Parse EDI Fixed-Width Transaction Records

Q: Parse EDI Fixed-Width Transaction Records

## EDI Fixed-Width Records Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a standard for exchanging business documents between organizations. While modern EDI often uses delimited formats (like X12 with segment terminators), many legacy EDI systems use fixed-width records. ### Example: Purchase Order Record PO20240115VENDOR001 ACME Corporation 1000WIDGET-A Heavy Duty Widget 000050000250000 PO20240115VENDOR001 ACME Corporation 1001BOLT-42 Stainless Steel Bolt 001000000015015

Convert EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) fixed-width transaction records to CSV format. Covers segment identification, field extraction, and data mapping.

Legacy Formats

Detailed Explanation

EDI Fixed-Width Records

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a standard for exchanging business documents between organizations. While modern EDI often uses delimited formats (like X12 with segment terminators), many legacy EDI systems use fixed-width records.

Example: Purchase Order Record

PO20240115VENDOR001 ACME Corporation       1000WIDGET-A  Heavy Duty Widget         000050000250000
PO20240115VENDOR001 ACME Corporation       1001BOLT-42   Stainless Steel Bolt      001000000015015000
PO20240116VENDOR002 Global Parts Inc       1002GEAR-7X   Precision Gear Assembly   000020012500250000

Field Layout

Field	Width	Type	Description
RecordType	2	Alpha	"PO" for Purchase Order
OrderDate	8	Numeric	YYYYMMDD
VendorCode	10	Alphanum	Vendor identifier
VendorName	25	Alpha	Vendor name
LineItem	4	Numeric	Line item number
ProductCode	10	Alphanum	Product identifier
Description	26	Alpha	Product description
Quantity	5	Numeric	Order quantity (zero-padded)
UnitPrice	6	Numeric	Price in cents (zero-padded)
LineTotal	6	Numeric	Total in cents (zero-padded)

CSV Output

After conversion with appropriate column definitions and trim enabled:

RecordType,OrderDate,VendorCode,VendorName,LineItem,ProductCode,Description,Quantity,UnitPrice,LineTotal
PO,20240115,VENDOR001,ACME Corporation,1000,WIDGET-A,Heavy Duty Widget,00005,000025,0000
PO,20240115,VENDOR001,ACME Corporation,1001,BOLT-42,Stainless Steel Bolt,01000,000015,015000
PO,20240116,VENDOR002,Global Parts Inc,1002,GEAR-7X,Precision Gear Assembly,00002,012500,250000

EDI-Specific Considerations

Implied decimals: Price field 000025 might mean $0.25 or $25.00 depending on the spec
Record type filtering: Different record types (header, detail, trailer) have different layouts
Validation: EDI files often include check digits and running totals in trailer records

Use Case

Processing incoming EDI purchase orders, invoices, or shipping notices from trading partners who use legacy fixed-width EDI formats instead of modern X12 or EDIFACT standards.

Try It — Fixed Width ↔ CSV Converter

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