Identifying the Trading Partner of an Outgoing Document
The Qualedi QIMPORT file, created by the mapping program, becomes the input to the Generate translation process. To Generate, Qualedi must be able to recognize to whom a particular document is going. There are two ways to identify the receiver of an outgoing document when the document is generated from a QIMPORT file. Some documents have an N1 segment, that contains information that can be used to identify the trading partner using Cross Reference (Sites). Other documents, however, do not contain an N1 segment with the required data and must be identified with the use of an Interface Header.
Cross Reference (Sites) [inherited from DOS System users]
Qualedi can use an identification code in the N1 segment to identify the recipient of the document. Refer to a Standards listing, obtained by executing the Standards Report command of the document type you are working with. Within the N1 segment, you will find the field N104 Identification Code (*0166 Qualedi ID in old labels, *ABY in the new Qualedi labels). If the data in this field will consistently contain information about your trading partner, that iteration of N104 can be used to identify to whom the document is going.
The Cross Reference (Sites) function provides the necessary link between a Trading Partner (recipient) and the outgoing document. You must create a SITE for each TRADING PARTNER to whom you will be sending documents. For each SITE you must specify the SITE, the TRADING PARTNER, and an INTERNAL ID. A typical SITE entry might appear as:
SITE: XYZ HEADQUARTERS
TRADING PARTNER: XYZ SUPPLY COMPANY, INC.
INTERNAL ID: 012345
The SITE is a name that you can easily recognize. The trading partner is selected from the list Trading Partner in your system. The INTERNAL ID is what appears in the N104 Identification Code field of the N1 segment.
A part of the QIMPORT file would appear as follows:
*A00BT*A0BXYZ SUPPLY COMPANY, INC*A01ZZ*ABY012345
Qualedi relates the identification code of "012345" to your trading partner, the XYZ SUPPLY COMPANY, by matching the data in the *ABY field to the INTERNAL ID in one of the Cross Reference (Sites) entries. Thus, Qualedi can correctly 'address' the transmission and provide the correct passwords and identifiers from the Trading Partner screen. More than one SITE per TRADING PARTNER is allowed to accommodate situations such as several "Bill to" identities for a single company in an invoicing system interface.
The Interface Header
Interface headers contain special data elements that precede a document or group of documents and to identify the trading partner using a Host Interface ID provided on the Trading Partner screen. Interface Headers are used in place of a Cross Reference (Sites) entry. If the Interface Header is not selected as USED for Import a File or Export a File, the Trading Partner screen will not display the Host Interface ID. If the Interface Header is set to USED, Qualedi will create an Interface Header to precede one or more documents in the QEXPORT file and will look for an Interface Header in the QIMPORT file. The Host Interface ID is defined by the Qualedi user creating the host application interface and should be something that meaningfully identifies an internal or external TRADING PARTNER.
| § | The maximum length of this ID is 25 characters. |
The Interface Header utilizes the standard Qualedi labeled field method, beginning with the *AAA identifier followed by the number '1' (one) to indicate that it is a header record and not a regular document type. The next identifier, *D25, contains the Host Interface ID of the external TRADING PARTNER. A third identifier, *D2G, is available only in Service Bureau systems for the Host Interface ID of internal Trading Partner. This identifier would be used to identify multiple divisions of the same company.
The Interface Header is a record that is not part of the document content and is stripped by the Generate command after it has been scanned. It is treated in the same manner as standard documents with respect to the other record format parameters, i.e., record length, record terminators, etc. The specific format of the Interface Header is as follows:
*AAA1*D25External Host Interface ID
For Service Bureau Mode Qualedi systems an additional label is needed to identify the Internal Company Id.
*D2GInternal Host Interface ID
Customizing the Import a File and Export a File Commands
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