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Advanced Experian QAS API configuration

The following features are intended for use by advanced users of Experian QAS or OEDQ administrators only. These features involve editing the QAWorld.ini configuration file which is part of the QAS installation, and require some familiarity with customizing the Experian QAS Batch API.

Note that the OEDQ application service must be restarted on the server for these changes to take effect.

Creating your own layout

It is possible to create your own layout for use by the Experian QAS Batch API, for example to use the API with newly purchased data sets from Experian QAS, or to change the format in which addresses are returned by the API. The easiest method is to copy an existing layout found in the QAWorld.ini file and to edit the copy. Ensure the new layout has a new name, that the address line count matches the number of address lines specified, and the number of output attribute mappings match the number of address lines.

The number of address lines may be changed. This may either be because you want to output selected information only, or because you want to group address elements onto single lines. In the example, address elements P22, P21, P12 and P11 will be output on the same attribute. If a record has more that one of these address elements they will all appear in the same address line, for instance as 'Unit1, Cornwall House'.

See the Experian QAS Batch API documentation for the codes and meanings of the address line elements output by the API.

Example user created layout:

[GBR ADD STAND]

CountryBase=GBR

CleaningAction=Address

AddressLineCount=7

AddressLine1=W40,P22,P21,P12,P11

AddressLine2=W40,S11

AddressLine3=W40,L41

AddressLine4=W40,L31

AddressLine5=W40,L21

AddressLine6=W40,L11

AddressLine7=W40,C11

SeparateElements=Yes

ElementSeparator={, } C11{ ^ } P11{, ^ } P21{, ^ } X11{ ^ } A11{ ^ }

CapitaliseItem=L21

Results from example user created layout:

Using mixed international data

To use the Experian QAS API to check addresses in a mixed international data set against several national address files, you can either use the existing [ALL] layout in the QAWorld,ini file (to do this, simply remove the first character of each line from the [ALL] section), or you could create your own international layout.

For an international layout, the CountryBase line needs to list the 3-character ISO codes of the required countries:

[ALL]

CountryBase=NUL GBR DEU LUX ESP DNK NLD FRA

The use of the initial code 'NUL' has the following implications:

NUL used in CountryBase	ISO present on input row	Result	Uses of configuration
No	No	Uses first ISO code defined in the CountryBase	Where the data is largely from one country (which should be the first country listed), but there may be other country data in the dataset
No	Yes	Uses input ISO code
Yes	Yes	Uses input ISO code	For mixed international data, which has ISO country codes
Yes	No	OEDQ will not be able to find data for that country, MatchCode 'D' returned	For mixed international data, which has ISO country codes