The New Front-End ABAP Editor

Features

syntax highlighting
outlining
code templates
code hints (for templates and ABAP keywords)
auto-completion
quick info in the debugger while your cursor is over a code snippet
clipboard extensions
more options while Find/Replace dialog
extended Pretty Print
code print preview
lots of keyboard shortcuts which you can change

See detailed features in the linked PDF documents in this wiki-page.

Starting the New Editor

SE80 > Utilities > Settings > Tab: ABAP Editor > Tab: Editor > RadioButton: Front-End Editor (New)

Working with the New ABAP Editor

Creating your own templates

To insert your own template just go into the options (small icon in the right corner on the bottom of the editor) > Code Templates > Button: Add...

Insert a name for your template. This name is the keyword you have to type later in the editor. E.g.: concate
Insert a description, this comes up as a small hint when typing the keyword. E.g.: CONCATENATE expression
Click into the small code editor window for the template and insert (without quotes): "CONCATENATE INTO .". Save this template.
If you just type "concate" in thee ABAP editor, the hint will appear and pressing CTRL+ENTER will insert your template into the source code.

Examples for templates

Form template

*----------------------------------------------------------*
*Form    : %Form Name%
*created : %DateTime%
*author  : your name
*----------------------------------------------------------*
FORM %Form Name% .
|

%SurroundedText%

ENDFORM. " %Form Name%
*----------------------------------------------------------*

CLASS template

*-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
*definition of class: %classname%
*ticket: %Ticketnumber%   created: %DateTime%   author: your name
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
CLASS %classname% DEFINITION.
  PUBLIC SECTION.
    METHODS:
      | %SurroundedText%

  PRIVATE SECTION.
    METHODS:


ENDCLASS.   "definition - %classname%
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
*implementation of clas: %classname%
*ticket: %Ticketnumber%   created: %DateTime%   author: your name
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
CLASS %classname% IMPLEMENTATION.

ENDCLASS.   "implementation - %classname%

More templates

Feel free to extend this section or improve the existing templates here !

Trouble Accessing the New ABAP Editor

Sometimes, when you follow the normal procedure, that is go to Utilities -> Settings -> Front-End Editor (New) to switch to the New ABAP Editor, it is likely to get a short dump giving the following message.

OPEN_DATASET_NO_AUTHORITY

No authorization to open the file "/usr/sap/D30/SYS/exe/run/ABAP.pad".

In this case, your user profile has issues or there is a trouble accessing a particular file on the application server to switch to the New ABAP Editor. In this case, it requires the intervention of your Basis consultant to fix the issue and add the necessary authorization to your user profile. See the attachment for a sample screenshot of the error occured while trying to switch to the New ABAP Editor.