System Parameters

System parameters reference a specific system setting. Obtaining a value from a system parameter is often easier than having to define a value at run-time.

System parameters have various uses, including:

Paths or folders might be used as a means to define the location of a file to be read during the translation; for example you might set an AttributeFileReader transformer to read a file from ($FME_MF_DIR)myFileName.txt.
Other parameters might be used to control the action of a workspace, or direct features to different parts of a workspace in order to process them differently. For example, FME_BUILD_NUM could be checked to ensure the FME engine running the workspace is sufficiently new; this could be of particular interest on FME Server where multiple engines might each be a different build number. Another example is FME_SECURITY_ROLES, which might help to filter features in a workspace dependent on the access rights given to a particular user.

System parameters are listed in the table below:

Parameter	Description
FME_BUILD_DATE	The date the installation running the translation was built.
FME_BUILD_NUM	Contains the build number of the FME engine that is executing the workspace.
FME_HOME	Expands to the folder where the FME executable resides. It includes a trailing slash, independent of the platform.
FME_HOME_UNIX	Similar to FME_HOME, but in UNIX format
FME_MF_DIR	Contains the name of the folder in which the current workspace resides.
FME_MF_NAME	Name of the mapping file used for the translation.
FME_PRODUCT_NAME	Name of this FME Desktop product release.