialize the new page
with the given value. For example, if you set the default
value for a string field as ABC, when you go to the Manage
Data page to create a new object, you will see ABC already
listed in that field.
Status
Active: Active fields are available in the system. You can use
them to import, UI, OData, rules, and so on.
Inactive Inactive fields are not available in the system. You
cannot use them to import, UI, OData, rules, and so on.
Note that you cannot make the fields inactive from the UI.
Database Field Name
The field name as it should be stored in the database.
Field Criteria
Source Field Name: Field whose values restrict the possible

values for the field that you are defining.
Destination Field Value: Name of the field whose value is
being restricted. This is the name of the field that you are
defining. For example, you can restrict choices of dates
based on an effective start date, or you can restrict choices
such as countries, time zones, and so on, by location.
defaultDestinationValue: You can create a default
destination in cases where the destination field value is not
set. Currently it only stores constant values.
You can add or delete field criteria by clicking the
corresponding icon. Field criteria is used to restrict the
value of a field, based on the value of another field.
condition
The field ID.
conditionValues
A list of values that makes the condition true. Make sure

that you enter the values correctly because there are no
system validations for this.
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Field
Description
Note
Valid Value Source
This field needs to be set for the following field types so

as to map them with the parent object:
Decimal Precision
Picklist ID of the picklist.
Generic Object: Object ID of the generic object you

want to reference.
Foundation Object: Object ID of the foundation object

you want to reference.
Specific precision for decimal value. Default precision value

is 17.
Show Trailing Zeroes
Yes: It sets zeros for the decimal value. For example, if user
gives 111 for the decimal field where Show Trailing Zeroes is
set to set after save user will see the value as
111.00000000000000000 (There are 17 zeroes since the
default precision is 17.).
4. Scroll down on the Fields page to add business keys and searchable fields to the object definition.
Note
You can define fields for an MDF object that can be used to search. These fields can be used in the search panel
on the Manage Data page to search for objects. A business key is a unique key used to identify a record. If you
search for a business key that is defined, then it will appear in the search results, by default. When a field is set
as a business key, the field automatically becomes a required field.
5. Click
Action
Save Object .
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5.2
How do you configure relationships?
Context
Let us now look at how you can define relationships (also known as associations) between objects. In Extension
Center, you can define a hierarchical relationship between two objects. You can add a relationship to define either
a parent-child relationship or a valid-when relationship between the object that you are creating, and another
object.
An ERD model (also known as the Entity-Relationship View) graphically shows the relationships between objects.
On the Extension Detail page, multiple levels of objects can be displayed in the ERD View. You can also drag and
drop any object vertically and laterally.
Continuing with the example of the car request, the following image shows a one-to-one relationship between
Request Acknowledgement and Company Car Request object.
To define a relationship between two objects:
Procedure
1. Go to the Relationships tab.
2. 2. Click Add Relationship.
3. Fill in the following details:
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In This Field...
Enter...
Label
A label for this relationship. Specify a name that will allow

you to identify the relationship later.
For this example, enter RelationCar.
Name
The name of the relationship. This is the name by which the

relationship is identified. For this example, enter
cust_Relation_Car. It is important that the name

starts with cust.
Object
The object that you want to establish a relationship with.

The object that you want to establish a relationship with.
In this example, we will define the relationship for the object
City with the object Car Request.
Multiplicity
The type of relationship: is it One-to-One or One-to-Many.

For this example, lets specify One-to-One.
Type
The type of field, from the drop-down menu. For this exam
ple, we will select Composite. A detailed description of rela
tionship types is described in Relationship Types table in
Chapter 3, Reference.
Note
UIAssociationRenderer, available in the Manage Data and Manage Configurable UI pages in Admin Center, is
currently not supported.
4. You can view and edit additional options in the Advanced Options section by clicking the down arrow icon:
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Note
You need to fill in the Destination Object Column and Source Object Column options when you set
Relationship type to Join By Column.
In this field...
Enter...
Destination Object Column
The field name of the child object to which the object

should be mapped. For example, you have created two
entities, Person, which is non-effective-dated, and
PersonInfo, which is effective-dated. Person is the parent
object and PersonInfo is the child object as it shares the
same external code as Person. When Join-by-Column
relationship is defined, PersonInfo object is entered in the
Destination Object Column field.
Source Object Column
The field name of the parent object to which the object

should be mapped.
For example, you have created two entities, Person, which
is non-effective-dated, and PersonInfo, which is effectivedated. Person is the parent object and PersonInfo is the
child object as it shares the same external code as Person.
When Join-by-Column relationship is defined, Person object
is entered in the Source Object Column field.
Transient
Yes, to make the field transient. Values of transient field are

not stored in the database, but are populated at runtime in
the user interface, based on rules or associations.
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In this field...
Enter...
Required
Yes, to make this field required. Determines whether the

association is required for object definition. If required, at
least one record for the association must exist when an
instance is created of the object that you are defining.
Visibility
Editable: User can add and delete data for this association.
Read Only: User can only view records of this association. A
user cannot add, delete, or edit any association data.
Not Visible: User cannot view this association. Determines
whether the association is visible.
Status
Active and Inactive. Inactive fields are not available in the

system. You cannot use them in import, UI, OData, rules,
and so on. If you do not enable the corresponding module,
fields become inactive automatically. Note that you cannot
make the fields inactive from the UI. This is a read-only
field.
5. You can add a condition to ensure that the association is dependent on the value of the parent field and will be
visible when the condition value matches the parent field's value. For example, to assign the new country
object to Legal Entity, the Condition fieldID is countryOfRegistration.code and Condition Values is <Country
Code>.
In this field...
Enter...
Field ID
The parent field
Condition Values
Value of the parent field
6. Click Add Field Criteria to restrict the possible values for the field you are defining. Note that this applies only
when relationship is set to Valid-When.
In this field...
Enter...
Source Field Name
Field whose values restrict the possible values for the field
that you are defining.
Destination Field Value
Name of the field whose value is being restricted. This is the

