Establishing Text Catalog Data

eBenefits uses the text catalog to maintain the wording used on its self-service pages. Text blocks are a collection of paragraphs, sentences, phrases, and words that eBenefits uses when displaying the benefits enrollment and life event pages.

Use the Maintain Text Catalog page to update eBenefit text blocks. Enter HEB (eBenefits) as the object owner when searching for the available text catalog items. For life events, enter LE as the sub ID.

See Configuring the Text Catalog.

Defining Text for Flexible Keys

For benefits enrollment pages, some page text is the same for all situations. Some of the text varies from benefit program to benefit program. Other text varies from plan type to plan type. Text can vary by plan type within benefit program, which can still vary by the type of event. To accommodate this, the system keys the text blocks by benefit program, plan type, and event class.

The system uses the following rules when matching text to a text block:

  • The system looks for a match on the benefit program. It uses only those rows that match the benefit program or, lacking any rows that match the benefit program, uses the rows that do not have a benefit program.

  • Within this set of rows, the system looks for a match on plan type. It uses only those rows that match the plan type or, lacking any rows that match the plan type, uses the rows that do not have a plan type.

  • Within this set of rows, the system looks for a match on event class. It uses only the row that matches the event class or, lacking a match on event class, uses the row that does not have an event class.

For life event pages, the system keys the text blocks based on the life event type. If a life event type is left blank for a text catalog entry, the text block will be applicable to all life event types.

Identifying Field Lists

This is a list of the fields on the following tables: W3EB_TEXT, W3EB_TEXT_EFFDT, and W3EB_TEXT_MSGID

  • Text ID − A character field that uniquely identifies the text block. Life event welcome and exit pages contain default text IDs Welcome and Print which can be modified.

  • Language Code − The language for this text block.

  • Description − A description of this text block.

  • Effective Date − The date on which this text block takes effect.

  • Benefit Program − A distinct benefit program or blank.

  • Plan Type − A distinct plan type or blank.

  • Event Class − An event class or blank.

  • Life Event Type − The type of life event or blank.

  • Text − A long field containing the text block itself. The text can include up to five substitution variables.

Setting Up Delivered Text and Effective Dating

This text is effective-dated, which allows it to be changed from one plan year to the next. The delivered text has an effective date of January 1, 1900 (1/1/1900) and is defined as system data in the HCM database. You should use a later effective date when you add new text entries. Any configured text should use a later date.

Setting Up Enrollment Form Technical Information

Inside the enrollment form, the system uses a common function to access the text blocks. The format of this function is:

GetText(&TextID, &PlanType, &TextArea, &Sub1, &Sub2, &Sub3, &Sub4, &Sub5)

The parameters are:

&TextID − A character string that uniquely identifies the text string.

&PlanType − The plan type. 01 is used for the event picker, summary, and other non-plan type pages.

&TextArea − For situations in which the function returns the text.

&Sub1,2,3,4,5 − Up to five character fields that hold substitution variables. The function updates the text with the substitution values.

The calling function supplies the &TextID, &PlanType, and &Sub parameters.

On return, the calling function takes the text returned in &TextArea and puts it into HTML areas on the page.

The function does not have to supply the benefit program or event class because these values can be derived from the event itself and they do not change.