FlatFile Module 10.7 | Flat File Schema Developer's Guide | Working with Elements in Flat File Schemas and Dictionaries | Format Services
 
Format Services
 
Creating Format Services
Working with Format Error Messages
Disabling Format Services
Managing Dictionary Dependencies on Format Services
You can use the Format Service property in the Properties view of the flat file dictionary editor or flat file schema editor to specify the service you want to invoke for a particular field when pub.flatFile:convertToValues or pub.flatFile:convertToString is called.
Important:
If a particular field does not have a value (that is, a value is not returned in an IS document (IData object) for pub.flatFile:convertToValues or is not present in the input data for pub.flatFile:convertToString) the format service assigned to that field will not be executed.
A format service formats the string and optionally ensures that the value of the string meets the restrictions specified in the format service. For example, when using the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service to convert a date field in a flat file into an IS document (IData object), you can specify that a particular format service be invoked for that field during parsing. To alter the format of the date field, you might invoke a service that changes the format of the field from YYYYMMDD to MMDDYYYY.
Note:
If you are using webMethods Module for EDI, you can use the built-in format services provided in the WmEDI package to format fields. For more information, see the webMethods Module for EDI Installation and User’s Guide and the webMethods Module for EDI Built-In Services Reference .