A possibility to access SAP in Nintex Forms without any JavaScript code is via web requests. With the standard Nintex Forms Web Request control SOAP web service for SAP read and write access can be called. In the following example a web service to read SAP customer data is called and the return values are displayed in a dropdown-list.

Step 1: Create a web service

The first step would be the creation of a SOAP web service with the WebService Designer provided with ERPConnect Services. For detailed information on how the WebService Designer works and application examples, see the following section in the OnlineHelp.

In this example one single web service operation is created where function module SD_RFC_CUSTOMER_GET is called. This remote enabled standard function module extracts customer data from customer master data table KNA1 and allows to search for customer names or numbers.

We use field NAME1 as input filter value and create a corresponding input parameter.
As output parameter we use the table CUSTOMER_T from which we return only three fields: Customer Number (KUNNR), Customer Name (NAME1) and City (ORT01)

Deploy the web service to the SharePoint server after the successful configuration.

Step 2: Create a SharePoint custom list

The second step is to create a SharePoint custom list, with two fields of type Single line of text.

  1. Customer Name
  2. Customer

Step 3: Define the forms controls

In our Nintex Form we require two controls:

  1. The first control named Customer Name is of type Single Line Textbox. It is the input field for entering a customer name. Connect the control to the Customer Name SharePoint list field.
  2. The second field named Suggested Materials is of type Web Request. All possible matches for the given customer name (wildcards accepted) should be displayed and be selectable in the dropdown list.

Step 4: Configure the Web Request control

  • Connect the text to the Customer SharePoint list field.
  • Select Drop down list as display format.
  • Enter the web service URL without the /mex part in the Service URL box.
  • Select POST as request method.

nintex-forms-webrequest-03

  • Define the request body.

For SOAP web service calls a so called SOAP envelope has to be created. The request body must be in the following format for this example:

<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:web="http://www.theobald-software.com/ERPConnectServices/WebServices">

<soapenv:Header/>

<soapenv:Body>

<web:GetSAPCustomers>

<web:CustomerName> 

</web:CustomerName>

</web:GetSAPCustomers>

</soapenv:Body>

</soapenv:Envelope> 

Don’t forget to map list field Customer Name as an import parameter to the request body.

nintex-forms-webrequest-04

For a more detailed explanation of how the SOAP envelop is composed look at the following screenshot, taken in a REST client:

nintex-forms-webrequest-01

  • Use text/xml; charset=UTF-8 for the content type
  • Select the authentication type. In this example we use Windows Authentication.
  • Enter the target application ID of the Secure Store where the Windows credentials are stored.
  • Enter the XPath expression for the value to be retrieved and to be displayed. In our example it is //[local-name()=’NAME1’]* for both fields.
  • Enter a custom header for SOAPAction in the Advanced section:

Name: SOAPAction
Value: http://www.theobald-software.com/ERPConnectServices/WebServices/ISAPCustomerWebservice/GetSAPCustomers

nintex-forms-webrequest-05

For a more detailed explanation of how the SOAPAction header is composed look at the following screenshot, taken in a REST client:

nintex-forms-webrequest-02

Step 5: Test the Web Request

You can test the web request at first with the Run now button. Take care that the request body is typed correctly, there might be harmful line breaks, blanks, etc. When it works correctly in the preview, save the entries and publish the form. You can open and test the form by creating a new item in the list.

nintex-forms-js-dropdown-09