Esri Geodatabase Feature Representation

In addition to the generic FME feature attributes that FME Workbench adds to all features (see About Feature Type Attributes), this format also adds format-specific attributes (Format Attributes).

The Geodatabase modules make use of the following special attribute names.

Attribute Name

Contents

<attribute-name>_alias

When reading, if Alias Mode is set to ON_DATA_FEATURES, then a secondary attribute that contains the attribute alias will be added to each feature, for each attribute.

When writing, these attributes will be respected when creating feature classes or tables.

<attribute-name>_resolved

When reading, if Resolve Domains is set to Yes, then the description corresponding to the domain code is stored in this attribute. When writing to a field associated with a coded value domain, specifying this attribute instead of <attribute-name> will trigger a look-up for the corresponding code. If the code is found, it will be written to <attribute-name>.

geodb_feature_class_alias

When reading, if Alias Mode is set to Replace Attribute Names with Aliases or Expose Aliases as Metadata Attributes, then the feature class or table alias will be added to each feature.

When writing, this attribute will be respected when creating feature classes or tables.

geodb_feature_dataset

Indicates the feature dataset in which the feature originates.

For reading, this is only present if the feature originates from a feature class that is part of a feature dataset.

For writing, this can be specified on the first feature to indicate the feature dataset a newly created feature class should be created in. If the feature dataset did not previously exist, a new one will be created. A feature dataset provided in the Feature Type parameter will take precedence over this format attribute.

Not all geodb_types can be part of a feature dataset. See Esri Geodatabase documentation for details.

geodb_feature_is_simple

(Reader only)

Indicates whether or not the geometry is simple. Only present on spatial features and when ArcGIS 9 (or newer) is installed.

geodb_input_data_filter (Mosaic Dataset writer only)

When writing to a mosaic dataset, this optional attribute will provide a filter to the rasters which will be added to the dataset (for example, *Raster*, *Raster, or Raster*). Any raster that does not match the filter will not be added.

geodb_input_data_type (Mosaic Dataset writer only)

When writing to a mosaic dataset, this optional attribute will provide the data type of the raster input. Choices are File or Dataset.

If this attribute is missing, FME will automatically detect the input data type based on the path.

geodb_measures

This is present for features that have measures when reading. To write measures, you simply build this list with one value for each vertex in the feature being written. This is a comma-separated list of floating values that correspond to the vertex measures. The first value is for the first vertex, second for the second, and so on.

geodb_raster_path

(Mosaic Dataset writer only)

When writing to a mosaic dataset, this required attribute will provide the path to the raster which will be added to the dataset. Rasters, as well as raster catalogs and mosaic datasets, added to the mosaic dataset will not be managed. This means that the raster data remains at its original location and only a pointer to the data is stored in the mosaic dataset.

Rasters can be added to a mosaic dataset either in bulk or as single insert. The type of insert is defined by the chosen path.

For bulk insert, the choices are either selecting a geodatabase with raster datasets inside (for example, …\rastersToBeAdded.gdb) or a folder with rasters (for example, …\folderWithRasters).

For single insert the choices are raster datasets, raster catalogs or other mosaic datasets in a geodatabase (for example, …\rastersToBeAdded.gdb\Raster1) or files on disk (for example, …\raster.tiff).

geodb_raster_template (Mosaic Dataset writer only)

When writing to a mosaic dataset, this optional attribute will provide the processing template for the raster which will be added to the dataset.

This attribute will overwrite the value of the Raster Processing Template feature type parameter.

geodb_raster_type

(Mosaic Dataset writer only)

When writing to a mosaic dataset, this optional attribute will provide the type of the raster (for example, Raster Dataset).

This attribute will overwrite the value of the Raster Type feature type parameter.

The raster type names are the same as they are in ArcGIS. See Esri's Mosaic documentation for details.

geodb_subtype_name

When reading, if Resolve Subtypes is set to Yes, then the value corresponding to the subtype code is stored in this attribute. When writing to a table with subtypes and no integer value is supplied for the subtype field, then specifying this attribute with an actual value (that is, not just quotation marks "") will trigger a look-up for the code corresponding to the value supplied in this attribute. If the code is found, it will be written to the subtype field; otherwise the feature will fail to be written. If the value specified was the empty string (that is, quotation marks "") then the default value will get used.

geodb_type

The type of geometric entity stored within the feature. The valid values are listed below:

  • geodb_annotation
  • geodb_arc
  • geodb_attributed_relationship
  • geodb_complex_edge
  • geodb_complex_junction (read-only)
  • geodb_dimension
  • geodb_ellipse
  • geodb_metadata
  • geodb_multipatch
  • geodb_multipoint
  • geodb_point
  • geodb_polygon
  • geodb_polyline
  • geodb_pro_annotation
  • geodb_raster
  • geodb_relationship
  • geodb_simple_edge
  • geodb_simple_junction
  • geodb_table

Features read from, or written to, the Geodatabase also have an attribute for each column in the database table.