The right pane in the BizTalk Editor is perhaps the most complex-looking section of all, but don't let its looks intimidate you. All you do here is manipulate the XML document that represents the BizTalk specification. If you understand what each of the nodes in the BizTalk specification represents and know what task you want to perform, building the specification will be a trivial task.
The right pane is split into six different tabs. Each represents a subset of the BizTalk specification. They are
Declaration
Reference
Parse
Namespace
Dictionary
Code List
Tip
It may be a bit baffling at first trying to figure out how to clear values from the various tabs. To do this, right-click on the property you want to reset and select Clear Property from the context menu.
The Declaration tab's primary role is to define the name of the node, specify what type of node it is—that is, whether it is an element or an attribute—provide a description of the node, and define many of the constraints that will exist within the schema.
Tables B.2, B.3, and B.4 describe the properties of the node, depending on whether it is a root node (or document element), a record, or a field. You will get to know these properties better when you build a BizTalk specification.
Note
If you change the Name value on the Declaration tab, the name of the root node in the specification tree automatically changes to match it. In a newly created specification, changing the Name value on the Declaration tab also changes the Schema Name value on the Reference tab. However, because it is possible to have a schema name that is different from the root node name, changing the Schema Name value has no effect on the Name value or the root node name in the specification tree. After the Schema Name value has been edited, however, changing the Name value or the root node name has no effect on the Schema Name value.
Property | Value |
---|---|
Name | The name of the root node. |
Description | The description of the specification. |
Type | The type of record. |
Model | Closed. Indicates that the data contained in the document instance and the specification structure match.
Open. Indicates that the data in the document instance does not totally adhere to the structure of the specification. If this property value is left blank, the default value is Open. |
Content | Element Only. Indicates that the root node can contain only elements. This is the automatic default when the root contains a child record.
Empty. Indicates that the root node cannot contain subelements. Text Only. Indicates that the root node can contain text and not subelements. Note: BizTalk Editor does not support elements that contain mixed content (text information as well as subelements). |
Order | Select one of the following values:
One. Indicates that one and only one of the constituent elements can appear. Sequence. Indicates that the constituent elements must appear in the order specified. Many. Indicates that zero or more of the constituent elements can appear, in any order or combination. |
Property | Value |
---|---|
Name | The name of the record. |
Description | The description of the record. |
Type | The type of record. |
Model | Closed. Indicates that the data contained in the document instance and the specification structure match.
Open. Indicates that the data in the document instance and the specification structure do not match. If this property value is left blank, the default value is Open. |
Content | Element Only. Indicates that the record can contain only elements. This is the automatic default for any record that contains a child record.
Empty. Indicates that the record cannot contain sub- elements. Text Only. Indicates that the record can contain text and not subelements. Mixed. Indicates that the record can contain text and elements. |
Order | Select one of the following values:
One. Indicates that one and only one of the constituent elements can appear. Sequence. Indicates that the constituent elements must appear in the order specified. Many. Indicates that zero or more of the constituent elements can appear, in any order or combination. |
Cycle Count | Type the number of cycles you want to be available below the base record. For more information, see Cyclical References in the BizTalk Server documentation.
Note: This property field appears only if you have created a cyclical reference. |
Property | Value |
---|---|
Name | The name of the field. |
Description | The description of the field. |
Type | Select one of the following values:
Element Attribute |
Model | Closed. Indicates that the data contained in the document instance and the specification structure match.
Open. Indicates that the data in the document instance and the specification structure do not match. Note: If this property value is left blank, the default value is Open. The Model property is available only for a field with its Type value set to Element. |
Content | Text Only. Indicates that the record can contain text and not subelements.
Note: The Content property is available only for a field with its Type value set to Element. Text Only is the only value available for the Content property of a field. |
Data Type | A valid data type.
