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Information may be out of date and UI elements may have changed.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: Activity is a property on edit_document Batch Process Steps. Activities define specific document processing operations done to a inventory_2 Batch, folder Batch Folder, or contract Batch Page. Batch Process Steps configured with specific Activities are frequently referred by the name of the Activity followed by the word "step". For example: Classify step.

Batch: inventory_2 Batch objects are fundamental in Grooper's architecture as they are the containers of documents that get moved through Grooper's workflow mechanisms known as settings Batch Processes.

Batch Process Step: edit_document Batch Process Step objects are specific actions within the sequence defined by a settings Batch Process. A Batch Process Step plays a critical role in automating and managing the flow of documents through the various stages of processing within Grooper.

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 objects are crucial components in Grooper's architecture. A Batch Process orchestrates the document processing strategy and ensures each inventory_2 Batch of documents is managed systematically and efficiently.

Batch Processes by themselves do nothing. Instead, the workflows they execute are designed by adding child edit_document Batch Process Steps.
A Batch Process is often referred to as simply a "process".

Content Type: Content Type refers to objects in Grooper used to classify folder Batch Folders. These include: stacks Content Models, collections_bookmark Content Categories, and description Document Types.

Data Element: Data Element refers to the objects in Grooper 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 Model node objects serve as the top-tier structure defining the taxonomy for Data Elements and are leveraged during the Extract Activity to extract data from a folder Batch Folders. They are a hierarchy of Data Elements that sets the stage for the extraction logic and review of data collected from documents.

Document Type: description Document Type objects represent a distinct type of document, like an invoice or contract. Document Types are created as children of a stacks Content Model or a collections_bookmark Content Category and are used to classify individual folder Batch Folders. Each Document Type in the hierarchy defines the Data Elements and Behaviors that apply to Batch Folders of that specific classification.

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 Project node objects 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, and more are organized and managed. It allows for the encapsulation and modularization of these resources for easier management and reusability.

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.