It appears that FME automations run workspaces as the last user to edit the automation, not the automation owner or the workspace owner.
Is there a way to identify the last user to edit an automation and where that differs from the automation owner?
I can't see anything within the interface, or returned as automation information via the API
(FME Server 2021)
I can confirm that what you're seeing is also happening in FME Flow 2023
I can confirm that what you're seeing is also happening in FME Flow 2023
And there's no way to see that the automation was last edited by someone other than the owner?
And there's no way to see that the automation was last edited by someone other than the owner?
No, it's still listed as owned by the original creator of the automation.
The only thing you can do is retrieve the username and sourceName from the completed job via the Rest API, then retrieve the full list of automations, match that with the sourceName to get the owner of the automation and see if that is different from the job's username.
As @Hans van der Maarel suggested there is currently no way to differentiate who last edited an automation vs. who created it apart from using the Rest API and comparing the values.
This would be a great enhancement though, and I recommend filing an Idea to garner community support! Many of our features and enhancements come from these ideas!
So if the user that last edited an FME automation is removed, who is the automation run as? Would it fail?
So if the user that last edited an FME automation is removed, who is the automation run as? Would it fail?
It fails! There's an error in the automation's log that says that the original (now deleted) user does not have run permission for the repository the workspace is coming from.
If I then recreate that user (same username and permissions) the automation magically works just fine again.
When deleting that user I did specifcy that ownership of all items would have to be transferred to another account, but apparently this does not happen. Also, at no point is it visible that that user has anything to do with the automation.
It fails! There's an error in the automation's log that says that the original (now deleted) user does not have run permission for the repository the workspace is coming from.
If I then recreate that user (same username and permissions) the automation magically works just fine again.
When deleting that user I did specifcy that ownership of all items would have to be transferred to another account, but apparently this does not happen. Also, at no point is it visible that that user has anything to do with the automation.
Ouch!
It fails! There's an error in the automation's log that says that the original (now deleted) user does not have run permission for the repository the workspace is coming from.
If I then recreate that user (same username and permissions) the automation magically works just fine again.
When deleting that user I did specifcy that ownership of all items would have to be transferred to another account, but apparently this does not happen. Also, at no point is it visible that that user has anything to do with the automation.
Yes! Presumably this would also apply in case the user is still present but with reduced permissions.
@katebrillinger I think a bug report is in order here, can you file one? The crux of the issue seems to be that the last user to edit an automation is the one that is used to run any workspaces in the automation, but other than the job history page there is no indication that this is the case. Removing the user or changing permissions results in errors.
It fails! There's an error in the automation's log that says that the original (now deleted) user does not have run permission for the repository the workspace is coming from.
If I then recreate that user (same username and permissions) the automation magically works just fine again.
When deleting that user I did specifcy that ownership of all items would have to be transferred to another account, but apparently this does not happen. Also, at no point is it visible that that user has anything to do with the automation.
Yes I will definitely dig into this more and get something filed as I am noticing the same behaviour on my end!
It fails! There's an error in the automation's log that says that the original (now deleted) user does not have run permission for the repository the workspace is coming from.
If I then recreate that user (same username and permissions) the automation magically works just fine again.
When deleting that user I did specifcy that ownership of all items would have to be transferred to another account, but apparently this does not happen. Also, at no point is it visible that that user has anything to do with the automation.
I have filed this with our team for their review. For internal reference purposes, the ticket is sFMEFLOW-21301]