Important: If the Standard property value on the Reference tab is set to X12, EDIFACT, or Custom, you can assign a Custom Data Type value on the Parse tab. If you specify a Custom Data Type value, the value in the Data Type field is automatically changed to match the selection that you specified for the Custom Data Type value. If you already have a value specified in the Custom Data Type field and then specify a value in the Data Type field on the Declaration tab, the value specified in the Custom Data Type field is cleared. In a specification, if you create a field with the Data Type property set to IDREF or IDREFS, you must create another field in that specification with the Data Type set to ID. To select a field for tracking or for use in a channel filtering expression in BizTalk Messaging Manager, you must assign a data type to that field in the specification. More information on tracking can be found in Chapter 3, “Overview of BizTalk Server.” |
Data Type Values | If you select Enumeration in the Data Type list, the data type values “a b c” appear by default in the Data Type Values box. You can replace the default values with custom values separated by spaces. If you are working with an X12 or EDIFACT document and include codes associated with a particular field, those codes automatically appear in the Data Type Values box, and Enumeration automatically appears in the Data Type box. |
Minimum Length | The minimum number of characters that the field can contain.
Note: The Minimum Length property can be set only for fields with the following Data Type values: String, Number, Binary (base64), and Binary (hex). |
Maximum Length | The maximum number of characters that the field can contain.
Note: The Maximum Length property can be set only for fields with the following Data Type values: String, Number, Binary (base64), and Binary (hex). |
Default Value | The value that is provided if the incoming document instance does not contain the field.
Note: The Default Value property appears only in specifications when the Standard property (on the Reference tab for the root node) is set to XML, and the Type property (on the Declaration tab for the field) is set to Attribute. |
The Reference tab handles most of the metadata that deals with the purpose of the document directly. You will notice in Tables B.5, B.6, and B.7 that almost all the properties are related to the document element, and only a few are applicable to records and fields. However, the few properties that do involve the record and field nodes are fairly important. For instance, in a record, the Reference tab allows you to define the minimum and maximum number of times the node can occur as a child under a parent node. You also define whether the field is required and, if it is a positional flatfile, where the start and end positions are for this particular field.
Property | Value |
---|---|
Specification Name | The name of the specification. This name corresponds to the value of the <Schema> tag in the specification. |
Standard | Select one of the following values:
XML for creating a specification based on Extensible Markup Language (XML). X12 for creating a specification based on X12. EDIFACT for creating a specification based on EDIFACT. Custom for creating a specification based on flat file, or for creating a custom specification to be parsed with a custom parser. |
Standards Version | The standards version, such as X12 version 4010, on which the specification is based. |
Document Type | The document type, such as 850, on which the specifi-cation is based. |
Version | The version number of the document standard on which the specification is based. |
Default Record | Character Delimiter used as Delimiter node for which the Delimiter Type on the Parse tab is set to Default Record Delimiter.
Note: This property field displays only if the Standard field on the Reference tab (for the root node) is set to Custom. |
Default Field Delimiter | Type or select a character to be used as the delimiter within any node for which the Delimiter Type on the Parse tab is set to Default Field Delimiter.
Note: This property field displays only if the Standard field on the Reference tab (for the root node) is set to Custom. |
Default Subfield Delimiter | Type or select a character that will be used as the delimiter within any node for which the Delimiter Type on the Parse tab is set to Default Subfield Delimiter.
Note: This property field displays only if the Standard field on the Reference tab (for the root node) is set to Custom. |
Default Escape Character | Type or select a character that will be used as the escape character within any node for which the Escape Type on the Parse tab is set to Default Escape Delimiter.
