Subject:XML converter "omit fields when missing or zero" question Author:Leigh Walton Date:12 Oct 2007 12:11 PM
I am converting a flat file specifing beginning column locations to form the xml field elements. Does the "omit from output only when blank or zero" specification work on a record basis or a file basis? I am trying to selectively exclude fields in a records where the field contains zeros. The resulting xml would have this field included for some records but not others. The converter does not omit fields with zeros.
Subject:XML converter Author:Tony Lavinio Date:15 Oct 2007 10:01 AM
(After a brief off-line exchange, here is the answer to the above:)
Here is the issue: the fields 'other_codes' are defined as 'String',
and certainly '0000000000' is not '0' or ''. So they are not selected
as elements to exclude.
You could define them as 'Number', but that wouldn't work too well,
since they are not numerical values.
But... you can use the 'Lookup List' property. Click on the value
space next to 'Lookup List' and a dialog comes up. In the left-hand
side, put '0000000000' and leave the right-hand side empty. This
will translate any occurrences of '0000000000' to ''.
Now, the 'Omit from Output' exclusion logic, which looks at the
result AFTER the application of the lookup list, will kick in.