EDI templates Last updated: 2026-11-10

Where the templates come from

The templates are the same on every plan. When you upgrade from Community, you change only the serial key, and your template projects stay as they are. The same classes parse, generate and validate. If a transaction is missing, ask for it. How a template describes a message is in Customize EDI guidelines.

Create the console

1. Create a console and add EdiFabric 11. Package targets are .NET 8, .NET 9, .NET 10, and .NET Framework 4.8.

   dotnet new console -n ReadX12
   cd ReadX12
   dotnet add package EdiFabric

   In Visual Studio the same install is Install-Package EdiFabric. Details are in Install EdiFabric.

2. Sign up for Community and copy the serial from Your account. How the three license calls differ is in Serial key authentication.
3. Replace Program.cs with the read below. Then download the templates and add them to a class library, as described in the next two sections.

using EdiFabric.Core.Model.Edi;
using EdiFabric.Framework.Readers;
using EdiFabric.Templates.X12004010;

License.EnsureToken("your-serial-key", seconds: 3600);

var x12File = File.OpenRead(@"C:\edi\PurchaseOrders.txt");

List<IEdiItem> ediItems;
using (var reader = new X12Reader(x12File, "ClassLibrary1",
    new X12ReaderSettings { ContinueOnError = true }))
{
    ediItems = reader.ReadToEnd().ToList();
}

var purchaseOrders = ediItems.OfType<TS850>();

X12Reader takes the stream and the assembly name of the class library that contains the templates. ContinueOnError keeps reading after a bad transaction. HIPAA files use the same X12Reader. EDIFACT, HL7 and NCPDP have their own readers, which take the assembly name the same way. License.EnsureToken works on every plan. Enterprise and Perpetual hosts that store offline tokens themselves call License.SetToken instead.

Download the C# templates

Every transaction in the EDI spec library has its template as C#, and you can download it with a free ediFabric account on the Community plan or a paid plan: sign in, accept the spec licence once, and download up to 50 specs a day. The specs the public examples use, such as the X12 850, 810 and 856 and the HIPAA 837P, are a free sample that downloads without signing in.

1. Open the EDI spec library, select the standard and version, for example X12 004010, and open the transaction, for example 850.

2. Under Download, select C# template. The ZIP has the transaction class, TS850, and a Common folder with the segments, composites and codes it needs.

   

Class names are TS plus the transaction id, in a namespace for the standard and version. An X12 4010 invoice is EdiFabric.Templates.X12004010.TS810, a HIPAA 5010 professional claim is EdiFabric.Templates.Hipaa5010.TS837P, and an EDIFACT D96A invoice is EdiFabric.Templates.EdifactD96A.TSINVOIC.

Add the templates to a class library

Put one version, or one partner, in one class library, and reference that library from the console.

1. Add a Class Library to the solution. Delete Class1.cs.

2. Install EdiFabric into that library.

   dotnet add package EdiFabric

3. On .NET Framework only, reference System.Runtime.Serialization and System.Xml.Serialization.

4. Unzip the download. Add the transaction file, for example EF_X12_004010_850.cs, and every file in its Common folder. Common is the five files ending in _Codes.cs, _ComplexElementInterfaces.cs, _ComplexElements.cs, _SegmentInterfaces.cs, and _Segments.cs.

   

5. Reference the class library from the console.

   

6. Pass the class library's assembly name to the reader. If the project is ClassLibrary1, that argument is "ClassLibrary1". It is the assembly name, not the namespace of TS850.

   using (var reader = new X12Reader(x12File, "ClassLibrary1",
       new X12ReaderSettings { ContinueOnError = true }))

At runtime you can load several template assemblies, or a C# type directly. The matching-templates section of Parse EDI files shows both.

Use a custom template

When a trading partner changes the standard, for example by making a segment mandatory, build the change in the EDI Spec Builder, which you use signed in to your free account:

1. Open the transaction in the EDI spec library and select Customize in Spec Builder. Name the copy, change it, and select Update. The steps are in Create and import EDI specs.

2. Select your spec in the EDI Spec Builder, open the ediFabric .NET tab, and select Download C#.

   

3. Add the file to its own class library, as in Add the templates to a class library, and pass that library's assembly name to the reader.

A custom template is one C# file, generated from the saved spec. It includes its own segments, composites and codes, so it doesn't need the common files. Its namespace is named after the spec, for example ENSAMPLEOPENEDI for EN_SAMPLE_OPENEDI. You can also change the C# of any template directly, as described in How to modify EDI templates.