Glossary
In this section we will give you an overview over the terms used in this documentation. The terms are structured in categories. Whenever possible we will also indicate whether a data format, communication channel or other information is supported by Anveo EDI Connect. If you need a feature that we do not support at the moment please contact us as we constantly improve our products.
EDI Data Formats
There are several commonly used data formats for data interchange between business partners. A lot of them are text based formats combined with a description of their usage. We will give you an overview over some commonly used formats that are supported by Anveo EDI Connect. Even if a data format is missing in our list we probably have a way to support it in Anveo EDI Connect. Feel free to contact us.
A lot of data interchange formats are text based. With Anveo EDI Connect you can import and export data as text from and to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013R2. There are a lot of different ways to format the data. Examples are fixed length fields, using separation characters and record based formats. In Anveo EDI Connect you can specify the source and destination tables and fields of the data. You can define filters that the data is processed differently, for example, based on the record type of a line.
A commonly used format to exchange data between business partners, especially in europe, is UN/EDIFACT. There are a lot of systems that support data interchange via EDIFACT. With Anveo EDI Connect you can exchange data with any entity supporting an EDIFACT messages. There are a lot of different versions of the standard. Each version is named, for example, D96A. Anveo EDI Connect supports all versions of the EDIFACT standard. You can find the detailed list of supported versions here. The standard is grouped by Message Types. Commonly used Message Types are Orders (ORDERS), Order Responses (ORDRSP), Despatch Advices (DESADV), Commercial Invoices (INVOIC), and many more. Anveo EDI Connect supports all Message Types incoming and outgoing. You can find the detailed list of supported message types here. There are also a lot of subsets. Like EANCOM, EDIELEKTRO, EDIGAS, EDI@Energy, EDITEC, ODETTE and many more. With Anveo EDI Connect you are able to process also all subsets of EDIFACT. The following example will show you the beginning of a typical EDIFACT file:
The data is structured into, so called, segments like in this example UNB, UNH, BGM and DTM. The actual data is stored in so called data elements, which are usually separated by the + and : characters. The data elements can be children of the segment in which case they are separated by the + character or they can be children of composites, separated by the : character. It is also possible to use different separation characters.
The Accredited Standards Committee X12 (ASC X12) is responsible for maintaining a set of EDI standards. The X12 standards are mostly used in the US and by international companies. There are a lot of message types for different applications. Standard message types are, for example, 850- Purchase Order, 857- Shipping and Billing Notice. The data format is very similar to United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/EDIFACT), but X12 uses variable separation characters, which are defined in the ISA segment at the begin of the message.
EDI Connect supports every message type of X12. The functionality of the assistant varies depending on the message type, but it is always possible to import the file, create the structure out of the example file and map the fields to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013R2 tables.
XML files are supported by a lot of systems. In XML you can specify the data in a structured way. XML is very flexible and allows a variety of different file formats. With Anveo EDI Connect you can import and Export XML in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013R2. Anveo EDI Connect gives you are flexible way of handling your XML files with a lot more options than the build in XML-Ports of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013R2.
Data Exchange
Allows secured message based data exchange via the Internet. It generates envelopes for messages that can request the confirmation of the transmission. AS/2 is designed primarily for business use, features like MDNs provide evidence of the transmission of data.
Anveo EDI Connect supports AS / 2 currently only via external software or service. There is no build-in solution available. This is mainly for technical reasons, since a server must listen for responses of the remote site and it is not recommended to host such servers from inside NAV. A complete integration of external software, including error monitoring is possible.
FTP is a file based communication protocol. The channel is unencrypted for standard FTP. The protocol is client/server based. The client can access the files on the server. It is possible to create directories, read and rename files and delete them. For an encrypted version of the FTP protocol see FTPS and SFTP.
Anveo EDI Connect supports FTP over an optional add-in. The add-in can act as a FTP client and supports various properties of the FTP protocol, such as active and passive data transfer mode.
FTPS is an encrypted version of the FTP protocol. Like FTP it is file based. There are several options for the encryption of the communication channel. The implicit mode establishes the secured channel before sending any other data, whereas the explicit mode establishes the encryption explicitly by calling a command on the server.
Anveo EDI Connect supports FTPS over an optional add-in that can act as an FTPS client.
Network protocol for retrieving email messages.
Anveo EDI Connect supports IMAP currently only via external software or service. There is no build-in solution available.
OFTP is primarily used in the automotive sector. It is a message based transfer protocol that supports various data channels. It can encrypt and compress messages before sending them. Unlike the name suggests it is technically very different from FTP. OFTP can handle very large files, can resume a failed message transfer and supports integrity checks.
Anveo EDI Connect can work with external OFTP software. There is no build-in functionality. It is possible to integrate the software into the communication architecture of EDI Connect to ensure that the user is able to monitor the file transfer from inside Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013R2.
POP3 is a message based communication protocol. It allows to retrieve e-mails from a mail server. It is very limited in functionality because it only allows listing, fetching and deleting e-mails on the server. SMTP is the counterpart to send messages. POP3 can be used in an encrypted or unencrypted mode.
Anveo EDI Connect supports POP3 via an optional add-in. This is meant for technical messages only and does not provide advanced e-mail functionality.
SFTP is a file based, encrypted network protocol that provides functionality for transferring and managing files over a secure data channel. For this it uses an SSH secured connection.
Anveo EDI Connect can support SSH and SFTP via an optional add-in. We can however not guarantee that our ad-in is compatible to every server. Please check in advance whether our module can handle the desired connection.
SMTP is used to send e-mails. It is a message based protocol. It is possible to encrypt the communication channel before sending data. To retrieve messages POP3 or IMAP is used.
Anveo EDI Connect supports SMTP via an optional add-in. The e-mail functionality inside EDI Connect is designed to work with technical systems, not to send e-mails to end-users.
Is a message-based, encrypted data exchange system. X.400 is a mailbox system and is used for file sharing of EDI messages.
Anveo EDI Connect allows the connection of external communication components. For the X.400 data transfer you’ll need a third party X.400 client software or a service provider. In general, we recommend a service provider which can be accessed directly by theEDI Connect add-in to allow a complete error monitoring inside of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013R2.
Acronyms
EANs are used to identify products. There are assigned by an organization called GS1. The new format and name is GTIN.
GLNs are used to identify addresses or locations. The numbers are assigned by the GS1.
The GS1 is a not-for-profit organisation. They develop and maintain global standards for business communication. They release subsets of the UN/EDIFACT standards and are responsible for assigning GLNs, GTINs, etc.
Global number to identify products. Assigned by the GS1 and the successor of EANs.
Number used to identify an item.