HR_MAINTAIN_MASTERDATA issue with PA0171 defaults

Question

Greetings experts!
I'm using HR_MAINTAIN_MASTERDATA to create a participant.  I'm running into trouble with PA0171.  The defaults are not correct and even if I hard-code values into the proposed-values table it ignores them.
I thought I'd try just not sending over 171 at all and then, after HR_MAINTAIN_MASTERDATA finished, I'd use HR_INFOTYPE_OPERATION to create it.  Curiously, however, HR_MAINTAIN_MASTERDATA still tries to populate 171 even though I'm not sending it (I'm setting the DIALOG_MODE parameter to 2 so I can see each screen as it's processed).  Apparently, something else is "triggering" it.
When I run PA40 the values are defaulted correctly so I must be doing something out of order, perhaps?  The best scenario would for 171 to be defaulted to the correct values automatically but I must be missing something for it to default to the wrong values.
Any suggestions?
Here's the order I'm sending in the proposed values:
0000
0001
0002
0006
0105
0008
0041
UPDATE
Also, a colleague of mine discovered that in
program MP017100
  screen 2000 (infotype 171)
    module p0171
      FM 'HR_BEN_GET_FROM_FEATURE_BAREA'
        subroutine sap_get_emp_barea_from_feature
          subroutine fill_pme30
there is a call to "HR_READ_INFOTYPE" on line 1352 of "LHRBEN00FEATUREF01" and this always returns "8" meaning no records were found.  Puzzled, we looked at infotype 0000 with the pernr in SE11 and sure enough there's no data there.
I thought changing to LUW_MODE param of HR_MAINTAIN_MASTERDATA to "0" might solve that issue but it doesn't seem to have any affect.
Many thanks!
Edited by: Steve King on Dec 30, 2008 10:09 PM

Answer 1

Steve,
The reason for incorrect default values in IT 0171 is, there is code in PBO module of MP017100 which defaults value from features BAREA, BENGR and BSTAT only if the mode is not batch.
To make it work, you can mimic the code that exist in "module p0171 output" in PBAS0001 user exit to default values.
regards
Sridhar