name of the field that you are defining. For example, you can
restrict choices of dates based on an effective start date, or
you can restrict choices such as countries, time zones, and
so on, by location.
Default Destination Value
The default destination value .You can create a default des

tination in cases where the destination field value is not set.
Currently it only stores constant values.
7. Click
Action
Save Object .
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5.3
How do you configure rules?
Context
Let us now look at configuring rules. Rules help you ensure consistent behavior on the occurrence of an event. You
can also use rules to keep a check on data changes (by triggering an approval).
Rules can also be used to autofill field data (for example, time zone information can be auto filled based on location
information).
Procedure
1. Go to the Rules tab.
2. Click Add New Rule and enter the details.
3. To enter the Basic Information, click
icon.
In This Field...
Enter...
Rule Name
Name by which you want to refer to this rule in the UI. For
example, SetCurrentUserforCar.
Rule ID
Unique external code for the rule. For example, SetCurren

tUserforCar.
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In This Field...
Enter...
Start date
The date when this rule should be applied for the first time.
By default this is set to 01/01/1900.
Rule Type
Any rule type from the drop-down menu. For more informa
tion on different rule types, refer the Implementing Busi
ness Rules in SuccessFactors Guide. For this example,
choose Mass Change. Mass change indicates multiple re
cords will be updated as part of the change.
Description
A brief description for the rule. For example, enter Set a

current user for car.
5. Configure parameters for the rule you are creating.
Note
Parameters are used by rules to trigger the workflow.
6. To add a new parameter, click
icon.
In This Field...
Enter...
Name
The name for the parameter. For example, Request for com
pany car.
Code
The object code of the base object in this field. For example,
cust_demo_companycarRequest
Object
The extension object that is the base object of the rule from
the drop-down menu. For example, Request for Company
Car.
Note
You can also select an existing rule by clicking Add Existing Rule. Search and select the rule from the
Existing Rules list.
7. To save, select
Extension Center
Action
Save Object . A new rule will be created in the extension.
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Note
Rules can be triggered at various phases of object creation. Refer the Rule Category Table [page 90] to
find out which phase of object creation triggers which rule.
5.3.1 How do you manage field-level rules?
Context
Apart from object-level rules, you can also add field-level rules. You can use a rule that you created using the
Configure Business Rules page.
Procedure
1. To do this, click Show in Rule Engine.
The Configure Business Rules page appears.
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2. To edit, select
Take Action
Make Correction .
You can now configure the rule as required. If you've used the Admin Center > Configure Business Rules page
before, this works exactly the same way. For more information on working with the Rules, see the MDF
Implementation Guide and the Rules Engine Handbook.
3. When you finish, click Save.
Note
For more information on working with the Rules UI, see the MDF Implementation Guide.
5.3.2 How do you use an existing rule?
Context
If a rule already exists, you can reuse it instead of defining a new rule.
Procedure
1. Go to the Rules page.
2. Click Add Existing Rules.
3. Search for an existing rule (say "carStatusRequest"), select it, and click Save.
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4. Select
5.4
Action
Save Object , to save the changes for the object.
How do you configure workflows?
Context
Let us now look at defining an approval workflow for the company car request.
Workflows are used to define the approval process. In a typical workflow scenario, when the user submits a
change, the approver gets an approval request in the To Do list. The change is reflected in the system only when
the approver approves the request.
Adding a Workflow
Procedure
1. Go to the Workflows tab.
2. Click Add New Workflow.
This brings up the Workflow page.
3. Lets now define the workflow for approval. In this example, we'll define a single level of approval from the
manager
Heres the sample of a completed screen defining the workflow. Note that there is no approver type in Step 2.
This indicates managers approval is sufficient to approve the application. To add a second level approver, in
Step 2, specify the relationship of the approver. For example, some roles which can be assigned an approver
role include Managers Manager, the HR Manager and the Matrix Manager.
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In This Field...
Enter
Code
The unique external code for the workflow.
Name
The name by which you want to refer to this workflow in the

UI.
Description
The description of the workflow.
Future Dated Alternate Workflow
Alternate workflow for future dated transactions, to be se

lected from drop-down list.
4. In Step 1 and Step2 add the following details:

In This Field...
Enter...
Approver Type
The type of approver from the drop-down menu. Refer the

following descriptions to understand the different approver
types:
Role: With this, you can evaluate the reporting line of the
employee or initiator and address the workflow. For exam
ple, to the manager, manager's manager, or to any job rela
tionship manager.
Dynamic Role: A dynamic role can be used to route work
flows to different approvers, depending on attributes that
are used in the workflow content. It is typically used to de
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In This Field...
Enter...
fine different behaviors in different parts of the company.
You can do so by matching one or more attribute values to
specific approvers of type user, dynamic group, or position.
Dynamic Group: Similar to permission groups, you can de
fine a group of employees that are dynamically included into
this group on the basis of the employees job information at
tributes. When a workflow is addressed to a dynamic group,
all employees will receive the workflow request in their in
box.
Position: If position is selected, the workflow will go to all
employees who are incumbents of this position at the time
when the participants are evaluated.
Relationship to Approver
The appropriate relationship with the approver, in the con

text of the process. In this example, Employee.
Approver
The approver for the request from the dropdown menu. In

this example, Manager.
Edit Transaction
Edit with Route Change: This option gives the approver per
mission to modify the workflow transaction. After the
changes are made, the transaction will be re-evaluated and
a new workflow automatically triggered. This can be the
same workflow, but based on the given changes, this can
also result in a different workflow.
Edit without Route Change: Similar to the above, the ap
prover can make changes. However, the workflow then con
tinues to the next step and there is no new workflow.
Context
The approver at the source or at the target. For example, if

there is a request for employee transfer, this field will sug
gest whether the manager at the source or the manager at
the target will approve the request.
No Approver Behavior
Skip this Step if the request is not aborted when no approver

is found.
Stop the Workflow if the request is aborted when no ap
prover is found.
Respect Permission
Yes to respect the permission settings.

