Message Definition Container Properties

Set up the initial properties for new containers you add to a message definition.

You can edit individual containers in the Message Definition editor.

Table 1. Default container properties
Field	Description
Container Termination	Select one of the following default methods for determining how the end of a container is identified:
	Delimiter	The end of the container is marked by a literal character string or binary sequence, for example, a semicolon (;).
	Fixed Length	The container length is defined as an integer value that is the same for all instances of this message type.
	Minimum Length & Delimiter	A minimum number of characters are read from the field, continuing until a delimiter is reached.
	Minimum Length & White Space	A minimum number of characters are read from the field, continuing until whitespace data is read, including spaces, carriage returns, line feeds, horizontal tabs, and vertical tabs.
	White Space	The end of the container is marked by whitespace data, including spaces, carriage returns, line feeds, horizontal tabs, and vertical tabs.
	None	The end of the container is not marked.
	End of Container	The container accepts input until the beginning of the next field or container or until the end of the message.
Child Grouping	Select one of the following default options to describe how a container's fields are arranged:
	Ordered	This container contains a set of fields that occur in the same order for every instance of this message type. When you add fields to this container, the field order must match the field order in the message.
	Alternative	This container contains two or more fields, but only one is expected to occur per message instance. Use this type of container group type to model a field that can be one of several types in any given message instance.
Delimiter Defaults
Type	A delimiter identifies the end of a container. If you know that the majority of the delimiters used in your message are either character strings or binary sequences, make the appropriate selection:
	String	Select String if you are entering the delimiter value as a string, for example, `$$`.
	Binary	Select Binary if you are entering a hex code, for example, `2626`.
Enter Delimiter Value	If you know that the majority of the containers in your message use the same delimiter value, for example, />, enter the delimiter here. If delimiter values are different from container to container, you may want to select the No Default check box.
No Default	Select the check box if you want the delimiter value to default to null. If you select No Default, the message definition will lack a default delimiter for its containers, meaning you must enter the delimiter value manually for each container that uses one of the Delimiter types as its Container Termination property.
Cardinality Defaults
Optional	If the majority of the containers in the message definition are optional, select the check box. If the majority of the containers are required, clear the check box.
Repeat Type	Select the default rule that determines how many containers of this type are expected to occur in each message instance:
	None	The container always occurs once and only once.
	Unbounded	The container can occur any number of times or not at all.
	Fixed Count	The container has an Instances property with a positive integer value that specifies the number of times the container occurs.
	Field Driven	A numeric field elsewhere in the message specifies the number of times the container occurs. The container's Instance Count Field property must be set to the name of the numeric field.
	Range	The container has two properties, Min and Max, that specify the minimum and maximum number of times the container can occurs. You can set both Min and Max for each container, where Min must have a positive, nonzero integer value and Max must have a nonnegative integer value.
Container Is Tagged	If the majority of containers in your project are identified by a literal tag, for example, `ZIP:`, select the check box.