Version 24.2.9039

• Overview
• Prerequisites
• Connector Configuration
  • Settings Tab
    • Translation Configuration
    • Interchange Settings
    • Acknowledgments
  • Automation Tab
    • Automation
    • Performance
  • Alerts Tab
    • Connector Email Settings
    • Service Level Agreement (SLA) Settings
  • Advanced Tab
    • EDI Delimiters
    • Interchange Settings
    • Functional Group Settings
    • Advanced Settings
    • Message
    • Logging
    • Miscellaneous
• Converting Formats
  • EDIFACT to XML
  • XML to EDIFACT
• EDIFACT Acknowledgments
  • Technical versus Functional Acknowledgments
  • Expecting, Processing, and Generating Acknowledgments
    • Expecting Acknowledgements
    • Processing Acknowledgments
    • Generating Acknowledgements
• Master-Detail Hierarchy: Translating CPS and HYN Loops
  • CPS and HYN Hierarchies
  • Converting CPS and HYN Hierarchies to XML
• Macros
  • Examples
• EDIFACT Operations
  • edifactScan
    • Required Parameters
    • Optional Parameters
    • Output Attributes
• Common Errors
  • ERROR:
  • ERROR:

The EDIFACT connector can generate EDIFACT documents from XML or convert EDIFACT documents into XML.

Overview

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

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

Note: Interchange header validation can be avoided by enabling the Test Indicator setting.

An EDIFACT connector can also automatically generate acknowledgments to incoming EDIFACT documents. For more information, see EDIFACT Acknowledgments.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the correct schema installed for the document type you need to process. The EDIFACT connector natively supports the following schema definitions: 4.1, D03A, D04A, D07A, D96A, D96B, D97A, D99A and D99B. You can find them in the app_data/edifact_schemas directory of your Arc installation. If you need different schemas, you can download the additional schema files from the CData website for free.

After you download and extract the zip archive, place the entire folder into an appropriately named subdirectory of the app_data/edifact_schemas directory.

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, unique identifier for the connector.
• Connector Type Displays the connector name and a description of what it does.
• Connector Description An optional field to provide a free-form description of the connector and its role in the flow.
• Translation Type Whether the connector should convert EDIFACT documents into XML, or generate EDIFACT documents from XML.

Interchange Settings

Settings related to the EDIFACT interchange headers. When generating EDIFACT documents from XML, these settings are used to generate document headers. When parsing EDIFACT documents, these settings are used to validate the incoming document.

• Syntax Identifier (UNB1.1) Identifies the character set used in the EDIFACT document.
• Syntax Version (UNB1.2) In combination with the Syntax Identifier, determines the syntax to be used in the EDIFACT document. Based on your selection here, other interchange setting options appear or disappear on the Advanced tab.
• Sender Identifier (UNB2.1) The unique Id identifying the sending party in the EDIFACT communication. When you are generating an EDIFACT document, this should be your identifier.
• Sender Code Qualifier (UNB2.2) The qualifier for the Sender Identifier, which provides context to the value (for example, an EAN location number).
• Recipient Identifier (UNB3.1) The unique Id identifying the receiving party in the EDIFACT communication. When you are generating an EDIFACT document, this should be your trading partner’s identifier.
• Recipient Code Qualifier (UNB3.2) The qualifier for the Recipient Identifier, which provides context to the value (for example, an EAN location number).
• Test Indicator (UNB11) Whether the interchange is in test mode or production mode. If you check this, interchange headers are not validated when documents are received.
• Functional Group Check this to automatically add the sender and recipient identifiers to the Functional Group Settings on the Advanced tab.

Acknowledgments

Settings related to generating and requesting acknowledgments.

• Technical acknowledgment (CONTRL) Whether a technical CONTRL ACK should be returned (when receiving) and requested (when sending). A technical acknowledgment serves as a receipt of the interchange.
• Functional acknowledgment (CONTRL) Whether a functional CONTRL ACK should be returned (when receiving) and requested (when sending). A functional acknowledgment serves as an indication of acceptance or rejection of the received interchange.

Automation Tab

Automation

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

• Send A toggle that instructs the connector to automatically send files when they are ready.
• Resend Interval The interval the connector waits before resending a file that received a negative ACK. For example, if a trading partner receives the file but something is wrong with it and they send back a negative ACK, this setting specifies how long to wait before sending the file again.
• Max Attempts (async) The maximum number of times the connector processes the input file when a functional ACK is requested. Success is based on the return of a functional ACK within the Resend Interval. If a successful functional ACK is not returned, the connector resends the file until Max Attempts is reached. If this is set to 0, the connector resends the file indefinitely.

