FASTPOST Settings
KEY VALUE	What it does ...
FASTPOST-SKIP-LENGTH-TEST	Valid settings are Y or N. During entry of FASTPOST transactions, the system can verify that you have entered the proper number of characters in the scan line entry field. If all your scan lines are the same length it is usually a good idea to have the program verify that the required # of digits have been entered. However, in some cases, the scan lines are variable length. In these cases, you need to set this value to Y so that it will not reject a scan line that does not have the number of characters defined in the scan line pattern linked to the individual FASTPOST types you have defined in the FASTPOST table. There is also a checkbox on the FASTPOST entry screen that allows you to turn this feature on or off on a temporary basis.
FASTPOST-PERMIT-USER-BATCH-NUMBER	Each FASTPOST batch is assigned a batch number. If you want the user to be able to enter this value, as opposed to having the system automatically assign the next available batch number manually, set this value to Y. The default value is N
FASTPOST-LOOKUP-VALIDATE-TABLE-xx	If you need the FASTPOST program to validate the entered account numbers against a list of entries in a database table, this entry needs to be established to tell the program which table to use. In the key value, the last few characters (xx) in the sample key to the left) are tied to the FASTPOSTKEY value which is set up in the FASTPOST table. For example, in the FASTPOST table, you may have an entry set up for UB ... for utility billing, and wish to validate the entered accounts against the data in the LOOKUP_UBtable. So, the key value would be FASTPOST-LOOKUP-VALIDATE-TABLE-UB, and the text value would be LOOKUP_UB. There are additional settings (described in the next few entries) required to tell the program what column information is to be used and retrieved once the account number is entered. If no validation is required, set this value to NONE. This is the default setting.
FASTPOST-LOOKUP-VALIDATE-COL-xx	If there is a FASTPOST-LOOKUP-VALIDATE-TABLE-xx setting that has a valid table name defined (as opposed to a setting of NONE) then this setting is used to tell the program what column in the lookup table to use to compare against the entered account number. For example, if your lookup_ub table has a column named ACCOUNT that would likely be the validation column you'd want to use to verify that the entered number is a valid one.
FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-AMOUNT-xx	This setting tells the program which column to bring back as the transaction amount from the lookup table. It would typically have a value such as AMOUNTDUE. The exact setting will vary depending on what the column name is set to in your LOOKUP_xx table.
FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-DELIM-xx	You use this value to define a delimiter that will be placed between each of the fields that will be returned to the FASTPOST screen. The default value is |=|. The purpose of this is to make it clear where one field ends and the next one starts. So for example, if the system is set to return the Account and Address the data would appear on the FASTPOST screen as 12345678|=|1234 smith street
FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-1-xx thru FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-5-xx	The program can bring back up to 5 reference columns in addition to the amount. If the individual FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-n-xx columns are set to NONE that value is ignored. If they are set to a valid column name (must exist in the lookup table) then that value will be added to a return value comprised of all the valid column names specified, delimited by the field delimiter value. For example you might have an ACCOUNTNUMBER, NAME, and ADDRESS fields in the lookup table. To include these columns in the return value you'd use these values: FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-1-xx setting = accountname FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-2-xx setting = name FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-3-xx setting = address FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-4-xx setting = none FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-5-xx setting = none The returned value would look like this: 12345678|=|smith james|=|1234 smith street It the settings are in a different order .... FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-1-xx setting = accountname FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-2-xx setting = address FASTPOST-LOOKUP-RETURN-COL-3-xx setting = name The returned value would then look like this: 12345678|=|1234 smith street|=|smith james