Pattern Properties

In this document, we will discuss the various properties of Pattern in Astera.

What is a Pattern?

A Pattern is a logic or rule based on which we define data regions. You can specify a pattern that Astera matches on the unstructured data file to capture data into a structured format. A pattern can be an alphabet, a character, number, word or a combination of these.

Specifying a Pattern

We specify a pattern in the pattern box right above Report Model designer.

Astera has built-in wild cards to facilitate region selection. These wildcards are found in the toolbar at the top of Report Model designer.

A short description of each wildcard is given below:

Wild Cards	Description
Ã	It matches any alphabet on the file.
Ñ	It matches any digit on the file.
Æ	It matches any alphabet or digit on the file.
Ø	It matches any non-blank character on the file.
ß	It matches any blank character such as line, space, tab etc. on the file.

You can specify up to five patterns at a time in a report model. This is done by increasing the Pattern Count option placed in the Region Properties panel at the top.

You can learn more about how the Pattern Count works by clicking here.

Pattern Properties Panel

There is a Pattern Properties panel on top of the Report Model designer.

Let’s discuss the options available on this panel:

• Case Sensitive Pattern Match: This option matches the data on a case-sensitive basis. For example, “Account” and “account” will be treated as two different patterns by Astera if the checkbox is enabled for Case Sensitive Pattern Match.

• Apply Pattern to Line: This option is useful when the specified pattern does not capture the first line of the desired data region. Simply put, when there is some information above the pattern keyword then we increase Apply Pattern to Line from 0.

You can learn more about how the Apply Pattern to Line option works by clicking here.

• Pattern is a Regular Expression: It directs Astera to read the specified pattern as a regular expression. A regular expression is a special text string used to describe a search pattern. You can think of regular expressions as wildcards. You are probably familiar with wildcard notations such as *.txt to find all text files in a file manager.

You can learn how the Pattern is a Regular Expression option works by clicking here.

• Floating Pattern: A floating field pertains to data points that appear in various locations throughout your report. The Floating Pattern option within the Report Model component allows you to capture each data field no matter the location. With this option, you must first specify a pattern. Once the Floating Pattern option is selected, it will capture all the lines that match the specified pattern.

• Float Fields: The Float Fields option will automatically appear to the right of the Floating Pattern option once selected. The Float Fields option ensures that the line spacing also floats and is based on the line used to capture the first field. This is checked by default but can also be unchecked if you’d like the field position to be fixed.

You can learn more about the usage of Floating Pattern and Float Fields here.