Performance

Settings related to the allocation of resources to the connector.

• Max Workers The maximum number of worker threads consumed from the threadpool to process files on this connector. If set, this overrides the default setting on the Settings > Automation page.
• Max Files The maximum number of files sent by each thread assigned to the connector. If set, this overrides the default setting on the Settings > Automation page.

Alerts Tab

Settings related to configuring alerts and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

Connector Email Settings

Before you can execute SLAs, you need to set up email alerts for notifications. Clicking Configure Alerts opens a new browser window to the Settings page where you can set up system-wide alerts. See Alerts for more information.

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Settings

SLAs enable you to configure the volume you expect connectors in your flow to send or receive, and to set the time frame in which you expect that volume to be met. CData Arc sends emails to warn the user when an SLA is not met, and marks the SLA as At Risk, which means that if the SLA is not met soon, it will be marked as Violated. This gives the user an opportunity to step in and determine the reasons the SLA is not being met, and to take appropriate actions. If the SLA is still not met at the end of the at-risk time period, the SLA is marked as violated, and the user is notified again.

To define an SLA, click Add Expected Volume Criteria.

• If your connector has separate send and receive actions, use the radio buttons to specify which direction the SLA pertains to.
• Set Expect at least to the minimum number of transactions (the volume) you expect to be processed, then use the Every fields to specify the time frame.
• By default, the SLA is in effect every day. To change that, uncheck Everyday then check the boxes for the days of the week you want.
• Use And set status to ‘At Risk’ to indicate when the SLA should be marked as at risk.
• By default, notifications are not sent until an SLA is in violation. To change that, check Send an ‘At Risk’ notification.

The following example shows an SLA configured for a connector that expects to receive 1000 files every day Monday-Friday. An at-risk notification is sent 1 hour before the end of the time period if the 1000 files have not been received.

Advanced Tab

EDI Delimiters

Settings that specify which characters separate elements, segments, and so on.

• Data Element Separator The character that separates individual data elements in the document.
• Component Element Separator The character that separates elements within a composite data structure in the document.
• Segment Terminator The character that indicates the end of a segment in the document.
• Release Char The character that releases (escapes) the next character, overriding its usual meaning. This allows reserved characters to appear as data within documents, as long as they are preceded by the Release Char.
• Repetition Char The character that indicates repetition of element values.
• Suffix Appended to the Segment Terminator to distinguish segments.

Interchange Settings

Additional settings related to the EDIFACT interchange headers. These options appear or disappear based on the Syntax Version specified on the Settings tab.

• Service Code List Directory Version Number (UNB1.3) Further specifies the syntax to be used in the EDIFACT document. Only applicable for EDIFACT syntax version 4.
• Character Encoding (UNB1.4) Specifies how characters are encoded (such as ASCII or UTF-8). Only applicable for EDIFACT syntax version 4.
• Address for Reverse Routing (UNB2.3) The optional address in the sender’s system to which responding interchanges should be sent. Only applicable for EDIFACT syntax versions prior to version 4.
• Sender Internal Identification (UNB2.3) An additional sender identifier to facilitate internal routing of response interchanges. Only applicable for EDIFACT syntax version 4.
• Sender Internal Sub-Identification (UNB2.4) Further identifies the sender when sub-level identification is required. Only applicable for EDIFACT syntax version 4.
• Routing Address (UNB3.3) The optional address in the recipient’s system to which interchanges should be routed. Only applicable for EDIFACT syntax versions prior to version 4.
• Recipient Internal Identification (UNB3.3) An additional recipient identifier to facilitate internal routing of received interchanges. Only applicable for EDIFACT syntax version 4.
• Recipient Internal Sub-Identification (UNB3.4) Further identifies the recipient, for when sub-level identification is required. Only applicable for EDIFACT syntax version 4.
• Recipient Password (UNB6.1) Reference or password to gain access to the recipient’s system.
• Recipient Password Qualifier (UNB6.2) The qualifier that provides context to the Recipient Password, if applicable.
• Application Reference ID (UNB7) Identifies the application group to which the messages in the interchange relate.
• Processing Priority Code (UNB8) Code for requesting processing priority for the interchange.
• Communication Agreement (UNB10) Defines the type of communication agreement controlling the interchange.

