How to get the new ABAP editor in LSMW

SAP LSM Workbench (LSMW) has for years been a much used tool for data migration into SAP. It is both loved and hated :-) While LSMW has had its last update in 2004 it remains a much used tool in this age of more modern toolsets such as SLT,  SAP DS and the like.

For many frequent and hard core users of LSMW a big nuisance is the old style ABAP editor. This old editor takes up alot of development time, especially in those ABAP-rich LSMW projects.

One night, bored and out of beer, I managed to develop a relatively simple enhancement that enables the new ABAP editor for LSMW.

(Mangled code completion context list is thanks to Windows 10 & a 3K screen)

Compare that with what you have been working with for the last decades:

Features

• New ABAP editor for all ABAP coding within LSMW (field mappings, events, user defined routines and form routines)
• Code completion
• Use of the Pretty printer
• Use of the ABAP Syntax checker
• Use of ABAP patterns
• No Modification required, just a single implicit enhancement spot
• Fix of a small LSMW bug where the wrong line is highlighted when doing a syntax check in the __GLOBAL DATA__

Limitations

• Code completion is not aware of globally defined variables
• A few, more exotic, editor menu commands are not working and will return 'Function not implemented'
• The use of Edit-->Find/Replace issues warning and will eventually cause a short dump (but who needs this function eh?)

The enhancement

The implementation of the new ABAP editor takes just one single Implicit enhancement spot. No modification or any other unwanted hacking! It has been tested on an ECC 606 system with LSMW version 4.0.0 (2004) and SAP Basis 731/02.
Update: Also tested on a brand new ERP 740 SP12 on a 742 kernel with HANA DB underneath.

1. Create an Implicit enhancement spot (how-to) at the start of Subroutine EDITOR_START of Function group /SAPDMC/LSMW_AUX_080
   
   
   
   
2. Paste in the code attached to this post & activate.
   
   
3. Create a user parameter ZLSMW_NEWEDITOR  in SE80 (how-to scroll all the way down). Assign the parameter with value 'X' to each user that wants to use the new editor. All other users will not be affected.
   
   
4. Start LSMW!

Give it a try and inform me of any bugs. As stated above not all user commands work. All the important ones do and most of the others I have managed to catch and issue a friendly 'not implemented' message. Ideally I'd like to change the PF-Status of the screen and remove the unwanted commands, but this seems not that easy for now.