Using Masks
Masks enable you to change the usage of a segment’s elements from their default values
Example
Sometimes the same segment is used in more than one position. It’s element usages may differ in each place. For example suppose you have a segment named SEG with 2 elements (101,102) that have REQUIRED and OPTIONAL as their default usage.
Default usage of the SEG segment’s elements
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SEG
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Default Usage
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101
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REQUIRED
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102
|
OPTIONAL
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In one position this is the correct usage of the segment but in another position only element 101 is REQUIRED and 102 in NOT USED.
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SEG
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New Usage
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101
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REQUIRED
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101
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NOT USED
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This is where masks come in. Masks enable you to change the usages of a segment’s elements depending on what position the segment appears in. A segment can have more than one mask.
Example
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SEG
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Default Usage
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Mask1
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101
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REQUIRED
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REQUIRED
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|
102
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OPTIONAL
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NOT USED
|
Step 1 – Adding a Mask To A Segment
- Click on the TEMPLATE SEGMENTS tab on the EDI Rules Creator Studio. Double click on the template segment you want to add a mask to graphic
- When the Template Segment screen appears click on the ADD MASK Button. This will cause a new column named Mask1 to be added to the table graphic
- Enter the new usages for the elements in the Mask1 column as shown above and click on the UPDATE button to save
AMT segment’s elements have a default usage of OPTIONAL, OPTIONAL and OPTIONAL for it’s 3 elements. Now it also has a mask with element usages of REQUIRED, NOTUSED and OPTIONAL. This means that this segment can be used in two different positions with different element usages
Step 2 – Using Masks
At this point we have segment AMT that contains a mask. Instead of using the default element usages we want to use the mask created in Step 1.
- Double click on the AMT segment graphic
- The Segment screen will appear. You will now see all the details of the AMT segment as well as a new column named Mask1.
- To use Mask1 just select 1 from the Mask combo box
- Click on the UPDATE button to update the segment
Mask2 has now been applied to AMT at this position.
