Original publication date: September, 2005

Softshare ECS and Delta 4.1 are Here!

If you're running Softshare Delta and Softshare ECS in tandem, you'll appreciate 4.1's focus on tighter integration between the two products. Specifically, ECS 4.1 brings you several new translation management tools that let you better handle ECS-received EDI envelopes and transactions passed to Softshare Delta for translation:

A Translation Status column has been added to ECS’s Data Administrator utility
A new Document Tracking System (DTS) event type has been added: “Failed Translation”
Two new restaging options “All Documents” and “Failed/Untranslated Documents,” are now available in the Data Administrator utility
Two new ECS management reports, “Documents Translated” and “Documents Failed Translation,” are now available

Even though the above-listed translation management features are found in the ECS interface, you must upgrade to both ECS and Delta 4.1 to take advantage of them. For a detailed summary of the new 4.1 translation management features, view the Softshare ECS 4.1 Translation Management Summary guide on eService.

Of course, each product has also been enhanced with a variety of other features. Read on to learn about the Delta and ECS 4.1 feature sets and how to upgrade to the latest builds of each.

Softshare Delta 4.1

If you're already running Softshare Delta 4.0, then the 4.1 upgrade is free! Simply log into eService and download the new release.

If you're running Softshare Delta 3.0, Delta 3.0 Standard users can purchase Delta Standard 4.1 for $1500. Softshare Delta 3.0 Enterprise users can purchase Delta Enterprise 4.1 for $2400. If you are currently covered under the Softshare Support and Maintenance Agreement, a 50% discount will apply. To request an upgrade to Delta 4.1, visit Softshare eService.

Softshare Delta 4.1 incorporates many fixes and enhancements. Brand new features and notable enhancements are listed below:

General Updates
New debugging feature		A new map debugging option, Launch debugger on error, is available under Map\|Breakpoints, When this option is selected and a map halts with errors while running in test mode, the Map Debugger window automatically displays, letting you review a snapshot of the translation that occurred up to the point when the error was encountered.
Packaging of installed models		Users now have the ability to package data file and database source models installed for the purpose of map multiplexing, using Delta's Map Organizer utility (Tools\|Map Organizer). Previously, this option was only available for installed maps and not for models.
EDI & XML Handling Updates
TRADACOMS EDI Standard		Support for mapping to and from the TRADACOMS EDI standard (1998 dictionary version) has been added. Although no longer actively supported or updated by a standards body, TRADACOMS is still a commonly used EDI standard in the United Kingdom, especially in the retail industry.
Improved 997s		The ANSI X12 EDI acknowledgment (997) transactions generated by Delta have been updated to include optional element AK304, which is used to indicate specific problems with EDI segments reported to be in error.
Redefine XML element (Delta Enterprise only)		Delta now supports the redefine element in XML schemas, letting you reference schemas that, in turn, reference other external schemas and redefine type and group definitions contained in them.
Database Handling Updates (Delta Enterprise only)
Read-only designation		In a target database model, when modeling a table or column to which you have read-only access permissions, Delta now displays a "read-only" designator next to the name of each read-only element.
Improved error logging		The Log Viewer messages that display when Delta can't map a record to a database target, due to errors encountered when writing to one or more table columns, have been clarified. In addition, specific column write errors will also display with "Warning" rather than "Info" severities.
Integration with Softshare ECS Updates
Translation Management		A new set of translation management features has been added to Delta and ECS. These features—which include new management reports, new Data Administrator features, and a new DTS event type—let users more accurately track the translation statuses of subsequently received EDI envelopes and transactions and, if needed, restage only items that failed to be translated (instead of being required to restage entire batches or deliveries in such cases). In order to fully utilize these translation features, both Delta 4.1 and ECS 4.1 or later must be installed. For a detailed summary of the new 4.1 translation management features, view the Softshare ECS 4.1 Translation Management Summary guide on eService.

Softshare ECS 4.1

If you're already running Softshare ECS 4.0, then the 4.1 upgrade is free! Simply log into eService and download the new release.

If you're running Softshare ECS 3.0, you can purchase ECS 4.1 for $2400. If you are currently covered under the Softshare Support and Maintenance Agreement, a 50% discount will apply. To request an upgrade to ECS 4.1, visit Softshare eService.

Softshare ECS 4.1 incorporates many fixes and enhancements. Brand new features and notable enhancements are listed below:

FTP, HTTP, SMTP Input/Output Handling Updates
AS2 Merlin		A new Tools\|AS2 Merlin menu selection has been added to the ECS Management Console. Choosing this displays a series of merlin screens for easily setting up AS2 communications (including an HTTP input channel and/or output queue, TPM records, certificate designations, and so on) between your ECS server and a trading partner's AS2 server.
User-defined session limits		A new option under Tools\|Advanced Options has been added to the Management Console, letting you specify the maximum number of communications sessions that can be simultaneously open for each communications protocol used in ECS (e.g. HTTP, FTP, or SMTP). The default limit is 32 sessions, but you can change this value as needed.
Use implicit TLS		There is a new Use implicit TLS option for FTP input channels and output queues. When this option is selected in conjunction with the Use secure FTP option for a channel or queue, ECS will attempt to exchange data with the target FTP server via an implicitly secured SSL/TLS connection (FTPS). When deselected, ECS will attempt to communicate with the target server via an explicitly secured connection (AUTH SSL or AUTH TLS).
Client certificate verification		There is a new Use client certificate check box on the Options pages in the FTP input channel and output queue configuration windows. You should select this option and choose a client certificate from the corresponding drop-down list if the FTP server referenced by that channel or queue verifies client certificates as part of the SSL/TLS negotiation process.
AUTH LOGIN		SMTP output queues have been updated to support the AUTH LOGIN login/authentication method (used by Microsoft Exchange and other SMTP servers) in addition to the AUTH PLAIN login method supported in prior ECS releases.
Softshare Delta Integration Updates (only available if Delta 4.1 is installed) For a detailed summary of the new 4.1 translation management features, view the Softshare ECS 4.1 Translation Management Summary guide on eService.
Translation Status column		A new Translation Status column displays in the Data Administrator utility. For each EDI batch, envelope, or document received and passed to a Delta map for translation, this column displays either blank—indicating that the data could not be parsed or was not handed off for translation—or one of three special Delta icons indicating that (1) all EDI documents in the batch or envelope successfully translated, (2) the Delta map ran successfully but one or more EDI documents were not translated, or (3) the map halted with an error and one or more EDI documents did not translate.
New restaging options		Two new delivery restaging options for EDI deliveries processed by Delta translation maps are now available: an "All Documents" option that resubmits all EDI documents comprising the delivery to Delta for processing, and a "Failed/Untranslated Documents" option that submits only the documents that were not translated when that delivery was previously processed by Delta (whether due to errors or another reason). Access these options by right-clicking a Delta EDI delivery in Data Administrator and highlighting "Restage Delivery" on the shortcut menu.
Translation Reports		Two new Delta-related ECS management reports are available: the "Documents Translated Report" and the "Documents Failed Translation Report." The former report displays EDI documents matching the specified criteria that were successfully translated at both the document and envelope levels (i.e. no documents in the parent EDI envelope failed translation). The latter report displays EDI documents that match the report criteria and failed to be translated when passed to an EDI-translation map for processing.
New event type		A new Document Tracking System (DTS) event type, "Translation Failed," is now logged when the translation map failed with errors and the batch, interchange, or document failed to completely translate. You can set up DTS event watches for EDI documents or interchanges that log "Failed Translation" events via the Watches page in the EDI recipient or sender's TPM record.