Note: This property field displays only if the Standard field on the Reference tab (for the root node) is set to Custom. |
Code Page | Choose one of the following values:
Arabic (1256) Baltic (1257) Central-European (1250) Cyrillic (1251) Greek (1253) Hebrew (1255) Japanese-Shift-JIS (932) Korean (949) Little-Endian-UTF16 (1200) Simplified-Chinese-GBK (936) Thai (874) Traditional-Chinese-Big5 (950) Turkish (1254) Vietnamese (1258) Western-European (1252) Note: This property field displays only if the Standard field on the Reference tab (for the root node) is set to Custom. UTF7 (65000) and UTF8 (65001) are not supported by BizTalk Server. If the Code Page value is left blank, the default value is Western-European (1252). |
Receipt | Choose one of the following options:
Yes. Indicates that the specification is to be used as an inbound receipt document. A correlator component (X12, EDIFACT, or CUSTOM) is expected to correlate the receipt document to the outbound document that it acknowledges (in other words, something previously sent to the sender of the receipt). No. Indicates that the specification is not to be used as an inbound receipt document. Notes: If the receipt value is left blank, the default value is No. For specifications based on the CanonicalReceipt and for specifications to which the CanonicalReceipt is mapped (both are used in the scenario of generating an outbound receipt), the Receipt property should be set to No. |
Envelope | Choose one of the following options:
Yes. Indicates that the specification is an interchange specification. No. Indicates that the specification is not an interchange specification. More information about envelopes is available in Chapter 5, “The BizTalk Mapper.” |
Target Namespace | If you have a BizTalk Framework instance and have specified a namespace in the instance, you must enter the corresponding namespace used in the instance.
Note: If you use “x-schema” in the target namespace value of an instance, you might cause a test failure when you test the instance in BizTalk Mapper. |
Property | Value |
---|---|
Minimum Occurrences | The minimum number of times a record can occur in its position within the node hierarchy. Possible values are 0 or 1.
Note: If this property value is left blank, the default value is 1. |
Maximum Occurrences | The maximum number of times a record can occur in its position within the node hierarchy. Possible values are 1 and *.
Note: If you type an asterisk (*), the record is considered to be a looping record. If this specification is used in BizTalk Mapper, it compiles this record as a loop. If you type 1, BizTalk Mapper does not consider this record to be a looping record. If this property value is left blank, the default value is 1. |
Property | Value |
---|---|
Required | Choose one of the following options:
Yes. Indicates that the field is required. No. Indicates that the field is not required. If this property value is left blank, the default value is No. |
Start Position | A number that indicates the starting position of the field in the record.
Note: This property field displays only if the structure of the parent record is positional. |
End Position | A number that indicates the ending position of the field in the record.
Note: This property field displays only if the structure of the parent record is positional. |
Note
For positional file schemas, you can just put the length of the field and then right-click on the record node and select the Calculate Field Positions menu option.
The Parse tab contains the properties described in Tables B.8 through B.13. The available properties depend on the standard (X12, EDIFACT, or Custom) and on the structure property that you use. By default, new specifications based on a blank specification have a standard property of XML. For each property, enter a value as needed. The primary role of this tab is for setting delimiter information, as well as instructions for controlling the parsing of the messages.
Note
No parsing properties are required for XML documents.
Property | Value |
---|---|
Structure | This value automatically defaults to Delimited for the root node.
Note: If the Standard property value is set to X12 or EDIFACT on the Reference tab for the root node of a specification, you cannot edit the Structure property value on the Parse tab for the root node or any record. If you want to edit the Structure property value, you must change the standard to CUSTOM. |
Source Tag Identifier | The name of the source tag identifier. This is the tag name used to match the record with the data.
