ACES XML Validator A list of invalid applications is not an answer. A reason is.
Auto Plus, by Rivers Edge, includes an ACES XML validator that checks every application in a file against the current Vehicle Configuration Database (VCdb), the PCdb and the Qdb, and tells you in plain language why each invalid one failed. It reads ACES files from version 1.0 through 5.0.
A file can pass the schema and still be wrong.
A schema check answers one question: is this file built the way the ACES standard says a file must be built? It is a necessary test, and a generic XML tool can run it. It says nothing about the fitment inside.
The questions a receiver cares about are different. Does this base vehicle exist? Is this engine offered on it? Is the submodel still in the current release? Is the part type a real PCdb part type? Those answers live in the Auto Care reference databases, not in the schema, and they change with every release.
Auto Plus checks both: the structure of the file, and every application against the reference data you subscribe to.
Each failure comes with its cause.
Three examples of what the validator reports, and what the cataloger does next.
Invalid configuration
The mapped drive type is not valid with the selected base vehicle and engine. Remove the drive type, or keep only the base vehicles where that drive is offered.
Deprecated attribute
The mapped submodel is no longer in the current VCdb release for this base vehicle. Update it to a current equivalent, or remove it if the fitment does not need it.
Configuration mismatch
The mapped engine does not belong to the selected base vehicle. Check the engine against the base vehicle in the VCdb and correct the application.
From a rejected file to a clean one.
Import the file
Bring in ACES XML from any source. Each application is validated on the way in and lands in your Auto Plus database, where it can be reviewed and edited as records instead of raw XML.
Read the reasons
Every invalid application carries its own explanation, at the application level, not in a summary count.
Correct the fitment
Fix the attribute that caused the failure. The filters only offer configurations that are valid in the VCdb.
Export
Export ACES XML in versions 3.0 through 5.0, validated against the current VCdb and the ACES schema, with the Auto Care Brand ID header your receivers require. A normalized flat file is available too.
- Your reference data. Validation runs against the Auto Care databases you subscribe to, kept current on your own system.
- Your files stay with you. Auto Plus is installed on a Windows PC or server you already have. Nothing is uploaded to a website to be checked.
- The same check every time. Import profiles repeat the same intake and validation for files that arrive on a schedule.
- Nothing invented. What does not map to a valid application is reported. It is never made up to pass.
ACES validation questions.
What does an ACES XML validator check?
Two things. First, that the file follows the ACES schema. Second, that each application is real: the vehicle configuration exists in the current VCdb, the part type exists in the PCdb and the qualifiers exist in the Qdb. Auto Plus does both and explains each failure in plain language.
Which ACES versions can Auto Plus validate?
ACES files from version 1.0 through 5.0. Applications are checked against the current VCdb whatever version the file was written in.
Is this a free online ACES validator?
No. The validator is part of Auto Plus, which is installed on a Windows PC or server you already have. Your files are checked on your own system against your own Auto Care subscription. A demo with your own file shows what it finds.
Why did a file that was valid last month fail this month?
Usually because the VCdb changed. When a submodel is removed or a configuration changes in a new release, applications that mapped that attribute stop being valid even though the part still fits. Applications that carry more optional attributes than the fitment needs are the most exposed, which is why Auto Plus flags over-mapping as a warning before it becomes an invalid.
How do I view an ACES XML file?
Any text editor will open one, but an ACES file is coded: it holds ID numbers for vehicles, part types and qualifiers, not their names. To read it in plain terms the file has to be imported and validated against the reference databases. Auto Plus does that, so you review fitment by vehicle and part type name, and it can export the result as a normalized flat file.
Bring the file a receiver sent back.
Schedule a demo and watch Auto Plus validate your own ACES file, with the reason beside every invalid application.