Semantic Object

A semantic object is the noun of SAP Fiori navigation; the action is the verb. Together they form an intent, written in the launchpad URL as #SemanticObject-action, optionally followed by parameters.

1. A tile, a link or an app requests an intent, for example #PurchaseOrder-display?PurchaseOrder=4500000123.
2. The launchpad looks for target mappings with the same semantic object and action among the catalogs in the user's roles.
3. The matching target mapping decides which app opens.

One semantic object usually carries many actions. In the SAP Fiori Apps Reference Library, PurchaseOrder-display resolves to the classic transaction ME23N through SAP GUI for HTML, PurchaseOrder-manage to the Manage Purchase Orders app and PurchaseOrder-displayFactSheet to a purchase order fact sheet. The calling app only names the business object and the intended operation. A semantic object is therefore a stable name for a business entity, independent of the UI technology that eventually handles it.

• ABAP-based launchpad (on-premise, Private Edition): SAP ships semantic objects with the UI components; transaction /UI2/SEMOBJ_SAP displays them. Custom semantic objects are created with /UI2/SEMOBJ or the Customizing activity for custom semantic objects in SPRO (UI Technologies, SAP Fiori, launchpad content). A custom entry with the same key as an SAP-delivered one overrides its attributes.
• SAP BTP and SAP Build Work Zone: each app declares the semantic objects and actions it accepts as inbounds in its app descriptor (sap.app → crossNavigation → inbounds), where semantic object and action are mandatory. The semantic objects come from these descriptors rather than from an ABAP maintenance transaction.
• SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition: SAP-delivered semantic objects are used as shipped. For a custom app, the developer defines the tile, including its intent, as part of the application before deploying it.

The semantic object is defined once per landscape and then referenced everywhere navigation needs it.

Semantic objects drive more than tiles. In SAP Fiori elements, a field annotated with a semantic object (Common.SemanticObject in OData or CAP, @Consumption.semanticObject in ABAP CDS) is rendered as a link when the semantic object is valid in the launchpad. Clicking it lists every action the user can reach for that object; when only one target exists, the app navigates directly.

Freestyle SAPUI5 apps use the shell navigation service (sap.ushell.services.Navigation) to ask which links exist for a semantic object and to navigate. In both cases, the list of links is computed per user from the target mappings in that user's roles, so two users clicking the same supplier field can see different options.

A semantic object on a field is a request for navigation options, and the user's roles decide which options appear.

Use this decision criterion: does the entity already exist as an SAP business object?

• Reuse the SAP semantic object when a custom app works on the same entity, for example a custom purchase order approval app at Alder Manufacturing. Reusing PurchaseOrder lets the custom app appear in the same link lists as standard apps and receive navigation from them. Add a distinct action rather than a new semantic object.
• Create a custom semantic object when the entity has no SAP equivalent, such as a custom tooling request that only exists in Alder Manufacturing's extension. Follow the naming conventions agreed for the landscape.
• Do not create one per app. A semantic object named after an app instead of an entity fragments navigation and hides the custom app from standard links.

A custom semantic object is justified by a new business entity, not by a new application.

1. Spelling and case mismatches. SAP describes target mappings as case-sensitive, so a tile that sends PurchaseOrder can fail to resolve against a target mapping defined for Purchaseorder. Copy semantic objects from the definition instead of typing them.
2. Expecting a semantic object to grant access. A semantic object carries no authorization. Access comes from the catalogs in the user's roles, which contain the target mappings for that semantic object.
3. Assuming a link means an app. Smart links only appear for targets the user can reach. A link that appears for a key user may not appear for a clerk, by design.
4. Overriding SAP-delivered semantic objects casually. A custom entry with the same key changes attributes for every app that uses the object.

When navigation for a semantic object behaves unexpectedly, run /UI2/FLIA for the affected user and intent before changing any definition. Most semantic object problems are naming or role problems rather than definition problems.