TRADACOMS Connector

TRADACOMS connectors support generating TRADACOMS documents from XML and converting TRADACOMS documents into XML.

Key Capabilities

UK EDI standard support with bidirectional TRADACOMS/XML translation and automatic schema detection
Transmission header management with configurable delimiters and encoding options
Batch transaction support for multi-document interchange processing

Overview

When receiving TRADACOMS documents, TRADACOMS connectors validate interchange headers and convert the TRADACOMS document into XML. This is useful as a staging step, because XML is the primary format that Arc uses to manipulate data in a flow. The TRADACOMS connector automatically reads the input file to determine the appropriate schema, then parses the document according to this schema. When generating TRADACOMS documents, TRADACOMS connectors convert XML into TRADACOMS document syntax and apply the appropriate interchange headers. This is useful as the final step for creating a TRADACOMS document, after the XML data has been fetched and transformed elsewhere in the flow.

Connector Configuration

This section contains all of the configurable connector properties.

Settings Tab

Translation 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.
Translation Type	Whether the connector should convert TRADACOMS documents into XML, or XML data into TRADACOMS documents.
Dynamically process partners	When enabled, the connector automatically identifies and tracks trading partner relationships from EDI transactions. When disabled, you must manually define the partner relationship. See EDI Partners Tab for more information.

EDI Partner

Setting	Description
Partner ID (FROM Code)	Identifies the party sending the TRADACOMS document. When generating TRADACOMS from XML, this should be your code. Only applicable when Dynamically process partners is unchecked.
Personal Code (UNTO Code)	Identifies the party receiving the TRADACOMS document. When converting TRADACOMS into XML, this should be your code. Only applicable when Dynamically process partners is unchecked.

Transmission Settings

Settings related to the transmission headers of TRADACOMS documents. When generating documents, these settings are applied as interchange headers in the resulting document. When parsing documents, the interchange settings are used to validate the incoming document.

Setting	Description
Syntax Identifier (STDS Identifier)	Identifies the syntax rules used in the TRADACOMS document.
Partner Name (FROM Name)	The name of the party sending the TRADACOMS document (optional). When generating TRADACOMS from XML, this should be your name.
Personal Name (UNTO Name)	The name of the party receiving the TRADACOMS document (optional). When converting TRADACOMS into XML, this should be your name.
Partner Reference (SNRF)	The Id used to reference the sender of the TRADACOMS document.
Personal Reference (RCRF)	The Id used to reference the recipient of the TRADACOMS document.
Application Reference (APRF)	The Id used to reference the TRADACOMS application for this document exchange.
Transmission Priority Code (PRCD)	The code representing the priority of the TRADACOMS transmission.

Sample Files Tab

Advanced Tab

EDI Delimiters

Settings that specify which characters separate elements, segments, and so on.

Setting	Description
Data Element Separator	The character that separates individual data elements in the document.
Component Element Separator	The character that separates elements within a composite data structure in the document.
Segment Terminator	The character that indicates the end of a segment in the document.
Release Char	The character that releases (escapes) the next character, overriding its usual meaning. This allows reserved characters to appear as data within documents, as long as they are preceded by the Release Char.
Suffix	Appended to the Segment Terminator to distinguish segments.

Advanced Settings

Settings not included in the previous categories.

