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About Feature Inspection

Feature inspection can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to author and test a workspace. Instead of looking at the log window for information during or after a translation, or routing output to Inspector transformers so you can view the features when the workspace has finished running, you can analyze features in real time as they move through the workspace.

  • You can run all or part of a workspace in "feature caching mode" so you can see feature counts as features move across the canvas, through connections, and to output ports.
  • You can inspect the properties (attributes and geometry) of an individual feature without having to send the workspace to an Inspector application.
  • If you want to add a transformer, especially to a large workspace or a workspace that reads a great deal of input data, you can see the effect it will have on a feature without having to wait for the entire workspace to complete.

Run with Feature Caching and Run with Breakpoints

Workbench provides tools that allow you to inspect data at the feature level with the Feature Inspector, and at the dataset level with the FME Data Inspector. In the Workbench Run menu, two additional options allow you to run the workspace in a more controlled fashion:

  • Run with Feature Caching: Run all or part of the workspace and inspect all features (together or individually).
  • Run with Breakpoints: Run the workspace and inspect data one feature at a time, pausing between features (Feature Inspector).

Related Topics

Using the Feature Inspector

Editing Breakpoint Parameters