Creating a PreformatIN configuration

In the PreformatIN tool, you create instructions describing which parts of an input page the StreamServer should extract and process, how it should organize the extracted data as labelled fields, and how it should structure the fields. This structure of fields will be used as input in the next stage in the processing chain.

The first thing you do when you create a PreformatIN configuration is to load the sample file, i.e. snap-shot of the input, into the sheet area in the PreformatIN tool. You then create fields and trigger patterns by drawing areas on the PreformatIN sheet. Each drawn area on the PreformatIN sheet will in turn generate a node in the PreformatIN tool Message view. These nodes constitute the actual PreformatIN configuration.

Static and floating positions

When you analyze the input data, you will identify portions of data that are in static positions, and other portions that are floating. For example, an article list contains recurring data – the number of lines depends on the number of articles. All text segments below line 1 in this list are floating.

When you map static portions you define a field for each text segment. When you map floating data, you must first define a frame for the data, and one or more blocks in which you define the fields.