GEFEG.FX Quarterly Update – What is New?

Data packages in GEFEG.FX

• ISO20022 – Data model and Code lists, 09/2020 Updates
• OAGIS 10.6 Standard and Enterprise Edition

FACELIFT for GEFEG.FX: Now with ribbons (menu bands)

GEFEG.FX now presents itself with a new face. Menu functions are clearly grouped in ribbons. As known from other software applications, ribbons are used to group related functions and commands, allowing you to edit your specifications faster and more efficiently. For example: the commands for delete, rename and insert are bundled in the Organization group. By means of the icons you can recognize the linked function at first glance and do not have to navigate through the context menu.

When opening a test data layout, it is not necessary to select a test file

When testing incoming or outgoing messages in GEFEG.FX, you will save a lot of effort that would otherwise be required for the analysis of structure or format deviations of faulty messages. Use the results of the tests in the log files as a basis for subsequent error correction.

If you want to discuss or forward your test files afterwards, you can create test message documentation in GEFEG.FX and use layouts to create a user-specific, uniform presentation.

The test scenario may comprise a single message or a set of several hundred messages. You can also use test data layouts for the targeted output of selected information of a test message.

In the new release we have optimized the layout editing: Until now, to edit test data layouts, a test file had to be determined in advance, which was used to display the layout. Now test data layouts are opened for editing without having to call up test files.

Improve navigation in your HTML documentation with modern drop-down menus

Many GEFEG.FX users create human-readable HTML documentation of their specifications in addition to PDF and Word documentation. For this purpose GEFEG.FX automatically generates hyperlinks within the structure of your object at the push of a button.

HTML documentation is particularly suitable for publication on web pages. By publishing your specifications in HTML format, you enable your partners to browse in a user-friendly way and quickly find the information they are looking for in your complex or extensive specification(s). Instead of laboriously flipping back and forth in a PDF or Word file, your partners can easily click through the documentation.

From now on, drop-down menus are also available in HTML documentation. This makes navigation clearer and easier, as the following example shows: You use variants of schemas or data models that differ slightly from each other. Use dropdown menus to group these variants together and select them from a drop-down list.

Find the following new or further developed functionalities in the latest GEFEG.FX quarterly release 2020-Q2.

Data packages in GEFEG.FX

• GS1 XML 3.4.1 and code lists
• ISO 20022 models, schemas and code lists as of 04/2020

GIT-Support in GEFEG.FX

Collaboration on documents and folders using the version control system GIT is enjoying growing popularity and, along with Subversion (SVN), represents one of the most common repository solutions. GEFEG.FX now also supports GIT repositories and can therefore be used as a GIT client. Link GIT-controlled folders in GEFEG.FX and apply proven functions of version control systems to your data, for example adding or checking in files.

Subversion (SVN) is also still supported in GEFEG.FX, of course, so SVN and GIT can be used as version control systems for your repository management in GEFEG.FX.

Faster selection of types in schema development

Types, elements and attributes are essential components of an XML schema, with which a schema structure can be built. Elements are always based on types, which are used to restrict and format elements.

In schema development or editing, each element must therefore be assigned to a type. Local or global types are available for this, depending on the selected schema design principle. In the new release, we make it easier for you to select a suitable type via a search field, so that you no longer have to scroll through a possibly long list of types. By entering the type name, you jump directly to the desired type and select it.

New diagram variant for data model or schema: Output without attributes possible

Diagrams make it easier to understand the message structure and show the structure of a message with only few technical details. For the GEFEG.FX data objects Data Model and Schema and their guides, diagrams can be generated in the GEFEG.FX Manager and exported as image files.

The current release gives you the option of outputting a diagram variant without attributes, as an alternative to the more comprehensive display with attributes. This is especially relevant if a more business-oriented view of the message is desired. This variant is also useful if existing attributes are only relevant at a later date and can be hidden for the time being.

Output of attribute paths in data model or schema reports now also for linked objects

In data modeling, attributes are used to describe properties and characteristics. Similarly, attributes are used in XML structures to transmit metadata. Since the last release, attributes with short and long name paths and the IndexPath are also output in data model and schema reports. This facilitates the classification of the attribute in the overall structure of the message as the position of the attribute in the message can be read at a glance.

In the current release we have extended this function so that the output of paths is not only possible within the GEFEG.FX object itself, but also for linked objects. Links between GEFEG.FX data objects exist, for example, in mapping projects. Previously, separate reports were necessary to output path names and IndexPath for attributes in involved mapping objects. Now, the specifications of the mapping partner can be accessed in a single report. This saves work steps and thus leads to more work efficiency.

New design function for background layouts in documentation

Documentation in GEFEG.FX can be designed very flexibly. Layout and report files form a unit in GEFEG.FX to generate Word or PDF files, for example.

The interaction of layouts and reports defines the various design options with respect to colours, fonts and font sizes in the layout file and thus provides the basis for the report. In the current release, a new setting for the page background can now be made: The opacity of the background colour can be set individually as a percentage.