0.    INTRODUCTION

       This specification provides the definition of the General
       purpose message (GENRAL) to be used in Electronic Data
       Interchange (EDI) between trading partners involved in
       administration, commerce and transport.

1.    SCOPE

1.1   Functional Definition

       A message to enable the transmission of textual information.

1.2   Field of Application

       The General purpose message may be used for both national and
       international trade. It is based on universal commercial
       practice and is not dependent on the type of business or
       industry.

1.3   Principles

       This message:
       - may be used to send general application support information
       to one or multiple addresses.
       
       - may be used to send required data for which there is no
       specific standard message.
       
       - MUST not be used as a substitute for an existing UNSM under
       development, under trial or at approved status. Nor should it
       be used to avoid the development of a more specific application
       message.
       
       - is not designed or intended to be used as a replacement for
       existing electronic mail systems.
       
       The GENRAL message was designed primarily to
       
       . facilitate early transmission testing between new EDI
       partners;
       
       . broadcasting of known problem areas to EDI partners;
       
       . transmission of text (preferably structured or coded) to
       supplement or further clarify previously transmitted EDI
       standard messages, e.g. to stress that provision data is for
       test purposes only contains known errors to test out error
       routines.
       
       . transmission of small amounts of structured text where no
       existing messages exist, e.g. computer listings.

2.    REFERENCES

       See UNTDID, Part 4, Chapter 2.6 UN/ECE UNSM - General Introduction,
       Section 1.

3.    TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

       See UNTDID, Part 4, Chapter 2.6 UN/ECE UNSM - General Introduction,
       Section 2.

4.    MESSAGE DEFINITION

       This section is provided to give clarification and further
       explanation to the usage of segments within the message
       structure.

4.1   Data Segment Clarification

       This section should be read in conjunction with the Branching
       Diagram and the Segment Table which indicate mandatory,
       conditional and repeating requirements.
       
       The following guidelines and principles apply to the whole
       message and are intended to facilitate the understanding and
       implementation of the message:
       
       All specified dates/times should be in the format
       'yymmdd'/'hhmm' unless all parties involved in the transaction
       agree that there is a functional requirement for an alternative
       format. Periods should be specified as whole numbers
       representing the required period as indicated in the format
       qualifier (weeks, months, etc.)
       
       Periods should be specified as whole numbers representing the
       required period as indicated in the format qualifier (weeks,
       months, etc.)
       
       Where a choice of code or text is given only the code element
       should be used wherever possible.
       
       Conditional data that is not required in the message should not
       be included.
       
       Care must be taken to ensure that the segment qualifier in
       dependent segments do not conflict with the segment qualifier
       of the trigger segment of a group.
       
       Free text information within the message should be avoided as
       this inhibits automatic processing.

   UNH, Message header
       A service segment starting and uniquely identifying a message.
       The message type code for the General purpose message is
       GENRAL.
       
       Note: General purpose messages conforming to this document must
       contain the following data in segment UNH, composite S009:

       Data element  0065 GENRAL
                     0052 D
                     0054 96B
                     0051 UN

   BGM, Beginning of message
       A segment to indicate the type and function of the GENRAL
       message and to transmit its unique identifying number.

   DTM, Date/time/period
       A segment specifying general dates, and when relevant, times
       related to the whole message.


   Segment group 1: RFF-DTM
       A group of segments giving references where necessary, their
       dates relating to the whole message, e.g. despatch advice,
       contract number.

      RFF, Reference
          A segment for referencing documents relating to the whole
          message, e.g. despatch advice, purchase orders, delivery
          instructions.

      DTM, Date/time/period
          Date/time/period as applied to the referenced document.


   Segment group 2: NAD-LOC-SG3-SG4
       A group of segments identifying names, addresses and locations,
       and referred documents relevant for the whole message.

      NAD, Name and address
          A segment for identifying name and addresses of a party and
          their functions relevant for the whole message.
          Identification of the sender and receiver parties are
          mandatory for the message.
          It is recommended that where possible only the coded form of
          the party ID should be specified.

      LOC, Place/location identification
          A segment indicating more details regarding specific
          place/location related to the party specified in the NAD
          segment, e.g. internal site/building number.


      Segment group 3: RFF-DTM
          A group of segments giving references only relevant to the
          specified party rather than to the whole message.

         RFF, Reference
             A segment for referencing documents relating to the party
             specified by the NAD segment.

         DTM, Date/time/period
             A segment for date/time/period as related to the referred
             document.


      Segment group 4: CTA-COM
          A group of segments giving contacts details of the specific
          person or department within the party identified in the NAD
          segment.

         CTA, Contact information
             A segment to identify the person, function, department to
             whom communication should be directed.

         COM, Communication contact
             A segment to identify communication types and numbers for
             person, function, department identified in CTA.


   Segment group 5: FTX-SG6
       A group of segments enabling the specification of the text and
       optionally, the identification of other parties or location to
       whom the information should be directed.

      FTX, Free text
          A segment to identify the text type and reason, and to
          specify the relevant agreed information.


      Segment group 6: NAD-LOC-SG7-SG8
          A group of segment allowing the specification of the name
          and address of a party, within the receiving party
          identified in the heading section, to whom the preceding
          text should be distributed. It also allows to specify the
          name and address of a party advised as copyreader of this
          text.

         NAD, Name and address
             A segment for identifying names and address.
             It is recommended that where possible the coded form of
             the party identifier should be specified.

         LOC, Place/location identification
             A segment indicating more details regarding specific
             place/location related to the party specified in the NAD
             segment, e.g. internal site/building number.


         Segment group 7: RFF-DTM
             A group of segments giving references only relevant to
             the specified party rather than the whole message.

            RFF, Reference
                A segment for referencing documents relating to the
                party specified by the NAD segment.

            DTM, Date/time/period
                A segment for date/time/period as related to the
                referenced document.


         Segment group 8: CTA-COM
             A group of segments giving contact details of the
             specific person or department within the party identified
             in the NAD segment.

            CTA, Contact information
                A segment to identify person, function, department to
                whom communication should be directed.

            COM, Communication contact
                A segment to identify communication types and numbers
                for person, function, department identified in CTA.

   UNT, Message trailer
       A service segment ending a message, giving the total number of
       segments in the message and the control reference number of the
       message.

4.2   Data segment index (Alphabetical sequence by tag)

          BGM Beginning of message
          COM Communication contact
          CTA Contact information
          DTM Date/time/period
          FTX Free text
          LOC Place/location identification
          NAD Name and address
          RFF Reference
          UNH Message header
          UNT Message trailer

Contents of GENRAL