Original publication date: March, 2005

Helpful Hints for Reinstalling Trading Partner Kits

Have you reinstalled a TPK lately? If so, don't forget to put the TPK back into production mode! Here's the why and how:

Softshare's TPKs (trading partner kits) default to test mode when first installed. This is because most trading partners require a testing phase when first establishing EDI relationships with their suppliers or customers. When you reinstall a TPK, it reverts back to test mode—even if you were previously exchanging EDI documents in production mode with that trading partner.

When a TPK is in test mode, Vista flags all outgoing EDI transactions to that trading partner as test transactions. However, if a trading partner is expecting production transactions from you and you send test transactions, the trading partner's system often has no way of "seeing" those test transactions and either loses them or incorrectly routes them.

For this reason, after a TPK reinstall, you must remember to open the trading partner record in TPM (Trading Partners|Trading Partner Manager) and, from the Forms page, highlight each transaction in turn and click the Toggle Status button. Then, with the trading partner record still open, open the General page and select "Production" from the Type field's drop-down menu.

© 2007 Softshare, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is part of an archive of Softshare newsletter articles dating back several years. Some of the screenshots, procedures, or information contained within this article may no longer be 100% accurate or relevant, as Softshare's software and services are very fluid. Thank you for your understanding.