Note: For a non-XML file, such as a flat file, you can type a Source Tag Identifier property to identify any tag that might exist in the original file. The Source Tag Identifier property is case sensitive. |
Field Order | Select one of the following options:
Prefix. A prefix delimiter appears before each component, and each member of a component in a series. For example, where * is the delimiter: *a*a*b*c. Postfix. A postfix delimiter appears after each component and each member of a component in a series. For example, where * is the delimiter: a*a*b*c*. Infix. An infix delimiter appears between components and members of components in a series. For example, where * is the delimiter: a*a*b*c. This is the inherent field order for all EDI documents. Note: If the Field Order value is left blank, the default value is Prefix. |
Delimiter Type | Select one of the following options to choose a delimiter for the child nodes directly below the current node:
Default Record Delimiter. Indicates that the delimiter is the value of the Default Record Delimiter property, which is defined in the document instance. Default Field Delimiter. Indicates that the delimiter is the value of the Default Field Delimiter property, which is defined in the document instance. Default Subfield Delimiter. Indicates that the delimiter is the value of the Default Subfield Delimiter property, which is defined in the document instance. |
Escape Type (Also known as an escape character) | Select the following option to indicate that you want an escape character for the child nodes directly below the current node:
Default Escape Character. Indicates that the escape character is a value defined in the document instance. An escape character is useful if you have a character in your field data that is also used as the delimiter character for the field's parent node. For example, if your field data is Browne,Peter,1231,yes and you have chosen a comma as the delimiter value of the node that contains the field, BizTalk Editor interprets the comma after “Browne” to be a delimiter, even if you intend for it to be part of the field data. A solution for this is to place an escape character directly preceding the delimiter character that you want to include in the field data. For example, if your escape character is specified as a backslash, you can place a backslash directly preceding a delimiter character as in the following example: Browne,Peter,1231,yes The comma after the backslash is interpreted by BizTalk Editor as field data rather than a delimiter character. Using the preceding example, the field data would be Browne, Peter Note: The Escape Type property is not available for X12 specifications. |
Append New Line | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Indicates that when the serializer reaches the record delimiter, the serializer automatically appends a new line (LF,0x0A). No. Indicates that when the serializer reaches the record delimiter, the serializer continues on the same line for the following record. Note: If the Append New Line value is left blank, the default value is No. |
Skip Carriage Return | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Tells the parser to skip the carriage return (CR) value after a delimiter. No. Tells the parser not to skip the CR value after a delimiter. Note: If the Skip Carriage Return value is left blank, the default value is Yes. |
Skip Line Feed | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Tells the parser to skip the line feed (LF) value after a delimiter. No. Tells the parser not to skip the LF value after a delimiter. Note: If the Skip Line Feed value is left blank, the default value is Yes. |
Ignore Record Count | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Tells the parser or the serializer not to count this record when counting the total number of records in the specification. No. Tells the parser or the serializer to count this record when counting the total number of records in the specification. Notes: When a document instance is submitted to BizTalk Server, if the number of records in the document instance does not match the calculated number of records in the specification, a parsing failure results. If the Ignore Record Count value is left blank, the default value is Yes. |
Standard: X12 or EDIFACT
Property | Value |
---|---|
Custom Data Type | Select one of the following options:
String (AN). AN is for alphanumeric fields. Binary Hexadecimal (B). B is for binary fields. Date (CY). CY is for four-digit date fields. Number (D0-D4). D0 through D4 (inclusive) are for decimal fields. The single-digit number represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Date (DT). DT is for date fields. String (ID). ID is for identification fields. Number (N). N is for integer fields. Number (N0-9). N0 through N9 (inclusive) are for implied decimal fields (the decimal character does not appear in the data). The single-digit number represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Number (R). R is for real number fields. Number (R0-R9). R0 through R9 (inclusive) are for real number fields. The single-digit number represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Time (TM). TM is for time fields. Important: If you specify a Custom Data Type value, the value in the Data Type field on the Declaration tab is automatically changed to match the selection that you specified for the Custom Data Type value. For example, if you change the Custom Data Type on the Parse tab to Date (CY), the Data Type value on the Declaration tab automatically changes to Date. If you specify a value in the Data Type field on the Declaration tab, the value specified in the Custom Data Type field is cleared. Notes: If you specify Date (DT), Date (CY), or Time (TM) for the Custom Data Type property, you must also set a value for the Custom Date/Time Format property. All these custom data type values are supported in specifications with the Standard property set to X12. For specifications with the Standard property set to EDIFACT, the supported custom data type values are String (AN) and Number (N). |
Custom Date/Time | If you set Date (DT), Date (CY), Format character for (TM) as the Custom Data Type property, click an option in the list.
