SAP WE02 — Display IDoc
An IDoc (Intermediate Document) is how SAP sends structured business data to another system, and receives it back. A customer sends you a purchase order by EDI, it arrives as an IDoc. You send a supplier an order, it leaves as an IDoc. Same container in both directions.
Each one has three parts. The control record says what it is and who it is between — direction, message type, sender and receiver. The data records are the payload, organised into segments. The status records are its history: every step it passed through and every error it hit, with a timestamp.
WE02 is the standard way to look at all of that. It is display-only, so it is the right transaction to reach for first when someone says an interface has failed.
Every IDoc carries a two-digit status. Inbound: 53 posted successfully, 51 application error, 64 waiting to be processed, 68 abandoned. Outbound: 03 passed to the port, 12 dispatched, 02 port error, 29 ALE service error. 56 means no partner profile was found.
When you would actually use WE02
- A customer says they sent an order and you need to know whether it arrived.
- An outbound message did not reach a partner and you need to see how far it got.
- Checking overnight how many inbound IDocs failed and why.
- Reading the actual payload to see what a partner really sent, rather than what they say they sent.
What the screen looks like
Selection
| IDoc number | Status | Direction | Message | Partner | Created |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0000000004471902 | 53 | Inbound | ORDERS | CUST_NORTHWIND | 02.08.2026 |
| 0000000004471955 | 51 | Inbound | ORDERS | CUST_NORTHWIND | 02.08.2026 |
| 0000000004472010 | 51 | Inbound | ORDERS | CUST_BALTIC | 03.08.2026 |
| 0000000004472044 | 12 | Outbound | DESADV | VEND_ALPINE | 03.08.2026 |
The fields, in plain English
EDIDC-DIRECT1 is outbound (you are sending), 2 is inbound (you are receiving). This single field changes which statuses are meaningful — 53 only exists inbound, 12 only outbound.
EDIDC-STATUSWhere the IDoc got to. The ones that matter day to day: 53 posted successfully, 51 application error, 64 ready to be processed, 68 abandoned, 03 passed to port, 12 dispatched, 02 port error, 29 ALE service error, 56 no partner profile.
Watch out: Status 53 means SAP created the business document. It does NOT mean the document is correct — only that it posted.
EDIDC-MESTYPWhat the message is about, independent of its layout: ORDERS a purchase order, INVOIC an invoice, DESADV a despatch advice, ORDRSP an order confirmation.
EDIDC-IDOCTPThe structural definition — which segments and fields the IDoc contains. ORDERS05 is a version of the purchase order structure. Message type says what it means; basic type says how it is laid out.
Watch out: A partner sending an older basic type than your partner profile expects is a common cause of syntax errors.
EDIDC-SNDPRN / RCVPRNWho the message is with — a customer, vendor or logical system. Together with partner type and message type this is what selects the partner profile in WE20.
Step by step
- 1Enter a date range. Never run WE02 unrestricted.
- 2Set the direction, and a status if you are hunting failures — 51 for inbound errors.
- 3Optionally narrow by message type or partner.
- 4Execute. The result groups IDocs by status.
- 5Open one and read the status records from the bottom up — the earliest entry usually explains the failure.
- 6Expand the data records to see the payload segment by segment.
- 7Once you know the cause, fix the underlying data and reprocess with BD87.
Errors you will hit, and what they mean
Status 51 — Application document not posted
Why: The IDoc arrived intact but SAP could not create the business document. Usually master data: unknown material, blocked customer, missing price, closed period.
Fix: Read the status record text, which names the real error. Fix that data, then reprocess in BD87. Do not edit the IDoc payload to force it through.
Status 56 — IDoc with errors added
Why: No partner profile exists for that combination of partner, message type and direction.
Fix: Create or correct the partner profile in WE20. Until it exists, every message from that partner will fail identically.
Status 29 — Error in ALE service
Why: Distribution model or partner profile problem before the message could even be routed.
Fix: Check the distribution model in BD64 and the partner profile in WE20.
Selection returns nothing but the partner insists they sent it
Why: It may never have reached SAP — stuck at the EDI subsystem, the middleware or the port.
Fix: Search by the business content with WE09 to be sure, then check the port and middleware before concluding it was not sent.
Common questions
What is the difference between WE02 and WE05?
Almost nothing. Both list and display IDocs from the same selection. WE05 presents a tree grouped by status; WE02 gives a flatter list. Use whichever you find more readable — most consultants default to WE02.
Can I change an IDoc?
WE19 can copy an IDoc, let you edit the copy and reprocess it — useful for testing. Editing production data to make it post is almost always the wrong fix: the source system will send the same wrong data again tomorrow.
What does status 53 actually guarantee?
That a business document was created. It says nothing about whether the values are right. A sales order posted with the wrong price is still status 53.
Transactions that go with WE02
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