Frequently Asked Questions

Direct+ APIs

Q: How many items will an array return?

A: The number of items in any given array can change depending on the source of the data. The best practice for customers is to code for N responses instead of a fixed number.

Identify

Q: What are the products supported by Extended Match?

A: Extended Match supports all the Direct+ Data Products that are currently available. For details on the products and their attributes, please refer to the documentation:

• Data Product: Analytics
• Data Product: Company Profile
• Data Product: Corporate Linkage

Q: How many records are returned by Multi-Process?

A: Multi-Process returns only one result, the best candidate, and if service=extmatch, appends the data product provided in the input.

Monitor

General

Q: What does the customer get when a new D-U-N-S Number® enters the Dun & Bradstreet Managed Universe?

A: When a D-U-N-S Number is added to a Universe, an ENTER notification is included as well as a SEED notification if the registration has seed file = Yes. For more information please see, D-U-N-S Number Status Types.

Q: What happens if the same D-U-N-S Number is registered twice?

A: An error will be included in the Exceptions file.

Q: Can one registration contain multiple products to be monitored?

A: No, each registration includes one product and a set of D-U-N-S Numbers (list or dynamic universe) to be monitored.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of registrations I can have?

A: There is no enforced limit. However, if there are multiple registrations for the same Product, there must be a valid reason. Registrations can be created temporarily for testing, but must be deleted once testing is completed.

Notifications

Q: Is there a maximum amount of time notifications can be suppressed?

A: The Suppress function is intended for short-term use. Dun & Bradstreet recommends notifications be suppressed for no more than a month. Instead of leaving notifications suppressed, the registration should be deleted and re-created when content can be consumed again. Dun & Bradstreet will be enforcing this policy by contacting customers with suppressed notifications.

Q: When a customer stops notification delivery and then starts it again will they receive all the changes from the time the delivery stopped?

A: Customers will receive a single set of changes where the previous value is the last value delivered before the notifications were suppressed, and the current value is the value of the last change before the notifications are delivered.

Q: What if a customer's infrastructure goes down; is there a way to pick up missed notifications?

A: This depends on the delivery method and length of down time.

• For STP delivery, files are held for 15 days. If there is a problem longer than that the customer should contact a Dun & Bradstreet representative for guidance.
• For S3 the length of time the file remains is based on the configuration (the customer owns the location).

If too much time has passed, the customer may need to request a new seed file.

Q: Are daily changes for a given D-U-N-S Number aggregated, or will a D-U-N-S Number be listed separately in many change notifications for a day?

A: All changes that occur in a single day for DAILY registrations are aggregated into a single DUNS record. A single D-U-N-S Number may appear more than once in a single notification file. Most often this is because the D-U-N-S Number has status changes as well as content changes.
Note that it is also possible for the same D-U-N-S Number to have more than one UPDATE notification under some circumstances, for example, when notifications are held by Dun & Bradstreet during a maintenance period. All notifications for a single D-U-N-S Number are in the same notification file and grouped together (ordered by date and time in ascending order).

Q: Will the same D-U-N-S Number ever have multiple UPDATEs in the same delivery window?

A: While it is unlikely, it is possible that the same D-U-N-S Number will have more than one UPDATE notification in a single package (file or messages).

Q: What is the difference between cumulative updates received after maintenance window and those received when notifications are unsuppressed??

A: When registration notifications are suppressed, the system aggregates the changes for each day into a single UPDATE notification. The previous value is the last value delivered before the notifications were suppressed and the current value is the value of the last change before the notifications are delivered.
When notifications are suspended during a maintenance window, the updates are individually collected and all are sent when delivery resumes. This provides you with all the interim changes that occurred during the maintenance window.

Q: If a single monitoring notification file has multiple updates for the same D-U-N-S Number, how do I make sure I get latest information?

Notifications are grouped by D-U-N-S Number and sorted in ascending order, so process notifications in order, top to bottom, and your data will be correct.

Q: What happens to Monitoring Registrations if a customer contract expires?

Notifications are suppressed for 31 days. If the contract has not been renewed, the Registration is deleted.

Q: What happens when new elements are added to an existing product?

A: If the content is new to Direct+, notifications are created for those elements since the loading of values occurs after the element is added to the product. However, if content already exists in the Direct+ system and is later added to a product, it is not considered a value change and does not trigger a notification. In such cases, customers will need to re-seed to get the new elements. Release communications and change history will include the necessary information on new elements.

Q: What happens when elements are removed from an existing product?

A: If an element is removed from a product, it is considered a breaking change and the product is versioned. There is no impact to the current version. To monitor the new version, a new registration must be created. Please see the Using Direct+ APIs page for more information on versioning.

Q: What happens if elements are "retired" (e.g., Fax Number)?

A: As long as the path is still part of the product, notification still apply. If the value becomes null, a notification is triggered. If a path is completely removed from the product, it is versioned. There is no impact on the current version. To monitor the new version, a new registration must be created. Please see the Using Direct+ APIs page for more information on versioning.