version XXXX already exist for that project. This is due to system has generated version of that project on release.
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This is the design behaviour. A version of a project is a snapshot of this project at a certain point in time. The renaming or deleting of a WBS element and project definition does not have influence on the version. Therefore the corresponding data for the version persists in tables VSPRPS_CN and VSPROJ_CN.
You can find more information concerning status-dependent versions in attached SAP Note 529634.
There are some work arounds, in case you wish to get around this standard behaviour:
In case you do NOT wish to use status-dependent project versions on your system, you can run report ZVERSDEL from as per note 160884. This will delete ALL versions for status "released", for all projects on your system.
Please note: this action is not reversible, and cannot be restricted to a single project or range of projects. You will then be able to rename the WBS elements as required. To avoid this happening in the future, it is then advisable to deactivate the automatic writing of versions when WBS element or project is released.
In case you DO you use project versions, then this project report is not an option. In this case I am only able to offer a partial work around to deal with your situation. You may use report ZVERSION_UPDATE from attached note 616732. This report will rename in table VSPRPS_CN (i.e. table with versions for WBS element) those records which you have specified in the selection screen. Here you can specify version key and project number. Once you have renamed the WBS elements in the status-dependant version (e.g. from "ABCD.0001" to "DELE.0001"), you will be able to recreate an operative WBS Element with the external number which you have changed in the version (e.g. in the previous example "ABCD.0001").
Please note however that there is no equivalent Report to rename / delete records from table VSPROJ_CN (versions for project definitions). The only option is to manually delete those records in the table, or to custom-write a report to make those changes.
Please note that both the above mentioned reports actually violate the version concept which is normally adhered to in Project System.
The concept of versions is that a version once created should not be changed anymore, because someone may want to track a project and e.g. check which WBS elements were existing some time ago. Once you have run this report, you will no longer see the version data which has been deleted: this is the reason why the version concept is being violated. This is also the reason why the notes mention that these reports should only be used after contact with SAP Support.
As long as you are aware of the above, and do not have an issue with it, you can proceed as outlined in one or the other of the above mentioned notes.
