Understanding Bank Layout Attributes

A bank layout is a set of specifications comprising attributes. Before you can use a bank layout to send electronic data to the banks, you must assign attributes to a layout that you create. Attributes define specific data and the format of the data. The attributes that you can use are defined in the Dynamic Formatter Attributes UDC table (76B/F1).

The two types of attributes are:

Attribute	Description
System	Values that begin with an S. These values are constants. For example, S0002 is the attribute for blanks and S0003 is the attribute for zeros. You define the value of S0001 when you specify layout details.
Application	Values that begin with a Z. These values are defined by each transaction. For example, attribute Z0009 is the company name. The value of the Z0009 attribute changes, depending on the company for which the transaction occurs.

The system retrieves the information for the attribute depending on:

• Whether the process is inbound or outbound.

• The line type that you specify when you set up the Layout Master.

You use the Dynamic Formatter Layout Setup program (P76B471) to create a record for each transaction/line type combination that you need for a bank layout.

For example, you might set up these transaction/line type combinations for each bank that you work with:

• Inbound/Header

• Inbound/Detail

• Inbound/Trailer

• Outbound/Header

• Outbound/Header Detail

• Outbound/Detail

• Outbound/Trailer

• Outbound/Trailer Detail

  See Setting Up Transaction Types and Line Types.

You must specify the bank layout that you want the system to use for each transaction type for each bank with which you work. When you specify the bank layout, you also identify where the system creates the text file for outbound transactions, where the system stores the file for inbound transactions, and where the application searches for information about the payment instrument.

For inbound transactions, the system searches for information about the payment instrument in the record type that you specify. For example, if you specify Header as the record type, the system searches the lines in the layout that contain header information to identify the payment instrument that is contained in the flat file.

See Specifying the Layout for Transaction Types.

For some attributes, the information that the system retrieves is also determined by whether the attribute is used for automatic receipt or automatic payment processing.