Question

FGDB Writer: "Unknown exception" is raised when writing Text Feature layers with Umlauts (seems like a strange bug)

L

I have an FME workspace in which input from an DWG file is read and exported into an FGBD file. I am using a dynamic FeatureWriter.

 

Whenever a Text feature is written to a layer whose name contains an Umlaut (i.e. ä/Ä, ö/Ö, ü/Ü), the translation fails with the following error message:

"GEODATABASE_FILE writer: An unknown exception occurred"

 

Very strangely, layer names with Umlauts are not a problem for any other feature type, i.e. Point, Line, and Area features all can be written to corresponding layers without a problem. (As another rather confusing side note, Text features can actually be written to layers whose names contain 'ß' which from a technical/encoding point of view should cause the same problems as 'ä', 'ö', 'ü').

 

Here is a screenshot of my workspace:

imageAfter reading the features from the DWG, I simply split them by geometry type. For the Text features, the Tester:DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_UMLAUT only lets features pass whose fme_feature_type does not contain an Umlaut.

 

I use the transformer Tester:TMP:FME_FEATURE_TYPE to selectively forward failed features (i.e. features whose fme_feature_type contains an Umlaut) of a specific fme_feature_type to the dynamic FeatureWriter, let's say all features with läyer_with_ümläüt_1 as fme_feature_type. Whenever the first such feature is passed to the dynamic FeatureWriter, the mentioned exception is raised.

It is not dependent on specific layer names (e.g. if I forward failed features of feature type läyer_with_ümläüt_2 or läyer_with_ümläüt_1749739247) - as soon as the first such feature reaches the dynamic FeatureWriter, the exception is raised. Here another screenshot when I tested for another fme_feature_type in Tester:TMP:FME_FEATURE_TYPE:

image 

Does anyone have an idea for a fix? Replacing the Umlauts in the fme_feature_type does not work because then, the dynamic FeatureWriter throws another exception (since there is no corresponding fme_feature_type in the source DWG):

 

"Esri Geodatabase Writer: Feature Type Definition 'layer_with_umlaut_1' was requested, but not defined. Please visit https://www.safe.com/support"

4 replies

evieatsafe
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Hi @lbd-kufers​ sorry for the delayed response. I'm wondering if this might be an ArcGIS/ESRI version mismatch. What version of ArcGIS Pro are you using? A coworker ran into something similar with ArcGIS Pro 2.8 and 2.9 but seems to be fixed with ArcGIS Pro 3.0 and is more related to the FGDB writer.

Let me me know, otherwise this sounds like a bug if you could provide a log file or submit a support case with us :) happy to help!

Happy to help, Evie
L

Hi @Evie Lapalme​ ,

thank your for your response and sorry for my delayed response in return.

My ArcGIS Pro was updated from 2.9 to 3.1.2 last week, so I was able to test it now using ArcGIS Pro 3+. 

 

Unfortunately, an error occurs still, even though the error message has changed:

An error occurred while attempting to create the feature class 'ABC_Überlaufschwelle_line'. The error number from ArcObjects is: '-2147220655'. The error message from ArcObjects is: {Die Tabelle wurde nicht gefunden. [ABC_Überlaufschwelle_line]}

("Die Tabelle wurde nicht gefunden." means "The table was not found.")

When googling the error code, I found the following page which does not list the exact error code from above, but nevertheless contains a hint which might have some relevance:

https://community.safe.com/s/article/esri-arcobjects-error-number-2147155646-invalid-at 

"There are strict limitations to what characters you can use in an ESRI geodatabase table name.

The short summary is:

• Eliminate any characters that are not alphanumeric character (A-Z, 0-9) or an underscore (_)."

 

Obviously, the Umlauts (for example the letter 'Ü') are not in the set A-Z (just double-checked at regex101). 

 

Since my original post, I also found out that not only Text features do no not allow Umlauts in their Feature Class names, but also Lines and Points. Strangely, for Areas, Umlauts in the Feature Class names do not lead to errors.

 

Do you have any suggestions based on my updated suggestions, or should I still provide a log file or submit a support case?

evieatsafe
Rank
Userlevel 1
Badge +15

Hi @Evie Lapalme​ ,

thank your for your response and sorry for my delayed response in return.

My ArcGIS Pro was updated from 2.9 to 3.1.2 last week, so I was able to test it now using ArcGIS Pro 3+. 

 

Unfortunately, an error occurs still, even though the error message has changed:

An error occurred while attempting to create the feature class 'ABC_Überlaufschwelle_line'. The error number from ArcObjects is: '-2147220655'. The error message from ArcObjects is: {Die Tabelle wurde nicht gefunden. [ABC_Überlaufschwelle_line]}

("Die Tabelle wurde nicht gefunden." means "The table was not found.")

When googling the error code, I found the following page which does not list the exact error code from above, but nevertheless contains a hint which might have some relevance:

https://community.safe.com/s/article/esri-arcobjects-error-number-2147155646-invalid-at 

"There are strict limitations to what characters you can use in an ESRI geodatabase table name.

The short summary is:

• Eliminate any characters that are not alphanumeric character (A-Z, 0-9) or an underscore (_)."

 

Obviously, the Umlauts (for example the letter 'Ü') are not in the set A-Z (just double-checked at regex101). 

 

Since my original post, I also found out that not only Text features do no not allow Umlauts in their Feature Class names, but also Lines and Points. Strangely, for Areas, Umlauts in the Feature Class names do not lead to errors.

 

Do you have any suggestions based on my updated suggestions, or should I still provide a log file or submit a support case?

Hi @lbd-kufers​ I would definitely submit a support case, as this is very strange behaviour. Please include your log file and any workspace & data you used to reproduce this. Thanks!!

Happy to help, Evie
L

Hi @Evie Lapalme​, alright, I submitted the support case. Thanks. 👍

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