FME 2024.0 - Feature Highlights

FME 2024.0 - Feature Highlights

🚀 FME 2024.0 is officially here and we are excited to share with you key features that will help you improve operational efficiency, drive speed and increase security.   

Features Highlights

Remote Engines Service Support for Automations - Automations now support Remote Engines Services. This allows for faster data processing and increased security by moving the FME Engine processing close to the data it operates on. 

Multi-Transformer Upgrade - Streamline your authoring experience with the new transformer upgrading feature. Upgrade multiple or all transformers simultaneously, saving you valuable time when upgrading in FME 2024.0. Transform the way you manage updates and enjoy a more intuitive, user-friendly FME experience. 

FME Form Canvas Upgrade - A simplified user design that enhances and promotes interface consistency across transformers, readers, writers, annotations and bookmarks. Expect a streamlined and intuitive user experience that improves workflow efficiency. 

Additional Enhancements

Enhanced AI Assist - Use AI to accelerate workflow authoring. AI Assist is great for creating Regular Expressions, SQL statements, and assisting with the creation of Python.

Faster 3D Data Inspecting  - This update delivers rapid load times and fluid navigation, ensuring your workflows are efficient and interruption-free.

Basis Universal Reader/Writer -  Added support for the Basis Universal format. Basis is tailored for professionals managing extensive 3D datasets in geospatial, gaming, virtual reality, and urban planning. 

Revit Instance Writing - This update adds support for Revit family instances in placement and orientation. Key features include instance writing, family file loading, and the RevitStyler transformer.

Improved Data Encryption - This update makes FME Form more secure against potential vulnerabilities, in securing data connections. 

Enhanced Attribute Data Type Management - Easily see attribute data types within your workflows to improve workflow data control and accuracy. Key features include improvements to the  AttributeExposer and editing of data types in your workflows.

Scripted Selection in Transformer Designer and User Parameter Manager - Advanced interface tailored for users designing transformers.  It simplifies interactions with web services and databases facilitating the creation of user-friendly packages. 

New Schema Preview Window - Designed to provide details on attributes and geometry for selected canvas objects. This window updates as you navigate through different objects, offering an overview of your data, including schema names, data types, and geometry presence.

Improved Desktop Windowing - Customizable "Layouts" for enhanced window and docking management.  Aimed at boosting operational efficiency, it features intuitive resizing, positioning, and window state retention, along with the ability to create and apply windowing setup presets. 

Coordinate System Mismatch Warning - Enhances spatial transformers with group-by parameters through warnings for coordinate system mismatches during data processing, significantly enhancing data accuracy and reliability.

 

I loved it!

Multi transformer upgrade 😍

Multi transformer upgrade 😍

Yes!

No mention of what I think is the biggest new feature in this release:

self.input_from(feature, input_tag) and self.pyoutput(feature, output_tag). I wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t from the fmetools doc mentionning it. Finally, we can have python-based transformers with multiple input and output ports.

This is life-changing!!

No mention of what I think is the biggest new feature in this release:

self.input_from(feature, input_tag) and self.pyoutput(feature, output_tag). I wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t from the fmetools doc mentionning it. Finally, we can have python-based transformers with multiple input and output ports.

This is life-changing!!

Okay, that’s cool!!

Can’t wait for that to be implemented into the PythonCaller

I like the new windowing a lot. Much more predictable compared to the old situation. Save-able layouts is promising, but without shortcut-keys I won't be using it.

Actually I ‘need’ the switching between layouts through keystrokes.

Any information about the new Shared Database for connection storage? I'm unable to get it functioning as it was before, so I can't share connections across several users.

“Remote Engines Service Support for Automations” Sounds interesting 

Any information about the new Shared Database for connection storage? I'm unable to get it functioning as it was before, so I can't share connections across several users.

Hi @zdebi, please see the troubleshooting section of the Q&A article linked below. I hope this helps! If not, please submit a case.

https://support.safe.com/s/article/Changes-to-Connection-Storage-in-FME-Form-2024#Troubleshooting

Any information about the new Shared Database for connection storage? I'm unable to get it functioning as it was before, so I can't share connections across several users.

@zdebi, thanks for reaching out.  I’m sorry you ran across an issue with the shared database for connection storage. We’ve just published a new article about this today: Changes to Connection Storage in FME Form 2024. 

If the troubleshooting tips in the article don’t help, please submit a support case with us and we’ll do our best to help.

Thanks a lot for the enhanced AI Assist. Really useful features here!!

I have been testing FME Flow 2024.0 and have noticed a few things that may need to be improved before 2024.1 is released:

  1. A lot of text color and icons do not honor Dark Mode correctly. Some of the text color remains black vs. turning white.
  2. The dark blue ‘filter’ icons on log files are hard to decipher in dark mode especially for those individuals with some forms of color-blindness. Can you revert the icons that were used in 2022.2? 
  3. What happened to the straight-forward FME Flow Automation Logs that were found in 2022.x? Now I am just presented with a list of logs. How do I know which one to choose to review and debug against?

Overall, great improvements to functionality. 

What happened to the straight-forward FME Flow Automation Logs that were found in 2022.x? Now I am just presented with a list of logs. How do I know which one to choose to review and debug against?


Thanks for the feedback @mmccart ! We made a difficult but important decision to resolve technical debt associated with Automation Logs in 2023.2, which resolves performance issues and sets us up for future improvements. But this does mean that, by default, Automations now record logs separately for each process in Resources > Logs > automations. You can still find the old behaviour if you stop an Automation and restart it in Debug Mode.

We realize it is a bit of a confusing change, though. We are working on an improvement for this that would allow users to download an aggregated log file for a single Automation running in Product Mode.

