<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ManualTopic ID="/baanerp/ec/onlinemanual/000039" xml:lang="en">
   <Header>
      <Title>ASCII files</Title>
      <Keyword type="header" order="d1e329191">
         <Level1>ASCII files</Level1>
      </Keyword>
      <Keyword type="header" order="d1e329194">
         <Level1>ASCII files</Level1>
         <Level2>using</Level2>
      </Keyword>
   </Header>
   <AimSection ID="aim_edi_ascii_files">
      <Paragraph>An EDI message arrives as an ASCII file. A normal ASCII file is
		a text format (arrangement) that cannot be read. The ASCII file must be
		converted into an application file that ERP Enterprise can read. This
		conversion is performed by the ERP Enterprise EDI software.</Paragraph>
   </AimSection>
   <GeneralSection>
      <Paragraph>ASCII files consist of
		records, and records consist of fields that contain the actual information.
		Examples of fields include the customer number, customer name, and customer
		address.</Paragraph>
      <Paragraph>If several files are
		related to each other, they are relational. Relational files occur, for
		example, if several addresses were recorded for one customer. In this example,
		the customer number is the key. In the address file, you can search for the
		addresses using the customer number. A key can include more than one field. If,
		for example, more than one telephone number is recorded for one address, the
		key is the customer number together with the address.</Paragraph>
      <Paragraph>To read or create ASCII files, refer to <Link href="/baanerp/ec/onlinemanual/000061" role="manual">Processing files</Link>.</Paragraph>
   </GeneralSection>
   <RelatedTopics>
      <SectionTitle>Related topics</SectionTitle>
      <RelTopic>
         <Link href="/baanerp/ec/onlinemanual/000061" role="manual">Processing files</Link>
      </RelTopic>
      <RelTopic>
         <Link href="/baanerp/ec/onlinemanual/000016" role="manual">Naming tracefiles</Link>
      </RelTopic>
      <RelTopic>
         <Link href="/baanerp/ec/onlinemanual/000019" role="manual">Using a single ASCII file</Link>
      </RelTopic>
      <RelTopic>
         <Link href="/baanerp/ec/onlinemanual/000020" role="manual">Using multiple ASCII files</Link>
      </RelTopic>
   </RelatedTopics>
</ManualTopic>