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Question of Week: FME April Fools Edition


danielleatsafe
Safer
Forum|alt.badge.img+17

In the spirit of April Fools Day… Here’s our Question of the Week: If FME had a secret ‘Easter egg’ feature that no one knew about, what would it be?

Would it be a hidden game? Secret functionality? A 'feature' like Connection Shapes? Or...? Let’s hear your most creative (or wishful) ideas!

PS. If you’re looking for a laugh today, check out this video from ​@mark2atsafe

 

New to the Question of the Week? 

Every week, we’ll post a simple but thought-provoking question that could be about your FME journey, the power of spatial data, FME innovation, or the future of FME.

Each weekly question you answer earns you an entry in our monthly draw for exclusive Safe swag ($50 value) and points toward badges! Answer our March Questions of the Week by April 30, 2025 at 5:00 pm PDT to be entered in this month’s draw.

Answer your first question and you’ll get the Socializer (Ice Breaker) badge. Answer five questions and you’ll get the Socializer (Talker) badge.

crutledge
Enthusiast
Forum|alt.badge.img+31
  • Enthusiast
  • April 1, 2025

Etch-A-Sketch transformer. Enables x,y pathing for the Connector.
 

 


evieatsafe
Safer
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  • Safer
  • April 1, 2025

This is a real transformer, the RickRoller is a great Easter Egg! Thanks to ​@virtualcitymatt for creating it! 

Show content

 

 


kailinatsafe
Safer
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A little 3D character that runs around & randomly pops up in visual preview graphic view. It would be even more fun if they interacted with the rendered data.


nampreetatsafe
Safer
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A version of the Snake game (https://playsnake.org/) appears on the Workbench canvas -- dodging feature types, transformers, connection lines, etc.


liamfez
Influencer
Forum|alt.badge.img+34
  • Influencer
  • April 1, 2025

Similar to what ​@kailinatsafe suggested I was thinking of a sort of FME Lizard “screen saver”. If you leave a workspace open that is not running, lizard comes out and starts fooling around.

I could also image a random number generator replacement for connections and logging. Switch it on and all connections display random numbers while the log does the matrix waterfall.


philippeb
Enthusiast
Forum|alt.badge.img+18
  • A secret menu allowing users to customize the appearance of FME Desktop with different themes, including whimsical ones like a space theme, underwater theme or FME Lizard theme.
  • A playful feature where connection lines between transformers could change shapes or colors based on the type of data being processed. For example, a rainbow-colored line for geospatial data or a zigzag line for complex transformations.

Mixing those two features together could create a psychedelic FME world :)

 


liamfez
Influencer
Forum|alt.badge.img+34
  • Influencer
  • April 2, 2025

@philippeb I would set mine to space theme for sure, I imagine tunnels being styled as worm holes though I do not know what that would look like lol.

 

Data travelling through the vacuum of space should also be faster, especially with straight connections, just need to watch out for data black holes.


mark2atsafe
Safer
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I have a new theory. Tip your monitor towards the right, and data will flow faster!

It’s only logical, right?


liamfez
Influencer
Forum|alt.badge.img+34
  • Influencer
  • April 2, 2025

Ah ha, it is all coming together now. So theoretically the ideal setup would be to author a workspace horizontally and then tilt your monitor vertically for maximum data flow.


philippeb
Enthusiast
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What happens if the screen is fully vertical ? Does gravity gets involve in all this ?

 


liamfez
Influencer
Forum|alt.badge.img+34
  • Influencer
  • April 2, 2025

* straps PC and monitor to a centrifuge “for science” *


crutledge
Enthusiast
Forum|alt.badge.img+31
philippeb wrote:

What happens if the screen is fully vertical ? Does gravity gets involve in all this ?

 

 


redgeographics
Celebrity
Forum|alt.badge.img+49

A boss key so that when your manager walks in you can quickly switch the screen from fun with FME to a boring spreadsheet.


AliAtSafe
Safer
Forum|alt.badge.img+22

Inspired by ​@philippeb - The FME Form splash screen shows a unique animation/logo depending on what day it is (e.g., Easter) or after a number of workspaces opens and then sets FME based on that theme for the remainder of the session.


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