Notes: This property field is available only if the Custom Data Type is set to Date (DT), Date (CY), or Time (TM). |
Justification | Select one of the following options:
Left. Aligns data to the left in positional files when the data is less than the maximum field length. Also aligns data to the left in delimited files when the amount of data is less than the minimum length requirement. Right. Aligns data to the right in positional files. Notes: If the Justification value is left blank, the default value is Left. |
Pad Character | Type a character to pad the field. You can choose any character for a pad character, including a space or a zero. |
Wrap Character | Type a character to enclose field data. This property is useful if you have a character in your field data that is also used as the delimiter value for the field's parent node. For example, if your field data is
Browne,Peter,1231,yes and you have chosen a comma as the delimiter value of the node that contains the field, BizTalk Editor interprets the comma after “Browne” to be a delimiter, even if you intend for it to be part of the field data. A solution for this is to define a value for the wrap character property and then enclose the field data in the wrap character. For example, you can set the wrap character property to double quotation marks for the first field and then type your field data as in the following example: “Browne,Peter”,1231,yes The comma between the double quotation marks is interpreted by BizTalk Editor to be field data rather than a delimiter value. Notes: If your field data includes characters that are also used as the wrap character, you must enclose those characters in another set of wrap characters. For example, with the wrap character value set to double quotation marks, “Browne,Peter “”Pete””” is parsed by BizTalk Editor to appear as Browne,Peter “Pete” If the field data in an input document instance includes the line feed character followed directly by the carriage return character, the corresponding field data in the output document instance includes only the line feed character, even if both are enclosed in a set of wrap characters. |
Minimum Length with Pad Character | The minimum length of a field in an output document instance, including pad characters.
Notes: This property is available only if the pad character is set for that field. If the Minimum Length property on the Declaration tab is set for the field, the Minimum Length with Pad Character property must be greater than or equal to the value of the Minimum Length property. If the Minimum Length property is not set, the Minimum Length with Pad Character property must be greater than or equal to one. |
Standard: Custom
Structure Property: Delimited
Property | Value |
---|---|
Structure | Select the following option for the Root Node property:
Delimited. Indicates that the root node is based on a delimited file structure. Records can be individually based on delimited or positional file structures. Select one of the following options for Record properties: Delimited. Indicates that the record is based on a delimited file structure. Descendant records can be individually based on delimited or positional file structures. Positional. Indicates that the record is based on a positional file structure. Positional records cannot have child records. Note: For a document to be both delimited and positional, the root node must have its Structure property set to Delimited. You can then set the Structure property for individual records to Positional or Delimited, as necessary. If you change from one structure to another, a message box appears. Click Yes to confirm the structure change. Some new properties might appear, and some existing properties might be removed. If you right-click the Structure property value field of a positional record and click Clear Property, BizTalk Editor interprets the structure of the record as delimited. Some new properties might appear, and some existing properties might be removed. When the Standard property for a document is set to Custom, by default the Structure property for the root node and all records is blank. If you leave the Structure property blank, its value is Delimited. |
Source Tag Identifier | The name of the source tag identifier. This is the tag name that is used to match the record with the data.
Note: For a non-XML file, such as a flat file, you can type a Source Tag Identifier property to identify any tag that might exist in the original file. The Source Tag Identifier property is case sensitive. |
Field Order | Select one of the following options:
Prefix. A prefix delimiter appears before each component, and each member of a component, in a series. For example, where * is the delimiter: *a*a*b*c. Postfix. A postfix delimiter appears after each component, and each member of a component, in a series. For example, where * is the delimiter: a*a*b*c*. Infix. An infix delimiter appears between components, and members of components, in a series. For example, where * is the delimiter: a*a*b*c. This is the inherent field order for all electronic data interchange (EDI) documents. Note If the field order value is left blank, the default value is Prefix. |
Delimiter Type | Select one of the following options to choose a delimiter for the child nodes directly below the current node:
