Navigating Help

This is Safe Software's technical reference guide to every supported format. Most formats contain standard topics, which may include:

  • Quick Facts: This table contains high-level information on the format’s characteristics. For raster formats, it also includes raster-specific quick facts.
  • Reader/Writer Parameters: These topics contain format-specific Workbench parameters.
  • Reader/Writer Feature Type Parameters: Parameters tab in the Feature Type Properties dialog.
  • User Attributes: User Attributes tab in the Reader/Writer Feature Type Properties dialog.
  • Feature Representation (Format Attributes tab in the Feature Type Properties dialog): FME adds generic feature attributes to all features (see About Feature Attributes). Many formats also add format-specific attributes, which are listed in this section.
  • Mapping File Directives (Advanced Users): These sections (which exist in only a few advanced formats) contain detailed technical information on FME-supported formats, and are intended for a technical audience involved in configuring FME for customized translation.

New Formats in FME 2021.0

Access product documentation for the newest FME releases:

Documentation for Previous Versions of FME

Access product documentation for previous FME releases:

FME Desktop Help Map

Product documentation is accessed from the Start menu > FME Desktop > Documentation, and from any FME component Help menu.

By default, documentation is live (online); however, you can also choose to use installed (offline) documentation. From Workbench, select FME Options > Default Paths > Documentation Help Locations.

FME Desktop documentation includes:

FME Workbench

The primary FME Desktop application for translating and transforming data.

FME Data Inspector

View data in any FME-supported format. Use the Data Inspector to preview data before translation, verify it after translation, and check data at any point during a translation.

FME Readers and Writers

A technical reference to hundreds of apps, web services, databases and file formats that FME Workbench can read and write.

FME Transformers

A comprehensive reference to over 450 FME transformers. Transformers are used in FME Workbench to perform geometric and attribute restructuring of features during a translation.

FME Coordinate Systems

A guide to associating coordinate systems with features in FME Desktop.

FME Integration Console

This component allows you to integrate certain third-party applications with FME Desktop.