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Control Segments
To allow transaction sets of different types to be transmitted from one party to another in the same transmission, a hierarchical structure of headers and trailers allows the data to be segregated logically for easy interpretation by the receiver.
Transaction sets begin with an "ST" header and end with an "SE" trailer. Several transaction sets of the same type may be "functionally grouped" together by beginning such a group with a "GS" header and ending the group with a "GE" trailer. One or more functional groups are bound together for transmission within an interchange "envelope" made up of an "ISA" header and an "IEA" trailer.
The structures of the transaction set and functional group headers and trailers are found in the Segment Directory.
The structures of the interchange control header and trailer are found in the Interchange Control Structure standard (dpANS X12.5 - 1989).
The following schematic illustrates a typical format for electronically transmitting a series of diverse business transactions.
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