Format Parameters

This parameter lets the user specify how features will be written into the destination table. Supported feature operations are:

• Insert: Append rows onto the destination table using attributes on features.
• Update: Update existing table columns using attributes on features. A selection method must be specified in the Row Selection group.
• Delete: Delete existing table rows. A selection method must be specified in the Row Selection group.
• fme_db_operation: The feature operation will be determined by the attribute fme_db_operation on each input feature. A selection method must be specified in the Row Selection group. The value of fme_db_operation will be processed as follows:
  • If the value is null, empty, or missing, it will be treated as Insert.
  • The value will next be matched to Insert, Update, and Delete, case insensitively.
  • If there is no match, the feature will be rejected.
  • If there is a match, the matched feature operation will be performed on the feature.

Tip: Unlike in previous versions of FME, the fme_db_operation attribute will now cause feature rejection when Feature Operation is set to Insert, Update, or Delete.

This parameter controls how the feature type handles destination tables. These options are available:

• Use Existing: If destination table does not exist, the translation will fail.
• Create If Needed: Create destination table if it does not exist.
• Drop and Create: Drop destination table if it exists, and then create it.
• Truncate Existing: If destination table does not exist, the translation will fail. Otherwise, delete all rows from existing table.

When inserting into a table, Row Selection is ignored. When updating and deleting from a table, a condition needs to be specified for selecting which rows to operate on. This parameter group offers two methods to construct the selection condition.

Match Columns

If you select Match Columns, the columns specified in the corresponding column picker dialog will be used for matching destination rows. All matching rows will be selected for update or delete. If any feature attributes corresponding to the specified match columns contain null or missing values, the feature will be rejected.

WHERE Clause

If you select WHERE Clause, the corresponding WHERE Clause Builder will let the user construct a WHERE clause. The user can also type in a WHERE clause inline, without launching the WHERE Clause Builder. It is optional to start the clause with the keyword WHERE.

The WHERE Clause Builder makes it easy for users to reference feature attribute values, destination table columns, and invoke FME functions. The WHERE clause is first evaluated as an FME expression, before being passed onto the destination database.

If the WHERE clause is incorrect or if its evaluation results in failure, translation will fail. Otherwise, if the WHERE clause passes FME evaluation but it is SQL invalid, the feature will be rejected or the translation will fail.

For advanced users, conditional FME expressions created through the Conditional Value editor can be used to create WHERE clauses.

Tip: You can set the WHERE Clause to an attribute. This supports workspace migration and existing workflows involving fme_where. Direct support for fme_where has been deprecated. To advanced users who are accustomed to using fme_where, if Feature Operation is set to Update, Delete, or fme_db_operation, an fme_where attribute that conflicts with Match Columns or WHERE Clause will result in feature rejection.

When inserting features, this parameter determines whether or not identity columns are auto-populated. This parameter does not affect other feature operations.

There can be at most one identity column specified per table. If one has been specified, the option Yes will cause the destination identity column to be populated with values from the feature attribute that corresponds to the identity column. The option No will cause the destination identity column to be auto populated by the database server.

Note: Only one feature type may have this option enabled for a given MSSQL connection; all feature types within a writer share a connection, and connections may be shared between writers if they use the same connection parameters.