Creating a new HL7 message

This tutorial explains how to create a new HL7 message with 7Edit.

Creating a new document

To create a new message:

• Select File | New from the main menu;
• Select the message version and type;
  
• Click OK

A new document with an empty message will be created.

Adding segments

Let's now add a PID (Patient Identification) segment to the message. Select an empty segment in the message structure, right-click on it to show a popup menu and then select "Add Segment".

The segment will be added to the message.

We may now add some fields to the segment. Expand the segment and select the PID-1 field as shown below:

Enter a field value and click OK.

The field will be added to the message with the specified value. Note that the required field delimiter placed automatically to separate the field from the segment name. 7Edit handles insertion of delimiters automatically, so you don't have to worry about that.

If you are familiar with the HL7 format, you can also edit a message directly by typing field values and delimiters. In this case the message structure updates automatically to reflect the changes.