Posts a message or uploads a file to the Slack group chat service.
Typical Uses
- Automating Slack tasks
How does it work?
To use this transformer, an authentication token for the sending Slack user must be provided. These can be obtained from Slack at the URL https://api.slack.com/docs/oauth-test-tokens.
Usage Notes
- This transformer is often used to notify recipients of translation status. It is often used downstream from the FeatureWriter to either send translation statistics or the entire translation output, to Slack. The TempPathnameCreator transformer may be useful in such workflows.
Configuration
Input Ports
Input
This transformer accepts any feature. One message post or file upload will be performed for each feature that is received by the transformer.
Output Ports
Posted
Each input feature that results in a successful post is output unchanged via this port.
<Rejected>
Each input feature whose post could not be made is output via this port. An fme_rejection_code attribute, having the value ERROR_DURING_PROCESSING, will be added, along with a more descriptive fme_rejection_message attribute which contains more specific details as to the reason for the failure. Common errors include attempting to post or upload to a channel that doesn’t exist, using an invalid Slack access token, or trying to upload a non-existent file.
Parameters
Token
API Token
The Slack API token that controls the permissions and identity of the sender. These tokens are generated at the Slack API page https://api.slack.com/docs/oauth-test-tokens
Note that in the future, a Web Connection will be used for authentication for this transformer.
Post
Channel
The target Slack channel for the message or file upload. The channel may be public or private. A leading # will be prefixed onto the channel name if it was not specified.
Type
The kind of Slack post to make. Either a Message, or a File Upload may be performed. If a message is to be posted, then its contents and the identify of the poster need to be specified. If a file is to be uploaded, then a title, the filename, and an optional comment will be required.
Message
Message
The content of the message post. Slack formatting can be included in the message as per the description at https://api.slack.com/docs/formatting and https://get.slack.help/hc/en-us/articles/202288908-Formatting-your-messages
Post As
A message may be posted as the user providing the authentication token for the transformer, or as a bot.
Bot Name
When posting as a bot, an arbitrary bot user name must be provided.
Bot Emoji or URL
When posting as a bot, an emoji or URL must be specified as the icon to use for the message. The enclosing colons (:) for the emoji are optional.
For example, specifying clap would result in the :clap: emoji being used as the message icon. Specifying http://www.icon100.com/up/3048/64/412-nfl-denver-broncos.png would result in the logo of the Superbowl 50 champions being used as the message icon.
File Upload
Title
The title of the file being uploaded. This will be displayed in bold above the file in the target Slack channel.
File
The name of an existing file on the host computer. The contents of this file will be uploaded.
Comment
An optional initial comment to add to the file. This will be displayed after the file snippet in the target Slack channel.
Editing Transformer Parameters
Using a set of menu options, transformer parameters can be assigned by referencing other elements in the workspace. More advanced functions, such as an advanced editor and an arithmetic editor, are also available in some transformers. To access a menu of these options, click 
beside the applicable parameter. For more information, see Transformer Parameter Menu Options.
Defining Values
There are several ways to define a value for use in a Transformer. The simplest is to simply type in a value or string, which can include functions of various types such as attribute references, math and string functions, and workspace parameters. There are a number of tools and shortcuts that can assist in constructing values, generally available from the drop-down context menu adjacent to the value field.
How to Set Parameter Values
Using the Text Editor
The Text Editor provides a convenient way to construct text strings (including regular expressions) from various data sources, such as attributes, parameters, and constants, where the result is used directly inside a parameter.
Using the Arithmetic Editor
The Arithmetic Editor provides a convenient way to construct math expressions from various data sources, such as attributes, parameters, and feature functions, where the result is used directly inside a parameter.
Conditional Values
Set values depending on one or more test conditions that either pass or fail.
Parameter Condition Definition Dialog
Content
Expressions and strings can include a number of functions, characters, parameters, and more.
When setting values - whether entered directly in a parameter or constructed using one of the editors - strings and expressions containing String, Math, Date/Time or FME Feature Functions will have those functions evaluated. Therefore, the names of these functions (in the form @<function_name>) should not be used as literal string values.
Content Types
| These functions manipulate and format strings. | |
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Special Characters |
A set of control characters is available in the Text Editor. |
| Math functions are available in both editors. | |
| Date/Time Functions | Date and time functions are available in the Text Editor. |
| These operators are available in the Arithmetic Editor. | |
| These return primarily feature-specific values. | |
| FME and workspace-specific parameters may be used. | |
| Creating and Modifying User Parameters | Create your own editable parameters. |
Dialog Options - Tables
Transformers with table-style parameters have additional tools for populating and manipulating values.
Table Tools
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Row Reordering
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Enabled once you have clicked on a row item. Choices include:
|
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Cut, Copy, and Paste
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Enabled once you have clicked on a row item. Choices include:
Cut, copy, and paste may be used within a transformer, or between transformers. |
|
Filter
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Start typing a string, and the matrix will only display rows matching those characters. Searches all columns. This only affects the display of attributes within the transformer - it does not alter which attributes are output. |
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Import
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Import populates the table with a set of new attributes read from a dataset. Specific application varies between transformers. |
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Reset/Refresh
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Generally resets the table to its initial state, and may provide additional options to remove invalid entries. Behavior varies between transformers. |
Note: Not all tools are available in all transformers.
FME Community
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Search for samples and information about this transformer on the FME Community.