Functional Group Settings

Settings related to the functional group headers of EDIFACT documents. These optional identifiers can help group similar interchanges together or facilitate sub-addressing within an organization.

• Application Sender Identifier (UNG2.1) Identifies the application sending the document (such as a division, branch, or computer system).
• Application Recipient Identifier (UNG2.1) Identifies the application for which the document is intended.

Advanced Settings

Settings not included in the previous categories.

• Batch Transactions An interchange can contain multiple transactions. When this is not checked, the connector creates a separate output file for each transaction in the interchange. When checked, the connector groups all transactions into a single output file. Only applicable when the Translation Type is EDI to XML.
• Use Reference Id When checked, when you are translating EDIFACT into XML, reference Ids are used to name XML elements. Only applicable when the Translation Type is EDI to XML. For example:
  <_143>value</_143>
  If this is unchecked, the Reference designator is used to name XML elements:
  <BEG03>value</BEG03>
• Encoding Specifies the character encoding (such as ASCII or UTF-8).
• Expand Qualifier Values When checked, XML elements containing an EDI qualifier include child elements containing the qualifier code and value. For example:
  <N101>
   <Code>ST</Code>
   <Value>Ship To</Value>
  </N101>
• Functional Acks By default, all functional acknowledgments (997, 999) are routed to the connector selected in the flow diagram, and XML translations are not received in the Output tab. Check this to have the translated acknowledgment also be included in the Output tab. This allows functional acknowledgments to be integrated into a destination source in addition to new EDI documents.
• Generate Description As When translating EDIFACT into XML, descriptions of the EDIFACT segments and elements can be provided as context for the EDIFACT data. Use this dropdown to choose whether to add this context as an XML comment or as XML attributes.
• Local File Scheme A scheme for assigning filenames to messages that are output by the connector. You can use macros in your filenames dynamically to include information such as identifiers and timestamps. For more information, see Macros.
• Nest Loops When checked, the connector detects EDI structures that have hierarchical relationships embedded in the EDI data, and generates XML with these hierarchical relationships represented as parent-child relationships. See Master-Detail Hierarchy: Translating CPS and HYN Loops for more information.
• Processing Delay The amount of time (in seconds) by which the processing of files placed in the Input folder is delayed. This is a legacy setting. Best practice is to use a File connector to manage local file systems instead of this setting.
• 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 or segments, invalid qualifier and code values, disallowed element lengths, and invalid element values. Choosing Disable turns off the schema validation checks.
• Track UNB2.1 Whether to add UNB2.1 values as tracked headers to processed messages. These headers are required when running EDI Reports.
• Track UNB3.1 Whether to add UNB3.1 values as tracked headers to processed messages. These headers are required when running EDI Reports.
• Track Transaction Types Whether to add transaction types as tracked headers to processed messages. These headers are required when running EDI Reports.
• Validate Identifiers Check this to ensure that the identifiers in the translated document match the identifiers in the connector’s configuration.
• Upload Schema Use this to upload a schema and install it in the connector’s Schema folder. If a schema already exists, you are asked if you want to overwrite it.
• Reset State EDI connectors keep track of control numbers that have been used and increment that number to ensure that future runs do not duplicate data. Use this button to reset the counter to its initial state without changing any of the configured settings.

Message

• Save to Sent Folder Check this to copy files processed by the connector to the Sent folder for the connector.
• Sent Folder Scheme Instructs the connector to group messages in the Sent folder according to the selected interval. For example, the Weekly option instructs the connector to create a new subfolder each week and store all messages for the week in that folder. The blank setting tells the connector to save all messages directly in the Sent folder. For connectors that process many messages, using subfolders helps keep messsages organized and improves performance.

Logging

• Log Level The verbosity of logs generated by the connector. When you request support, set this to Debug.
• Log Subfolder Scheme Instructs the connector to group files in the Logs folder according to the selected interval. For example, the Weekly option instructs the connector to create a new subfolder each week and store all logs for the week in that folder. The blank setting tells the connector to save all logs directly in the Logs folder. For connectors that process many transactions, using subfolders helps keep logs organized and improves performance.
• Log Messages Check this to have the log entry for a processed file include a copy of the file itself. If you disable this, you might not be able to download a copy of the file from the Input or Output tabs.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous settings are for specific use cases.

• Other Settings Enables you to configure hidden connector settings in a semicolon-separated list (for example, setting1=value1;setting2=value2). Normal connector use cases and functionality should not require the use of these settings.

Converting Formats

The following sections detail the process of converting EDIFACT to XML and vice versa.

