Think of it as the SAP file explorer for backend files.

• It lists logical file paths configured in transaction FILE.

• It shows the physical directories on the SAP application server (not your local PC).

• You can view, upload, download, or delete files (depending on your authorizations).

CLASS zcl_al11_demo DEFINITION
PUBLIC
FINAL
CREATE PUBLIC.

PUBLIC SECTION.
METHODS:
write_to_al11,
read_from_al11.
ENDCLASS.

CLASS zcl_al11_demo IMPLEMENTATION.

METHOD write_to_al11.
“—————————————————
” Step 1: Define target file path (AL11 directory)
“—————————————————
DATA(lv_filename) = ‘/usr/sap/interfaces/hr/employee_data.txt’.

“—————————————————
” Step 2: Create sample employee data
“—————————————————
DATA(lt_employee) = VALUE stringtab(
( ‘E001|Alice|IT|65000’ )
( ‘E002|Bob|HR|55000’ )
( ‘E003|Carol|Finance|72000’ )
).

“—————————————————
” Step 3: Open dataset for output (text mode)
“—————————————————
OPEN DATASET lv_filename FOR OUTPUT IN TEXT MODE ENCODING DEFAULT.

IF sy-subrc <> 0.
WRITE: / ‘Error opening file for write:’, lv_filename.
RETURN.
ENDIF.

LOOP AT lt_employee INTO DATA(lv_line).
TRANSFER lv_line TO lv_filename.
ENDLOOP.

CLOSE DATASET lv_filename.

WRITE: / ‘File written successfully to:’, lv_filename.

ENDMETHOD.

METHOD read_from_al11.
“—————————————————
” Step 1: Define file path to read
“—————————————————
DATA(lv_filename) = ‘/usr/sap/interfaces/hr/employee_data.txt’.

“—————————————————
” Step 2: Open file for input
“—————————————————
OPEN DATASET lv_filename FOR INPUT IN TEXT MODE ENCODING DEFAULT.

IF sy-subrc <> 0.
WRITE: / ‘Error opening file for read:’, lv_filename.
RETURN.
ENDIF.

“—————————————————
” Step 3: Read and display file contents
“—————————————————
DATA(lv_line) = ”.
WHILE sy-subrc = 0.
READ DATASET lv_filename INTO lv_line.
IF sy-subrc = 0.
SPLIT lv_line AT ‘|’ INTO DATA(lv_id) DATA(lv_name) DATA(lv_dept) DATA(lv_salary).
WRITE: / lv_id, lv_name, lv_dept, lv_salary.
ENDIF.
ENDWHILE.

CLOSE DATASET lv_filename.

ENDMETHOD.

ENDCLASS.

• AL11 is a SAP transaction code that displays directories and files on the SAP application server.

• From AL11, you can view file contents but not directly download them to your local server.

Options to Read Data from AL11 and Store Locally

1. Manually via AL11 + GUI Download

1. Go to transaction AL11.

2. Navigate to the directory → choose the file.

3. Double-click → file contents displayed.

4. Use System → List → Save → Local File (or Ctrl+Shift+F7) to save to your PC/server.

2. Use ABAP Program (Recommended for Automation)

• You can write an ABAP program to read the file from the AL11 directory and download it to a local server path.

DATA: lv_filename TYPE string,
lv_localfile TYPE string,
lt_filedata TYPE TABLE OF string,
lv_line TYPE string.

lv_filename = ‘/usr/sap/interfaces/data.txt’. ” Path in AL11
lv_localfile = ‘C:\local\data.txt’. ” Local path (SAP GUI PC)

” Open file from AL11
OPEN DATASET lv_filename FOR INPUT IN TEXT MODE ENCODING DEFAULT.

IF sy-subrc = 0.
DO.
READ DATASET lv_filename INTO lv_line.
IF sy-subrc <> 0.
EXIT.
ENDIF.
APPEND lv_line TO lt_filedata.
ENDDO.
CLOSE DATASET lv_filename.
ENDIF.

” Download to local PC
CALL FUNCTION ‘GUI_DOWNLOAD’
EXPORTING
filename = lv_localfile
TABLES
data_tab = lt_filedata.

3. Using FTP / SFTP

• If your local server is not your SAP GUI machine (e.g., Linux/Windows server in a data center), you usually need FTP/SFTP transfer.

• Steps:

  1. Copy the file from AL11 to an application server directory (if not already there).

  2. Use ABAP function modules like:

     • FTP_CONNECT

     • FTP_R3_TO_SERVER

     • FTP_DISCONNECT

  3. Or use SFTP via SAP PI/PO, SAP CPI, or third-party middleware.

4. Use SAP Data Services / PI / CPI (Integration Approach)

• For larger-scale or scheduled transfers, integration tools like SAP Data Services or SAP PI/PO can automatically extract files from SAP app server and push them to local/network servers.