Turning off Internal Job Numer Ranges Temporarily

Question

We just use $$$$ and have both an internal and an external number range defined.  I would like to temporarily turn off the internal one just so I can do some loads and then turn it back on again.  What would be the best way of doing this and are their any potential problems with doing this?

Answer 1

Hi Janice,
I’m not familiar with LSMW’s, but I understand what you’re trying to do. I thought maybe you were going to be making the configuration changes in production, which adds some complexity in that number range configuration changes are not transportable. You need to make the configuration changes in each individual client. That involves getting your Basis team to temporarily open up configuration during non-peak hours. But in this case you don’t have to worry about that.
Concerning resetting the Current Number, keep in mind that the $$$$ entry (explained in more detail below) covers all Object Types and not just the Job Object Type. I don’t really understand how this field works on the $$$$ entry because you can have multiple Object Types that share the same Object Id (at least in the external range), but I’m guessing anytime a new Object gets created using internal numbering the Current Number gets incremented by 1. I don’t know why you can’t update it. One possibility could be that another Object Type has the particular number you’re entering. I can’t really help you with that.
In case you don’t know, the Subgroup field (which contains $$$$ in your case) is kind of broken down into 2 fields as follows: The first 2 digits of Subgroup are for the Plan Version. $$ serves as a wildcard and is valid for all Plan Versions. The last 2 digits of Subgroup indicate the Object Type. $$ serves as a wildcard, meaning the Object Id Numbering for ALL Object Types is covered by the ranges defined on this entry, unless there’s another entry on the table for a particular Object Type that overrides this entry. 
Here where I work, we also have the $$$$ entry set up with the same number range configuration as you do, but we have several other entries on our table since we have some different requirements for some of our Object Types. One of those entries is $$C, which we use for Job Object Id Number Ranges. Since this entry exists for jobs (Object Type C), the ranges defined on the $$$$ entry are not used by us for our Job objects. The ranges we use for our jobs under the $$C entry, are as follows:
EX     00000100     03599935               X
IN     50000000     50000001     50000001
We do that because our Job Object Id’s have to be externally entered as we don’t want the system to automatically generate these Id’s. We had to define an Internal range so that it wouldn’t default to the internal range defined under the $$$$ entry. We didn't want to allow any jobs to be added using Internal numbering, but that wasn't possible. The best we could do was to limit the internal range to 1 entry (since the FROM and TO can’t match), so 1 job can actually be added using internal numbering. Not exactly what we wanted, but, like I said, it was the best we could do. Anyway, that shouldn’t be a problem for what you’re trying to do. 
I don’t know exactly how the following recommendations would work without taking the time to try them out myself first. I don’t have that kind of time, but I will let you know what I’m thinking so maybe you can try these things.
Basically, I think you have two options for what you’re trying to do with your jobs. Personally, I like option 1 better, because you’re only impacting the specific Object Type you’re working with rather than impacting all other Object Types as well.
Option 1: Create a new entry $$C via the Number Range Configuration step in the IMG.
For you, I’d try the following:
EX     00000001     89999999               X
IN     90000000     99999999     90000000     
Just realize, any jobs added using internal numbering during the period of time this entry exists, will be added using Object Id’s starting with a 9. When you’re done with your load, you can delete the $$C entry.
Option 2: Change the $$$$ entry as follows:
EX     00000001     89999999               X
IN     90000000     99999999     90000000
Just be aware that any new objects (not just Jobs, but any object type) added during the time you have this change in place will have an Object Id starting with a 9. When you’re done with your load, you can change the $$$$ entry back to what it was. I just don’t know what to tell you about the resetting the Current Number. Maybe set it back to exactly what it was before you started, if that works.
Obviously, for either option, you can set the External TO range and the Internal FROM range to suit your needs.
I hope this makes sense to you and I hope it helps. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I'll do my best to answer them. Also, please let me know if you do try any of these options and how it works out for you. Good luck.
Ed