Partner sourced datasets

Partner Sourced datasets are handled by the Partner Sourced Data server. The settings used to configure this server appear in the acserver.ini file.

On Windows, two additional configuration files are installed:

  1. Experian.Qas.Gfo.PartnerProxy.exe.config
  2. Experian.Qas.Gfo.LegacyWindowsService.exe.config

Settings

Format:

ServerAddress={Server name}:{Port}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This setting appears in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini. It defines the server and port which the Partner Sourced Data Server for Partner Sourced datasets will listen on. The details specified here should correspond to the ExternalServers setting of the qawserve.ini file.

Example:

ServerAddress=server001:1050

This setting specifies that the service for Partner Sourced datasets will run on the "server001" machine and listen on port 2024.

Format:

< setting name="ProxyPort" serializeAs="String" >
< value>{port}< /value >

Default:

2023

Purpose:

This setting appears in the < userSettings > section of Experian.Qas.Gfo.PartnerProxy.exe.config. It defines the server and port which the Experian Partner Proxy service will listen on. The details specified here should correspond to the ExternalServers setting of the qawserver.ini file.

Example:

<userSettings>
    <Experian.Qas.Gfo.PartnerProxy.Properties.Proxy>
        <setting name="ProxyPort" serializeAs="String">
            <value>2023</value>
        </setting>
...

This setting specifies that the Experian Partner Proxy service will listen on port 2023.

Format:

< setting name="AdditionalDataPort" serializeAs="String" >
< value>{port}< /value >

Default:

6000

Purpose:

This setting appears in the < userSettings > section of Experian.Qas.Gfo.PartnerProxy.exe.config. It defines the port number which the Partner Sourced Data Server service will listen on. The details specified here should correspond to the baseAddress setting of the Experian.Qas.Gfo.LegacyWindowsService.exe.config file.

Example:

<userSettings>
    <Experian.Qas.Gfo.PartnerProxy.Properties.Proxy>
    ...
    <setting name="AdditionalDataPort" serializeAs="String">
        <value>6000</value>
    </setting>
    ...

This setting specifies that the Partner Sourced Data Server should listen on port 6000.

Format:

< add baseAddress="{Server name}:{Port}" />

Default:

http://localhost:6000

Purpose:

This setting appears in the < baseAddresses > section of Experian.Qas.Gfo.PartnerProxy.exe.config. It defines the server and port which the Experian Partner Sourced Data Server service will listen on. The details specified here should correspond to the AdditionalDataPort setting in the Experian.Qas.Gfo.PartnerProxy.exe.config.

Example:

This setting specifies that the service for Partner Sourced datasets will run on the "server001" machine and listen on port 2024.

On Windows, these settings are found in Experian.Qas.Gfo.LegacyWindowsService.exe.config.

Format:

initializeData="{path}{filename}.log"

Default:

%QASLOGPATH%\GlobalCaptureEngine\ProService.log

Purpose:

This setting enables you to specify a log file to which any errors that occur when you call API functions are written. These errors are only written if you have not set sourceSwitch to 'Off' and have specified the name of the file you want to write to with initializeData.

It is recommended that you create a log file when integrating the API.

%QASLOGPATH% is used by default to point to a common logging location: C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Application Data.

Example:

<system.diagnostics>
...
    <sharedListeners>
        <add name="QASListener" type="Experian.Qas.Lib.Log.QADelimitedTraceListener,Experian.Qas.Lib.Log" delimiter=";" initilizeData="c:\temp\error.log" traceOutputOptions="ProcessID, DateTime">
            <filter type="System.Diagnostics.EventTypeFilter" initializeData="Information" />
        </add>
    </sharedListeners>
...
</system.diagnostics>

This creates a log file called error.log in the C:\Temp folder.

Format:

< add name="sourceSwitch" value="{setting}" >

Default:

Verbose

Purpose:

This setting specifies whether error logging is enabled. If sourceSwitch is not set to 'Off', the initializeData setting must contain a valid file path and name.

There are five valid settings for sourceSwitch:

  • Off, which disables error logging
  • Error, which turns on error-handling messages only
  • Warning, which enables Error and adds warning messages
  • Info, which enables Warning and adds informational messages
  • Verbose, which enables Info and adds tracing messages

Example:

<system.diagnostics>
    <switches>
        <add name="sourceSwitch" value="Off">
        ...

