Modify a file system pickup or delivery

After you create a file system pickup or delivery, you can view and modify certain fields that define the object.

File system settings tab (pickup)

• Directory name – Use the Browse button or type the full path for a unique directory where Activator picks up or routes messages, depending on whether the transport is used for sending or receiving. If the directory does not exist, Activator creates it for you. Use a unique directory name. When adding a file system transport, the exchange wizard suggests a name. You may want to give the directory a name that indicates whether the transport is being used for inbound or outbound integration, receiving messages from partners or sending messages to partners. For example, for outbound integration you could name the pickup directory \data\out; for inbound integration \data\in.

File system settings tab (delivery)

• Directory name – Use the Browse button or type the full path for a unique directory where Activator picks up or routes messages, depending on whether the transport is used for sending or receiving. If the directory does not exist, Activator creates it for you. Use a unique directory name. When adding a file system transport, the delivery exchange wizard suggests a name. You may want to give the directory a name that indicates whether the transport is being used for inbound or outbound integration, receiving messages from partners or sending messages to partners. For example, for outbound integration you could name the pickup directory \data\out; for inbound integration \data\in.

Filenames tab (delivery)

Delivery file name definition

• Preserve original filenames – (default) Select this option if you want the original file names to be preserved when Activator delivers messages.
• Preserving original file names enables your back-end application to process binary messages based on their file names.
• Generate unique filenames – Select this option to have the system provide a unique file name (instead of using the original name).
  • Automatically generate unique filenames – Activator appends to the file name a hex representation of a monotonically increasing file name counter that is maintained in the database. Names are guaranteed to be unique. In addition, if the original file name had an extension, the same extension is appended to the unique name the system generates.
  • Example with the original file extension:
  • dabeed45_4cb.edi
  • Example without the original file extension:
  • z47e4120_4ce
  • Define custom filename construction – Activator generates a file name using a pattern that you specify. Enter the pattern in the Pattern field.
  • For additional information about entering renaming patterns, see File renaming patterns.

Duplicate file name handling

• Overwrite duplicate filenames – If Activator detects a duplicate file name, it overwrites the existing file, replacing it with the duplicate file.
• Sequentially number duplicate filenames – (default) When you select this option you must also select a name generation option:
  • Automatically generate unique filenames – (default). If Activator detects a duplicate file name, it generates a sequentially numbered file name. Activator appends a number to the new file in the format: filename_c4.
  • Define custom filename construction – Activator generates a file name using a pattern that you specify. Enter the pattern in the Pattern field.
  • For additional information about entering renaming patterns, see File renaming patterns.
• Append to existing files – Append the duplicate file content to the content of the original file.

Advanced tab (delivery)

• Maximum concurrent connections – The number of total open connections Activator server can make to a partner.
• The default value is suitable in almost all cases. However, if a partner says your trading engine is overrunning his receiving system, decrease the value. (This advice does not apply to OFTP X.25 or X.25 over ISDN, as the default maximum value is 1 for those transports.)
• If sending messages to Transfer CFT via PeSIT, the value in this field must be less than the CFTTCP setting in Transfer CFT.
• This setting applies only to transports that send messages to partners or deliver messages to integration.
• Retries – The number of times Activator retries connecting to the partner’s transport if the initial attempt to connect and send the message failed. The following are common reasons for triggering retries.
• • The connection attempt failed immediately for a reason such as host not found.
  • The host was found, but the connection process took longer than the connect timeout interval specified on the Advanced tab.
  • The connection was successful, but the partner’s HTTP server took longer than the response timeout interval to return a 200 OK response indicating the message was successfully received. A 200 OK response is a transport response, separate from a message protocol response such as an AS2 receipt.
• Note that in the last case, the 200 OK response also will include the receipt if synchronous receipts were requested. Otherwise, it will be a simple 200 OK response with no payload. And if an asynchronous receipt was requested, the partner will connect later to send it.
• Retries occur according to an algorithm that starts at 5 minutes. The interval between retries increases with each subsequent retry in this pattern: 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes. The interval plateaus at 60 minutes. This means if the retry value is greater than 5, the fifth and each subsequent retry occurs at 60 minute intervals.
• For example, if retries is 3, the system will try connecting again in 5 minutes if the initial connection attempt fails. If this retry attempt also fails, the system attempts a second retry in 10 minutes. The third retry attempt is made 15 minutes later. If the third retry attempt fails, the message is given a failed status. So after four attempts (the first attempt plus 3 retries), the message fails. You can search for and manually resubmit failed messages in Message Tracker.
• Retries do not occur precisely at these intervals because each connection attempt takes some seconds, which varies by computer. So retries actually occur after the connection attempt time plus the interval.
• This control applies only to retrying to send messages, not receiving. It applies only to retrying to send related to transport issues. It does not apply to successfully sent messages for which receipts have not been received as expected. Another control, resends, determines how many times the system will resend a message when a receipt is not received from the partner. For information about resends, see reliable messaging in the collaboration settings chapter.

• Back up the files that go through this transport – Indicates whether the system backs up copies of the messages it retrieves from the back end or receives from partners.
• Backing up files is strongly recommended. This is required for the system to perform fail-over operations such as attempting to send messages again (retries) in case of a transport connection failure. Without backups, a message in process cannot be recovered if the server stops or restarts. Backups also are needed if you want the ability to resubmit messages to back-end applications or resend messages to partners. Backup files are stored in \<install directory>\common\data\backup, unless you specify otherwise.
• Post-processing script – The full path to an executable file that contains post-processing commands.

Advanced tab (pickup)

• Maximum concurrent connections (for trading pickups only)– The number of total open connections Activator server can make to a partner.
• Enable file filtering – Select this option if you want to enable filtering on the files that are consumed by this pickup. When you select this option you must then enter a filter pattern to apply to consumed file names, and indicate if the filter acts inclusively (only pick up files that have names that match the filter) or exclusively (ignore only files that have names that match the filter and pick up all others).
• Back up the files that go through this transport – Indicates whether the system backs up copies of the messages it retrieves from integration or receives from partners.
• Backing up files is strongly recommended. This is required for the system to perform fail-over operations such as attempting to send messages again (retries) in case of a transport connection failure. Without backups, a message in process cannot be recovered if the server stops or restarts. Backups also are needed if you want the ability to resubmit messages to back-end applications or resend messages to partners.
• Backup files are stored in \<install directory>\common\data\backup, unless you specify otherwise.
• Process consumed messages using community collaboration settings – Use the collaboration settings that you set for this community to process the messages you pick up using this exchange.
• Perform content processing on consumed messages – Select this option if you want to apply processing to the documents you pick up using this exchange. If you select this option you can then select a service to supply the processing.
  • Services – Optionally select the service to use to apply processing to consumed messages. If you do not select a service, no content processing is applied.
• Restrict maximum file size for this transport – Select this option to specify the maximum size of files the exchange can handle.
• If Activator receives a file larger than the maximum, the file is rejected and a message is written to the events log.
  • Maximum file size – Enter the maximum file size in bytes. Do not use commas.
• Maximum file per polling interval – The highest number of messages the system can retrieve each time it polls.
• Polling interval – The interval in seconds Activator waits before polling for messages to retrieve.

Directories tab (pickup and delivery)

On this tab you configure a directory associated with an SFTP user account. The path begins from the home directory of the SFTP account. Activator places messages in these directories for the back-end system to download.

If the back-end system uses the same account to upload messages, you must con figure a separate directory for that purpose on a pickup exchange.

If no account exists, click Add to add an account and associated directory.