EDIFACT to XML

Setting the Translation Type to EDI to XML instructs the connector to parse incoming EDIFACT documents into XML. The connector first reads all of the header information for the interchange and functional group sections of the document and validates them against the configured connector settings (unless Test Indicator is checked). The connector then parses out the specific EDIFACT schema used in the document and loads the schema from the edifact_schemas folder on disk (additional schema files can be downloaded from our website for free). Using the schema, the connector generates XML representing the EDIFACT structure of the document, populates the XML with the values from the document, and provides context to each value either as XML comments or as attributes in the XML elements (based on the value of Generate Descriptions As).

To see this process with a set of test EDIFACT documents, navigate to the Input tab of an EDIFACT connector (with Translation Type set to EDI to XML) and select More > Create Test Files. EDIFACT documents for an invoice, purchase order, purchase order acknowledgment, and shipping notice are automatically generated and placed in the Input directory. After these test files are processed by the connector, navigate to the Output tab to see the resulting XML.

Once EDIFACT documents are converted to XML, the data can be transformed and manipulated in many ways. Commonly, EDIFACT data needs to be stored in a database or other back-end application system. Since Arc uses XML to represent inserts into these back-end systems, storing the EDIFACT data becomes a matter of mapping one XML structure onto another. This is typically done with the visual designer-driven XML Map connector.

XML to EDIFACT

Setting the Translation Type to XML to EDI instructs the connector to generate an EDIFACT document out of an XML representation of the document. After the connector has constructed the EDIFACT message out of the data parsed from the XML, it adds functional group and interchange headers according to the configured connector settings.

To see this process with a set of test XML files, navigate to the Input tab of an EDIFACT connector (with Translation Type set to XML to EDI) and select More > Create Test Files. XML files representing an invoice, purchase order, purchase order acknowledgment, and shipping notice are automatically generated and placed in the Input directory. After these test files are processed by the connector, navigate to the Output tab to see the resulting EDIFACT document.

EDIFACT Acknowledgments

The following sections detail the two types of EDIFACT acknowledgments (ACKs), and how Arc expects, processes, and generates ACKs.

Technical versus Functional Acknowledgments

Technical ACKs, sometimes called interchange ACKs, are an indication that an interchange has taken place between the two parties, although not necessarily that any individual message has been exchanged. These serve as a receipt to the sender indicating that the EDIFACT message was successfully received, but it does not specify whether there were any issues with processing the message content.

Functional ACKs are an indication that an interchange has been processed by the receiving party. They can report acceptance, acceptance with issues, or rejection of the received document. These serve as both a receipt that an interchange was successfully received and that it was fully processed.

Expecting, Processing, and Generating Acknowledgments

Expecting Acknowledgements

EDIFACT connectors operating in XML to EDI mode can be configured so that technical and/or functional ACKs are expected for a message. When one or both Technical acknowledgment (CONTRL) and Functional acknowledgment (CONTRL) are checked in the Acknowledgments section of the Settings tab, the connector maintains a Pending ACK status for a transmission until the appropriate ACKs have been returned and processed. This means that the connector status can be used to determine whether the recipient has confirmed that they received the interchange.

The following diagram shows the logical flow involved when Arc expects an ACK from an invoice document:

In the illustration above, an EDIFACT connector operating in XML to EDI mode generates the document to be exchanged (1) and holds it in a Pending ACK state while the document is transmitted to the trading partner. The trading partner processes the transmission according to their business logic and creates acknowledgments in accordance with the configured exchange parameters (2). When the acknowledgments are returned, they are processed according to the information in the next section (3).

Processing Acknowledgments

In a typical flow, EDIFACT ACKs arrive at an EDIFACT connector operating in EDI to XML mode. This EDIFACT connector can be configured to automatically route any received acknowledgments to the EDIFACT connector that originally generated the document being acknowledged. Routing ACKs between EDIFACT connectors is configured visually on the Flows canvas by dragging the gray dot at the bottom of the EDIFACT connector in EDI to XML mode onto the EDIFACT connector that is in XML to EDI mode.

Once the EDIFACT connector in XML to EDI mode receives the routed ACK, it pairs the ACK to the original message and changes its state from Pending ACK to Sent.