If you have further questions or feedback on this topic, feel free to reach out to me directly at nathan.hildebrand@safe.com.

Is the python editor still garbage? 

Excited to start using this. Looking great!

When will Form and Flow support Esri ArcPro 3.3.x which was released this week?

When will Form and Flow support Esri ArcPro 3.3.x which was released this week?

 

FME 2024.0.3 is the recommended version for ArcGIS Pro 3.3 support.

I believe .0.x updates are more or less monthly, so in about a month’s time (2024.0.2 should release today).

Hey @mmccart 

I should perhaps have been a bit clearer there.

We obviously have to wait until Esri releases their product, to do our final testing. That’s why I say that, officially, FME 2024.0.3 will be the one to use. To give us time to do those tests.

But we’ve working on this for a while now and current FME2024.0 builds should already work just fine with ArcGIS 3.3. We really don’t expect any issues in this final round of tests. So feel free to try it out. I suggest at least 2024.0.2 when it is published (hopefully today).

But anyone on 2023 will definitely have to upgrade to 2024.

BREAKING NEWS: the official version is now 2024.0.2.2 (we issued a hotfix version just to get it out a bit quicker).

Is the python editor still garbage? 

Hey @mathiku, thanks for your feedback. Can you tell us more? 

Is the python editor still garbage? 

Hey @mathiku, thanks for your feedback. Can you tell us more? 

Eg. the pythoncaller is just a text editor that lacks simple code-editor capabilities like syntaxes highlight, auto indent, auto complete. The more python I use in FME the more often I find myself copy-pasting from external editors. I hoped you would soon take a look at it. 

Is the python editor still garbage? 

Hey @mathiku, thanks for your feedback. Can you tell us more? 

Eg. the pythoncaller is just a text editor that lacks simple code-editor capabilities like syntaxes highlight, auto indent, auto complete. The more python I use in FME the more often I find myself copy-pasting from external editors. I hoped you would soon take a look at it. 

Thanks for bringing up that feedback and upvoting this idea: 

We encourage anyone else reading to upvote the idea! Our product team is watching the ideas and every vote or comment is helpful.

Is the python editor still garbage? 

Hey @mathiku, thanks for your feedback. Can you tell us more? 

Eg. the pythoncaller is just a text editor that lacks simple code-editor capabilities like syntaxes highlight, auto indent, auto complete. The more python I use in FME the more often I find myself copy-pasting from external editors. I hoped you would soon take a look at it. 

Thanks for bringing up that feedback and upvoting this idea: 

We encourage anyone else reading to upvote the idea! Our product team is watching the ideas and every vote or comment is helpful.

Is it really 8 years old?

Is the python editor still garbage? 

Hey @mathiku, thanks for your feedback. Can you tell us more? 

Eg. the pythoncaller is just a text editor that lacks simple code-editor capabilities like syntaxes highlight, auto indent, auto complete. The more python I use in FME the more often I find myself copy-pasting from external editors. I hoped you would soon take a look at it. 

Thanks for bringing up that feedback and upvoting this idea: 

We encourage anyone else reading to upvote the idea! Our product team is watching the ideas and every vote or comment is helpful.

Is it really 8 years old?

Hey @mathiku, I can see why this is important to you and I get it is frustrating it was eight years ago. It’s been on our radar, but hasn’t been our priority. Thanks again for sharing, I’ve pass this feedback onto the right teams. 

Hi, I like the idea of a less cluttered interface, but after few days of using 2024 version I am seriously missing some contrast to find my way through the FME’s interface.

 

The navigator being all white and black became more or less a stack of words instead of a neat menu. Same with transformers: I am missing that input and output stands out as the most intuitive piece to connect together. Now it can be cluttered with the additional options you can roll out by inadvertently clicking on the arrow before the input/output name.

 

As a temporary fix, can you make available the appearance from FME 2023 in the options? In a next release I would love to see the new interface with these few contrast corrections.

 

If I may a suggestion to simplify the interface: propose different modes to open FME Form: simple with just the input features prompt and a simple outlook of the script (no other menus or options), and a full view with the current interface.

Hi, I like the idea of a less cluttered interface, but after few days of using 2024 version I am seriously missing some contrast to find my way through the FME’s interface.

 

Hi @kevs-2021 ,

I totally agree and I mentioned that to our developers when I was in the Vancouver office recently. I know they are going to work on this and improve things for (I think) 2024.1. The toolbar was one issue they are definitely looking at. But I also had problems with contrast of the transformers/canvas in general, so hopefully something will improve there too.

 

The navigator being all white and black became more or less a stack of words instead of a neat menu. Same with transformers: I am missing that input and output stands out as the most intuitive piece to connect together. Now it can be cluttered with the additional options you can roll out by inadvertently clicking on the arrow before the input/output name.

 

As a temporary fix, can you make available the appearance from FME 2023 in the options? In a next release I would love to see the new interface with these few contrast corrections.

 

Unfortunately, that can’t happen. They did consider making it an option but the amount of work involved would be quite incredible. We all agreed that it would be better to focus resources on tuning up the 2024 look, rather than going back to 2023.

 

If I may a suggestion to simplify the interface: propose different modes to open FME Form: simple with just the input features prompt and a simple outlook of the script (no other menus or options), and a full view with the current interface.

 

Funnily enough, that was another conversation we had, to have a simple/advanced interface. That might happen in the long term, but in the meantime, if you press F11 you get just the canvas and menubar, which really should be enough when authoring a workspace (not so much when debugging).

Thanks for the feedback. I will pass it on for sure. Feel free to check out the Ideas section and post any specific ideas (or upvote others). It’s a great way for us to gauge the importance of each item.

 

Mark

 

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