File Finishing

Prerequisite: The Administrator responsible for creating file finishing remarks should be an expert in host PNR formatting or should know how to access the information on the host. The Travelport Admin Portal does not validate file finishing formatting against the host.

The File Finishing editor allows agency administrators to manipulate where data gets stored in the PNR/Booking File. File finishing is often used by mid- and back-offices for reporting purposes. Whatever data is in the Universal Record can be added to a PNR or Itinerary using file finishing strings. File finishing strings are applied when an agent completes a booking in Universal Desktop.

An example of a file finishing remark is when an agency wants a traveler's email address to display in the name field remarks. The File Finishing editor is used to create the mapping so that when an agent completes a booking, file finishing takes over and automatically sends the email address to the BF as the name field remarks.

Once a file finishing string is created, the following two conditions must exist before the string can be used:

Set as active must be checked on the General tab.
The file finishing string must be associated to a profile (see manage string assignments).

Notes:

The Clone button copies all data from current file finishing string (both rule and profile assignments) and places it in a new File Finishing Editor screen. The file finishing title is empty, but all other data is copied. The File Finishing data can then be deleted or modified then saved.
To apply file finishing to car and hotel segments, ensure that the Once per segment option is chosen (in the When to apply area) on the General tab.
If an agency is provisioned for multiple GDSs and the file finishing administrator has branch-level access, the administrator must emulate into the appropriate branch in order to create file finishing rules within a specific GDS. If the administrator has agency-level permissions, emulation is not required and file finishing rules can be assigned to the desired profile hierarchy.
For PNR Import (existing or new Universal Record), rules for New Booking are applied.

Create a File Finishing Remark

To create a file finishing remark, select the Editors menu, then select File Finishing, then select New String. The following tab is displayed.

Important: For file finishing rules that are part of the remark field and that require several rules to be applied in consecutive order, it is important that those rules are entered in consecutive order. File finishing rules are triggered in the order in which they are entered into the system.

The three tabs are used to define the file finishing remark.

General tab defines when the file finishing remark is used.
Model tab defines the file finishing rule (i.e., the information that is added to the PNR/BF).
Conditions tab defines the conditions under which the file finishing remark is added to a PNR/BF.

When the remark has been defined, assign it to one or more profile types.

General Tab

Enter a description of the remark.
Select a provider from the drop-down list. File finishing remarks are only applied to bookings made within the selected provider. If you want file finishing remarks created for bookings on both providers, you must add a file finishing remark for both.
Select the type of file finishing remark: PNR or Itinerary Segment. Itinerary Segments can be used to build a passive itinerary. Fields specific to the type selected display.

If PNR is selected as the file type, the following fields display on the right side of the page.

Select the PNR field that will be modified by file finishing.
Choose the supplier type that will trigger file finishing. If the remark is only applied when a specific supplier is booked (e.g., "Specified Airline"), enter the supplier code in the space provided. To enter multiple supplier codes, separate the codes using a semicolon.

If Itinerary Segment is selected as the file type, the following fields display on the right side of the page.

Select the Itinerary type that will be modified by file finishing.
Choose the supplier type that will trigger file finishing. If the remark is only applied when a specific supplier is booked (e.g., "Specified Airline"), enter the supplier code in the space provided. To enter multiple supplier codes, separate the codes using a semicolon.
Select the segment type. The segment type options available differ depending on the provider selected.
If Apollo is the selected provider, select a Status.
Select a city code. If Specific City is selected, enter the city code.
Select the Date. If Retention Date is selected, select a date.

Select the travel type that activates the file finishing string. Domestic means that the departure and arrival are the same country, and International means that the departure and arrival are in different countries.
Note: If the PNR has non-air only segments, the geo city code of the segments is compared against agency's branch country. If the countries are the same, then the PNR is considered Domestic. If the countries are different, then the PNR is considered International.
Select when the remarks are applied:

To every new PNR/BF means that the string is applied to every new PNR. Therefore, the string is not applied on PNR modify or cancel.
Note: Imported PNRs are treated as new PNRs.
Once per PNR/BF means that the string is applied to every new and imported PNR. The string cannot be reapplied to the same PNR.
Once per segment means that the string is applied every time a segment is changed (i.e., created, modified, imported, or canceled). For example, if a date is changed within a segment, the file finishing string is applied.
Note: To apply file finishing to car and hotel segments, ensure that the Once per segment option is chosen.

Select the Set as active option if you want the file finishing remark to be active immediately upon saving the remark. Until this option is selected, the file finishing string will not be used.
Select the Can only be changed by users with appropriate permissions option to restrict the users who can modify the remark.

