Value Help
Value help (the classic ABAP F4 input help) lets users pick a value from a list instead of typing it. abap2UI5 covers the basics with two built-in popups and lets you build anything custom on top.
Suggestions on the Input
The lightest variant — type-ahead from a bound list, no popup, no roundtrip after the initial render. Bind the suggestionItems aggregation to an internal table and pick the columns in its item template:
TYPES: BEGIN OF ty_country,
code TYPE c LENGTH 3,
name TYPE string,
END OF ty_country.
DATA mt_countries TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF ty_country.
DATA mv_country TYPE string.
mt_countries = VALUE #( ( code = `DE` name = `Germany` )
( code = `FR` name = `France` )
( code = `IT` name = `Italy` ) ).
DATA(view) = z2ui5_cl_ui5_view_builder=>factory(
)->ele( n = `View` ns = `mvc`
)->a( n = `xmlns` v = `sap.m`
)->a( n = `xmlns:mvc` v = `sap.ui.core.mvc`
)->a( n = `xmlns:core` v = `sap.ui.core`
)->ele( `Page`
)->ele( `Input`
)->a( n = `value` v = client->_bind( mv_country )
)->a( n = `suggestionItems` v = client->_bind( mt_countries )
)->a( n = `showSuggestion` b = abap_true
)->ele( `suggestionItems`
)->tag( n = `ListItem` ns = `core`
)->a( n = `text` v = `{CODE}`
)->a( n = `additionalText` v = `{NAME}` ).
client->view_display( view->stringify( ) ).Selection Popup
For a "pick from this list" dialog, open a popup with the candidates in it and let the press event write the chosen value back. No sub-app and no navigation are involved — the popup is a second view of the same class, so the selected row is simply an attribute.
CLASS z2ui5_cl_sample_f4 DEFINITION PUBLIC.
PUBLIC SECTION.
INTERFACES z2ui5_if_app.
TYPES:
BEGIN OF ty_s_carrier,
carrid TYPE c LENGTH 3,
carrname TYPE c LENGTH 20,
END OF ty_s_carrier.
DATA mv_carrid TYPE string.
DATA mt_carriers TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF ty_s_carrier WITH EMPTY KEY.
PROTECTED SECTION.
PRIVATE SECTION.
ENDCLASS.
CLASS z2ui5_cl_sample_f4 IMPLEMENTATION.
METHOD z2ui5_if_app~main.
CASE abap_true.
WHEN client->check_on_navigated( ).
DATA(view) = z2ui5_cl_ui5_view_builder=>factory(
)->ele( n = `View` ns = `mvc`
)->a( n = `xmlns` v = `sap.m`
)->a( n = `xmlns:mvc` v = `sap.ui.core.mvc`
)->ele( `Page`
)->a( n = `title` v = `Value help`
)->tag( `Input`
)->a( n = `value` v = client->_bind( mv_carrid )
)->a( n = `placeholder` v = `press the value-help icon`
)->a( n = `valueHelpRequest` v = client->_event( `F4` )
)->a( n = `showValueHelp` b = abap_true ).
client->view_display( view->stringify( ) ).
WHEN client->check_on_event( `F4` ).
" On a system this is your SELECT:
" SELECT carrid, carrname FROM scarr INTO TABLE @mt_carriers.
mt_carriers = VALUE #( ( carrid = `LH` carrname = `Lufthansa` )
( carrid = `UA` carrname = `United Airlines` )
( carrid = `AA` carrname = `American Airlines` )
( carrid = `SQ` carrname = `Singapore Airlines` ) ).
DATA(popup) = z2ui5_cl_ui5_view_builder=>factory(
)->ele( n = `FragmentDefinition` ns = `core`
)->a( n = `xmlns` v = `sap.m`
)->a( n = `xmlns:core` v = `sap.ui.core`
)->ele( `Dialog`
)->a( n = `title` v = `Choose airline`
)->ele( `List`
)->a( n = `items` v = client->_bind( mt_carriers )
)->ele( `items`
)->tag( `StandardListItem`
)->a( n = `title` v = `{CARRNAME}`
)->a( n = `description` v = `{CARRID}`
)->a( n = `type` v = `Active`
)->a( n = `press` v = client->_event( val = `PICK` arg = `${CARRID}` ) ).
client->popup_display( popup->stringify( ) ).
WHEN client->check_on_event( `PICK` ).
mv_carrid = client->get_event_arg( ).
client->popup_destroy( ).
ENDCASE.
ENDMETHOD.
ENDCLASS.The chosen key travels in the event argument, so nothing has to be looked up
again on the way back. type="Active" is what makes a StandardListItem
pressable — without it the press event never fires.
For a ready-made picker with sorting, multi-select and a search field, the popups add-on carries one.
DDIC Search Help
For value helps that exist as DDIC search help objects (SE11 → search help), the generic search help builder wraps the F4 framework so you can fire any standard search help by name and get the picked row back. Install it like any other add-on.
Custom Dialog
When neither popup fits — e.g. a filter bar with multiple columns, ranges, fuzzy search — build the F4 as a separate app with its own view and call it via nav_app_call. See Popup → Separated App for the pattern.
Working Samples
Complete apps from the sample catalog
that use what this page describes. Each is a single class in abap2UI5/samples
unless its row names another of the three sample repositories — pull that repository with
abapGit and start the class with ?app_start=<class>.
| Sample | Class |
|---|---|
| Value Help: Suggestions and F4 Dialog | Z2UI5_CL_SMP_APP_009 |
| MultiInput with Tokens (C) | Z2UI5_CL_SMP_APP_078 |