No if you wish to disregard the permission settings.
5. You can also enter the Contributors and the CCrole details as follows:
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Note
Employees who are listed in CC-roles are informed whenever a workflow is completed.
In This Field...
Enter
CC Role Type
The type of approver from the drop-down menu. Refer the

following descriptions to understand the different approver
types:
Role: With this, you can evaluate the reporting line of the
employee or initiator and address the workflow. For exam
ple, to the manager, manager's manager, or to any job rela
tionship manager.
Dynamic Role: A dynamic role can be used to route work
flows to different approvers, depending on attributes that
are used in the workflow content. It is typically used to de
fine different behaviors in different parts of the company.
You can do so by matching one or more attribute values to
specific approvers of type user, dynamic group, or position.
Dynamic Group: Similar to permission groups, you can de
fine a group of employees that are dynamically included into
this group on the basis of the employees job information at
tributes. When a workflow is addressed to a dynamic group,
all employees will receive the workflow request in their in
box.
Position: If position is selected, the workflow will go to all
employees who are incumbents of this position at the time
when the participants are evaluated.
Actor
The actor can also take an action on the workflow. Select

whom you want to assign the role of an actor from the dropdown menu. For example, an HR Manager can take action
on the workflow.
Relationship to Approver
The appropriate relationship with the approver, in the con

text of the process.
Context
The approver at the source or at the target. For example, in

case of an employee transfer, this field will suggest whether
the manager at the source or the manager at the target will
approve the request for the company car.
Respect Permission
Yes to honor the permission settings.

No to ignore permission settings.
6. To save the workflow changes for the object, select
Extension Center
Action
Save Object .
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5.4.1 How do you use an existing workflow?
Context
If a workflow already exists, you can reuse the workflow instead of defining a new workflow.
Procedure
1. Go to the Workflows page.
2. Click Add Existing Workflow.
3. Select a workflow from the dropdown and click OK. Assuming Car Lease Request was the workflow already
existing, select it from the dropdown.
4. Select
5.5
Action
Save Object , to save the changes for the object.
How do you configure the UI for the extension?
Context
You can use the UIs page to define what the form should look like. Taking the example of the car request, let's look
at how we can get the information required by the extension we created.
To add a new configurable UI, click the New UI tab under the UIs tab.
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Procedure
1. In the Id field, specify a unique name for this form. Use a name that would help you identify the form later.
2. In the Select Base Object dropdown, select the base object For example, Request for Company car.
Note
In the form below, you will see some fields already listed. All previously created picklists and fields
automatically appear on this page. For example, carCategory and carMake are previously created picklists.
Likewise, RequestDate and Reason are previously defined fields.
3. Hover over the page to see a tool bar at the top right corner. Click
icon on the tool bar to add a new field.
4. A new field appears on the screen, you can hover over the field to get the
5. Select the
icons.
icon to provide details for the field.
Note
Click on the
Extension Center
icon to delete the field.
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In This Field...
Enter...
Id
The field ID. This is a unique ID created by the system for the new field.
Note
This is a read only field
Name
The name for this field.
Show Label
Yes, to display the name of the field.

No, to display the ID of the field.
Required
Yes, to indicate this field is mandatory.

No, to indicate the field is optional.
Editable
Yes, to allow the user to edit this field. Setting it to No will make it read
only.
Visible
Yes, to display the field on the UI. Setting this to No will hide the field.
Value Type
User-Defined, if you want the user to enter structure, constant or

enumeration as the value for this field.
Resolver, if you want to set a custom value for this field
Note
For more information see Value Type User-Defined and Value Type
Resolver rows in this table
Value Type User-Defined
The type of value you want the user to enter in this field. Example:
structure, constant or enumeration
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In This Field...
Enter...
Note
This field will appear if you select the User-Defined option in the
value type field.
Value Type Resolver
The custom value that you want the user to enter from the dropdown
menu.
Note
This field will appear only if you select the Resolver option in the
Value Type field
Label Override
The field name that you wish to display in this field.
OnChange UI Rules
The rule that you want to apply to this field. This rule will be triggered
when any changes are made to this field.
6. From the font group, set the style of the Field and Label text by applying font settings as desired and click OK.
7. Select
Action
Extension Center
Save Object .
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5.6
How do you configure object properties?
Context
You can use the Properties configuration page to define and edit the standard aspects of an object like effective
dating, API Visibility and the status. Taking the example of the company car request, let's look at how we can
define the properties of a Company Car Request Object. The Properties tab page displays the Basic Properties and
Advanced Properties sections.
Procedure
1. Enter the following Basic Properties details:
In This Field...
Enter...
Effective Dating
The effective date, this is the date when a change takes

effect.
For example, if a car lease is to start on the 2nd of August,
you will set the effective date to Aug 2. The end date
defines when it ends.
API Visibility
Editable, Read Only, or Not Visible options from the dropdown menu. Default setting is Not Visible. It controls the
visibility of the object, fields, rules and conditions in the
MDF OData API.
Status
Active or Inactive: If set to Inactive, the object instance or

record is not used and not visible anywhere in the system,
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In This Field...
Enter...
including the rule engine, configurable UI designer, and

role-based permissions.
An object cannot be deactivated, if data exists or if it is
referenced by an active association. If an object that is
referenced in a rule is deactivated, that rule is invalidated.
Data cannot be imported or exported for an inactive object.
2. Enter the following Advance Properties details :
Field
Description
MDF Version History
No: If this option is selected, or no selection is made,

history records are not stored for any operation.
Delete History: If this option is selected, only the history
records from the delete operation of that object type are
available in internal history or audit tables. The data deleted
by a full purge import and translatable fields are also
included.
Complete History If this option is selected, the history
records from the create/insert/update/delete operation of
that object type are available in internal history or audit
tables. The data deleted by a full purge import and
translatable fields are also included.
It is essential to have a snapshot of data on any given date.
This is particularly important in integrations such as
Employee Central to payroll, or Employee Central to User
Management. When a record is updated, corrected, or
deleted in MDF, you can track the previous values. When a
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Field
Description
record is deleted, it is marked as deleted and the date of

deletion is recorded.
Default Screen
The default configurable UI to an Extension center object.

