Published Parameter: Force default to appear (even if default value is "unset")

I second this request. I am building tools to be used over and over again in one sitting for new Source and Destination Datasets and need to ensure that Users are populating each User Parameter for each Run. I do not want to have something accidently overwritten because they thought they had populated it, but instead it was a retained value from the previous run. Maybe something along the lines of "Translation Successful" equals User Parameters cleared and "Translation Failed" equals User Parameters retained.

If the workspace is run via the Quick Translator rather than workbench the parameter values are not remembered. I encourage this tool for my less than savvy users.

I totally agree with this. (It's been bugging me for years, to be honest)

In my case, I'm setting the Default value of parameters. Myself or a college continues the development, prompt-and-run a few times, and the Default value is changed at each run. Why? Whats the use of Defalut value, if not keeping it until i explicitly changes it?

Please take this as a bug report and/or a feature request.

Can you make a switch in the GUI to keep or overwrite default values at prompt-and-run?

Facing the same issue here. If set as a published parameter, FME shouldn't cache and use the parameter values from previous run.

In 2018 the new F5 is F6(cache things). I'd like yet another run button for running with Quick Translator - to preserve parameter settings. Good or bad?

@daleatsafe

I agree with this and would like to see it expanded across whole fme platofrm workkbench and server UI

Hi @mark_1spatial and others,

Starting in FME beta build 19104 (net yet available for download), users will have a set of options that govern the user parameters:

• A tick box on the prompt dialog to indicate whether or not to save the current parameter setting to the workspace.
• A workspace setting to indicate whether 'save to workspace' tick box should default to on or off.
• The ability to save, load, and set default "preset" parameters.

This new functionality combines to enable a default setting of "Empty! Must set before run!" which should meet the criteria of the OP. To achieve this you must save a preset with the empty parameter and set it as the default, as shown below.

'

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Nathan

I'm really glad to see this working in 2019! Thanks all safers!

@mark_1spatial - I see this idea was tagged as "in beta" so I wanted to check if I can set it to released now. Let me know if you think it's complete or if more work is needed. I wasn't sure if what was changed is exactly the same as what you were asking for.

@mark2atsafe if it is what @nathanatsafe posted below, it's not really what I had in mind.

Maybe I missed something subtle in the setup.

Here is a example Choice parameter with Yes / No / Maybe and with the Workspace saved with no value selected. No problem here.

'When I run the first time and choose "Maybe" the next time I run the workspace I want the user to have to choose a value and the Workspace not to remember the last selected value.

E.g. Desired outcome...

Run 1:

'

User selects "Maybe" the clicks Run

'

Run 2:

User is presented without the previous value selected '

(Clearly if the Default Value at design time was set to "Maybe", and the user changed Run1 to "Yes", on Run2 I would like "Maybe" to be reselected rather than the last value of "Yes")

The icing on the cake - remember settings at design time, which is persisted with each save of the Workspace.

Hey Mark. That's what I was thinking. It didn't seem to be the same thing to me. We now have the "Save As User Parameter Default Value" option, which stops the user from saving it as the default, but it doesn't reset to the default each time.

To be clear I understand: If the author sets the default to "Maybe", the user should always be presented with "Maybe" and not what they picked last time. Simple as that.

So I'm going to reset the status of this idea and maybe edit the title if that's OK. Hopefully with the upvotes it already has, this will get it some notice.

"Reopening" this idea.

The idea, in short, is that whatever the author sets as a default parameter value, the user should always be presented with that default, regardless of what they (or anyone else) may have selected the last time around.

I guessing this needs to become an option in the Create/Edit Parameter dialog, like a checkbox besides the Default Value field that is labelled "Always Use Default".

Additionally, if this checkbox is set, we probably shouldn't show "Save as User Parameter Default Values"

Hey that’s it. Always the default regardless of what value is selected at runtime and whether the Workspace is saved. The only way it can be changed is in the Edit Parameter box.

And of course same behaviour on FME Server would be nice!