Although we have developed scripts for most major VAN's (e.g. Ordernet,
IBM/Advantis, Geis, Harbinger) and for some of the auto makers (e.g. Ford, Chrysler, GM)
you might be using another VAN who we do not currently support. We would be glad to
develop the script for you or you may develop your own. Feel free to use ours along with
these guidelines for creating scripts and templates.
Make sure that the appropriate file permissions are set on the communications script to
use (i.e. the script must be executable) and that the communications script to use is on
your operating system's search path.
If a VAN has a dedicated program to handle communications, see if that program can be used
to handle the file transfer procedures to and from the VAN. Many VAN's offer dedicated
communications programs at little or no cost. If the file transfer program to use
runs on another operating system (e.g., the MXP system is running under UNIX, and the
VAN's transfer program runs under MS-DOS), the communications script can simply transfer
the file to the other operating system, after which, the VAN's file transfer program will
be used to perform the file transfer process.
Use the scripting language of the communications package you are using to create the
script. Your communications script should support at a minimum, the XMODEM protocol. Other
protocols, such as ZMODEM, Kermit, Bisync, and FTP should be supported either as internal
or external protocols to your communications package, depending on the file transfer
requirements of your trading partner or VAN.
If you are creating your own communications script, the script should do the following:
Automatically dial the trading partner's host computer or VAN.
Enter the appropriate user name and password, if applicable.
Check to see if an output file exists.
If the output file exists, then make sure that the output directory is not locked. This
can be done by checking for a file called "lock" in the output directory for the
file location being processed.
If the file exists, this means that the output directory is in use (i.e. someone is
generating EDI data or acknowledgements), in which case, the output file should not be
transferred. Otherwise, create a file called "lock" in the output directory used
for the file location being processed. Doing this will ensure that the Generate EDI Data and Regenerate
EDI Acknowledgements functions will not add lines to the output file while you are
transferring it. As well, remember that on UNIX-based systems, file names are
case-sensitive.
If the output file exists, and output directory is not in use, position yourself on the
appropriate menu on the trading partner's host computer or VAN, or enter the appropriate
command, and invoke the file transfer process to send a file. Transfer the file using the
appropriate file transfer protocol.
When the output file is transferred, make a backup copy of the output file into the backup
directory of the file location being processed. If the scripting language you are
using cannot handle this, then set the "Backup output files" option to
"yes" for this file location, in which case, the system will back up the output
file for you.
Unlock the output directory by removing the "lock" file from the output
directory, so that new EDI data can be generated.
Check to see if there are any incoming transaction sets to be picked up by positioning
yourself on the appropriate menu and/or executing the appropriate command.
If there are transaction sets to be picked up, position yourself on the appropriate menu
on the trading partner's host computer or VAN, or enter the appropriate command, and
invoke the file transfer process to receive a file. Transfer the file to a temporary file
on your computer using the appropriate file transfer protocol. If you were not able to
transfer the file successfully, you may want to have your script try again.
Log off of the trading partner's host computer or VAN.
If there were transaction sets to be picked up and they were transferred
successfully to your system, then do the following:
The communications script you created should be designed for UNATTENDED operation. In
other words, the user should not be prompted for file names or other information. The EDI
Data File Transfer function is NOT designed to handle INTERACTIVE communications scripts.
Communications session information should either echoed to the screen or appended to log
files.
Last updated October 20, 2006