Script Connector

The Script connector provides the ability to perform functions or operations that are not otherwise available in the built-in connectors of CData Arc.

Key Capabilities

Custom business logic implementation using ArcScript or Python
Access to full message context including message headers and file content
Integration with external libraries and system commands (Python)
Support for complex data transformations and business rule processing
Batch group message processing using the connectorBatchGroupRead ArcScript operation

Overview

Script connectors use the powerful ArcScript scripting language to accomplish a wide range of custom behavior. The script configured in the connector is run each time a document is placed in the Transactions tab for the connector. The input document can be read and modified in the script, or the input document can simply trigger an external function configured in the connector. Script connectors can also be configured to run on a schedule via Receive automation on the Automation tab. These are a few of the tasks you can configure a Script connector to do:

Replace values in the input document with data returned from custom SQL queries
Call a custom Web service to invoke a specialized workflow
Run an external script or executable via the sysExecute operation

After you decide the appropriate task for your Script connector, read the Scripting documentation to explore how to call various operations using ArcScript.

Connector Configuration

This section contains all of the configurable connector properties.

Script Tab

Options related to writing and testing the script.

Setting	Description
Action dropdown	Choose the connector’s action. (See Actions for details on the three options.)
ArcScript editor	Use the editor to write your script. The toolbar contains standard editing options such as undo, redo, delete, copy, and format. It also includes an option to hide the Insert Options in the right pane.
Insert Options	The panel in the right pane makes it easy to insert code into your script with one click. The dropdown includes Inputs and Outputs (such as ConnectorId or Encoding; the available options depend on the configured Action), Snippets, Keywords, Operators and Formatters. Find the code you want to insert, and click to add it.
Testing tab	Specify whether to view the script input and/or output as the message body or headers. Options on this tab vary based on the script’s action type (for example, trigger scripts do not have inputs). Click Test to test the script.
Log tab	Displays the test log.
Last update on	Displays the datetime the script was last modified and saved.
Auto update	Use the toggle to automatically test the script after each modification.

Actions

Settings Tab

Configuration

Settings related to the core operation of the connector.

Setting	Description
Connector Id	The static, unique identifier for the connector.
Connector Type	Displays the connector name and a description of what it does.
Connector Description	An optional field to provide a free-form description of the connector and its role in the flow.

Advanced Settings

Setting	Description
Local File Scheme	A scheme for assigning filenames to messages that are output by the connector. You can use macros in your filenames dynamically to include information such as identifiers and timestamps. For more information, see Macros.

Advanced Tab

Message

Message settings determine how the connector searches for messages and manages them after processing.

Note: The settings below are deprecated and hidden by default. They appear only on connectors where they were previously enabled or configured to a non-default value. To retain copies of successfully processed files, right-click the connector in the flow, choose Show Success Path, and connect the success path to a File connector.

Setting	Description
Save to Sent Folder (Deprecated)	Copies files processed by the connector to the Sent folder. Disabled by default. Files saved to the Sent folder are not covered by Encryption at Rest.
Sent Folder Scheme (Deprecated)	Groups files in the Sent folder by the selected time interval. Only relevant when Save to Sent Folder is enabled.

Logging

Settings that govern the creation and storage of logs.

Setting	Description
Log Level	The verbosity of logs generated by the connector. When you request support, set this to Debug.
Log Subfolder Scheme	Instructs the connector to group files in the Logs folder according to the selected interval. The Weekly option (which is the default) instructs the connector to create a new subfolder each week and store all logs for the week in that folder. Leaving this setting blank tells the connector to save all logs directly in the Logs folder. For connectors that process many transactions, using subfolders helps keep logs organized and improves performance.
Log Messages	Check this to have the log entry for a processed file include a copy of the file itself. If you disable this, you might not be able to download a copy of the file from the Transactions tab.

Other Settings

Setting	Description
Processing Delay	The amount of time (in seconds) by which the processing of files placed in the Transactions tab is delayed. This is a legacy setting. Best practice is to use a File connector to manage local file systems instead of this setting.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous settings are for specific use cases.

