General

Hello users,As you know, the FME user conference is postponed until next year, and we're all in quarantine for the foreseeable future; but that doesn't mean we have to go without any fun and interaction.Firstly the FME World Tour virtual roadshow starts next Monday. Make sure you don't miss it!But secondly, we were planning a hackathon at the user conference, and if there's enough demand I figure we could still go ahead and do this online.I'm hoping we'd be able to have a few prizes available, maybe suggest some bigger projects, maybe work in online teams? Just like we would for the in-person event, but online (and spread over a longer length of time).Is anyone interested at all? Let me know with an answer below, whether it's yes, no, or "you must be joking, this is not a good time". Also say if you'd be OK with a team format, when we should start, any project ideas, etc, etc, etc. Maybe I can get different Safe experts to act as team leaders a

Hi all,In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic that we are currently experiencing on a global scale, the existence of data provided by national and international health organizations around the world offers the possibility to the GIS community and Geospatial specialists the challenge of supporting their community in the fight against the spread of the virus.Like the initiative to implement a dashboard made by the John-Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) to monitor in real time the spread of the virus, my question is as follows:What will be the different stages of a workflow to organize and prepare the data necessary to carry out such a project with FME Desktop and Server to publish an ESRI Operations Dashboard.I would like to have the opinion of experts on this specific case which has been in the news lately. At the same time, I challenge all participants in this World Tour to share a FME Workflows to create a dashboard like that of the John-Hopkins Univer

Hello FME'ers,The quiz is a little early this week, because my intended Safer is going to be busy on Monday. So I've switched the quiz with the question-of-the-week. I won't close it until Tuesday again, so no worries there.Anyway, your challenge this week is to beat Roger Aikema. Roger is our Digital Marketing Lead, so he'll be responsible for a lot of the content you see on our web site (which I have to say, looks better and better each time I visit). So he must know a fair amount about FME, right?As a special bonus, this week the quiz is...THE TRANSFORMER SPECIAL! Yes, all of the questions are about transformers. So if you like transformers, today is your day. I'm not sure how knowledgeable Roger is about transformers in particular... I guess we're going to find out!As always, you can find the quiz here: https://demos-safe-software.fmecloud.com/fmeserver/apps/FMEQuizGood luck, and I apologize in advance for question 2. At least you have the whole weekend!

Hi, I would know if exist a transformer that verify if file header is correct. Thanks

I've just run into an issue with FME Desktop crashing on startup with the system error logs mentioning winspool.drv. I'm pretty sure it is to do with a recent Windows update KB4541329 so I'm trying to uninstall that. I'll update this post once that is done but in the mean time you might want to avoid that update. Update: Uninstalling that Windows update worked and FME Desktop runs now.

A failure message appears in the buffer app if the input geodatabase has a feature class which has a different name of the one used in the buffer workbench.Hi All,I Couldn’t figure out if I can edit the reader on buffer workbench to make the buffer app take any geodatabase that contain any feature class regardless its name,My app fails to run and return a failure message if the feature class name is not the same one I used in the workbench Best,Lubna

Hello,  I wanted to know if you could help me on these different points, perhaps some of these questions have already been asked and I apologize in advance. If it is the case I want the URL link in question.  Carry out a workbench on FME 2018 which will correct the inconsistencies of the dwg files for for example: 1) Match the layer numbers of old dwg files to the requirements of a new dwg layer template. I had thought about listBasedFeatureMerger, what do you think?  2) Shift the points of a dwg file having a positioning error caused by the drawing (add a tolerance of 1 millimeter), that is to say move the points which must be located near a polyline towards a point of the polyline without touching the layer of the dwg file: I use the Snapper transformer, do you have a better idea?  3) Gather the linear array of a dwg file so that there is no more space between the segments, that is to say, hang the points between them and fill in the gaps to form a sort of polyline. I had thought of

Hello, I wanted to know if you have already managed to convert a JPEG image to a SHAPE point with the GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the EXIF data on FME 2018. Knowing that I don't have the EXIFGeometryCreator transformer which is on FME 2020. For the moment I am using the AttributeManager transformer to remove the parentheses contained in the jpeg_exif_gpsdestlatitude and jpeg_exif_gpsdestlongitude data. Example: I use this StringFunctions @Trim (@Value (jpeg_exif_gpslongitude), ()) for the longitude which is worth: jpeg_exif_gpsdestlongitude = (0) (33) (0) And for the latitude I have: jpeg_exif_gpsdestlatitude = (44) (28) (4) However the StringFunctions that I use only deletes me the parentheses at the beginning and end of expression as below: 0) (33) (0 and 44) (28) (4 Do you have a solution to remove all the parentheses? For the rest I use the transformer VertexCreator, to use these coordinates (altitude and longitude) to be able to obtain a point having as attribu

