LexiCom Translator Integration Guide

Transcription

1 LexiCom Translator Integration Guide For Sterling Gentran: Server for Unix Document Version 2.4 March, 2006 Copyright Cleo Communications 1

2 LexiCom Translator Integration Guide This guide describes the procedures to install and configure LexiCom with Gentran Server for UNIX to transfer files with a trading partner. To get started immediately, read the Process Map / Checklist below. The Process Map is a list steps to get you started transferring files with a trading partner. This guide assumes that you have already setup a trading partner relationship and have received a User ID and Password from your trading partner. Process Map / Checklist The following is a checklist of tasks for you to perform in order to begin transferring files with your trading partner. Following the checklist are the detailed steps required to accomplish each of the tasks. LexiCom Configuration: Configure LexiCom to Automatically Send Files When Available (page 3) This step configures LexiCom to automatically send a file to a host whenever Gentran exports a file to a Gentran file system gateway extraction folder (for a trading partner or group of trading partners). Schedule a "receive" Action (page 6) This step configures an action to receive files from a host at specified times during a day/week. Gentran Setup: Outbound Files (page 7) When translating Application files to Standard EDI files, configure the translation action to output to the LexiCom outbox (a local or networked folder) with the filename sendfile.edi. LexiCom will automatically send this file to the host when Gentran places it in the outbox. Inbound Files (page 8) EDI documents will be retrieved from the host on a schedule set up within LexiCom (or received via the AS2 trading partner). The Gentran user must either translate the file to an Application file manually or on a schedule set up with Gentran Server. (NOTE: If performing inbound translation on a schedule, make sure the translation is coordinated with LexiCom to make 2

3 sure the documents are fully downloaded from the host before the translation starts). Appendix A: AS2 Notes Configure LexiCom to Automatically Send Files When Available Gentran Server requires LexiCom to run in the background and automatically send files that Gentran places in a specified local folder. Follow the steps below to configure LexiCom to 1) look for Gentran to place a file into a specified folder and 2) automatically send the file to a trading partner. 1. Create a new action called AutomaticSend under the Host and Mailbox as follows. a. After expanding the Host level on the Active tree pane and expanding mymailbox, right mouse click on the Send action. Then select Clone. (You may want to Clone the send+receive action instead of the send action. Cloning the send+receive action allows you to receive files from the host every time you send a file.) 3

4 b. On the top of the content pane on the right, replace the new Action alias ( newsend ) with the text, AutomaticSend. c. Click the Apply button. 2. Edit the AutomaticSend action to send files that Gentran places into the LexiCom Outbox. By default, the outbox for each host is \LexiCom\Inbox\Host Name where Host Name is the actual host alias in the LexiCom host tree pane. The file that LexiCom sends from Gentran is called sendfile.edi. Each host has PUT notation specific to the host that may not match the put * example. The best method of adding the DEL and sendfile.edi are as follows. 4

5 a. Double-click the PUT line (example above shows the command highlighted in yellow). b. Confirm that the Source field to include both the path and filename of the Gentran EDI file to be sent. c. Also, confirm that Delete After Copy is selected. This is necessary because LexiCom is continuously checking for the file s existence. If the file is not removed after being sent, LexiCom will try to keep resending it, then log an error. 3. Right-click on the new AutomaticSend action in the tree pane and select Schedule from the pop-up menu. Select Whenever the action has files to send and click OK. 4. The following message will display. This reminder states that in order for the automatic send to work correctly, the AutomaticSend action must be configured to delete (-DEL) the file after it has been successfully sent. Click OK to continue. 5

6 5. The LexiCom scheduler must also be running in order to automatically send files. a. If the following message is displayed instead of the one above, click the Schedule button on the main LexiCom toolbar to bring up the LexiCom scheduler. b. Then, click the green arrow button to start the scheduler. NOTE: Notice the Next Scheduled time is set to Now if file to send or Running if a file already is present to send (as in the screen shot below). If you want the schedule to start automatically when LexiCom is launched, click the Automatically run at startup checkbox in the upper right corner of the Schedule window. 6

7 Schedule a receive Action (not applicable to AS2) LexiCom should be set up to receive files at specific intervals using the Schedule button in LexiCom. LexiCom should be set up to retrieve the file(s) from the trading partner and stored in a specific filename (recvfile.edi) and directory (e.g., inbox\host Name under the LexiCom installation directory). The files should all be appended into one file using the APE option in the command set. For further information regarding scheduling, please refer to the Schedule Actions section of the LexiCom User s Guide. AS2 NOTES: 1. AS2 SEND ONLY : Pre-configured AS2 LexiCom connections (hosts), such as Wal-Mart, can actually ONLY send files. The AS2 protocol is push-only and does not allow trading partners to initiate pulling from a mailbox. Rather, the host may send files to a trading partner at any time. For this reason, trading partners must have a persistent Internet connection, which allows them to be listening for incoming files at all times. 2. AS2 RECEIVE: AS2 companies such as Wal-Mart can send files at any time. LexiCom is always listening for incoming files and will receive the files as they arrive. 7

8 Gentran Setup Outbound Files Outbound EDI files can be generated both manually and through the Gentran scheduler using UNIX script files. The translation output file should be called sendfile.edi and output to the outbox/host Name directory under the LexiCom installation directory. LexiCom was configured above to automatically send this file to the trading partner. Below is a screenshot using the manual process of generating an EDI document to be sent to the trading partner. Please see the Gentran Server for UNIX documentation for further information on options as well as scheduling UNIX scripts to perform the translation. Inbound Files EDI documents will be retrieved from the host on a schedule set up within LexiCom. The files will all be appended into one file called recvfile.edi. The translator can be invoked manually on this EDI file to translate the contents into Application data (see screenshot 8

9 below). The file can also be translated at specific times using the Gentran scheduler and UNIX scripts. Please see the Gentran Server for Unix documentation for further information on translation options and scheduling scripts. 9