MakePO

The MakePO component generates a purchase order (PO) by merging the information on the order form with a purchase order template.

• Template File Name. Specifies the name of the file that provides the template for the purchase order. The template is usually a Microsoft® Visual Basic Scripting (VBS) file with a .txt extension. Either type the full path to the file, or click Browse to locate the file (Win32 only). For example:

  C:\Inetpub\Wwwroot\Market\config\PoMailtemplate.txt
  

• Script language for the template. Specifies the programming language used in the template. The default is VBScript.
• Output Property Name. The name of a field on the order form or Transport Dictionary to which the component writes the PO. The default is _po_text.
• Child Object Name. Applies only when Use Child Object is set. A child object is an object that is referenced by a name/value pair on the Transport Dictionary that is passed into the pipeline. The Child Object Name specifies the name of this name/value pair. In a CIP, the order form (business data object) from which MakePO generates the purchase order is a child object.
• Use Child Object. Specifies the source from which the component reads the purchase order information. Select this option when using a CIP, so that the component reads this information from the business data object specified by the Child Object Name field. Clear this check box when using an OPP, so that the component reads this information from the order form that is passed directly into the pipeline.

Remarks

MakePO can be used to dynamically generate a text entry on the OrderForm (usually a purchase order). The entry is generated from a template file similar to an ASP page. Like an ASP page, a MakePO template contains plain text interspersed with special tags containing script code. From within script, output can be achieved using PageGen.Print expression, or <%% = expression %%> similar to ASP's shortcut for Response.Write. The script language is configurable in the property page.

From within the MakePO template, the business object (OrderForm, dictionary, or child object) is exposed as an object with the name Items. The selected scripting language's library is also extended to include the members of this object as built-in properties, so referring to the business object's entries using the Items.xxx notation is optional. For this reason it is advisable to declare any temporary variables, so that they are not saved to the business object.

The following script is an example from the POMailTemplate.txt template, used by the MakePO component in the Purchase Order Submit stage of the SubmitViaMail.pcf pipeline for the Microsoft Market sample site:

Item Class:<%%= item.partclasscode %%>
#:<%%= item.partnumber %%>  
Qty:<%%= item.quantity %%>  
Cost:<%%= item.[_display_list_price] %%>    
Unit Code:<%%= item.unitcode %%>

The PO generated by MakePO can be saved to a file using the POToFile component.

Note  MakePO can not output variant subtype VT_DECIMAL. Any usage of decimal or currency in MakePO must be wrapped with a call to CStr, which properly coerces the value to a string. For example:
Requisition # <%% = CStr(RequisitionID) %%>

Related Topic

• Creating EDI messages with MakePO
• Using Mapping Components