Apologies for the late results. I was a bit busy yesterday helping out with the upcoming World Tour Virtual Roadshow. You are signed up for the roadshow, right? If not, go click that link. You'd budgeted a day to attend the world tour in person, so you'll have time in the bank to watch these webinars.And there may be some crossover with this quiz... just saying.Anyway, did you best Iris in this week's quiz? I suspect you probably did. But let's see the answers and who got the best scores overall...Answers1) What does the Ctrl+K shortcut do in FME Workbench?Sets the Connection ColorAdds a BookmarkAdds a BreakpointAdds an AnnotationControls the amount of Vitamin K used by a workspaceYes, this is fairly straightforward for if no other reason than you have FME Workbench at hand to try it out. The answer is that Ctrl+K adds an annotation:If you have an object selected, like a transformer, then the new annotation will be connected to that object. If you don't have an obje

Hi All, I originally asked this via the Support Chat. Whilst a case has been setup, it was suggested that I also reach out to the community (thanks @steveatsafe). For a client we're setting up a dev FME Server install (and eventually test and prod). On the servers will be installs of desktop to do the publishing from. Each user that will do publishing will log on to the server using their own windows account.  To keep everything organised, we would like to have one set of connections and shared folders for custom transformers. Internally we have a setup script that runs and sets the appropriate registry keys for the user to the shared location (each user has their own laptop).  This way of setting the shared location will not work for our client as multiple users will have access to the server to publish workbenches. Our current scripts works on the user level and therefore would need to be run each time a new user access the server.Is there a way to set the global defaults for the

Hi FME'ers,Last week's quiz was a huge loss for the users and resulted in @david_r remarking "I'm convinced that Ryan knows FME better than Don and Dale"! Perhaps he does. I wouldn't bet against it.But while we already knew Ryan was good, this week's Safer is perhaps more of an unknown quantity. Iris Gutoswki is a developer with the FME Server team. Iris' official title is Web Developer, Web GUI Lead, so it sounds like she's in charge of that excellent FME Server interface that just improves by leaps and bounds every release.Does Iris know about FME Desktop? I'm sure she used to work for a either the GUI team or an engine team (like Geometry or Formats) so there's a good chance she does. What's more, at the 2017 FME User Conference, she got quite the honour, being alongside Chris Hadfield in the event program:Even if it's on the basis of alphabetical sorting, it's pretty cool in my book (well done @bruceharold too, for being the

Hello FME'ers,Here's a question-of-the-week post…Question of the WeekThis one wasn't posted as a "question", but was instead a comment from @sigtill on the tutorial for FME Server automations:Q) Can you create a Key within a workspace - expose it - and then use it in automations? For instance an AttributeCreator and the attributes myattribute = myValue - and then use the "myattribute" within the Automations?A) Yes you can! Below are the steps to pass attributes to a Server automation...Server Automations: A (Brief) ReviewLet's cover an automation in brief.An Automation in FME Server is a tool that helps carry out tasks automatically (yes, I know Automation = Automatically! Who knew?)So we can carry out a task at a set time, or as triggered by some other action. The task doesn't need to be just running a Workspace - there are many different tasks you can do - but it usually is a workspace because that's where we have the most processing tools.

Hello FME'ers,This week's quiz matched you against Ryan Cragg, our chief trainer and someone I had complete faith in. Could you beat him?In short: no. He got 6/6. Unbeatable. But let's see what the answers were and if anyone got close, or tied...Answers1) If I type a value in to Quick Add, Workbench searches for transformers with that string in their name. How do I switch to searching for that string as a keyword?Right-click on the text and choose "Keyword Search"Copy the text, press Ctrl+F, and paste the text into the search dialogTurn on Tools > FME Options > Workbench > General > Include Keywords in Quick AddPress the Tab key on the keyboardSwitch to drinking decaf coffeeYou simply press the Tab key. It switches from searching by transformer name, to searching by the transformer help documents. Also, if no results appeared in your original search, there's an option to pick "Search Mode > Search Help" in the dialog that pops up:You d

