Manifest Export (EDI)

Manifest Export (EDI)

Manifest Export (EDI)

Summary / Purpose

Use this article to create and manage Manifest Export (EDI) Rules in TransVirtual.

This guide explains how to automatically export manifest information via Email, FTP, Printer, or other supported frameworks when a manifest is created or closed.

Overview

Manifest Export Rules allow TransVirtual to automatically distribute manifest data to agents, customers, internal staff, or printers. These rules trigger when a manifest is created or closed, eliminating the need for manual emailing or printing. This article details how to set up an EDI for manifest. To navigate to the Export Manifest page, go to Import/Export > Data Export > Manifest.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Create/Add a New Rule

  1. To create or add a new rule, go to the Export Manifest page, and click New Rule as shown below.
  2. A pop-up Create a new export rule will display as shown below.
  3. Manually enter the Rule Name, which is what the rule will be called, and select the Export Framework using the drop-down button. Then click Create as shown above.

This example uses Test 01 as a Rule Name and Email as the Export Framework.

  1. Once the rule is created, it will display on the Export Rules tab, highlighted in orange as shown below.

The orange colour shows that this rule is not yet active.

  1. Click on the new rule and the details for this rule will appear on the right side of the page as shown below.
  2. Before updating the rule details, set up the data filter. Data filters determine when an EDI rule will and won't apply to a consignment. They specify the criteria that consignments must meet to trigger EDI rules.

Data Filter

  1. To see the data filter section, scroll down to the bottom of the page as shown below.
  2. To set up the data filter, add logic to it: select Field, Logic, and Value using the drop-down buttons, then click Add Rule. The logic will display on the Data Filter screen (see the screenshot below).

This example uses Manifest Type in the Select Field, Equal in Logic, and Agent in the Select Value field. This EDI rule tells the system to send an email when an Agent type manifest is created (a manifest compiled from consignments assigned to one agent).

  1. Once the data filter is configured, update or edit the rule details as described below.

Update/Edit the Rules

  1. Click on the newly added rule, and the rule details will display on the right side as shown below.
  2. Update the details as follows:
    • Rule Name: the name given to the rule. This can be changed at any point but should reflect what the rule is used for. This example leaves the rule name as set on initial creation.
    • Export Framework: specifies how the information is exported from TransVirtual. This example selects Email. The export framework setting can be updated by clicking the Settings button, which displays the edit email setting pop-up.

The Settings button can be used to customize the FTP, Email, Webservice, Printer, Account Package, and SMS settings.

Export Framework Setting

To customize the email setting, click Settings. The email edit setting page will display as shown below.

  1. Fill in the email details as described below.
    1. Email Account (Optional): select the email account using the drop-down button.
    2. Send to Customer Contact: if email should be sent to the customer email address, select this using the drop-down button.

This example does not send email to the customer, as it is for an agent only, so this field is left blank.

  1. Send to Assigned Agent Contact: if email should be sent to the assigned agent's contact, select this using the drop-down button.

This example sends emails to the agent using the Send to Assigned Agent Contact field, selecting General from the list.

  1. Email To: manually enter the email address in this field.

The Email To field should be used for internal staff where possible, as anyone listed here receives all emails generated by this EDI rule. This field is left blank in this example.

  1. Email Subject: this field is used to enter text that is sent as the email subject when the email is sent.

To see the email listed in the General field, go to the applicable agent card file and click Contact Field as shown below.

  1. After filling in the details, the detail screen will look as below.
  1. Once the email details are filled in, click the Email Body tab and manually enter the message to be sent.
    1. The Validate button, located at the bottom-left, can be used to preview what the email will look like.
    2. Click Update to save the email settings.
  • Export File Type: select the export file type using the drop-down button. This example uses the export file type Basic CSV/Excel.

Export File Type Settings

Select the option, then click the Settings button to configure the export file further. The screen shown below will display.

  • At the bottom of the file type setting, applicable fields can be added or removed using the Data to Export section.

This example leaves the fields as is.

Click Update at the bottom to apply the changes.

  • Limit to Customer Name: lists the customers this EDI rule applies to. List the customer names, separated by commas if more than one. Customer names must be spelt correctly for this to work. This example leaves this field blank, as it does not apply.
  • Enable Export: to enable this new rule, set the toggle to Yes, then click Update to save the rule. Once complete, the rule colour changes to white, indicating that the rule is enabled.

The Memo, Link to Rule ID, and Email EDI Errors fields are not mandatory, so this example leaves them blank.

Manifest rules trigger automatically on manifest close or creation. There is no need to specify a trigger period like with other EDI rules.

Printing Manifests rather than Emailing Them

The above example covers how to email manifests to an agent. A similar rule can be set up to print a certain type of manifest (Linehaul, for example), rather than emailing it.

  1. To do this, the setup is much the same, but the Export Framework needs to be changed to Printer using the drop-down button as shown below.

If multiple printers are installed in the system, choose the applicable printer using the drop-down button.

  1. Select the applicable Printer Name to send the manifest to.
  2. The data filter screen shown above is set to print Linehaul manifests when one is created. This may be useful if the Linehaul driver requires a physical copy of the manifested freight they are taking.
  3. When set up correctly, this process happens automatically, without any intervention needed to print the manifest PDF.
  1. For this to work, a printer must be enabled in TransVirtual. See the Cloud Print Utility Installation article for further information.
  2. Printers are only available to select once the printing app has been downloaded and the printer shared with TransVirtual, as described in that article.
  1. When Export Framework is set to Printer, there is no option to choose a file type to print.
  2. A PDF is printed based on the relevant report template. An Excel file can't be printed, which is why this option does not appear.

Delete the Rule

  1. To delete the rule, click the delete icon. A confirmation dialog will pop up; click Yes and the rule will be deleted from the database as shown below.