The Data File Reader/Writer allows FME to read and write any arbitrary file one line at a time. The reader can directly read from any extension and the writer can write to any extension.
It is possible to use this reader and writer in a generic translation; however, this scenario will not usually produce a useful result by itself. Instead, this format is typically used as part of a custom format or custom workspace. In such a case, the lines read are parsed using FME transformers into data elements which are further transformed or combined before output is produced.
Reader Overview
The Data File reader module produces an FME feature for each line of text in the text file, except when the Read Whole File at Once parameter is specified. In this case, only a single feature containing the data_file_data attribute is produced per input file.
Writer Overview
The Data File writer writes one text line per feature.