The assigned default UI is used in all places where the
Extension center object appears, such as the Manage Data
page, the Workflow Approval page, the MDF quick card, and
the "Details" popup.
For example, in this field you can enter the ID of the already
configured UI for this object.
Subject User Field
The user field that will initiate the workflow as per the input.
The input given by the user can be any user-defined field or
ExternalCode. If no value is specified in this field, and
ExternalCode is of user datatype, this field takes the value
ExternalCode by default.
Todo Category
The kind of requests you want to set for the object you are
defining.
For example, for the company car request object, Generic
Object Change Requests is set as the Todo category.
PII
Yes, to allow Russian users to save their data in Russian DB

first and then the global DB.
Pending Data
Yes, if you have chosen a workflow routing that involves an

approval, and you want the data changes to take effect only
if approved. If the changes are not approved, the system
rejects the changes.
No, if the data updates can be made without any approval
via workflow.
3. To save, select Action > Save Object.
5.7
How do you configure object and field security?
Context
You can use the Security configuration page to define and add security at both object level and field level. Define
permissions to control security at both the object and field level. Taking the example of the company car request,
let's look at how we can define the security of a Company Car Request Object.
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You can add information about adding object, field, and association level security to the MDF object that you are
defining, see MDF Security Using Role-Based Permissions (RBP) section in the Implementation Guide >
Implementing the Metadata Framework (MDF).
Procedure
1. Go to the Security tab.
In This Field...
Enter...
Secured
No: if you want to mark this object as not secured.

Yes: if you want to mark this object as secured.
Permission Category
1.
Miscellaneous Permissions
2. SAP System Configuration

3. Manage Job and Skill Profile visibility
4. MDF Foundation Objects
RBP Subject User Field
Specify any user field in the current object definition. The

value can then be used to create user-based permission
groups in RBP.
After an Object is secured, you can control access to that Object in role-based permissions.
3. Click Add Permission Role.
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4. Select the Role(s) you want to give permissions for.

5. Click Add Roles.
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Note
Hide seconds is not currently supported. This field will allow you to hide the seconds for Time Data Type.
6. Now you can set the view, edit and import/export rights for this role.
For example, you want the Admin to have all the above rights. You can use the toggle switch to mark Yes
against each of these rights.
7. You can also control the access to the individual fields of an object by selecting Not Override, View and No
Access options.
Not Override: Both View and edit rights
View: Read-only rights
No Access: Will not be visible in the UI
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5.8
How do you use an existing object?
Context
You can reuse and add an Object from the existing list of Objects.
Procedure
2. Select the Extension to which you want to add the existing Object.
3. Click Add Existing Object.
The Add Existing Object page opens.

4. Enter the object title or the external code of the object you want to add in the search box.
Note
You can also add standard SuccessFactors objects listed under the SuccessFactors Objects tab.
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5. Select the checkbox next to the object.

6. Click Save.
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How do you delete an object?
Context
From the Extension Detail page, you can also delete an object by clicking the Delete Object icon.
Note
This only deletes the object from the extension. The object remains in the system for future reuse.
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Extension Center
How do you delete an object?
How do you configure an extension to

access it from the Employee Files page?
You can configure the application to access the extension from the Employee Files page, provided that the
extension has an object, where the externalCode field has Type set as User.
Context
Let's configure an extension that has an object, where the externalCode field has Type set as User, and on the
Security tab, the security is set to Yes, and the Permission Category is set as Miscellaneous Permissions.
Extension Center
How do you configure an extension to access it from the Employee Files page?
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Procedure
1. To configure the Employee File layout to add the extension you want employees to access, log in as admin, go
to Admin Center
appears.
Configure Employee Files , and click Add New View. The employee scorecard dashboard
2. Under User Portlets, click Insert Portlet. The Choose a Portlet page appears.
3. Corresponding to the MDF portlet, click Create & Add. The Live Profile MDF Information portlet appears.
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4. Enter Portlet Title, Portlet Description, and for MDF Screen ID, select a UI of the extension, you are adding to
the Employee Files page.
5. Click Save. A portlet for the extension is now added to the new Dashboard.
6. Enter Dashboard Name, its Description, select Layout, and click Save Dashboard.
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A new employee scorecard has been successfully added. The extension can now be accessed from the
Employee Files page of users, who have the necessary role-based permissions.
Next Steps
Once you configure the Employee Files, you must grant the role-based permissions needed to access the
extension from the Employee Files page.
1. Go to Admin Center Manage Permission Roles Permission Role Employee Views , and select the
check box corresponding to the portlet created for accessing the extension.
2. On the Miscellaneous Permissions tab, configure all the necessary permissions to access the extension.
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3. Click Done.
4. On the Permission Role Detail page, scroll to the Grant this role to section, grant the role to the appropriate
target users, and click Done.
5. Click Save Changes.
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The employees with the necessary role-based permissions can now access the extension from the Employee Files
page in the application.
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Extension Center
How do you delete an extension?
Context
From Extension Center, you can also delete an extension by clicking the Delete Extension icon:
Note
When you delete an extension only the extension gets deleted not the objects, workflows, rules, and UIs
associated with it. These objects, workflows, rules, and UIs can be used in other extensions if required.
Extension Center
How do you delete an extension?
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How do you publish an extension?
9.1
How do you prepare to publish an extension?
You can publish an extension only after you set up the instances involved in publishing of the extension.
Before publishing an extension, you must:
Configure instances as explained in How do you configure source and target instances in Provisioning? [page
58]
Enable RBP as explained in How do you enable permissions in the source instance to publish the extension?
[page 59].
Related Information
How do you publish the extension? [page 61]
9.1.1 How do you configure source and target instances in