Model Tab

The Model tab defines the information that is added to the PNR/BF. For examples of model tab entries, see Model Tab Examples.

Click the Model tab.
The list of available fields displays on the left. Browse the list for the field that you want to add to the PNR/BF.
Note: You can enter a search term and click the Apply Filter button to filter the list. The term you enter does not have to begin the field name. For example, if you enter "YYYY", any term with "YYYY" in the description displays in the filtered list.
From the list of fields on the left, select a field and drag it to the Assigned fields box on the right. When you click a field, the field does not change color or otherwise indicate that it is selected. You can also select a field and click Add.

See example.

To add freeform text, drag the Freeform Text field to the Assigned fields area. Then, highlight the Freeform Text field and click the Properties button. You can then enter the freeform text that you want added to the PNR/BF.

Special Characters:
The following special characters are allowed: * / : - @ . $ + #

The pillow character is entered using the open and close brackets together: []
For Galileo and Apollo, EndItem is entered using the plus sign: +
For Worldspan, EndItem is entered using the pound sign: #

To modify the assigned fields order, highlight the field and click the Move Up or Move Down button.
To delete a field, highlight the field and click the Delete button.
To see a preview of how the string is added to the PNR/BF, look at the String Preview area, which is below the Available fields list. This field displays the prefixes that correspond to the selections for provider, PNR/itinerary type, segment type, and status. Universal Record field names are specified within "%%".

See example.

Properties

If you highlight a field that is not a freeform text field, then click the Properties button, three options display:

Use the whole field indicates that the entire field is used.
Round to the nearest whole currency unit can be used to round money amounts.
Use only a specified portion of the field can be used to specify which part of the field should be used. For example, if you want to add a phone number into an OSI field, the way in which Travelport stores phone fields is different than what the OSI phone field expects. Travelport stores phones as a three-letter city code, followed by a one-letter phone type indicator, followed by an asterisk. However, OSI expects only numbers. Therefore, you can use the Use a specified portion option and indicate that the field should start from position 6 (three-letter city code, one-letter phone type, and asterisk take up the first 5 positions of the phone field).

Conditions Tab

The Conditions tab defines the conditions under which the file finishing remark is added to a PNR/BF. The conditions set below are in addition to the travel type condition set on the General tab.

For car and hotel file finishing remarks to be applied on a modify booking, in the General tab, select once per segment in the When to Apply area.

Click the Conditions tab.
Click the arrow to the left of a condition.

See example.
Click the + button to add a condition that must occur for the file finishing remark to be added to a PNR/BF.

See example.

All conditions added in the left column must occur before the remark is added to the PNR/BF.
Any one condition added in the right column must occur before the remark is added to the PNR/BF.
To remove a condition, click the - button.

Click the Save button.

Once the file finishing remark has been defined, assign the profile(s) to which the string is associated.

Waitlisting

The File Finishing Administrator can create a file finishing rule that applies to waitlisted segments. The Desktop currently supports waitlisted segments for Galileo and Apollo.

The following restrictions apply to a file finishing rule with a waitlist condition:

A waitlist condition cannot be combined with the PNR Field types Ticketing or SSR (on the General tab).
Waitlisting applies to air only for passive and active segments. ACH air is not included.
The field “When to Apply” on the General tab must be set to “Once per Segment”. If Once per Segment is not set, the file finishing rule will not be applied if the itinerary segment is modified.

Manage String Assignments

File finishing remarks must be associated to a profile type. File finishing can be assigned to any level of the hierarchy and can be assigned to multiple profiles.

Click the Manage string assignments link to the right of the string description.
Click the Find Profiles tab.
Browse or search for the profile to which this string will be assigned.

To search for a profile, ensure that the Search for profiles option is selected. Select the search criteria from the drop-down menu, then enter a search value.
Note: The asterisk character (*) can be used as a wildcard at the end of a search value.
To browse for a profile, select the Browse the profile hierarchy option. When browsing, click the name to move down the hierarchy. You can enter a filter term so that, as you browse the hierarchy, only those profiles that contain the filter are displayed.

Click the assign link to assign the file finishing string to the profile. The string can be assigned to multiple profiles.
When all assignments have been made, click the Set button.

Save the String

Once the string has been defined and assigned to a profile, click the Save button.

Open a File Finishing Remark

To open a file finishing remark, select the Editors menu, then select File Finishing, then select Open String. The search form displays.

To search for a string by name, enter a search term, then click Search. Entering the wildcard (*) alone returns all strings.
To browse the hierarchy, select the Browse the profile hierarchy option.

Select a string, then click Open. Once a string it opened, it can be edited by users with the appropriate permissions.

Modify the string as needed, then click Save.
To delete a string, click the Delete button.