Flat File Data

To use a flat file to receive or send EDI documents, you must be able to map a drive on a personal computer to the location of the flat file. The third-party translator software must be able to:

• Create a flat file for outbound documents or convert the data for inbound documents.

• Create fields.

• Insert delimiters.

• Write to every field in the EDI interface tables, even if the field is blank.

The default text qualifier is a double quotation mark, and the default field delimiter is a comma.

The format of the record in the flat file must follow the format of the EDI interface table. Consequently, every column in the table must be in the flat file record, and the columns must appear in the same order as in the table. The first field value in a flat file record indicates the record type. That is, the first field value indicates the conversion or creation program into which EDI interface tables insert the record. Record type values are defined and stored by record type UDC table 00/RD.

For example, suppose that a record in the header table appears as follows:

Record Type	Name	Address	City	Zip Code
1	Joe	<Blank>	Denver	80237

Here is how the record in the flat file appears:

1,Joe, Denver, 80237

In the preceding example, notice that the 1 corresponds to a header record type, and the blank space corresponds to the <Blank> value in the Address column.

When you receive inbound documents, the system converts data from the flat file to the EDI interface tables when you run the appropriate conversion program. When you send outbound documents, the system creates a flat file when you run the appropriate creation program (also known as a conversion program).