Provisioning?
Helps you configure both the instances involved in publishing of the extension.
Context
To begin with, you must have the Source and Target instances configured in Provisioning. For example,
Source instance: PLTAHU01
Target instance: PLTAHU01C
Note
As a customer, you do not have access to Provisioning. Contact SAP Cloud Product Support to enable these
options.
To enable Source and Target instances in your SAP SuccessFactors system, go to
Instance
Provisioning
Company
Company Settings , and enable Instance Synchronization Tool.
Next, set up Target instance to accept artifacts from the Source instance.
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Procedure
1. In Provisioning, go to Company Instance Instance Synchronization Company Permissions . The
Synchronize Company Data Permission page appears.
2. Select either Configure Instance in the same Data Center or Configure Instance in different Data Center
depending on whether your Source and Target instances are on the same Data Center or not.
3. Enter Target Data Admin's User ID, and select the Source instance (in this case, the one with Company ID as
PLTAHU01). The Select objects that the company can push dialog box appears.
4. Select all Configuration Items, and click Done.
5. On the Synchronize Company Data Permission page, click Save
9.1.2 How do you enable permissions in the source instance to

publish the extension?
Helps you configure the permission group and the permissions role, required for publishing the extension.
Prerequisites
Create a permission group for users that will be granted the permission to publish Extension Center.
Creating a Permission Group
1. Log in as an admin, and go to Admin Center.
2. In the Tools Search field, enter Manage Permission Groups. The Manage Permission Groups page appears.
3. To create a new group for publishing Extension Center, click Create New. The Permission Group dialog box
appears.
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4. In the Definition tab, enter Group Name.

5. Under Choose Member Group, select the users, you want to be able to publish Extension Center.
6. Click Done.
You have successfully created a permission group, with users, who can publish Extension Center.
Context
Once your permission group is ready, grant the group the appropriate role-based permissions for synchronizing
the artifacts from source instance to target instance.
Procedure
1. Log in as an admin, and go to Admin Center. In the Tools search field, enter Manage Permission Roles.
2. Select the role for which you wish to give access to use Extension Center. For example, System Admin.
3. On the Permission Role Detail page, in the Permission Settings section, click Permission.
4. On the Permission Settings dialog box, under User Permissions, select Manage Instance Synchronization.
5. Click Select All.
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6. Click Done, and on the Permission Role Detail page, scroll down to the Grant this role to section and click Add.
The Grant this role to dialog box appears.
7. In Step 1, use Permission Group, and select the permission group created for publishing Extension Center.
8. In Step 2, select Target Population, and in the dropdown menu, select Granted User (Self).
9. Click Done, and on the Permission Role List page, click Save Changes.
9.2
How do you publish the extension?
Enables you to publish the extension from the Source instance to the Target instance.
Procedure
1. Log in to the Source instance (PLTAHU01) as an admin, and go to Admin Center.
2. In the Tools Search field, enter Extension Center. The Extension Center page appears.
3. Select the extension you want to publish. The Extension Detail page appears, which shows the list of objects
defined for the extension.
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Note
If there are no objects available for publishing, create an object as described in How do you create an
object? [page 19], or to create a new extension, refer to How do you create a new extension? [page 15].
4. For each object: create Rules, Workflows, configure UIs, on the Security tab, set the security to Yes, under
Permission Category, select Miscellaneous Permissions, and then click
changes.
Action
Save Object
to save the
5. Click the Back to: Extension link, and on the Extension Detail page, click
Publish Extension dialog box appears.
Action
Publish Extension . The
6. Select a target instance to publish the extension, and click Next.
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Note
If there are no target instances available, configure a target instance as explained in How do you configure
source and target instances in Provisioning? [page 58].
As a customer, you do not have access to Provisioning. Contact SAP Cloud Product Support to enable these
options.
7. Open the Go to sync RBP link in a new window, and configure the RBP synchronization as explained in How to
synchronize instance configurations? [page 67], and click Confirm.
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The Extension Published dialog box appears. You can see the current status of your publishing activity, by
clicking the Go to Monitor Jobs Tools link.
Once you close the dialog box and return to the Extension Detail page, the Status could be Publishing in
Progress, which changes to Previously Published in some time.
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Next Steps
Due to a current limitation in the product, when you publish an extension, the MDF Object Definition artifact may
fail. To rectify the failure,
1. Either, click the Go to Monitor Jobs Tools link on the Extension Published confirmation page, or, go to
Center
Admin
Instance Synchronization Monitor Tool . The Instance Synchronization Monitor Tool page appears.
2. Click Search. The extension you published appears in the search results.
3. In the Actions column, corresponding to the extension, click Details. The Sync Details pop-up window appears.
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If the entire column of Failed Count shows "0", then your publishing was successful. Else, if the count for MDF
Object Definition is "1", re-publish the extension on the same Target instance, and it resolves the issue.
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9.3
How to synchronize instance configurations?
Enables you to synchronize the role-based permissions of the source and the target instances.
Context
You define role-based permissions and permission group, specific to the publishing activity, on the Source
instance. When you publish an extension, the role-based permissions and permission group must be replicated on
the target instance, as well. This synchronization is achieved using the Synchronize Company Configurations tool.
Procedure
1. Go to Admin Center
page appears.
Synchronize Instance Configurations . The Synchronize Company Configurations
2. Click the link for "Synchronize Company Configurations tool". The configuration sync wizard appears.
Note
If your previous instance synchronization was not completed, you will have two options: either to continue
with the synchronization from where you left by clicking the Resume it now link, or to start afresh by clicking
the start over from the beginning.
3. Select the target instance you want to synchronize.
4. Under Which type of data you want to copy?, select RBP Permission Groups and RBP Permission Groups, and
click Start. The Dependency Description dialog box appears.
5. Click Auto-Select Dependencies. The dependent artifacts are automatically selected. The artifacts, which are
uncompatible for sync or are inaccessible to you, are ignored.
6. Click Start, and you are on the Name tab of the wizard.
7. Provide a Name, a User ID from the target instance, and click Next. The Copy Data Model page appears.
8. For the Copy Data Model and Copy Picklists pages, click Next without selecting any options.
9. For the question on whether you want to overwrite the existing picklists on the target instance, select No, and
click Next. The Copy RBP Permissions Groups page appears.
10. Select the group you created for publishing the extension, and click Next. A question, whether you want to
overwrite the existing RBP groups on the target instance, appears. Select Yes, and click Next. The Copy RBP
Permissions Roles page appears
11. Select the permission role you created for publishing the extension and click Next. A question, whether you
want to overwrite the existing RBP roles on the target instance, appears. Select Yes, and click Next. The Copy
MDF Rules page appears.
12. Click Next without selecting any options on the Copy MDF Rules and Copy MDF Object Definition pages, and on
the questions for overwriting the existing MDF rules and the existing MDF Object Definition on the target
instance, select No and click Next. The Summary page appears.
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13. Click Run Sync Now, and on the confirmation pop-up, click Confirm Synchronization.
Once the synchronization is complete, a confirmation message appears and you are automatically redirected
to the Instance Synchronization Monitor Tool page.
Next Steps
Although, it is optional, you can check the status of your synchronization job on the Instance Synchronization
Monitor Tool page, and then log in to the target instance to check whether the permission group and the
permission role have been copied properly.
1. Click Search. Your synchronization job appears in the search results.
2. In the Actions column, click Details corresponding to the job. The Sync Details pop-up appears.
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3. Confirm that the RBP group and role have been copied to the target instance, and click Close.
4. Log in to the target instance as an admin.
source instance.
Manage Permission Groups
instance.
Manage Permission Roles
9.4
and check the permission group copied from the