This means that no errors are logged, even if a file name has been specified with initializeData.

On UNIX, these settings are found in acserver.ini

These settings are found in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini.

Format:

DataVersion={Integer}

Default:

5

Purpose:

This setting appears in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini. It defines the version of Partner Sourced Data Server supports version 5 data only.

Example:

DataVersion=5

This specifies that your installation of the Partner sourced data server is able to process version 5 Partner sourced data server datasets.

Format:

DataDir={data file path}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This setting appears in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini. It defines the path containing the Partner Sourced datasets that you have installed. If you move your data you should update this setting.

Example:

DataDir=C:\Data

This tells Pro Web to look in C:\Data for Partner Sourced datasets.

Format:

InstalledData={ISO},{path}
+{ISO},{path}

Default:

Blank

Purpose:

This keyword lists the installed Partner Sourced dataset by its three letter identifier (the country ISO code) and location. These datasets are the ones installed by the setup program or copied across from the supplied data CDs/DVDs. If you wish to change or add to them, you should run the setup program again or copy them from the supplied medium.

This setting will override the DataDir setting.

If you have more than one dataset installed, the first dataset appears directly after the = sign and each subsequent dataset appears on a new line preceded by a + sign.

Example:

If you have installed the Bangladesh, Cambodia and Mongolia datasets in C:\Program Files\QAS\Data, this setting would appear as follows:

InstalledData=BGD, C:\Program Files\QAS\Data\
+KHM, C:\Program Files\QAS\Data\
+MNG, C:\Program Files\QAS\Data\

If you need to move one or more of your datasets, you should update this setting accordingly.

Format:

DataMappings={data mapping identifier},{description},{ISO}
+{data mapping identifier},{description},{ISO}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This setting appears in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini. It defines data identifiers and names for the Partner Sourced datasets you have installed. {data mapping identifier} can be any three-letter code you want to use to identify your data mapping. {description} can be any brief text description of your choice. {ISO} is the three-letter ISO code for the Partner Sourced dataset.

You should have a line for each Partner Sourced dataset you have installed in the location specified by the InstalledData setting. The first dataset appears directly after the = sign, and each subsequent dataset appears on a new line preceded by a + sign.

There are no additional datasets available for Partner Sourced datasets.

Example:

If you had the Italy, Greece and Portugal Partner Sourced datasets installed, this setting could appears as follows:

DataMappings=ITA,Italy,ITA
+GRC,Greece,GRC
+PRT,Portugal,PRT

Format:

UnlockCode={license key string}
+{license key string}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This setting must appear in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini. It specifies all the license keys for all your Partner Sourced dataset. Each {license key string} must exactly match the license key provided by Experian. Each license key should be entered on a separate line, with the second and subsequent license keys preceded by the "+" symbol.

Example:

If you have installed the UK, Australia and Netherlands datasets in C:\Program Files\QAS\Data, this setting would appear as follows:

UnlockCode=AZH1VQAF61FPYQ\VTW"EZUHME/D
+UCCTMZC=X7FY$M520TD$Z3$YD2N$
+XEYT=/=WSHMZ7$MYZAC8LS0FKRU/

These settings are found in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini.

Format:

VerificationLevels={string value}

Default:

Extended

Purpose:

This setting appears in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini. It specifies whether the extended verification match levels should be used. Extended verification match levels can only be returned when searching with Partner Sourced datasets.

{string value} is either "Extended" meaning all verification levels can be returned, or "Legacy" meaning a reduced set of verification levels should be used. Using the Legacy setting ensures integrations of previous versions of Pro Web will be compatible with Partner Sourced datasets.

Example:

VerificationLevels=Legacy

This setting specifies that the verification levels returned when searching with Partner Sourced datasets will compatible with integrations of previous versions of Pro Web.

Format:

SearchTermDelimiter={character}

Default:

,

Purpose:

This setting appears in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini, and is used to customise the API to use a different search term delimiter.

For example, you can set the premises entry line to be divided from the street entry line with a pipe (|) character. You should use a character that is unlikely to be returned within an address.

