Upcoming SAP ERP Deprecation - Call SAP Function v1

[drasener]

Microsoft's Power Platform has constantly evolved, providing powerful new features to help organizations unlock the potential of their data. As we learn about how best to manage those connections to backend systems, methods for accessing and using that data evolve. The Power Automate SAP ERP Connector was revamped and entered General Availability last year. As part of that effort, the Call SAP Function action was upgraded to a new version. The new version, Call SAP Function v2 has been the preferred way to make RFC calls in SAP since that time. Now, we will deprecate the use of v1 in order to avoid confusion and discourage building on the outdated version.

Why Version 2? How is it Better?

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Old version:

New version:

The introduction of 'Call SAP Function v2' offers several advantages:

1. Reduces Error Possibilities: Each connection field no longer needs to be specified separately in each action definition. This reduces the possibility of error in connection settings.
2. SAP Message Server Support: The new version allows for connections to SAP Message Servers, which most organizations use. Previously, only Application Server connections were supported.
3. Handles More Parameters: The new version eliminates the previous limit of 1000 parameters in RFC calls, in order to support the more complex SAP functions.
4. Required Parameters Displayed: Upon selecting a function, all required parameters are surfaced, making it easier to understand the function's requirements. Less knowledge of SAP RFCs is required of the user upfront.
5. Azure AD SSO Auth Available: Integration with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Single Sign-On (SSO) is now possible, improving security and usability.
6. Less Throttling: The new version increases the limits on the number of calls in a given time period.

How to Use the New Version

IMPORTANT! Make sure that your On-Premise Data Gateway (OPDG) is version 3000.154.3 or higher (December 2022 update) Previous versions of the OPDG do not support features required by the new version.

To use 'Call SAP Function v2', follow these steps:

1. Create a JSON connection string using this documentation for guidance: SAP ERP - Connectors | Microsoft Learn . Use these properties in your JSON connection string as appropriate.
2. Store the connection string as an environment variable or keep it handy to copy/paste.
3. Recreate your actions using the new version with the JSON connection string.

Converting Actions Using the Old Version to the New Version

1. Create a JSON 'connection string' and save it as a text environment variable or keep it handy to copy/paste
2. Create v2 actions to replace each of your v1 actions. From the user's point of view, nothing except the method for specifying connection parameters changes. All of the same RFCs are supported, and the parameters to them are the same.

Deprecation Schedule

To assist in a smooth transition, 'Call SAP Function' (version 1) will continue to be operational for 3 more years. But, do remember that it's being phased out, so it's a good idea to start using 'Call SAP Function v2' from now on. Indeed, you will no longer see the v1 option in the designer. However, existing flows will still run until the action is fully removed in June of 2026.

To keep you updated, Microsoft will send reminders to users of the old action following the usual deprecation cadence for Power Platform: An initial 3-year notice, followed by reminders every six months for the first two years. In the last year of support, there will be reminders at six months, three months, one month, two weeks, and finally one week before the action is fully removed.

[v-qiaqi-msft]

Hi @drasener,

Thanks for your sharing.

[achraf19]

thank you ,but  I have a problem when using this new connector :Call SAP Function (V2) : the connector doesn't handle float numbers correctly. For example, the value 5.3 was interpreted as 53 by SAP."

[SinanIoannidis]

Thanks for sharing, highly appreciated! 

[drasener]

What languages are you using? We've seen this behavior before when SAP systems were using languages that use commas as decimal separators.

e.g. "5,3" is meant to express "5.3" (us-en) but gets interpereted as 53. (the system viewing the comma as a thousands separator and ignoring it)

[mrbrazel]

Thanks for sharing!

[FelipeLujan]

I'm not getting the RFC function dropdown or autocomplete functionality that the previous action used to have.

Despite the diagnostics action outputs:

CanInvokeSFTC_CONNECTION: yes

CanPerformRfcFunctionSearch: Yes

Gateway version: 3000.182.4

[SinanIoannidis]

Can you post a screenshot with what you are seeing? 

Usually everything should work more or less as before

[drasener]

@FelipeLujan We had to remove the dropdown functionality due to performance issues. It was crashing the browser due to the large volume of data. We're working on a solution that will be more performant. That is, you should expect to see the dropdown come back in the near future. 

[FelipeLujan]

Thanks for your answer Drasener. In the meantime, how can I get the function names for some SAP transactions?

I need to get the same result as if I ran the "users with complex selection Criteria", I understand that the RFC name is RSUSR002, but when I insert such param as RFC name I'm getting an error indicating RFC not found.

thanks

[drasener]

Hi @FelipeLujan , That message is correct: RSUSR002 is a report, not an RFC that can be called directly from the Power Platform connector. However, I consulted with a colleague more versed in SAP than I, and he suggested that depending on your use case, you may be able to get at the same data by using the "Read Table with Parsing" action to read tables like USR02 (there are multiple USRXX tables that may contain the data you're looking for)

I attempted to run your report directly using RFC_CALL_TRANSACTION_USING, but that proved to be a dead end. I hope this helps, and we hope to ship some new features soon that will ease your use of SAP on the power platform. Stay tuned 🙂

[AndreasF]

Hi, i am facing the issue described here https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Building-Power-Apps/PowerApps-SAP-ERP-How-to-refresh-available-R... when i am developing a powerautomate flow with a RFC call that changes the parameters due to new requirements.
Do you have a solution for this?
I have opened also request 2312200050000378 on this.

Thanks for your help