and check the permission role copied from the source
How do you interpret the publishing status?
Helps you understand the significance of the statuses involved in publishing of an extension.
The publishing status of an extension is available on the Extension Detail page.
Publishing in Progress: Displays the target instance name in the current publishing process.
Failed Publishing: Displays the target instance names of failed publish jobs. This appears only if there is at least
one publishing error. If subsequent publishing to the same instance succeeds, this will disappear.
Previously Published: Displays the target instance names of previous successful jobs. If extension was
published several times to one instance, this instance name appears only once.
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Unpublished: If the extension has not been published anywhere yet, status will be Unpublished.
Note
The publishing job status, a detail report of the error log in case of failed publishing, and further details will
appear on the Instance Sync Tool Monitor page. The HR Admin can see the status and monitor the page. For a
detailed error log, or to analyze the error please contact SAP Cloud Product Support.
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10 How does the Employee use the extension?
Once the HR Admin publishes the extension, the employee can use the application created as a result of the
extension.
As per the current extension design, the employee can access the extension through the "Manage Data" page, or
through portlet linked to "Employee Profile" or "Employee Files".
Continuing with the example of the Company Car Request, the employee can use this application to request the
company car. Heres a sample of the workflow the employee will be going through:
10.1 How do you access an extension from the Home Page?

You can create Links to the extension or create custom tiles for the extension on the Home Page.
Context
The extensions can be accessed from the Manage Data page, or (extensions with object having the externalCode
field of <Type>: User) can be accessed from the Employee Files page. On the Home Page v12, you can either add
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How does the Employee use the extension?
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links to the Manage Data page and the Employee Files page and make them available on the Links tile or add
custom tiles for them and provide links to the respective pages.
10.1.1 How do you create a custom tile for accessing an

extension?
Create a custom tile on Home Page of the application and add links to pages such as Employee Files, Employee
Profile Portlet, Manage Data, etc.
Context
Let's add a custom tile for the extension on Home Page v12.
Procedure
1. Log in as admin, go to Admin Center
The Add Custom Tile page appears.
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Manage Home Page , and on the Default tab, click Add Custom Tile.
Extension Center
2. Fill out the tile settings, configure the content, and in the Main Content add the link to access the extension
(from the Manage Data page or the Employee Files page).
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3. Click Save.
10.1.2 How do you access an extension using the Links tile?

You can access an extension by adding links to the Links tile on the Home Page v12.
Context
The extensions can be accessed from the Manage Data page, or (extensions with object having the externalCode
field of <Type>: User) can be accessed from the Employee Files page. You can add links to these pages, within the
Links tile.
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Procedure
1. Log in as admin, go to Admin Center Manage Home Page , and on the Default tab, click Manage Links
corresponding to the Links tile. The Manage Links page appears.
2. Add Link Label, select On by default check box to view the link on the tile by default, and enter the URL for the
extension.
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3. Click Save, and navigate back to the Home Page.

4. On the Links tile, click Edit. The Links pop-up window appears.
5. From the Available section, select the link(s) you added for accessing the extension. The link(s) appear in the
Selected section.
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6. Click Save. The link(s) now appear on the Links tile of the Home Page.
10.2 How do you use the extension from the Manage Data
page in Admin Center?
Shows you how to use an extension created using Extension Center.
Context
The extensions with objects where the externalCode field is not set to type User, cannot be made available on
Employee Files. Such extensions can only be accessed from the Manage Data page. Continuing with the Request
for Company Car example, here's how you can use the new extension for the Company Car Request, using the
Manage Data page.
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Note
To grant access to the Manage Data page, you must enable the relevant role-based permission: go to
Center
Manage Permission Roles
Permission Role
Admin
Metadata Framework , and select Manage Data.
Procedure
2. In the Search field, enter Manage Data. This will bring up the Manage Data page.
3. In the Create New dropdown, search for Car Request, and select the relevant form. The Request for Company
Car page opens.
4. Fill out the required fields in form. As you can see the fields are self-explanatory.
5. In the externalCode and externalName fields, type acknowledgement.
Note
The externalCode and externalName fields will not be visible to the employee. The employee will only see
the fields in step 4.
6. Click Save. You are prompted to confirm your action.
7. Enter a message for the approver in the field and click Confirm. A request for approval is sent to the manager.
Next Steps
Check out the Manager's To Do list to approve or deny the request.
10.3 How do you use the extension from the Employee Files
page?
Shows you how to test an extension created using Extension Center.
Context
The extensions with objects where the externalCode field is set to type User, can be used from the Employee Files
page. Continuing with the Request for Company Car example, here's how you can use the new extension for the
Company Car Request, from the Employee Files page.
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Procedure
1. Go to My Employee File. The Request for Company Car portlet appears on the Employee Files page.
2. Select Edit on the top-right corner of the portlet to create a new company car request. The company car
request form opens.
3. Fill out the required fields in form. As you can see the fields are self-explanatory.
4. In the externalCode and externalName fields, type acknowledgement.
5. Click Save. You are prompted to confirm your action.
6. Enter a message for the approver in the field and click Confirm. A request for approval is sent to the manager.
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11
How does the Manager review the