Example:

SearchTermDelimiter=|

Format:

MaxCachedMemory={Integer}

Default:

512

Purpose:

This setting appears in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini. It defines the maximum amount of physcial memory in MB that Pro Web can use to cache PArtner Sourced datasets.

You can specify which datasets should be full or partially cached with the FullPreloadCountries and PartialPreloadCountries settings. The minimum value you can specify with this setting is 16MB.

Example:

MaxCachedMemory=256

This setting specifies that no more than 256MB of memory should be used to cache Partner Sourced datasets.

Format:

FullPreloadCountries={ISO list}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This setting appears in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini. It defines the Partner Sourced datasets which should be fully loaded into RAM before any searches take place. {ISO list} is a comma separated list of the datasets to be fully cached.

You must have sufficient RAM to contain the datasets specified in this setting. Datasets are cached in the order they are specified in this setting. If there is insufficient RAM then not all the datasets will be cached. You can specify the amount of memory available for caching Partner Sourced datasets with the MaxCachedMemory setting.

Example:

FullPreloadCountries=ITA,PRT,AUT

This setting specifies that the Italy, Portugal and Austria datasets should be fully cached, in that order.

Format:

PartialPreloadCountries={ISO list}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This setting appears in the [QADefault] section of acserver.ini. It defines the Partner Sourced datasets which should be partially loaded into RAM before any searches take place. {ISO list} is a comma separated list of the datasets to be partially cached.

Partial preloading caches approximately 25% of the data files. You must have sufficient RAM to contain that proportion of the datasets specified in this setting. You can specify the amount of memory available for caching Partner Sourced datasets with the MaxCachedMemory setting.

Example:

PartialPreloadCountries=ITA,PRT,AUT

This setting specifies that the Italy, Portugal and Austria datasets should be partially cached, in that order.

Format:

MaxThreads={Integer}

Default:

10

Purpose:

This setting specifies the maximum number of search threads that can be simultaneously active. The upper limit of this setting is 32.

Note that a thread will only be required if an AddressObject is available for it.

Example:

MaxThreads=20

This setting allows searching to take place between up to 20 individual threads, if required.

Format:

AddressObjects={Integer}

Default:

10

Purpose:

This setting specifies the number of AddressObjects that can be simultaneously active.

An AddressObject is a single search process. When an address search is initiated, an AddressObject is created and then searched on by Pro Web. Search results are read from the same AddressObject.

When an AdressObject is no longer required, it is destroyed. If all AddressObjects are in use, further searching will not be possible. Therefore, this setting may need to be increased to accommodate exceptionally high levels of use.

The value of this setting should never be lower than MaxThreads.

Example:

AddressObjects=20

This setting allows for up to 20 search processes to take place simultaneously.

Format:

[identifier]PromptSet_{Name}=
+{Element},{Input field length},{ExtraInfo},{Label},{Example}
+{Element},{Input field length},{ExtraInfo},{Label},{Example}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This setting is used to define custom prompt sets for Partner Sourced datasets. Built-in prompt sets are also available, as documented in the Partner Sourced Datasets Data Guide.

[identifier] is an optional ISO code for a specific Partner Sourced dataset. If it is included, the prompt set will be used only with that dataset.

{Name} must be one of the standard prompt set names: OneLine, default, Generic, Optimal, Alternate, Alternate2, or Alternate3. You cannot create your own PromptSet names. Instead, you can define prompt sets to override the built-in sets.

Each subsequent line corresponds to a line of the prompt set, and must be preceded by the "+" symbol. Each line must contain the following, separated by commas:

  • {Element}, which specifies what the engine should expect as input. This can be either a single address element, or DeliveryAddressLine[N] representing line N of the default address layout (N should not be greater than 6).
  • {Input field length}, which is an integer suggesting the maximum number of characters which should be input for the element. This value can be used by your integration to size text boxes accordingly.
  • {ExtraInfo}, which specifies what format the engine should expect the Element to be in. If this is left blank, the default will be used.
  • {Label}, which can be used to give a title to a prompt line, for example "House Number and Street". If this is blank, no label will appear for that line.
  • {Example}, which is an optional field that can contain a textual example of the element.

