1Spatial Internal Feature Format (IFF) Reader/Writer

FME can read and write IFF files. The IFF is an internal ASCII format originally created by Laser-Scan Ltd.

Note: This chapter assumes familiarity with the Internal Feature Format.

IFF Files

IFF files store both geometry and attribution for features. An IFF file has the following file name extension:

File Name Extension	Contents
.iff	Vector geometric data

The extension is added to the basename of the IFF file.

The Internal Feature reader supports the types of symbol, line, polygon, and text geometric data in .iff files. The IFF format also stores features with no geometry. Features that have no geometry are referred to as having a geometry of none.

IFF files support both two- and three-dimensional geometry.

1Spatial Internal Feature Format (IFF) Product and System Requirements

Format	Platform			Operating System
Reader/Writer	FME Desktop License	FME Server	FME Cloud	Windows 64-bit	Linux	Mac
Reader	Available in FME Professional Edition and higher	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Writer	Available in FME Professional Edition and higher	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Reader Overview

The IFF reader produces FME features for all feature data held in IFF files that are in the specified folder.

The Reader Dataset contains the folder where the IFF files will be read, or the file path to the single IFF file.

The reader first scans the file or folder specified in the Reader Dataset field. The reader extracts features from an IFF file one at a time, and passes them to the rest of FME for further processing.

When the file is exhausted, the reader moves onto the next file in the folder.

Writer Overview

The IFF writer creates and writes feature data to IFF files in the folder specified in the Writer Dataset field.

Any existing IFF files are overwritten with a new IFF file.

As features are routed from FME to the IFF writer, the writer determines which file the features are to be written to and outputs them accordingly.

More than one IFF file can be written in one translation.