IDEV Online Help

8.4 Interface formats

For some statistics, report files have to be created and submitted. These report files can be created with external applications and then be sent with an online report form. To ensure that the report files can be created in a format that is compatible with the IDEV system, it is possible to save the interface format associated with a given report form, then to enter the report data into the saved format file, and finally to import the edited format file back into the report form.

Saving an interface format

To insert report data into an interface format, the appropriate interface format must be saved locally before. After clicking on the Save interface format button, the file download dialog of your browser appears:

Save interface format on the local client
Save interface format on the local client

Any safety information displayed in the dialog is browser-typical. It is not generated by the web application. To save the file, the instructions in the dialog must be followed.

Composition of the interface format:

An interface format description is saved as a TXT file and composed in accordance with the following pattern:

Interface format example
Interface format example

For each field of the report form, a short description, a variable name followed by an equal sign ("=") and a blank space for the variable value to be entered, which has to be terminated with an ampersand character "&", is used. The individual fields are separated by tab stops.

Note:

In order to ensure that the report data inserted into a saved interface format can be read and processed correctly later, the following rules have to be observed:

  • Variable names must not be modified.

  • Equal ("=") and ampersand ("&") characters must not be deleted.

  • Explaining short descriptions must be deleted.

  • Blanks must not precede or follow a variable value.

  • A tab stop must not follow the terminating ampersand character ("&").

  • Special characters must be encrypted by using the URL encoding rules.

  • Checkboxes, option buttons and listboxes must be allocated with the corresponding codes.

  • When fields are indexed lower-level structures, these are indexed as follows:

    person#0.name >>> f1#0.f1

    person#1.name >>> f1#1.f1

    An index starts always with "0". A #number field that describes the number of sub-sets has to be added in addition, such as:

    f1#number = n

    Whereby n stands for the number of the contained sub-sets.

Blanks that are possibly inserted to improve readability and lines that are not filled with values may be deleted.

Import interface format

After an interface format has been filled with the necessary report data, it may be imported back into a report form via the action Import interface format.

Import a file confirming to the interface format
Import a file confirming to the interface format

In the Import a file compatible with the interface format dialog, the locally saved and edited interface-format file can be selected and imported. The data is then displayed in the form.