Examples

Example 1:

PromptSet_Default=
+Building1,10,,,
+Street1,20,,,
+Locality1,80,,,
+Province1,80,,,
+PostalCode,30,,,
+Country,40,,,

This setting defines the Default prompt set. The allowed address elements are Building1, Street1, Locality1, Province1, PostalCode and Country elements, in that order. Field lengths are suggested as 10, 20, 80, 80, 30 and 40 characters respectively.

Although the ExtraInfo, Label and Example fields have not been specified, commas are still used to separate each field.

Example 2:

BRAPromptSet_Default=
+Building1,10,COMPLETE_WITH_SUBBUILDING, Building Number, 23
+Street1,20,COMPLETE,Mirante do Vale,Street
+Locality1,80,COMPLETE,Niteroi,Town
+Province1,80,COUNTRY_STANDARD,Rio de Janeiro,Province
+PostalCode,30,UNFORMATTED,CEP 29145-586,Post Code
+Country,40,NAME_EN,Brazil,Country

This setting is the same as the previous example, with the addition of optional elements specific to Brazilian addresses. As such, the BRA identifier has been prepended to restrict this prompt set to use with the Brazilian dataset.

Extra information has been specified for each element. For example, the Building1 field will accept a sub building if it is entered, and the Postalcode field will accept an entry without a hyphen or space.

Labels have been added to make some of the address elements clearer for untrained users, and example text is provided which corresponds to a Brazilian address.

These settings can be found in the individual address layout sections of acserver.ini.

Format:

UsedByIds={identifier list}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This setting appears in each section of acserver.ini that an address layout. It defines the list of data mappings that can use the address layout. {Identifier} list is either:

  • A comma separated list of one or more data mapping identifiers defined by the DataMappings setting
  • OR the value "All", which makes the layout available to all Partner Sourced dataset mappings

Example:

UsedByIds=ITA,PRT,AUT

This setting specifies that the Italy, Portugal and Austria datasets can use the address layout defined in this section of the acserver.ini file.

Format:

Comment={text string}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This optional setting appears within a layout section. It allows you to add a comment to the layout, which can be returned using the DoGetLayouts SOAP action.

Example:

Comment=Standard layout for Chinese addresses.

Format:

AddressLines={Integer}

Default:

None

Purpose:

This setting should be present in each section of acserver.ini that defines an address layout. It defines the number of address lines that make up the address layout. It defines the number of address lines that make up the address layout. There should be the same number of AddressLineN settings as you specify with this setting, including any lines of DataPlus information your layout should return.

Example:

AddressLines=6

This setting specifies that the address layout defined in this section consists of six lines.

Format:

[identifier]AddressLine[N]=W< width>,< element list>

Default:

NonBlank

Purpose:

This specifies which address element should appear on which line. You can add as many AddressLineN lines as you defined with the AddressLineCount keyword, each time replacing N with the appropriate line number. W signifies that the number that follows it is the maximum width of the line in characters, and < element list> is a comma separated list of dataset-specific element codes. By specifying an element code, you force Pro Web to place that element on that line (if the element exists in the matched address).

DataPlus elements are formed from the base name and the element name.

You can allow Pro Web to insert other suitable elements before, after or between fixed elements by using the format specifier ".."

Examples:

Example 1:

NLDAddressLine1=W40,S11,...

This instructs Pro Web to give line 1 of a Netherlands output address a maximum width of 40 characters. The street name is fixed to the line, and any subsequent elements can also appear on the line of they fit there.

Example 2:

AUSAddressLine6=W40,AUSMOS.Desc

This tells Pro Web to give line 6 of an Australian output address a maximum width of 40 characters, and fix the description part of the MOSAIC DataPlus set to it.

Certain DataPlus elements contain imputed information by default. An imputed field is one where data does not exist for all addresses. In this scenario, the gaps in the data are filled in (imputed) using neighbouring data. Alternatively you can specify that you do not want the data imputed.

For example:

Element Description
GBRWPT.Party Standard DataPlus item
GBRWPT.Party.NotImputed If there is no available value in the raw data for this DataPlus set for this address, this element will be blank
GBRWPT.Party.IsImputed The value of this item can be either Yes or No. If this item has been taken directly from the raw data, the value is No. Otherwise, the item has been imputed by Experian, and the value is Yes.

