Version 22.0.8473

• Overview
• Connector Configuration
  • Settings Tab
    • Translation Configuration
    • Header Settings
    • Automation
  • Advanced Tab
    • EDI Delimiters
    • Performance
    • Other Settings
    • Miscellaneous
• VDA to XML
• XML to VDA

VDA Connectors support generating VDA documents from XML and converting VDA documents into XML.

Overview

When receiving VDA documents, VDA Connectors validate interchange headers and convert the VDA document into XML. This is useful as a staging step, as XML is the primary format that CData Arc uses to manipulate data within a flow. The VDA Connector automatically reads the input file to determine the appropriate schema, then parses the document according to this schema.

When generating VDA documents, VDA Connectors convert XML into VDA document syntax and apply the appropriate interchange headers. This is useful as the final step for creating an VDA document, after the XML data has been fetched and transformed elsewhere in the flow.

Connector Configuration

This section contains all of the configurable connector properties.

Settings Tab

Translation Configuration

Settings related to the core operation of the connector.

• Connector Id The static name of the connector. All connector-specific files are held in a folder by the same name within the Data Directory.
• Connector Description An optional field to provide free-form description of the connector and its role in the flow.
• Translation Type Whether the connector should convert VDA documents into XML, or generate VDA documents from XML.

Header Settings

Settings related to the VDA interchange headers. When converting VDA documents into XML, the document headers will be validated against these settings; when generating VDA documents from XML, these settings will be used to generate document headers.

• Sender Identifier The unique ID identifying the sending party in the VDA communication (when generating an VDA document, this should be your identifier).
• Receiver Identifier The unique ID identifying the receiving party in the VDA communication (when generating an VDA document, this should be your partner’s identifier).

Automation

Settings related to the automatic processing of files by the connector.

• Send Whether messages arriving at the connector will automatically be processed.

Advanced Tab

EDI Delimiters

Settings that specify which characters separate elements, segments, etc.

• Suffix Appears at the end of segments to distinguish them.

Performance

Settings related to the allocation of resources to the connector.

• Max Workers The maximum number of worker threads that will be consumed from the threadpool to process files on this connector. If set, overrides the default setting from the Profile tab.
• Max Files The maximum number of files that will be processed by the connector each time worker threads are assigned to the connector. If set, overrides the default setting from the Profile tab.

Other Settings

Settings not included in the previous categories.

• Generate Description As When translating VDA into XML, descriptions of the VDA segments and elements will be provided as context for the VDA data. This context can be added as an XML comment or included within the XML elements as XML attributes. Use this setting to determine which of these approaches, or neither, is used.
• Send Filter A glob pattern filter to determine which files in the Send folder will be processed by the connector (e.g. *.edi). Negative patterns may be used to indicate files that should not be processed by the connector (e.g. -*.tmp). Multiple patterns may be separated by commas, with later filters taking priority except when an exact match is found.
• Local File Scheme A filemask for determining local file names as they are downloaded by the connector. The following macros may be used to reference contextual information:
  %ConnectorId%, %Filename%, %FilenameNoExt%, %Ext%, %ShortDate%, %LongDate%, %RegexFilename:%, %DateFormat:%.
  As an example: %FilenameNoExt%_%ShortDate%%Ext%
• Parent Connector The connector from which settings should be inherited, unless explicitly overwritten within the existing connector configuration. Must be set to a connector of the same type as the current connector.
• Strict Schema Validation Whether the Connector should Ignore, Warn, or Fail when the following are detected: Repeat counts above the allowed number; missing required elements/segments; invalid qualifier and code values; disallowed element lengths; invalid element values.

Miscellaneous

Settings for specific use cases.

• Other Settings Allows configuration of hidden connector settings in a semicolon-separated list, like setting1=value1;setting2=value2. Normal connector use cases and functionality should not require use of these settings.

VDA to XML

When generating XML, set the Translation Type to VDA to XML. VDA files placed in the Input/Send Folder will be processed by the connector. The connector will validate VDA message headers against the Sender Identifier and Receiver Identifier configured in the connector. After validating the transmission, the VDA segments are converted into XML according to the schema specified in the message. The resulting XML files are placed in the Output/Receive Folder for the connector.

XML to VDA

When generating VDA files, set the Translation Type to XML to VDA. XML files placed in the Input/Send Folder will be processed by the connector. The connector converts the XML elements representing a VDA file into VDA segments, then uses the Sender Identifier and Receiver Identifier fields to generate the transmission headers. To create an example of the XML structure required to generate VDA documents, start with an example VDA document and send it through the VDA Connector in VDA to XML mode. The resulting XML can be used as a template in the XML Map Connector to convert arbitrary XML structures into VDA structure.