Hi,getting the following error writing to filegeodatabase and or esri geodatabse. Our work bench work perfect in FME 2018, but ift fails in 2019.0, 2019.1 and 2019.2. If you disable the writer, and run with feature caching, up to the writer, enable the writer, and just run the last part it works.I have tested the same work bench today in 2020, and working perfectlyalso tested it in 2019, writing to shapefile and geojson - both worked OKthe same happens when you use LineonAreaOverlayimsge 1 - shows success, image 2 show failure in 2019Writer mode is 'INSERT'Transactions are being used by the Geodatabase WriterGeodatabase Writer: Truncating table/feature class `ShrubBedCandidates'Geodatabase Writer: The field 'OBJECTID' in table 'ShrubBedCandidates' will not be updated since it is not editableGeodatabase Writer: The field 'SHAPE.STLength()' in table 'ShrubBedCandidates' will not be updated since it is not editableAn error occurred while attempt

Currently I use version 9.4 of Postgres and soon we will upgrade to version 10 or 11 of postgres, I would like to know if we can still keep the 2016 version of FME? in other words, is FME Desktop 2016 compatible with PostgreSQL 10?thank you in advance

OK, FME'ers,Apologies for the delayed quiz. You might want to review this article if you have FME Server apps that include a database connection. You have to review your token and give the app permission to access those connections.Anyway, back to the quiz and "the gloves are off" as we say. I'm putting you up against a real challenge this week to try and get a win back for Safe!This week your Safe opponent is Ryan Cragg. You may know Ryan from his FME training classes - I think it's fair to say he's trained more FME users than anyone else at Safe - and he knows FME inside-out. He should do: he's worked with it for over 15 years now.You may also know Ryan for his role running the FME certification programs. So can you send our chief inspector back to FME school? Click the link below and give it a try...https://demos-safe-software.fmecloud.com/fmeserver/apps/FMEQuizIf you're interested, the structure of the quiz is always:Simple FME questionFun question

Hello FME'ers,This week's quiz matched you against Myles Shepherd, a developer in our geometry team at Safe. Myles knows a lot about the inner workings of the FME geometry model, but does he know the sort of things about FME in general that I'll ask here?Let's see...Answers1) A simple question to start with. Which is the real data format?Spanish UFCGerman MfGDanish UFOBritish NMEBelgian LOLThe answer is Danish UFO, which is one of my favourite formats for the name alone:If only the file extension was .x, then the prompt could read "Select the UFO X Files"!Let's see what the other acronyms I used are:UFC = Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipMfG = mit freundlichem Gruß (with best regards)NME = New Musical Express (a one-time music magazine, now web-only)LOL = Laugh Out Loud, LOLInterestingly, I have no idea, and can't find out, what UFO stands for! But I'm sure it's nothing to do with rumvæsener (aliens).Myles' Answer: German MfG (Incorrect)2) Which of these FME World Tour venues in Canada dr

Well, FME'ersI put you up against two tough matches and you beat both of them. So for today's quiz I'm going back to the development teams, to see if they have better luck.You have a 50% record against developers (beat Paul, lost to Shelley) so let's see how you do against Myles. Myles represents the geometry team. They're the folks who get their hands dirty playing with coordinates. They love nothing better than working with weird geometries; like an island in a lake, that's on an island in a lake, that's on an island in a lake, that's on an island in a lake, that's on an island in a lake, that's on an island in a lake, etc, etc... Or the vertex normals of a self-intersecting, non-planar polygon boundary with a billion points, half of which are duplicates!I believe that Myles has worked on the CenterLineReplacer, TopologyBuilder, and ChangeDetector transformers, to name but a few. So he knows his geospatial algorithms... but does he know about t

Hello FME'ers,This week's quiz matched you against Brian Pont, the manager of our support teams at Safe. How did it work out for you? I heard this week was quite tough! Let's see the answers...Answers1) What will the new Safe Software Pay-as-you-Go program allow you to pay for?Additional users in the FME Data Express appPriority FME technical supportThe new FME geocoding web serviceAdditional engines on FME ServerCorrect answers in the weekly FME QuizThe unofficial answer is that you can use my pay-as-you-go service to get the quiz answers, any time you like! Just send me your credit card numbers to my personal email address.OK, the official answer is that Safe's new pay-as-you-go program allows you to purchase extra FME Server engines on demand. I'm not sure yet how the program will work, but if that's something of interest then keep an eye on our web site, or contact our sales team at sales@safe.comWe've been asked if it applies to FME Cloud too, but the answer is no. But I don't thi