Generating Acknowledgements

When an EDIFACT connector in EDI to XML mode receives a message and generates the corresponding XML, it can automatically generate CONTRL acknowledgments for the received message. To accomplish this, check Technical acknowledgment (CONTRL) and/or Functional acknowledgment (CONTRL) in the Acknowledgments section of the Settings tab. These acknowledgments must be routed to another EDIFACT connector (in XML to EDI mode) to finalize the ACK. The connector to which the ACK is routed applies interchange headings and passes the ACK along to the next connector in the flow like any other EDIFACT message. To route the ACK appropriately, drag the gray dot at the bottom of the EDIFACT connector in EDI to XML mode onto the EDIFACT connector that is in XML to EDI mode.

The following diagram shows the logical flow involved when creating an ACK for a received invoice document:

As shown in the illustration above, after a trading partner sends a message expecting an acknowledgment (1), the EDIFACT connector in EDI to XML mode that parses the document automatically generates an ACK (2). This ACK is an XML file containing the transactional information relevant for the transaction. Then, this XML acknowledgment is routed back to an EDIFACT connector in XML to EDI mode (3) so that the interchange headers (and any other EDI party agreement settings) are applied before the ACK is sent back to the trading partner.

Master-Detail Hierarchy: Translating CPS and HYN Loops

In EDI documents, most hierarchical relationships are represented by the order of EDI segments. Some EDI structures, like CPS loops (found in DESADV documents) and HYN loops (found in PRICAT documents), do not follow this convention. Instead, they have the hierarchical relationships embedded in the EDI element data itself. This can make it difficult to preserve these hierarchical relationships when converting the EDI data to XML.

The EDIFACT connector supports preserving hierarchical relationships in CPS and HYN segments via the Nest Loops setting on the Advanced tab. When enabled, the connector parses the elements in the CPS and HYN segments to determine which segments “belong to” other segments in a hierarchical relationship. These hierarchical relationships are reflected in the output XML as parent-child relationships; in other words, this setting converts hierarchy implied by the EDI content into hierarchy represented by the XML structure.

This section explains how hierarchy is encoded in CPS and HYN data, and how this hierarchy is converted into XML when Nest Loops is checked.

CPS and HYN Hierarchies

All CPS and HYN segments have two values that help establish hierarchy:

• an Id value, which identifies the current segment (this value is stored in CPS01 or HYN01, or as the first element in a CPS or HYN segment)
• a parent-Id value, which identifies the current segment’s hierarchical parent (this value is stored in CPS02 or HYN02, or as the second element in a CPS or HYN segment)

For example, a segment has an Id value of ‘2’. If the next segment should “belong to” this prior segment in a hierarchical relationship, the next segment’s parent-Id should also be ‘2’.

If a segment’s parent-Id is ‘0’, the segment does not have a parent (it is at the top level of the hierarchy).

Converting CPS and HYN Hierarchies to XML

When Nest Loops is checked, the EDIFACT connector automatically handles the conversion of CPS and HYN hierarchies to the XML hierarchy. The connector parses the Id and parent-Id values from the CPS and HYN segments, and ensures that the resulting XML elements are appropriately nested inside the elements representing their parents.

In other words, if segmentA has a parent-Id value that is equal to segmentB, the resulting XML has segmentA as a child of segmentB. In this way, the hierarchical relationships are preserved in the XML structure when the EDI data is translated.

Macros

Using macros in file naming strategies can enhance organizational efficiency and contextual understanding of data. By incorporating macros into filenames, you can dynamically include relevant information such as identifiers, timestamps, and header information, providing valuable context to each file. This helps ensure that filenames reflect details important to your organization.

CData Arc supports these macros, which all use the following syntax: %Macro%.

Examples

Some macros, such as %Ext% and %ShortDate%, do not require an argument, but others do. All macros that take an argument use the following syntax: %Macro:argument%

Here are some examples of the macros that take an argument:

• %Header:headername%: Where headername is the name of a header on a message.
• %Header:mycustomheader% resolves to the value of the mycustomheader header set on the input message.
• %Header:ponum% resolves to the value of the ponum header set on the input message.
• %RegexFilename:pattern%: Where pattern is a regex pattern. For example, %RegexFilename:^([\w][A-Za-z]+)% matches and resolves to the first word in the filename and is case insensitive (test_file.xml resolves to test).
• %Vault:vaultitem%: Where vaultitem is the name of an item in the vault. For example, %Vault:companyname% resolves to the value of the companyname item stored in the vault.
• %DateFormat:format%: Where format is an accepted date format (see Sample Date Formats for details). For example, %DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff% resolves to the date and timestamp on the file.