application?
After the employee has requested for the car, the manager receives an application for approval.
Tip: The manager can check the To-Do list to see a list of pending requests. The application sent by the employee
will also appear in this list. Heres a sample of the workflow the manager will be going through:
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How does the Manager review the application?
Heres the sample of the page that the manager will see:
The manager can now approve the request or send it back.
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11.1
How does the manager approve or send back the

request?
This section describes how the manager can approve or send back a request made by the employee using the
extension created in the Extension Center.
Context
Following the Company Car Request example, let us see how the manager can approve the request or application
submitted by the employee.
Procedure
1. Log in to the SuccessFactors HCM Suite. You will find the pending request in the To Do tile, of your Home
page.
2. Select "Request for Company Car" to view the request.
3. Select Approve, to approve the request.
Note
Optionally, a comment can also be provided in the Comment field of the request before being approved or
sent back to the employee.
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Extension Center
12
FAQ: Extension Center
12.1
How do you add Extension Center to your Favorites?
Context
You can add Extension Center to your Favorites on the Admin Center page, to make it easily accessible.
Procedure
1. Go to Switch back to NextGen Admin Center > Tools.
2. Click See All.
3. You will find Extension Center under Company Settings.
4. Hover over Extension Center, and click on the
icon.
12.2 What is an Uncategorized extension?

All objects, rules, workflows and configurable UIs that are not part of any other extension are displayed under
Uncategorized title.
You can use the objects, rules, workflows, and configurable UIs from this Uncategorized extension in any other
extension you are creating.
You cannot delete the Uncategorized title.
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12.3 Are all features available in MDF for creating extensions

available in Extension Center?
Summarizes the differences between Extension Center and MDF.
Table 2: Feature Comparison Chart
Extension Center
MDF
Support for Inactivated By field
Not supported
Supported
Non-unique External Code in picklist
Not supported
Not applicable
Support for Display Order under Picklist
Not supported
Supported
Not supported
Supported
UIAssociationRenderer in Association
Not supported
Supported
Support for Hide Seconds field
Not supported
Supported
Cascade flag for Object Field and Associ
Not supported
Supported
Not supported
Not applicable
field
Insert a new record in picklist (to access
picklist history)
ations
Duplicate extension
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12.4 Why does the MDF object definition always fail when
publishing the extension?
In all likelihood, you are seeing the following error:
This is due to a limitation in the workflow today. As a workaround, you are requested to republish the extension. On
republishing, the job will pass.
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Once publishing is done, the status of the extension is changed to Previously Published.
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13
Reference Tables
13.1
Data Type Table
Context
Extension Center supports the following Data Types:
Procedure
Select the Data Type
This is.
String
Used for text input fields. MDF allows storing text up to 4K

long.
Number
Used to store positive integers. Allowed characters are 0-9. It

is displayed based on the user's locale settings, such as using
a comma or decimal point as the decimal separator.
Auto Number
Used to store numbered lists.
Decimal
Used to store decimal numbers. It is displayed based on the

user's locale settings, such as using a comma or decimal point
as the decimal separator.
Boolean
The two allowed values are Yes and No.
Date
Used to store a date from a date picker.
DateTime
Used to store the date and time information related to a time

zone This is a more granular data type. Time is converted to
the time zone of the user who views or requests the export,
and not to that of the user who originally entered the time.
Time
Used to allow the user to enter times without having to specify

any time zone information. Times are generally displayed in
HH:MM:SS format and are validated to ensure that a valid time
value is entered. However, multiple formats are allowed based
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Select the Data Type
This is.
on the settings in the object definition, for example, HideSec
onds and TwelveHourFormat.
Picklist
Used to restrict the field value from a picklist
Translatable
Used to allow the entry of localized strings for different locales
Enum
Used to specify exact values.
Generic Object
Used to reference a generic object. When the object is created,

this field shows a value help with a list of the instances of that
generic object.
Foundation Object
Used to reference a foundation object. When the object is cre

ated, this field shows a value help with a list of the instances of
that foundation object. Note: Foundation objects are standard
SuccessFactors object.
Attachment
Used as navigation property to attach entity.
User
Used to reference a user object. When the object is created,

this field shows a value help with a list of active users.
CLOB
Used to store a block of text. The advantage of this data type

is that access is fast because an application program can ac
cess any portion of a CLOB object. Additionally, this data type
provides large storage for a user-defined data type.
Auto Complete
Used to automatically fill the information based on earlier user

input.
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Reference Tables
13.2 Relationship Types Table
Context
Extension Center supports the following Relationship Types:
Procedure
Select this Relationship Type.
When
Composite
Two objects share a parent-child relationship. Note: A child

object cannot exist on its own and it cannot be used as a toplevel object. Also it is not shown in the dropdown when you
create a new object. For example, for a company car request
object, the Acknowledge Request object is a child object that
results only when the parent object (Company Car Request) is
created.
Valid When (or Reference)
The associated objects have their own lifecycles and the object
exists even without the parent object.
For example, the car request object can have a Valid When re
lationship with a delivery location object. When you use this re
lationship type to add a car request object, you are shown an
autocomplete for the available locations that are active and ef
fective on the current entitys start date. If the current entity is
not effective-dated, the results for current date (according to
the system) are shown.
Effective Dated: It is the date when the action takes effect. An
object with an effective date will also have an effective enddate, indicating when the setting is no longer applicable.
Join By Column
You can use this relationship type to model associations that