Setting	Description
Other Settings	Enables you to configure hidden connector settings in a semicolon-separated list (for example, `setting1=value1;setting2=value2`). Normal connector use cases and functionality should not require the use of these settings.

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

Settings related to the automatic processing of files by the connector.

Setting	Description
Send	Whether messages arriving at the connector are automatically processed.
Retry Interval	The number of minutes that the connector waits before retrying a failed script execution.
Max Attempts	The number of times that the connector retries a failed script execution before raising an error.
Receive	Whether the connector should automatically run the script on a configured schedule.
Receive Execution Interval	The unit of measure to use for the receive automation schedule (such as Minutes, Hours, or Days).
Minutes Past the Hour	The minutes offset for an hourly schedule. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Hourly.
Time	The time of day that the attempt should occur. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
Day	The day on which the attempt should occur. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Weekly or Monthly.
Minutes	The number of minutes to wait before attempting the download. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Minute.
Cron Expression	A five-position string representing a cron expression that determines when the attempt should occur. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Advanced.
Start Date and Time	The date and time at which the automation first runs. Every run after that follows the interval setting above. The last and next run times appear in the Automation Status section.

Automation Status

Performance

Settings related to the allocation of resources to the connector.

Setting	Description
Max Workers	The maximum number of worker threads consumed from the threadpool to process files on this connector. If set, this overrides the default setting on the Performance Settings portion of the Advanced Settings page.
Max Files	The maximum number of files sent by each thread assigned to the connector. If set, this overrides the default setting on the Performance Settings portion of the Advanced Settings page.

Alerts Tab

SLAs Tab

Transactions Tab

This tab lists all messages associated with the connector. Use the search bar to find specific messages, or click the funnel icon to apply a filter. You can filter by time, message direction, and/or status. Options on this tab vary depending on the connector’s action type:

If your connector is a Trigger, use the Receive button to start the flow.
If your connector is a Transform or Terminal, use the Upload Files button to upload files to the flow.

Using the arc:push Keyword

The arc:push keyword is commonly used in Script connectors to pass items to the output feed of the script. In addition, when you select an Output attribute from the Insert Options menu, if an arc:push keyword is not already included in the script, Arc auto-injects it so the script can work. Following are three common use cases. 1 Create and output a file:

<arc:set attr="output.filename" value="results.txt" />
<arc:set attr="output.data" value="This is my result" />
<arc:push item="output" />

2 Pass an input file as output:

<arc:set attr="output.filepath" value="[filepath]" />
<arc:push item="output" />

3 Write entries to the Script connector log file:

<arc:set attr="logger.log#" value="Custom Log entry line 1" />
<arc:set attr="logger.log#" value="Custom Log entry line 2" />
<arc:push item="logger" />

Getting Started

Flows

EDI Trading Partner Management Console

Connectors

Mapping

APIs and Automation

How-To Guides

Scripting

Software License and Third-Party Copyrights

Key Capabilities

Overview

Connector Configuration

Script Tab

Actions

Settings Tab

Configuration

Advanced Settings

Advanced Tab

Message

Logging

Other Settings

Miscellaneous

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

Automation Status

Performance

Alerts Tab

SLAs Tab

Transactions Tab

Using the arc:push Keyword

Macros

Examples

​Key Capabilities

​Overview

​Connector Configuration

​Script Tab

​Actions

​Settings Tab

​Configuration

​Advanced Settings

​Advanced Tab

​Message

​Logging

​Other Settings

​Miscellaneous

​Automation Tab

​Automation Settings

​Automation Status

​Performance

​Alerts Tab

​SLAs Tab

​Transactions Tab

​Using the arc:push Keyword

​Macros

​Examples

Key Capabilities

Overview

Connector Configuration

Script Tab

Actions

Settings Tab

Configuration

Advanced Settings

Advanced Tab

Message

Logging

Other Settings

Miscellaneous

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

Automation Status

Performance

Alerts Tab

SLAs Tab

Transactions Tab

Using the arc:push Keyword

Macros

Examples