I get this question more than most. How do I find a field in the database? It seems like quite a few of us are using Crystal Reports and Access to pull information out of the database for our own custom needs. Depending on the number of Lawson modules that you use, you are probably working with a couple thousands of tables inside the Lawson database. You may just want one field. Well, here are some tips and tricks to make that process a little easier for you.

1) LawsonGuru website

The Lawson Guru at LawsonGuru.com has been nice enough to post some of the more common tables used in Lawson with an ERD diagram detailing some of the tables, the relationships, and the fields located within them. This is a good place to start.

2) DBURF

If you're in Lawson and you do a form transfer (F8), type in 'dburf' and hit enter. You will be taken to the 'Print Technical Text' program. Enter the system code and the Program code (example 'HR' and 'HR11') and hit enter again. A screen will appear detailing the tables that the form updates and the tables that the form references. This is extremely helpful information in narrowing down where the field you are looking for is.

3) DBDOC

Do another F8 and try 'dbdoc'. Now enter the system code and the table name (example 'HR' and 'Employee') and hit enter. Now a data dictionary will display with all of the fields in that particular table of the database. There is also a short description and information about the type and length of the field. At the bottom of this report, you will also find information about relationships to other fields.

4) Portal Trick

This is a neat trick. If you pull up a form in Portal (say, HR11). Click on the field and then press the Cntrl + Shift + O (the letter, not the number) on your keyboard. At the bottom of the screen, it will tell you the field name.

So hopefully, with all of the tools at your disposal, it will help you narrow down trying to find a field for your report or finding out how to tie two tables together for your report.

Happy hunting.

GREAT information for assisting newbies with report development against Lawson tables.

Just an added note on #4: CTRL+SHIFT+O will give you the table prefix (three letter acronym) of the field. This can be referenced in the Data File Text documents for the appropriate system code to find the related table name.

Chris Martin
cjmart@swbell.net

Another way to find the table name is to use the Excel query add-in. The latest version of the add-in has a field where you can enter the prefix and it will display the table name and the system code.