are neither composite nor reference (Valid When) associations.
Set one field of the parent object definition as the source ob
ject column and one field of the child object definition as the
destination object column. Then the Join by Column associa
tion will make the value of these two object columns reference
each other. For example, you have created two objects, Per
son, which is not effective-dated, and PersonInfo, which is ef
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Select this Relationship Type.
When
fective-dated. Person is the parent object and the external
Code column is used as the source. PersonInfo is the child ob
ject and, using the Join By Column, its externalcode column
refers to the Person object. In this way, these two objects al
ways share the same external code.
Effective Dated: It is the date when the action takes effect. An
object with an effective date will also have an effective enddate, indicating when the setting is no longer applicable.
13.3 Rule Category Table

Table 3:
Rule Category
Description
Initialization
Initialization rules ("initializeRules") are triggered in the initiali

zation phase of object creation (an "onInit" event). You can
use these rules to initialize fields to default values. For exam
ple, initialization rules can be used to autofill employee ID field
with the login user ID. Note Initialization rules are not sup
ported when setting the wfConfig attribute to trigger work
flows.
Validation
Validation rules ("validateRules") are triggered after a change

to an object is submitted but before the change is saved (an
"onValidate" event). You can use these rules to validate field
values. For example, validation rules can be used to make sure
that numbers cannot be entered in the field Employee Name.
Saving
Save rules ("saveRules") are triggered when a user tries to

save changes to an object (an "onSave" event). You can use
these rules to check related field values for correctness. For
example, a field could become required as a consequence of a
save.
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Reference Tables
Rule Category
Description
After Saving
Post-save rules ("postSaveRules") are triggered after changes

to an object have been saved (an "onPostSave" event). These
rules are used when you want to send an alert message to the
user. They are not used to set a field value. To activate the
alert and notification feature, you must associate them with a
workflow. Note By the time a post-save rule is triggered, the
Extension Center object has already been saved and cant be
changed. Also, post-save rules are not supported when setting
the wfConfig attribute to trigger workflows.
Delete
Deletion rules ("deleteRules") are triggered after an object re

cord is deleted (an "onDelete" event).
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Important Disclaimers and Legal Information
Coding Samples
Any software coding and/or code lines / strings ("Code") included in this documentation are only examples and are not intended to be used in a productive system
environment. The Code is only intended to better explain and visualize the syntax and phrasing rules of certain coding. SAP does not warrant the correctness and
completeness of the Code given herein, and SAP shall not be liable for errors or damages caused by the usage of the Code, unless damages were caused by SAP
intentionally or by SAP's gross negligence.
Accessibility
The information contained in the SAP documentation represents SAP's current view of accessibility criteria as of the date of publication; it is in no way intended to be a
binding guideline on how to ensure accessibility of software products. SAP in particular disclaims any liability in relation to this document. This disclaimer, however, does
not apply in cases of wilful misconduct or gross negligence of SAP. Furthermore, this document does not result in any direct or indirect contractual obligations of SAP.
Gender-Neutral Language
As far as possible, SAP documentation is gender neutral. Depending on the context, the reader is addressed directly with "you", or a gender-neutral noun (such as "sales
person" or "working days") is used. If when referring to members of both sexes, however, the third-person singular cannot be avoided or a gender-neutral noun does not
exist, SAP reserves the right to use the masculine form of the noun and pronoun. This is to ensure that the documentation remains comprehensible.
Internet Hyperlinks
The SAP documentation may contain hyperlinks to the Internet. These hyperlinks are intended to serve as a hint about where to find related information. SAP does not
warrant the availability and correctness of this related information or the ability of this information to serve a particular purpose. SAP shall not be liable for any damages
caused by the use of related information unless damages have been caused by SAP's gross negligence or willful misconduct. All links are categorized for transparency (see:
http://help.sap.com/disclaimer).
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go.sap.com/registration/
contact.html
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No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
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These materials are provided by SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company
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Administration Guide

SAP SuccessFactors Foundation

What's New in This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Getting Started with Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

What is Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

How do you enable Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

What permissions do you need to use Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

How does Extension Center work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

How do you get started with Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

What are the different elements of Extension Center?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

How do you create a new extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

How do you create a picklist?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

How do you use an existing picklist?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

How do you create an object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

How do you configure fields?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

How do you configure relationships?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

How do you configure rules?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

How do you configure workflows?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

How do you configure the UI for the extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

How do you configure object properties?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

How do you configure object and field security?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

How do you use an existing object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

How do you delete an object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

How do you delete an extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

How do you publish an extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

How do you prepare to publish an extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

How do you publish the extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

How to synchronize instance configurations?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

How do you interpret the publishing status?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

How does the Employee use the extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

How do you access an extension from the Home Page?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

How does the Manager review the application?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

How does the manager approve or send back the request?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

FAQ: Extension Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

How do you add Extension Center to your Favorites?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

What is an Uncategorized extension?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Data Type Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Relationship Types Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Rule Category Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

What's New in This Guide

This is the first version of the Extension

What is Extension Center? [page 5]

Center Administration Guide. Using this

Getting Started with Extension Center

What is Extension Center?

Extension Center allows you to create and manage extensions.

How do you enable Extension Center?

The ODATA API Metadata Refresh and Export page appears:

What permissions do you need to use Extension Center?

6. Select the following options:

Read/Write Permission on Metadata Framework

7. Click Done when you finish selecting the options.

Manage Foundation Objects Types

Workflow , and select the

How does Extension Center work?

In Extension Center, this would involve the following steps:

Subsequent sections describe these stages in detail.

How do you get started with Extension Center?

In the Extension Center, you can do the following:

List View: Displays objects as a list

What are the different elements of Extension Center?

2.6.1 What is an Object?

2.6.2 What is a Picklist?