You can also create more sophisticated macros, as shown in the following examples:

• Combining multiple macros in one filename: %DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff%%EXT%
• Including text outside of the macro: MyFile_%DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff%
• Including text within the macro: %DateFormat:'DateProcessed-'yyyy-MM-dd_'TimeProcessed-'HH-mm-ss%

EDIFACT Operations

In addition to the Operations provided with Arc, connectors can provide operations that extend functionality into ArcScript.

These connector operations can be called just like any other ArcScript operation, except for two details:

1. They must be called through the connector.rsc endpoint.
2. They must include an auth token.

For example, calling a connector operation using both of these rules might look something like this:

<arc:set attr="in.myInput" value="myvalue" />
<arc:call op="connector.rsc/opName" authtoken="admin:1j9P8v8b9K0x6g5R5t7k" in="in" out="out">
  <!-- handle output from the op here -->
</arc:call>

The following operation is specific to the functionality of the EDIFACT connector.

edifactScan

Scans header values from the headers of an EDIFACT document.

Required Parameters

• file: The path to the EDIFACT file.

Optional Parameters

• format: The file format. The default value is EDIFACT.

Output Attributes

• InterchangeSenderIdQualifier: The interchange qualifier of the sender Id (UNB2.2).
• InterchangeSenderId: The interchange sender Id (UNB2.1).
• InterchangeReceiverIdQualifier: The interchange qualifier of the receiver Id (UNB3.2).
• InterchangeReceiverId: The interchange receiver Id (UNB3.1).
• DocumentType: The document type or transaction set Identifier code (UNH2.1).

Common Errors

Following is a list of common errors, their causes, and the recommended solution. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

ERROR:

“Schema file not found ([schema major version] [schema document type])”

Cause

When Arc parses an EDIFACT file, it first scans the file for the EDI version and document type to determine which schema to use during parsing. The application includes an extensive set of EDIFACT schemas in JSON format. They are stored in the schemas folder in the application directory (next to the data folder).

This error indicates that the application could not find a schema file matching the major version and document type reported by the file.

If the [schema major version] or [schema document type] values are missing in the error message, the EDI document does not contain the major version or document type.

Otherwise, this error indicates that the appropriate document schema is not included in the set of schema definitions automatically included with Arc.

Resolution

If the EDI file does not contain the schema major version or document type, contact the trading partner (or other source of the EDI document) and inform them that these values must be included in the message header.

Otherwise, find the appropriate schema version from our free download page here. Download the schema folder and place it in the following path:

[application_directory]\schemas\edifact_schemas\[major_version]\

ERROR:

“The segment at line [line number] with tag [segment name] is not in a valid position in the specified schema ([schema major version] [schema document type]). This may indicate that the input file contains segments that are out of order.”

Cause

When Arc parses an EDIFACT file, it first scans the file for the EDI version and document type to determine which schema to use during parsing. The application includes an extensive set of EDIFACT schemas in JSON format, stored in the www\app_data folder of the root installation directory.

This error indicates that the parser encountered an EDI segment in the file that does not match the order of segments defined in the relevant document schema. This can indicate a few different issues:

• The EDI file was generated incorrectly by the trading partner
• The EDI file was generated using a different schema version than what is indicated in the file
• The EDI file was generated using a custom schema

Resolution

If the EDI file was generated using a custom schema, place the custom schema file (in JSON format) in the folder where Arc reads EDI schemas. The connector searches for schemas by checking the following locations in this order:

1. Inside its folder on disk (for example, <ConnectorDirectory>/Resources/Schemas/)
2. If a schema is used by multiple connectors, CData recommends you use a folder structure like this: <ApplicationDirectory>/schemas/<type>_schemas/<major version>. In this example, <type> should be edifact.

If the EDI file was not generated using a custom schema, there are two approaches to resolving the discrepancy between the EDI file generated by the partner and the EDI schema used to parse it.

1. Manually edit the appropriate EDI schema file (found in the filepath above) to adjust the segment order so that it matches the partner’s EDI files. The error message indicates the line in the file where the segments diverge from the schema definition. Trace through the JSON definition of segment order until the divergence is found, and re-order the segments in the JSON to match the file provided by the partner.
2. Contact the trading partner about the EDI file. Confirm that the file was generated according to the major version that is reported by the file, and explain that the order of the segments in the file is not recognized.

Which approach to use depends on your familiarity with EDI segments for the particular document type (to correctly edit the JSON schema according to the partner’s file) and the partner’s flexibility (to adjust the EDI file in response to informing them about the error).