Skip to main content
Solved

Extract attribute names and values from a list

  • February 26, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 99 views
mickbreen
Contributor
Forum|alt.badge.img+1

Hi FME gurus.

 

I am trying to extract values from a list to populate columns with the associated values in the fields.

 

 

In my list (called _columns) I have a caption field which has the name of the column I want to create and the date value I want to populate into the field so the example I have in the screenshot I want to look like this:

 

Application ID Last Inspection Next Inspn Due
648343 2025-06-23 2026-06-16
15456.. 2025…. 2026….

 

The list exploding only brings out the name of the original column ‘caption’ but I am looking to use the values in the list itself to build the attributes and populate the values.

 

There are records with more than 2 elements in the list and I still will need to figure out how to expose the attributes (schema scanner?) once it is done but this is the first step.

 

Any suggestions would be amazing, Thank you.

Michael.

Best answer by desiree_at_safe

Hi ​@mickbreen! It sounds like you’ll need to dynamically create attributes.

There are a few ways to do this in FME. One way would be to use an AttributeCreator after exploding the list. The values in CAPTION would be new Output Attribute and your date value would be the new attribute’s value.

 

After you can then clean up the workspace to get something similar to the table you showed. 


Alternatively, you could also use an XQuery expression. Here’s a workspace that should help! 🙂

    5 replies

    desiree_at_safe
    Safer
    Forum|alt.badge.img+20

    Hi ​@mickbreen! It sounds like you’ll need to dynamically create attributes.

    There are a few ways to do this in FME. One way would be to use an AttributeCreator after exploding the list. The values in CAPTION would be new Output Attribute and your date value would be the new attribute’s value.

     

    After you can then clean up the workspace to get something similar to the table you showed. 


    Alternatively, you could also use an XQuery expression. Here’s a workspace that should help! 🙂

    Happy FME-ing!
      geomancer
      Evangelist
      Forum|alt.badge.img+63
      • geomancerEvangelist
      • Evangelist
      • March 3, 2026

      You can also use transformer ListKeyValuePairExtractor from FME Hub, followed by an AttributeExposer.

       

      danilo_fme
      Celebrity
      Forum|alt.badge.img+54
      • danilo_fmeCelebrity
      • Celebrity
      • March 3, 2026

      Hi ​@mickbreen! It sounds like you’ll need to dynamically create attributes.

      There are a few ways to do this in FME. One way would be to use an AttributeCreator after exploding the list. The values in CAPTION would be new Output Attribute and your date value would be the new attribute’s value.

       

      After you can then clean up the workspace to get something similar to the table you showed. 


      Alternatively, you could also use an XQuery expression. Here’s a workspace that should help! 🙂

      Excellent answer ​@desiree_at_safe 

      Partner Solutial Brazil - www.solutial.com.br
        mickbreen
        Contributor
        Forum|alt.badge.img+1
        • mickbreenContributor
        • Author
        • Contributor
        • March 6, 2026

        Hi ​@mickbreen! It sounds like you’ll need to dynamically create attributes.

        There are a few ways to do this in FME. One way would be to use an AttributeCreator after exploding the list. The values in CAPTION would be new Output Attribute and your date value would be the new attribute’s value.

         

        After you can then clean up the workspace to get something similar to the table you showed. 


        Alternatively, you could also use an XQuery expression. Here’s a workspace that should help! 🙂

        Thank you ​@desiree_at_safe that had been evading me for a while but we now have it up and running.

        My next challenge is to dynamically expose the attributes the list generates but that may be for another day as this works for what we need.

        Thank you again.

        Michael.

        desiree_at_safe
        Safer
        Forum|alt.badge.img+20

        Glad that's working! The next part is a bit trickier; “dynamically exposing attributes” depends a lot on what you're ultimately trying to do with them.

        A few things that might help, depending on your use case: the AttributeExposer, which can expose attributes from a feature cache, and if you're writing output, dynamic workflows should help. If those don't fit, there should be Python-based approaches too, but it's really case-by-case.

        What's the end goal? Are you writing to a file, passing attributes downstream to another transformer, or something else? 

        Happy FME-ing!

        Community Stats

        32,386
        Posts
        123,082
        Replies
        40,472
        Members
        Terms & ConditionsCookie settingsAccessibility statement
        A product of
        Safe Software respectfully acknowledges that we live, learn and work on the traditional and unceded territories of the Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo First Nations.