About the IWS Record Header and Trailer

What exists in IWS today?

While there is currently no specific visual representation in IWS for header or trailer for outbound files, it is possible to handle these today in IWS. This can be done using the ResultOutputTranslation widget in IWS.  In the ResultOutputTranslation, you would write code exactly as you would code in Message Center Editor to handle this.  You define the needed variables (such as a record count) and write small Message Center expressions to specify what your header or trailer should be.  The level of effort here is small.

For inbound files, you can easily ignore header or footer information by clicking checkbox to do this today.  If you want to leverage the data in the header or trailer record instead of ignoring, this is possible via the same methods described above for outbound files.

What exists outside of IWS today?

You could also create a stream in Message Center today that directly had the code in it to handle the header or  trailer records.  This stream could make use of include files or all the logic could be handled directly in Message Center expressions . If you are using IWS, then as part of your workflow you could call this stream.   

What is Eagle’s recommendation to the client today?

We recommend to use the ResultOutputTranslation in IWS to handle your header or trailer needs today.  Eagle can assist in any questions regarding writing the Message Center expression if needed.  When IWS is enhanced to include header and trailer objects, the existing logic with the ResultOutputTranslation will still work and you will not need to change existing workflows.  With any new workflows, though, you can leverage the header and trailer objects.