2023.1:EDI Integration (Functionality)

This article is about an older version of Grooper.

Information may be out of date and UI elements may have changed.

2025

2023.1

EDI Integration refers to Grooper's ability to process EDI files.

You may download the ZIP(s) below and upload it into your own Grooper environment (version 2023.1). The first contains one or more Batches of sample documents. The second contains one or more Projects with resources used in examples throughout this article.

About

This article instructs users about features designed to process EDI files. Grooper can do the the following things with EDI files:

Create a Data Model from an X12 EDI schema using Grooper's Schema Importer.
Collect data from an EDI file using the "EDI File - Load Data" command.

FYI

Grooper's EDI integration was born from a necessity for Grooper to efficiently collect data from medical EDI files.

At the time of writing this article Grooper supports the following EDI schemas:

X12 835
X12 837 Dental
X12 837 Institutional
X12 837 Professional

Do you use a different EDI schema? Let us know! We are on the look out for more EDI schemas to integrate into Grooper. Reach out to your Grooper rep to request a new EDI schema be added to Grooper.

How To

Build a Data Model from an EDI schema

Here, we will show you how to use Grooper's EDI integration features to build a Data Model from an EDI schema and collect information from an EDI file.

Follow the instructions in the screenshots below.

With the "EDI Integration - Batch" selected...
...on the "Viewer" tab...
...we can see the contents of this EDI file. This is a standardized format used by businesses to send data in a way that might typically be seen in the form of a document like an "Invoice" or "EOB Form". Understanding the structure of this document, especially to the untrained eye, is daunting at best. Grooper will do the hard work for us.

Selecting an EDI Schema

There is a massive library of EDI standards, and Grooper has built into a small selection of X12 schemas to choose from. These act as templates that will populate a Data Model with all the appropriate "Data Elements" necessary to house all data from a given format.

Right-click on the "EDI Integration" Data Model and choose Import Schema.
Check the Remove Existing property if you want to remove existing "Data Elements" from the model.
In the "Import Schema" dialog click the drop-down for the Source property and choose EDI Schema Importer.
Once set, expand the sub-properties of Source.
Choose X12 837 Professional in the drop-down for the X12 Schema property.

This action has created a massive assortment of requisite "Data Elements" for the chosen standard, including validation.

Execute Activity to Collect EDI Data

Configure the Batch Process Step

Extraction using EDI Schemas does not leverage the standard Extract activity. Instead, the Execute activity will be used.

Select the "Execute" Batch Process Step in the "EDI Process" Batch Process.
Click the ellipsis button for the Commands property which will open the "Commands" dialog box.
In the "Commands" dialog box, click the "Add" button to add a Command and set it to EDI File - Load Data. You will see a command added to the command list.
Click the ellipsis button for the Mappings property which will open the "Mappings" dialog box.
In the "Mappings" dialog box, click the "Add" button to add a Mapping and set the Schema Name property to X12 837 Professional". You will see a mapping added to the mapping list.
Click the drop-down for the "Content Type" property and set it to the 837 Prof Document Type. Click "OK" to confirm changes and close all dialog boxes.

Test the Batch Process Step

With the "Execute" Batch Process Step selected, go to the "Activity Testing" tab.
Select the document from the "EDI Integration - Batch" in the "Batch Viewer".
Click the "Test" button to test the activity and get extraction results.

Data View to see Results

To view results, go to the "Data Review" Batch Process Step.
Go to the "Activity Tester" tab.
Select the "EDI Integration - Batch" in the "Batch Viewer".
Click the Test button to test the activity.

In the Data Viewer you will see that the appropriate data was collected.

Glossary

Activity: Grooper Activities define specific document processing operations done to a inventory_2 Batch, folder Batch Folder, or contract Batch Page. In a settings Batch Process, each edit_document Batch Process Step executes a single Activity (determined by the step's "Activity" property).

Batch Process Steps are frequently referred by the name of their configured Activity followed by the word "step". For example: "Classify step".

Batch: inventory_2 Batch nodes are fundamental in Grooper's architecture. They are containers of documents that are moved through workflow mechanisms called settings Batch Processes. Documents and their pages are represented in Batches by a hierarchy of folder Batch Folders and contract Batch Pages.

Batch Process Step: edit_document Batch Process Steps are specific actions within a settings Batch Process sequence. Each Batch Process Step performs an "Activity" specific to some document processing task. These Activities will either be a "Code Activity" or "Review" activities. Code Activities are automated by Activity Processing services. Review activities are executed by human operators in the Grooper user interface.

Batch Process Steps are frequently referred to as simply "steps".
Because a single Batch Process Step executes a single Activity configuration, they are often referred to by their referenced Activity as well. For example, a "Recognize step".

Batch Process: settings Batch Process nodes are crucial components in Grooper's architecture. A Batch Process is the step-by-step processing instructions given to a inventory_2 Batch. Each step is comprised of a "Code Activity" or a Review activity. Code Activities are automated by Activity Processing services. Review activities are executed by human operators in the Grooper user interface.

Batch Processes by themselves do nothing. Instead, they execute edit_document Batch Process Steps which are added as children nodes.
A Batch Process is often referred to as simply a "process".

Content Type: Content Types are a class of node types used used to classify folder Batch Folders. They represent categories of documents (stacks Content Models and collections_bookmark Content Categories) or distinct types of documents (description Document Types). Content Types serve an important role in defining Data Elements and Behaviors that apply to a document.

Data Element: Data Elements are a class of node types used to collect data from a document. These include: data_table Data Models, insert_page_break Data Sections, variables Data Fields, table Data Tables, and view_column Data Columns.

Data Model: data_table Data Models are leveraged during the Extract activity to collect data from documents (folder Batch Folders). Data Models are the root of a Data Element hierarchy. The Data Model and its child Data Elements define a schema for data present on a document. The Data Model's configuration (and its child Data Elements' configuration) define data extraction logic and settings for how data is reviewed in a Data Viewer.

Document Type: description Document Type nodes represent a distinct type of document, such as an invoice or a contract. Document Types are created as child nodes of a stacks Content Model or a collections_bookmark Content Category. They serve three primary purposes:

They are used to classify documents. Documents are considered "classified" when the folder Batch Folder is assigned a Content Type (most typically, a Document Type).
The Document Type's data_table Data Model defines the Data Elements extracted by the Extract activity (including any Data Elements inherited from parent Content Types).
The Document Type defines all "Behaviors" that apply (whether from the Document Type's Behavior settings or those inherited from a parent Content Type).

EDI Integration: EDI Integration refers to Grooper's ability to process EDI files.

Execute: tv_options_edit_channels Execute is an Activity that runs one or more specified object commands. This gives access to a variety of Grooper commands in a settings Batch Process for which there is no Activity, such as the "Sort Children" command for Batch Folders or the "Expand Attachments" command for email attachments.

Extract: export_notes Extract is an Activity that retrieves information from folder Batch Folder documents, as defined by Data Elements in a data_table Data Model. This is how Grooper locates unstructured data on your documents and collects it in a structured, usable format.

Project: package_2 Projects are the primary containers for configuration nodes within Grooper. The Project is where various processing objects such as stacks Content Models, settings Batch Processes, profile objects are stored. This makes resources easier to manage, easier to save, and simplifies how node references are made in a Grooper Repository.

Review: person_search Review is an Activity that allows user attended review of Grooper's results. This allows human operators to validate processed contract Batch Page and folder Batch Folder content using specialized user interfaces called "Viewers". Different kinds of Viewers assist users in reviewing Grooper's image processing, document classification, data extraction and operating document scanners.