Add or manage Message Type

Message Types are the foundation that enables format-independent search across your integration landscape. This guide shows you how to create, configure, and optimize Message Types to unlock powerful search capabilities.

What you'll achieve

• ✅ Create Message Types for XML, JSON, EDI, flat files, and custom formats
• ✅ Bind Search Field Expressions to extract searchable values from specific formats
• ✅ Configure retention policies for events, context, and message bodies
• ✅ Set the character encoding messages of this type use
• ✅ Document with custom fields and metadata for governance
• ✅ Analyze traffic patterns and endpoints for operational insights

Tip

New to Message Types? Read What is a Message Type? to understand how they enable cross-format search and correlation.

You can create a new Message Type, edit, or delete an existing one from the Message Types Overview.

A Message Type can have the following relationships:

• Custom Fields
• Services
• Custom Metadata

You will see the Search Field Expressions from user-defined Search Fields in read-only mode.

The General tab of a new Message Type, with Character encoding preset to UTF-8 (without BOM).

Basic data fields

• You must provide a unique Name to create the Message Type.
• Description: Optionally, add a user-friendly description.
• Web Site: Optionally, provide a quick link for end-users, such as a WIKI or SharePoint site with additional documentation.
• Character encoding: The character encoding that messages of this type use. The default is UTF-8 (without BOM). ^{New 7.11}

Character encoding

Select the Character encoding that messages of this Message Type normally arrive in. Nodinite reads the message bodies with it when they are processed, re-indexed, and viewed, when they are fed to Stylesheets, and as the default in the Search Field Wizard. ^{New 7.11}

The Character encoding dropdown. The Id next to each option is the numeric value you can also use in the ExtendedProperties/1.0#Encoding context property.

The Message Type setting is the lowest priority of four levels. The first level that holds a value wins:

Pick one of the supported encodings, such as UTF-8 (with BOM), UTF-16 (without BOM), Windows-1252, ISO-8859-1, or EBCDIC (IBM037). When the body is logged as Base64 text, pick the matching Base64 Decode into … option, for example Base64 Decode into UTF-8 (without BOM). The Character Encoding page lists every option.

Tip

When the same format arrives in a different encoding on one specific Endpoint, keep the common encoding here and override it on that Endpoint.

You can also set the encoding from DevOps pipelines with the Web API.

Remove old messages based on Message Type (Days to keep)

The Logging Service periodically removes old Events, Context, and Bodies.

• You define the retention period per Message Type.
• The system only removes logged events that are in the processed state.

This example shows how to manage retention for Message Types.

Days to keep Events

Set the number of days to keep events for a given Message Type. If you set the value to zero (0), the system removes events on the next cleanup run.
The 'Never remove Events' option keeps data in Nodinite forever.

When the system removes Log Events, it also deletes comments.

Days to keep Context

Set the number of days to keep context data for Log Events of a given Message Type. If you set the value to zero (0), the system removes context on the next cleanup run.
The 'Never remove Context' option keeps data in Nodinite forever.

This value cannot exceed the 'Days to keep Events'.

Days to keep Bodies

Set the number of days to keep bodies for events of a given Message Type. If you set the value to zero (0), the system removes bodies on the next cleanup run.
The 'Never remove Bodies' option keeps data in Nodinite forever.

This value cannot exceed the 'Days to keep Events'.

Visualization of the days to keep for events

The system bases the default values for a new Message Type on System Parameters from the configuration database:

• DaysToKeepMessageEventsDefault: Sets the default number of days to keep events. Deleting an event also deletes its data/body message. The system assigns this value to new message types as default. You must restart the Logging Service if you change this value.
• DaysToKeepMessageContextDefault: ^{New 5.3} Sets the default number of days to keep context for an event. The system assigns this value to new message types as default. You must restart the Logging Service if you change this value.
• DaysToKeepMessageDataDefault: Sets the default number of days to keep data in an event. The system assigns this value to new message types as default. You must restart the Logging Service if you change this value.

If you log too many Messages or Events, data searches may slow down.

Tip

Adjust these settings to fit your business needs. Only keep the data you need.

Custom Fields

As part of the Repository Model, you can add Custom Field values to provide additional documentation about your Message Type.

This example shows an assigned value from a Custom Field.

Services

The system lists Services associated with the Message Type. Click the link to go to the associated Service.

Search Field Expressions: The Binding That Powers Search

This is where the magic happens! Search Field Expressions are bound to Message Types to extract searchable values from your integration messages.

How the Binding Works

1. You create a Search Field (e.g., "Order Number")
2. You configure Search Field Expressions for that field—one per message format
3. Each expression is assigned to specific Message Types (e.g., XPath for XML types, RegEx for EDI types)
4. When messages arrive, the Logging Service evaluates only expressions matching the message's Message Type
5. Extracted values become searchable in Log Views

Example: One Search Field, Three Formats

A "Customer ID" Search Field might have:

• An XPath expression → Assigned to urn:schemas:orders:Order#Order (XML)
• A RegEx expression → Assigned to EDIFACT.ORDERS.D96A (EDI)
• A JSON Path expression → Assigned to https://api.orders.com/v1#Order (JSON)

All three extract the same business concept, but use format-specific techniques!

This section shows all Search Field Expressions bound to this Message Type (read-only view).

Manage Search Field Expressions

Click the Search Field name to navigate to its configuration, or go to Add or manage Search Field in Log Administration to create new bindings.

Learn more: Search Field Expressions Overview explains all 12 expression plugin types and when to use each.

Custom Metadata

As part of the Repository Model, you can add Custom Metadata to provide well-structured, additional documentation about the Message Type.

Statistics

Use perpetual Statistics to analyze traffic patterns for the selected Message Type. The statistics also show a list of tracked Endpoints on the Message Type.

This example shows the recorded traffic pattern and its known Endpoints on the selected Message Type.

Next Steps

Now that you've configured your Message Type:

• Add or manage Search Field – Bind Search Field Expressions to this Message Type
• Search Field Expressions Overview – Explore all 12 expression plugins (XPath, RegEx, JSON Path, etc.)
• Add or manage Service – Organize Message Types within Services
• Log Views – Use this Message Type to filter logs for specific teams
• Character Encoding – How the Message Type, Endpoint, and Log Event encodings work together

Understanding the Concepts

• Message Type Conceptual Overview – Understand how Message Types enable cross-format search
• What is a Search Field? – Learn how Search Fields extract business-critical values
• Repository Model – See how Message Types fit into the overall architecture

Related Topics

• Message Types Overview – Manage all Message Types and perform re-indexing
• Services – Group related Message Types together
• Systems – Document the systems that produce these messages
• Endpoints – View endpoints associated with this Message Type
• Logging Service – The engine that processes messages and extracts Search Field values