Data

Every night I update a bunch of MapInfo Tab-files, using FME Desctop.  My Issue: When no features enter the writer to a specific feature type, no update is made to that file. The old content remains. No features to the writer, indicates that I need the resulting file to be empty, rather than containing yesterdays data.  The MapInfo write has no "Truncate first" option, witch would help me out here...

I accidentally noticed that FME automatically reads the projection system for DWG files when a PRJ file (created using ArcGIS) with the same name as the DWG file is present in the same folder. Initially I thought that FME can now read projection system from DWG files. But when noticed that the projection system was incorrect and further investigating the issue, found FME reading the projection system from a PRJ file which is part of SHP files created using ArcGIS with the same file name as the DWG. This was notice is FME 2012 SP4 as well the latest BETA build of FME 2013. Has anyone noticed this problem? However this is not happening with DGN files for me! Regards SRG 

Removing FFS extended dataset files from the directory '' left no remaining datasets likely due to naming conflicts. Try renaming the source dataset files to avoid names like <basename>_<number>.ffs to avoid conflicts. Note that the FFS reader is sensitive to all files in the source directory and not just the selected files  Not sure how to solve this. I have split the 500 files into 5 subfolders with 100 files in each, and that seems to solve the problem. Is the problem the number of files selected per Reader? If the Reader could not open all the files it should abort - and not let me "think" that all files are selected. Not easy to discover when you merge many files into one large one.

I want to merge a shapefile and a dbf file joined by an attribute and write them to a postgis database. Is FeatureMerger the way to do this? How do I extract the merged feature information (i.e. all the merged attribute metadata) and provide it to the postgis writer so that the correct table structure is created for the merged feature type?

For compatability-reasons with Geomedia I need to write an additional field of the type "varbinary(max)" to all the tables in our SQL Server Spatial database. In FME I can set the varbinary datatype, but I can't set the "max" value. I've asked around and so far it seems the only workaround is to create the field with the datatype "image" and then alter the datatype directly in SQL Server afterwards. Any ideas on how to do a better workaround?

Can you have a Step by Step manual that explains How can I migrate data (Intergraph Geomedia Warehouses) using FME to Oracle database (Oracle Spatial Object) ? Remember that Intergraph use GOOM Package for storage on Oracle. Have FME an alternative ?  I appreciate your valious time.  Regards, Iturbides

How do I set attribute symbology when converting from and ArcGIS dataset to KML? Can it be done during the conversion process through FME, or do I need to format the KML file after conversion? 

Hello folks I trying to find away to convert ArcMAP text to AutoCAD Multi-line text. Is this possible with FME?

I have an 'update' file geodatabase and a 'destination' file geodatabase. I want to replace an existing feature class in my destination file geodatabase with the updated version from my update file geodatabase. I am using dymanic readers and writers. Usually when I do this with shapefiles I chose to truncate the table and it works fine. However, this doesn't seem to be working for my file geodatabase. The new features from the update file are being added to the existing features (i.e. the existing features remain in the file geodatabase). Is this to do with using file geodatabases (the writer mode can't be set for file geodatabases as it can be for SDE writers), or is it to do with using dynamic readers and/or writers? Can this be resolved?

I'm attempting to standup the demo ArcGIS Server data distribution application. I configured the workspace and can successfully run it from Desktop and from the FME Server Web User Interface. However, when I attempt to use the web application itself (arcgis.html), the Step 2: Set Parameters form which is supposed to be dynamically generated based on the REST API is not populating.  For reference, this is what I'm tying to do: http://fmepedia.safe.com/articles/Samples_and_Demos/Standalone-data-distribution-demo-ArcGIS-Server  Michael

Hi all is there anyway to setup an exclusion filter on a reader?  I need to run a script about a thousand times with each file in a seperate directory.  Normally I would just put a merge filter on the featuretype (*) and have the reader parameter be rootdir\\**\\*.xml.  However in this case each directory contains two xml files, one always called metadata.xml and the other is different for every directory.  I only want to read the xml file that changes, not metadata.xml.  Ideas?

I have items that are not necessary to move from one geodatabase to another. I need to exclude certain items in the source geodatabase.  For example Feature Class 1 has attributes a,b,c,d  I need to generatea new  Feature class based on feature class1 with attributes b and c.

