ACES and PIES XML Flattener ACES XML is written in ID numbers. People read names.
Auto Plus, by Rivers Edge, works as an ACES and PIES XML flattener: it imports the XML, validates it against the Auto Care reference databases, and exports it as a normalized flat file you can open in a spreadsheet.
A text editor opens it. It does not explain it.
An ACES file is coded. Where you expect a vehicle, there is the ID of a base vehicle. Where you expect an engine or a part type, there is another ID. The names those numbers stand for are not in it. They are in the Auto Care reference databases.
That is why pulling the XML apart into columns is not enough. A row of ID numbers in a spreadsheet is no easier to read than the XML it came from. To see the catalog in plain terms it has to be imported and checked against the reference data, so each ID is matched to what it means.
PIES has the same shape: one product is spread across many nested segments, and its part types and attributes are IDs too.
Three reasons to flatten a catalog.
To see what you were sent
A supplier or a repository sends a catalog. Before it goes anywhere, someone needs to read what is actually in it.
To review it with other people
Product managers and sales teams work in spreadsheets. A flat file puts the catalog in front of the people who know the parts.
To find what is wrong
Because everything is validated on the way in, the invalid applications and records are identified before the export is produced.
Import, validate, export.
Import
Bring in the ACES or PIES file. The data lands in your Auto Plus database.
Validate it
Each application and record is checked against the reference databases, which is also what turns its IDs into names.
Export the flat file
Export a normalized flat-file version, or export the standard format again in the version a trading partner asks for.
- Both directions. The same system maps flat files into the standards and exports them for trading partners.
- On your own system. Auto Plus is installed on a Windows PC or server you already have. Your catalog is not uploaded to a website to be converted.
- Your own subscription. The names come from the Auto Care reference databases you subscribe to.
XML flattening questions.
What is an ACES and PIES XML flattener?
A tool that turns a nested ACES or PIES XML file into a flat file of rows and columns. Auto Plus imports the XML, validates it against the Auto Care reference databases and exports a normalized flat-file version.
Why can I not just open an ACES file in Excel?
You can, but it is coded. It carries ID numbers for vehicles, part types and qualifiers, and the names are held in the reference databases, not in the file. It has to be imported and validated before it reads in plain terms.
Which versions can be exported?
Auto Plus exports ACES XML in versions 3.0 through 5.0 and PIES XML in versions 7.0 through 8.0, as well as normalized flat-file versions.
Is this a free online converter?
No. It is part of Auto Plus, which is installed on a Windows PC or server you already have and works against your own Auto Care subscription. A demo with your own data shows the result.
Bring an XML file nobody can read.
Schedule a demo and see your own ACES or PIES catalog imported, validated and exported flat.