IBM Branch Transformation Toolkit 5.1 Migration and Usage Guidelines

280 IBM Branch Transformation Toolkit 5.1 Migration and Usage Guidelines

8.3.4 Creating message formats with Format Editor

Now that contexts and data elements are defined, you should create message

formats with the Format Editor.

Introduction

The Format Editor provides a graphical and easier way to work with the definition

file of formatters. It visualizes formatters in a Graphical Editor. This relieves you

from the chores of handling XML tags directly. Common editing features such as

cut, copy, paste, delete, undo, redo, load, save, drag-and-drop, reorder, and sort

are included in the Format Editor. With these features, you can work with

message formats quickly and easily.

The way the Format Editor works

When you double-click a Format Editor file, that is files with *.fmte extension, the

Format Editor starts. By default, the definition file dsefmts.xml is loaded. The

editor's configuration file also identifies the name of the CHA Editor file with

which a Format Editor file works.

Working with the CHA Editor file, the Format Editor displays the CHA contexts,

data elements, format elements, and their definitions, in its views. When you

make an addition, modification, or deletion to format elements, CHA contexts, or

data definitions, the editor updates the other views to reflect the changes. For

example, if you create a format definition within the FMTE page of the Editor

view, the Editor adds the format definition to the Outline view and adds the

definition to the format definition file. This means that you can use either the

Editor view or the Outline view to create, modify, and delete format elements.

Views

The Format Editor consists of the following views:

򐂰 Editor view is the primary view of the Format Editor, consisting of a set of

tabbed pages in which you can edit values:

– FMTE page: This page displays format hierarchy trees that describe the

relationships between various format definitions. Each node in the

Note: Branch Transformation Toolkit does not support forward references,

that is, the definition being referred to must appear before the definition

making the reference. The order in which format definitions appear in

definition files may not match the order used to display the format elements,

data elements, and CHA contexts in various views of the Format Editor.