Character. Allows you to designate a delimiter value on the Parse tab. If you select Character, you must specify a delimiter value. Default Record Delimiter. Indicates that the delimiter is the value of the Default Record Delimiter property, on the Reference tab for the root node. Default Field Delimiter. Indicates that the delimiter is the value of the Default Field Delimiter property, on the Reference tab for the root node. Default Subfield Delimiter. Indicates that the delimiter is the value of the Default Subfield Delimiter property, on the Reference tab for the root node. |
Delimiter Value | Type or select a character value for the delimiter. To specify a delimiter value, you must first set the Delimiter Type to Character on the Parse tab. |
Escape Type (Also known as an escape character) | Select one of the following options to choose a release character for the child nodes directly below the current node:
Character. Allows you to designate an escape character value on the Parse tab. If you select Character, you must specify an escape value. Default Escape Character. Indicates that the escape character is the value of the Default Escape Delimiter property, on the Reference tab for the root node. An escape character is useful if you have a character in your field data that is also used as the delimiter character for the field's parent node. For example, if your field data is Browne,Peter,1231,yes and you have chosen a comma as the delimiter value of the node that contains the field, BizTalk Editor interprets the comma after “Browne” to be a delimiter, even if you intend for it to be part of the field data. A solution for this is to place an escape character directly preceding the delimiter character that you want to include in the field data. For example, if your escape character is specified as a backslash, you can place a backslash directly preceding a delimiter character as in the following example: Browne,Peter,1231,yes The comma after the backslash is interpreted by BizTalk Editor as field data rather than a delimiter character. |
Escape Value | Type or select a character value for the escape character. To specify an escape character value, you must first set the Escape Type to Character on the Parse tab. |
Append New Line | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Indicates that when the parser reaches the record delimiter, the parser must move to the next line and begin with the following record on that line. No. Indicates that when the parser reaches the record delimiter, the parser must continue on the same line for the following record. Note: If the Append New Line value is left blank, the default value is No. |
Skip Carriage Return | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Tells the parser to skip the carriage return (CR) value after a delimiter. No. Tells the parser not to skip the CR value after a delimiter. Note: If the Skip Carriage Return value is left blank, the default value is Yes. |
Skip Line Feed | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Tells the parser to skip the line feed (LF) value after a delimiter. No. Tells the parser not to skip the LF value after a delimiter. Note: If the Skip Line Feed value is left blank, the default value is Yes. |
Ignore Record Count | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Tells the parser or the serializer not to count this record when counting the total number of records in the specification. No. Tells the parser or the serializer to count this record when counting the total number of records in the specifi-cation. Note: When a document instance is submitted to BizTalk Server, if the number of records in the document instance does not match the calculated number of records in the specification, a parsing failure results. If the Ignore Record Count value is left blank, the default value is Yes. |
Standard: Custom
Structure Property: Delimited
Property | Value |
---|---|
Custom Data Type | Select one of the following options:
String (AN). AN is for alphanumeric fields. Binary Hexadecimal (B). B is for binary fields. Date (CY). CY is for four-digit date fields. Number (D0-D4). D0 through D4 (inclusive) are for decimal fields. The single-digit number represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Date (DT). DT is for date fields. String (ID). ID is for identification fields. Number (N). N is for integer fields. Number (N0-9). N0 through N9 (inclusive) are for implied decimal fields (the decimal character does not appear in the data). The single-digit number represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Number (R). R is for real number fields. Number (R0-R9). R0 through R9 (inclusive) are for real number fields. The single-digit number represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Time (TM). TM is for time fields. Important: If you specify a Custom Data Type value, the value in the Data Type field on the Declaration tab is automatically changed to match the selection that you specified for the Custom Data Type value. For example, if you change the Custom Data Type on the Parse tab to Date (CY), the Data Type value on the Declaration tab automatically changes to Date. If you specify a value in the Data Type field on the Declaration tab, the value specified in the Custom Data Type field is cleared. Note: If you specify Date (DT), Date (CY), or Time (TM) for the Custom Data Type property, you must also set a value for the Custom Date/Time Format property. |
Custom Date/Time | If you set Date (DT), Date (CY), Formator Time (TM) as the Custom Data Type property, click an option in the list.
