Text Return Messages - Type 600

Text Return Messages

(Type 600)

Text return messages are obtained by QTRACS as a result of periodic polling of the NMC by the Communications Manager process. Each of them is delivered to the appropriate external application via this Text Return Message transaction.

There are two kinds of text return messages that may originate from vehicles. If the vehicle operator used the REPLY key to create the return message, then the return message is said to be a reply message. Or, if the vehicle operator used the CREATE MESSAGE key to create the return message, then the return message is said to be an unsolicited return message.

In the case of unsolicited return messages, the QTRACS/400 Router writes the message into the message database with the destination being the dispatcher(s) of the vehicle that originated the message. The decision to route an unsolicited message to an application's input queue is based on the setting of the external application link attribute(s) of the macro template used in the return message.

In the case of a reply message, the QTRACS/400 Router routes the return message by searching for the original (forward) message to which this return message is a reply. The reply is routed to the external application, a user, or a group of users based on the source of the original forward message and the reply indicator of the forward message. In cases where the source was an application, the reply is written into the QTRACS database as a message addressed to the application.

Text Return Message transaction format

From	To	Size	Type	Field Description
1	5	9	Packed	Global Message Handle
6	8	3	Character	Transaction Type = 600
9	9	1	Character	Source Entity Type
10	19	10	Character	Source Entity Identifier
20	24	9	Packed	Forward Global Message Handle
25	25	1	Character	Trip Status
26	26	1	Character	Return Message Priority
27	30	7	Packed	Mobile Firmware Version Number
31	31	1	Binary	Mobile Feature Enable Indicators
32	32	1	Character	QMASS Copy
33	42	10	Character	QMASS Auxiliary ID of Owner
43	73	31	Character	QMASS Return Auxiliary ID String
74	80	13	Packed	Message Received @ Host Time
81	173	93	Character	Reserved - returned as blanks
174	176	3	Zoned	Macro Template Number
177	179	3	Zoned	Macro Template Version
180	186	13	Packed	Message Time
187	190	4	Zoned	Message Length
191	2090	1900	Character	Message Body

Text Return Message transaction field descriptions

Field	Description
Global Message Handle	This packed decimal field contains the global message handle. The global message handle (GMH) is a universal handle that can be used to reference a specific message. Each return message is assigned a global message handle by QTRACS.
Transaction Type	This is the code that identifies the transaction as a text return message. It is a 3-character numeric field that will be set to 600.
Source Entity Type	This is a one-character code that identifies the source type of the message; where:
Source Entity Identifier	This is the 10-character source identifier. It identifies the source of the message, which will be a vehicle.
Forward Global Message Handle	This packed decimal field contains the global message handle (GMH) of the forward message to which this return message is a reply. This field is set whenever the vehicle operator uses the REPLY key to respond to a message. This field is set to zero if the return message is an unsolicited message (the CREATE MESSAGE key was used).
Trip Status	This 1-character field indicates the state of the vehicle's trip status, where:
Return Message Priority	This is the priority of the return message; where:
Mobile Firmware Version Number	This 7-digit packed decimal field contains the firmware version number of the vehicle that returned this binary message. This field should be ignored if the source of this message is an auxiliary vehicle (Source Entity Type = 'T'). The field will contain zeros in that case.
Mobile Feature Enable Indicators	This 8-bit byte contains the feature indicators for the vehicle as follows:
QMASS Copy	This single byte character value indicates whether this is an original message sent from the vehicle or a copy of the message; where:
QMASS Auxiliary ID of Owner	This 10-character field contains the QTRACS auxiliary identifier of the owner of the vehicle.
QMASS Return Auxiliary String	This 31-character string contains the text included in routed return messages from the vehicle to the auxiliary account. This text is specified by the owner of the vehicle at the time the vehicle is made available through QMASS.
Message Received @ Host Time	This 13-digit packed decimal numeric field contains the time and date that the QTRACS host receives the message. This field is in the QTRACS GMT seconds format and may be converted for display using the QTRACS date/time APIs.
Macro Template Number	If the return message is a macro message, then this field contains the macro number of the return macro template for this message. Otherwise, this field is set to zero.
Macro Template Version Number	If the return message is a macro message, then this field contains the version number of the return macro template. Otherwise, this field is set to zero.
Message Time	This is a 13-digit packed decimal numeric field that contains a time and date. If the message originated from a MCT-equipped vehicle this is the moment that the NMC received the message. If the message originated from a TMCT-equipped vehicle this is the moment the message was sent.
Length	This is the length (in bytes) of the message as it is stored in the message body field.
Message Body	This field contains the body of the message. It is a variable length field. The length of the field (in characters) is indicated in the message length field described above. The format of the message body depends on whether or not the message is a macro message or a free-form message. The contents and the format of the message body will vary if the macro contains any of the auto-filled typed fields 25 through 30 and the MCT Firmware version is < 10.83.