For each process, there are several parent-child relationships that affect how areas, record groups, and columns are defined. As a result, process settings must be configured in a specific order. If you modify a setting, its child settings are not updated to reflect the change. Refer to the following hierarchy:
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Every page contains an area.
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Every area contains one or more record groups.
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Every record group contains one or more records.
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Every record contains one piece of primary data.
When defining area and column mappings, note that several definitions are relative to others:
|
Settings |
Position |
|---|---|
|
Start of Area |
Relative to the top of the page. |
|
End of Area |
Relative to the Start of Area, unless the End of Area is defined with a tag. |
|
Record Group |
Relative to the Start of Area, unless the Record Group is defined with a tag. |
|
Page Data Column |
Relative to the top of the page. |
|
Record Primary Data Column |
Relative to the start of the record group. Note:
If the record group definition is tagged, then the primary data column definition may have to be manually modified. Visual configuration cannot automatically calculate the location of primary data in a tagged record group. More information is provided in the steps under Record Primary Data Mapping. |
|
Record Group Single Data Column |
Relative to the start of the record group. |
For example, suppose the area starts on line 3 of a page, and the first record group is on line 7 of the page. Since line 3 is the first line in the area, line 7 is the fifth line in the area. The record group's line value would then be specified as 5.
Using the same example, suppose the first line in a record group contains header information, and the first actual record is on the next line (line 8 relative to the top of the page). Since line 7 is the first line of the record group, the primary data's line value would be 2, as it is the second line relative to the start of the record group.
If you change an area or record group definition, any related definitions retain their original values. You may need to reconfigure the related definitions to use the new point of reference. For example, suppose the area starts on line 3 and is configured to include 10 lines. The area would end on line 12. If the Start of Area 's line number is decreased to 1, then the area is still configured to contain 10 lines. However, the area would now end on line 10.