Note: This property field is available only if the Custom Data Type is set to Date (DT), Date (CY), or Time (TM). |
Justification | Select one of the following options:
Left. Aligns data to the left in positional files when the data is less than the maximum field length. This also aligns data to the left in delimited files when the amount of data is less than the minimum length requirement. Right. Aligns data to the right in positional files. Note: If no value is selected for the Justification property, data is aligned to the left by default. If the Justification value is left blank, the default value is Left. |
Pad Character | Type or select a character to pad the field. You can choose any character for a pad character, including a space or a zero. |
Wrap Character | Type a character to enclose field data. This property is useful if you have a character in your field data that is also used as the delimiter value for the field's parent node. For example, if your field data is
Browne,Peter,1231,yes and you have chosen a comma as the delimiter value of the node that contains the field, BizTalk Editor interprets the comma after “Browne” to be a delimiter, even if you intend for it to be part of the field data. The solution to this is to define a value for the wrap character property and then enclose the field data in the wrap character. For example, you can set the wrap character property to double quotation marks for the first field and then type your field data as in the following example: “Browne,Peter”,1231,yes The comma between the double quotation marks is interpreted by BizTalk Editor to be field data rather than a delimiter value. Note: If you have characters in your field data that are also used as the wrap character, you must enclose those characters in another set of wrap characters. For example, with the wrap character value set to double quotation marks, “Browne,Peter “”Pete””” is parsed by BizTalk Editor to appear as Browne,Peter “Pete”. If the field data in an input document instance includes the line feed character followed directly by the carriage return character, the corresponding field data in the output document instance includes only the line feed character, even if both are enclosed in a set of wrap characters. |
Minimum Length with Pad Character | The minimum length of a field in an output document instance, including pad characters.
Note: This property can be set for a field only if the pad character is set for that field. If the Minimum Length property on the Declaration tab is set for the field, the Minimum Length with Pad Character property must be greater than or equal to the value of the Minimum Length property. If the Minimum Length property is not set, the Minimum Length with Pad Character property must be greater than or equal to one. |
Standard: Custom
Structure Property: Positional
Property | Value |
---|---|
Structure | Select the following option for the Root Node property:
Positional. Indicates that the root node is based on a positional file structure. Note: A document with a positional root node can have no records. If you right-click the Structure property value field of a positional root node and click Clear Property, BizTalk Editor interprets the structure of the root node as delimited. Some new properties might appear, and some existing properties might be removed. When the Standard property for a document is set to Custom, by default the Structure property for the root node and all records is blank. If you leave the Structure property blank, its value is Delimited. |
Source Tag Identifier | The name of the source tag identifier. This is the tag name that is used to match the record with the data.
Note: For a non-XML file, such as a flat file, you can type a Source Tag Identifier property to identify any tag that might exist in the original file. The Source Tag Identifier property is case sensitive. |
Source Tag Position | A number that refers to the position of the beginning of the tag in a positional record. |
Append Newline | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Indicates that when the parser reaches the record delimiter, the parser must move to the next line and begin with the following record on that line. No. Indicates that when the parser reaches the record delimiter, the parser must continue on the same line for the following record. Note: If the Append New Line value is left blank, the default value is No. |
Skip Carriage Return | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Tells the parser to skip the carriage return (CR) value after a delimiter. No. Tells the parser not to skip the CR value after a delimiter. Note: If the Skip Carriage Return value is left blank, the default value is Yes. |
Skip Line Feed | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Tells the parser to skip the line feed (LF) value after a delimiter. No. Tells the parser not to skip the LF value after a delimiter. Note: If the Skip Line Feed value is left blank, the default value is Yes. |
Ignore Record Count | Select one of the following options:
Yes. Tells the parser or the serializer not to count this record when counting the total number of records in the specification. No. Tells the parser or the serializer to count this record when counting the total number of records in the specifi-cation. Note: When a document instance is submitted to BizTalk Server, if the number of records in the document instance does not match the calculated number of records in the specification, a parsing failure results. If the Ignore Record Count value is left blank, the default value is Yes. |
Standard: Custom
Structure Property: Positional
Property | Value |
---|---|
Custom Data Type | Select one of the following options:
String (AN). AN is for alphanumeric fields. Binary Hexadecimal (B). B is for binary fields. Date (CY). CY is for four-digit date fields. Number (D0-D4). D0 through D4 (inclusive) are for decimal fields. The single-digit number represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Date (DT). DT is for date fields. String (ID). ID is for identification fields. Number (N). N is for integer fields. Number (N0-9). N0 through N9 (inclusive) are for implied decimal fields (the decimal character does not appear in the data). The single-digit number represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Number (R). R is for real number fields. Number (R0-R9). R0 through R9 (inclusive) are for real number fields. The single-digit number represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Time (TM). TM is for time fields. Important: If you specify a Custom Data Type value, the value in the Data Type field on the Declaration tab is automatically changed to match the selection that you specified for the Custom Data Type value. For example, if you change the Custom Data Type on the Parse tab to Date (CY), the Data Type value on the Declaration tab automatically changes to Date. If you specify a value in the Data Type field on the Declaration tab, the value specified in the Custom Data Type field is cleared. Note: If you specify Date (DT), Date (CY), or Time (TM) for the Custom Data Type property, you must also set a value for the Custom Date/Time Format property. |
Custom Date/Time Format | If you set Date (DT), Date (CY), or Time (TM) as the Custom Data Type property, click an option in the list.