Setting	Description
Batch Transactions	An interchange can contain multiple transactions. When this is not checked, the connector creates a separate output file for each transaction in the interchange. When checked, the connector groups all transactions into a single output file. Only applicable when the Translation Type is TRADACOM to XML.
Encoding	Specifies the character encoding (such as ASCII or UTF-8).
Expand Qualifier Values	When checked, XML elements containing an EDI qualifier include child elements containing the qualifier code and value. Only applicable when the Translation Type is TRADACOM to XML. For example: `<N101>` `<Code>ST</Code>` `<Value>Ship To</Value>` `</N101>`
Generate Description As	When translating TRADACOM into XML, descriptions of the TRADACOM segments and elements can be provided as context for the TRADACOM data. Use this dropdown to choose whether to add this context as an XML comment or as XML attributes.
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.
Nest Loops	When checked, the connector detects EDI structures that have hierarchical relationships embedded in the EDI data, and generates XML with these hierarchical relationships represented as parent-child relationships.
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.
Strict Schema Validation	Whether the connector should Ignore, Warn, or Fail when the following are detected: repeat counts above the allowed number, missing required elements or segments, invalid qualifier and code values, disallowed element lengths, and invalid element values. Choosing Disable turns off the schema validation checks.
Track Transaction Types	Whether to add transaction types as tracked headers to processed messages.
Validate Identifiers	Check this to ensure that the identifiers in the translated document match the identifiers in the connector’s configuration.
Duplicate File Action	How the connector should behave when it receives a message with a control number that the connector has seen before (a duplicate). When set to `Ignore`, the connector silently skips the duplicate and continues processing. When set to `Warn`, the connector processes the file but returns a warning. When set to `Fail`, the connector does not accept the file and returns an error.
Upload Schema	Use this to upload a schema and install it in the connector’s Schema folder. If a schema already exists, you are asked if you want to overwrite it.
Reset State	EDI connectors keep track of control numbers that have been used and increment that number to ensure that future runs do not duplicate data. Use this button to reset the counter to its initial state without changing any of the configured settings.

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.

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.

EDI Partners Tab

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

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

Setting	Description
Send	A toggle that instructs the connector to automatically send files when they are ready.
Resend Interval	The interval the connector waits before resending a file that received a negative ACK. For example, if a trading partner receives the file but something is wrong with it and they send back a negative ACK, this setting specifies how long to wait before sending the file again.
Max Attempts (async)	The maximum number of times the connector processes the input file when a functional ACK is requested. Success is based on the return of a functional ACK within the Resend Interval. If a successful functional ACK is not returned, the connector resends the file until Max Attempts is reached. If this is set to 0, the connector resends the file indefinitely.

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

TRADACOMS to XML

When generating XML, set the Translation Type to TRADACOMS to XML. TRADACOMS files placed in the Transactions tab are processed by the connector. The connector validates TRADACOMS message headers against the configured Transmission Settings. After validating the transmission, the TRADACOMS segments are converted into XML according to the schema specified in the message. The resulting XML files are placed in the connector Transactions tab.

XML to TRADACOMS

When generating TRADACOMS files, set the Translation Type to XML to TRADACOMS. XML files placed in the Transactions tab are processed by the connector. The connector converts the XML elements representing a TRADACOMS file into TRADACOMS segments, then uses the configured Transmission Settings to generate the transmission headers. To create an example of the XML structure required to generate TRADACOMS documents, start with an example TRADACOMS document and send it through the TRADACOMS connector in TRADACOMS to XML mode. You can use the resulting XML as a template in the XML Map connector to convert XML structures into TRADACOMS structure.

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

Settings Tab

Translation Configuration

EDI Partner

Transmission Settings

Sample Files Tab

Advanced Tab

EDI Delimiters

Advanced Settings

Message

Logging

Miscellaneous

EDI Partners Tab

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

Performance

Alerts Tab

SLAs Tab

TRADACOMS to XML

XML to TRADACOMS

Use With the XML Map Connector

Upload Test File

Macros

Examples

​Key Capabilities

​Overview

​Connector Configuration

​Settings Tab

​Translation Configuration

​EDI Partner

​Transmission Settings

​Sample Files Tab

​Advanced Tab

​EDI Delimiters

​Advanced Settings

​Message

​Logging

​Miscellaneous

​EDI Partners Tab

​Automation Tab

​Automation Settings

​Performance

​Alerts Tab

​SLAs Tab

​TRADACOMS to XML

​XML to TRADACOMS

​Use With the XML Map Connector

​Upload Test File

​Macros

​Examples

Key Capabilities

Overview

Connector Configuration

Settings Tab

Translation Configuration

EDI Partner

Transmission Settings

Sample Files Tab

Advanced Tab

EDI Delimiters

Advanced Settings

Message

Logging

Miscellaneous

EDI Partners Tab

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

Performance

Alerts Tab

SLAs Tab

TRADACOMS to XML

XML to TRADACOMS

Use With the XML Map Connector

Upload Test File

Macros

Examples