Hello FME'ers,For today's quiz I have another tough challenge for you: try to outscore Brian Pont, the manager of our support teams. I can't say enough good things about Brian, and that's not just because he's my direct boss and responsible for my performance review! That's certainly a factor, but Brian has used FME for a number of years and knows a lot about both Desktop and Server, and tends to know what all the other teams at Safe are working on (the sort of thing I often ask about).On the other hand, you're allowed to research your answers; he's not.So... I think you're all up against a good contestant this week, but you still have a good chance of success.As always, the link is: https://demos-safe-software.fmecloud.com/fmeserver/apps/FMEQuizGood luck!Mark

Hello,I need to generate a footprint (obtaining only one shape) considering just real values from many rasters (obvious 0,0,0 and no data from background) . The final shape should contain many features (each one with a field with the name of the raster). I tried Raster extent coercer but, it consider footprint considering 0,0,0 and attributes of raster is lost. Please could you help with the model?Many thanks in advance

Im looking to parse an email recieved by FME Server Topic via ImapThe JSON looks like this { "imap_publisher_received": "Tue Feb 11 16:24:07 PST 2020", "imap_publisher_sent": "Tue Feb 11 16:24:00 PST 2020", "ws_topic": "RECIEVE_SURECALL_EMAIL", "imap_publisher_subject": "[EXTERNAL] Message from Surecall Contact Centres ", "imap_publisher_from": "updates@surecallcc.com", "imap_publisher_content{0}": "CAUTION: THIS EMAIL ORIGINATED FROM OUTSIDE THE ORGANIZATION. DO NOT CLICK ON LINKS OR OPEN ATTACHMENTS YOU DO NOT TRUST.\r\n -------\r\n\r\n| 2/11/2020 5:21:32 PM/5:21:32 PM |\r\nCall Type: Other\r\nRe: Customer got a letter that he has to take care of pruning his tree before February 6 and is not happy about it.\r\nAdvised caller to call  during business hours.\r\n\r\n", "imap_publisher_to": "roads@xxxxxx.ca", "imap_publisher_content_type{0}": "text/plain; charset=us-ascii", "fns_type": "imap_publisher" }Im using a Json reader and an Attribute Splitter  for the attribute " imap_publisher_

Hello FME'ers,How was your weekend? Did you spend it testing leap-year functionality in the DateTimeStamper, as the FME Lizard suggested?!Like I mentioned, I feel justified in putting you up against a tough contestant this week, and so I chose my colleague Xiaomeng Ren. Xiaomeng is an experienced FME user and, according to our org chart, her official job title is UX Advocate. That means she is involved in getting feedback from users on our product interfaces and experience, and promoting their thoughts and suggestions to our product management and development teams. If you signed up for the FME Explorers Program, you'll be on Xiaomeng's list to reach out and get your feedback at some point. We've run a couple of tests and if you haven't been chosen yet, it's because we don't want to overwhelm you with too many requests.Anyway... a good way to send feedback to Xiaomeng is to beat her in the FME Quiz, and here's your chance!As always the link is: https://d

Hello FME'ers,This week's quiz involved challenging Xiaomeng Ren, who is an experienced FME user and involved in our user experience program. Did you have what it takes to win?Let's see...Answers1) This database format was introduced in 1983; it is probably the most-used of any FME database, without being selected by users; it only supports one table; we don't read or write indexes; it has no SQL settings; and yet it got flagged as a new format in 2019! What is it?Microsoft AccessIngresODBCMongoDB3dBaseIt is dBase! Why? Well, let's see...According to Wikipedia it was introduced in 1983. Is it the most-used FME database? Without anyone knowing? Well, yes, because it's part of a Shapefile. Shapefile is the most-used format, therefore it follows that dBase must be the most-used database!Each dbf file is a single table; it has some form of indexing, but I don't think we use it; there are no SQL statement parameters; and it was flagged as new in 2019 because it g

Happy Friday FME'ers, Computers are fascinating to me because what you do in a piece of software doesn't often reflect what is going on underneath. As this article says,Computers operate in binary, meaning they store data and perform calculations using only zeros and ones... However, multiple binary digits can be used to represent large numbers and perform complex functions.So, although your computer is carrying out complex binary calculations for everything you do, you don't get to see that... except for cases like today's question-of-the-week, where it comes bubbling to the surface.Question of the WeekQ) I have some dates with fractional seconds and I want to truncate them to whole seconds. In the fme help it says the @int function converts by truncation, which is exactly what I want. Most dates I'm sending in are truncated. But ones of the type 20200220015759.999000 are getting rounded up. In the case of above, it's an invalid date because it rounds up to 60