Note: This property field is active only if the Custom Data Type is set to Date (DT), Date (CY), or Time (TM). |
Justification | Select one of the following options:
Left. Aligns data to the left in positional files when the data is less than the maximum field length. Also aligns data to the left in delimited files when the amount of data is less than the minimum length requirement. Right. Aligns data to the right in positional files. Note: If the Justification value is left blank, the default value is Left. |
Pad Character | Type a character to be used to pad the field. You can choose any character for a pad character, including a space or a zero. |
The purpose of the Namespace tab is to serve as a place to declare namespace prefixes and URNs (Uniform Resource Name). BizTalk defines three namespaces automatically, because they are the building blocks of the specification. There is one for XDR, another for BizTalk-specific tags, and one more to define data types. Table B.14 outlines these namespaces.
Prefix | Namespace |
---|---|
(default) | urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xml-data |
b | urn:schemas-microsoft-com:BizTalkServer |
d | urn:schemas-microsoft-com:datatypes |
To add a new namespace, right-click on the editable section and choose Add from the context menu.
In a typical messaging application, information about where a business document needs to be routed to will be hard-coded into the application. However, sometimes this information will not be available, and the business documents themselves must be able to provide this information. At times, the routing information might need to be added to the routing header manually; but if this information is already in the data document, the BizTalk Editor can help you extract that information and insert it into the routing header. The Dictionary tab allows the XML architect to tell BizTalk where to look for routing information in the data document.
When you view this tab, you will notice six predefined properties. The first one worth noting is the Document Container Node property. This property represents the data document—or business document—as a whole. The idea is that you wrap this document with BizTalk-specific routing information and then after it is delivered to its final destination, the routing information will be stripped away, and the business document will be parsed—that is, processed—accordingly.
The rest of the properties relate to explicit fields within the document, as outlined in Tables B.15 and B.16.
Property | Node Path |
---|---|
Document Container Node | In an envelope schema, the document node indicates the record that contains the document. |
Property | Node Path |
---|---|
Document Name | Displays the path to the field of a document instance that contains the document name. |
Source Type | Displays the path to the field of a document instance that contains the source type. |
Source Value | Displays the path to the field of a document instance that contains the source value. |
Destination Type | Displays the path to the field of a document instance that contains the destination type. |
Destination Value | Displays the path to the field of a document instance that contains the destination value. |
Now that you have seen all the properties and what their particular purposes are, you need to use a language called XPath to point to the fields in the data document. XPath is, in part, a query language that can be used to point to nodes within an XML document. An XPath statement will be placed in the Node Path column to locate the field required for that particular property.
Note
You can learn more about XPath in Appendix A, “Understanding XML Schemas.”
The Code List tab is used for EDI-related specifications (X12 and EDIFACT) that require special codes to be attached to fields in the business document. Not all fields in a specification based on X12 or EDIFACT have codes associated with them. The codes that are valid for particular fields will be displayed when applicable and are associated with a field if the check box in the Value field is selected. A description of the codes will be displayed in the Description column as well.
Note
An association is displayed on the Declarations tab when you associate a code with a field on the Code List tab, and the data type automatically will be set to Enumeration. The enumeration value will be the code list numbers you selected on the Code List tab.