I would like to know if anyone has exported attributes from an XFM-DGN to any type of spatial database successfully? The XFM-DGN reader was made available in the 2012 version and our organization is starting to test this functionality. Any thoughts on the translation process? Did everything work as expected?

Just wondering if FME can read data from a TrafMan Database? (data generated by street traffic counters)

Hi there I have a fairly complex workspace and I would like to record the number of items that come out numerous transformers (in particulat feature mergers). What I have done so far is adding a statistic calculator and an attribute creator after each important transformer and I write  the data into a csv file.. The output is presented in two columns: definition of count and count. The problem is that it makes the workspace very messy as it adds a lot of connectors. Is there a simpler way of doing this? This info is recorded by FME anyway as it is displayed on the connectors and in the log file...just wondering if there is an simpler way to log numerous counts into a csv file...thanks

HI,  We're an ESRI shop, but I have some colleagues that run river modelling software that is closely linked with MapInfo.  They want to batch process raster grids that emerge from the models (raster cell calculations and polygon and surface creation).  Is it possible to define an FME workspace and then trigger that from within MapInfo, like it would be by creating a 'Spatial ETL Tool' in ArcGIS?  Thanks, Ian

Hi, it's probably something supersilly but when I have added readers/writers to the Workspace (FME Workbench 2012), delete them, but keep them in the Navigation Pane. How can I get them back to show up in the Workspace? The solution to this probably also works for the question I have about the XML reader, when I add an XML reader it never shows up in the Workspace it only stays in the Navigation Pane.  I searched the web but I got the impression that I'm the only one with this problem (or the only one not finding the solution :S) and for some reason I keep forgetting to ask somebody else. Now finally there's a community 24/7 ;-)  Cheers, Annet

Instead of directly writing in it, is there any way to write an SQL script to run at an appropriate time while using PostgreSQL reader/writer?

I am trying to assemble several datasets into one. I need to add the edited or added data in to our original/master/parent/production data set.  I also need to delete the data that should be deleted.  I have a separate feature class for the added, edited and deleted data.  I am not sure how to delete data from the original geodatabase.  I think that I am getting two ids for the added and edited when they are added to the output/published geodatabase. 

I am trying to merge or assemble several feature classes of  water pipe data together, they have similar but not exactly similar schemas. They are Water, Reclaimed water and their laterals as separate feature classes.  I am working on the feature merger tool. I thought that the swizler would work, but I could not get it to run.  I also want to merge data within a feature class, deleting  several  items. 

I am trying to create a series of geospatial pdf files that are at a fixed scale.  The overall map extents of my data varies and when I generate my pdf files each sizes to fit the frame which results in different scales for each file.  Is there a way to force each to be the same set scale.  I thought about creating a box that would give me the desired scale at my frame size and then centering this box over each area.  Is there another easier method for setting the scale that I am overlooking?  I have only been working with the pdf writer for a short time so I could very easily be missing something.

G'day,  Is it possible to configure FME Server that only a certain Engine will run certain Workbenches and if so, what property within FME Workbench could be set for FME Server to detect?  Cheers,  

Just saw Mark's latest Evangelist posting on the FME Community Answers. In it he comments that our FME Talk archive cannot be migrated to form part of the new FME Community Answers knowledge base ...   >> What we can’t do is move the entire set of previous posts from FMETalk to Community Answers. There are just way too many of them (nearly 27,000 by my count) and there’s no way I know to download them all. However, what we’ll do is leave to group open for viewing, so any useful information in there won’t be lost.  I use the FME Talk archives on a regular basis and there are some real “how-to” gems in there that will likely become marginalised.   If we cannot port the FMETalk arhive could we perhaps instead build a web form inside FME Community Answers that still lets us do searchable keyword queries against the FMETalk archive?   Another option may be this utility  - http

I would like to add a reader, which reads all files (of a specific type) in one folder. Is this possible in FME? 

Hi, I write DWG Autocad Files 2004. If I open the DWG File with the Autocad DWG TrueView I didn't find the graphic, because the zoom window is far away. It's difficult to find the graphic. What can I do? Thanks a lot Ulf