Format:

AllCapitalise={String value}

Default:

Unchanged

Purpose:

This setting defines the capitalisation of the address layout.

{String value} specifies the capitalisation option, and can take one of the following values:

Value Description
UCase Addresses will be returned in upper case.
LCase Addresses will be returned in lower case.
Mixed Addresses will be returned in title case, with the first letter of each word capitalised.
Unchanged Addresses will be returned exactly as stored in the data.

If the address is returned in any language other than its default, Capitalise is ignored.

Example:

AllCapitalise=UCase

This setting specifies that addresses should be returned in upper case for the address layout defined in this section.

|Element|Minimum Width|
|Postbox|20|
|Building|20|
|Street|20|
|Locality|15|
|PostalCode|5|
|Province|2|

Format:

ElementSeparator={character}

Default:

','

Purpose:

This keyword defines a character (or characters) that should be used to separate address elements that appear on the same line within a layout.

Any character or set of characters can be used. Note that a blank space always appears between address elements on the same line. Anything you specify with this setting will precede this space.

Example:

ElementSeparator=,

This setting specifies that any address elements which appear on the same line in this layout will be separated by a comma and a space.

Format:

GlobalCasing={String value}

Default:

NATIVE

Purpose:

This setting defines the capitalisation of address layouts.

If this setting is used in the [QADefault] section, it will become the default for all layouts. when used within a particular layout, its value will override the default for that layout only.

{string value} specifies the capitalisation option, and can take one of the following values:

Value Description
UPPER Addresses will be returned in upper case.
LOWER Addresses will be returned in lower case.
MIXED Addresses will be returned in title case, with the first letter of each word capitalised.
NOCHANGE Addresses will be returned exactly as stored in the data.
NATIVE Addresses will be returned in the standard format for their country.

Examples:

Example 1:

GlobalCasing=UPPER

When used within [QADefault] section, this setting speciffies that addresses should be returned in upper case by default.

Example 2:

GlobalCasing=LOWER

When used within a layout, this setting overrides the GlobalCasing setting in [QADefault] and specifies that this layout should be returned in lower case.

Format:

PreferredLanguage={String value}

Default:

DATABASE

Purpose:

This setting defines the language that should be used for the returned address.

{String value} specifies the form you want addresses to be returned in when using this layout. It can take one of the following values:

Value Description
DATABASE The default setting. Addresses will be returned in their native language. For example, Chinese addresses will be returned in Mandarin Chinese.
ENGLISH Addresses will be returned in English.
ALTERNATIVE_N Where N is between 1 and 3. With some datasets, addresses can be returned in up to three alternative languages (that is, languages other than the main official language and English). Where alternative language specified is not present in the data, the DATABASE language will be used instead.

Example:

PreferredLanguage=English

This setting specifies that addresses returned when using this layout should use English language equivalents for address elements, where available, and when not overridden by the PreferredScript setting.

Format:

PreferredScript={String value}

Default:

LATIN

Purpose:

This setting defines the character set that should be used to display the returned address. {String value} specifies the form you want addresses to be returned in when using this layout. It can take one of the following values:

Value Description
DATABASE The default setting. Addresses will be returned in their native language. For example, Chinese addresses will be returned in Chinese characters.
POSTAL_ADMIN_PREF Addresses will be returned in the script preferred by the local postal authority.
POSTAL_ADMIN_ALT Addresses will be returned in an alternative script, usually the local postal authority's secondary preference, where available.
LATIN The default setting. Addresses will be returned in a basic Latin character set.
LATIN_1 Addresses will be returned in the commonly used Latin-1 format, as defined by the ISO-8859-1 standard.
LATIN_ALT Addresses will be returned in an alternative form of the Latin character set which supports long marks, used by some Western languages.
ASCII_SIMPLIFIED Addresses will be returned in a basic ASCII character set.
ASCII_EXTENDED Addresses will be returned using extended ASCII characters, such as accents, where available.

Where it is not possible to use one of the above scripts for a given address, the LATIN script will be used instead.

Example:

PreferredScript=LATIN_1

This setting specifies that addresses returned when using this layout should use the Latin-1 character set, where available.