Extensions · Extension Impact Guard
Published key-user field cannot change type or shrink in place
- Default severity
- Major
- Finding code:
- EXT_TYPE_CHANGE_REQUIRES_NEW_FIELD
- Engine version:
- 2.0.0
What this finding means
Extension Impact Guard reports this finding with the default severity “Major”.
About the engine: Cloud BAdI & key-user extensibility upgrade stability analyzer
How to fix it
A published key-user custom field keeps its type, and its length cannot be reduced. Create a new custom field with the target type / length, migrate the data and re-point all consumers, then retire the old field.
How ERP Preflight detects it
The analysis is deterministic: the same exported files and the same knowledge snapshot always produce the same findings. No SAP system connection is required — you upload exports.
- Engine
- Extension Impact Guard
- Accepted formats
- JSON
- What to export
Extension inventory JSON: {'extensions': [{object_name, object_type, status, dependencies, data_type, length, software_collection}], 'dependencies': {object: [consumers]}, 'target_object': '…', 'action': 'DELETE'|'MODIFY'|'CHANGE_TYPE'|'CHANGE_LENGTH'|'TRANSPORT', 'change': {new_type, new_length}}. Deletion / change / transport verdicts require an explicit target_object.
- Required input
- extensions or dependencies/graph adjacency map
- target_object for deletion/impact verdicts
- Evidence
- Each finding points to the artifact path, line and column, the code snippet and the SHA-256 of the uploaded file. Findings without such a pointer are demoted to confidence UNKNOWN.
- Confidence
- At most RULE_DERIVED (0.85): the verdict rests on Key-user custom field change rules (type fixed after publishing, length only increases), a curated catalog that is not verified against an official source.
- Knowledge sources
- Key-user custom field change rules (type fixed after publishing, length only increases) — curated, not verified against the source
- Target releases of the engine
- S4H_2022, S4H_2023, S4HANA_CLOUD_2402, S4HANA_CLOUD_2408
Related findings
- CriticalType / length change breaks consumers
- MajorHigh change blast radius
- MajorModification impacts downstream consumers
- BlockerCyclic extension dependency
- CriticalDeletion blocked by active consumers
- MajorRequested extension object absent from the dependency graph
Terms used on this page
Background reading
- Custom fields with key user extensibility: why a field does not appear in the app, form or APIHow custom fields created with key user extensibility reach UIs, reports, forms and APIs, and why a field that exists on one document is missing on the follow-on document.
- Clean core extensibility explained: tiers, released APIs and classic modificationsA practical overview of how SAP classifies extensions by their upgrade stability, from ABAP Cloud on released APIs to classic modifications, and how to assess existing custom code.