VertexCreator

Creates a single vertex to replace, be appended to, or be inserted into existing geometry.

Typical Uses

Creating point geometry from non-spatial data with coordinates as attributes
Adding known coordinates to existing geometry

How does it work?

The VertexCreator receives features with any geometry and creates a single vertex at specified coordinates, performing one of these actions:

Add a new point to the existing geometry
Replace the existing geometry completely with a single point
Add a new point to the geometry at a specific position (index)
Replace an existing vertex at a specific position (index)

The actions available vary according to the input feature’s geometry type:

	Mode
Geometry	Add Point	Replace with Point	Insert Point at Index	Replace Point at Index
Null	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Point	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Line	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Arc	Yes	Yes	No	No
Path	Yes	Yes	Yes/No*	Yes/No*
Area	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
3D Object	No	Yes	No	No
Raster	No	Yes	No	No
Point Cloud	No	Yes	No	No
Multi/Aggregate	No	Yes	No	No

If the selected Mode is not supported for the input feature’s geometry type, the feature will be output via the <Rejected> port.

* Using indices on paths containing arcs is not recommended.

If the X, Y, or Z Value parameters are set to an attribute value, those attributes may be optionally removed from the output features.

Modes

Mode	Action
Add Point	Appends the new vertex to the end of the existing feature. If the input feature is null, a point is output. If the input feature is a point, a line is output. If the input feature is a line and the new vertex is the same as the first vertex, a line or area may be output, according to the Closed Line Handling parameter.
Replace with Point	Input geometry of any type is discarded and a single point is output. A coordinate system may be specified.
Insert Point at Index	A new vertex is inserted at the specified index position. When entering vertex indices, note that: Zero (0) is the first vertex of the geometry. -1 is the last vertex of the geometry. Negative numbers represent vertices relative to the last vertex, where -2 is second-to-last, -3 is third-to-last, and so on. Out-of-range index numbers are interpreted as either the first vertex (if less than 0) or last vertex (if larger).
Replace Point at Index	The existing vertex at the specified index position is set to the new coordinates.

Measures and Z Values

Z values are supported. If there is a conflict - either the input feature or the new vertex has a z value and the other does not, the result is determined by the Measures/Z Conflict Value parameter:

Compute: Missing z values on either the input feature or the new point are calculated according to neighboring vertices. At the beginning or end of the feature the neighboring value is used. If only one value is available, it is applied to all vertices.
None (Drop Values): All z values are discarded and 2D geometry is output.
Custom Value: The provided value is applied to all vertices without a z value.

Exception: When Mode is Add Point, if a 2D point is added to a 3D feature and its coordinates match either endpoint of the input feature, the z value will be taken from that endpoint.

Measures are treated similarly, where new vertices inserted receive interpolated values when Treat Measures as is Continuous. Note that existing measures are not recalculated. When a vertex is added at the end the neighboring value is used.

When Treat Measures as is Discrete, a vertex inserted or replaced at an index position receives the measure value of the existing vertex at that index.

Examples

Usage Notes

This transformer requires explicit coordinates. To generate vertices based on geometry or spatial relationships see the Snipper, Densifier, Intersector, Clipper and various overlayer transformers.
Aggregates are not supported. A Deaggregator may be used prior to this transformer.
This transformer can close lines into areas, but the LineCloser may be more appropriate in some cases.

Configuration

Input Ports

Output Ports

Parameters

General

Mode	Select the action to take with the new vertex: Add Point Replace with Point Insert Point at Index Replace Point at Index See Modes above.
X Value	Specify the X coordinate for the vertex.
Y Value	Specify the Y coordinate for the vertex.
Z Value	(Optional) Specify the Z coordinate for the vertex. If specified, the resulting feature will have 3D geometry.
Index	When Mode is Insert Point at Index or Replace Point at Index, specify the index number to insert at or replace. See Modes above.

Advanced Parameters

Measures/Z Conflict Value	Select a method for handling geometries that have a measure, but are missing at least one value, or that have z values but are missing at least one value. None (Drop Values): Remove measures or z values. Compute: Look at the values on either side of the missing value, and compute an estimate. Custom Value: Missing values are assigned this default value. See Measures and Z Values above.
Treat Measures as	When Measures/Z Conflict Value is Compute, select a method of calculating new measures: Continuous: Interpolate measure based on neighboring values. Discrete: Copy value from nearest neighbor.
Ignore Duplicated Coordinates	When Mode is Add Point and the new vertex is the same as the last coordinate of the input feature, select a method of handling the duplicated vertices: Yes: Remove one duplicated vertex. No: Keep both of the duplicated vertices.
Closed Line Handling	Select a method of handling lines where the first and last vertices (whether new or existing) are the same: Create Polygon: Output area geometry where possible. Create Line: Output lines.

Editing Transformer Parameters

Transformer parameters can be set by directly entering values, using expressions, or referencing other elements in the workspace such as attribute values or user parameters. Various editors and context menus are available to assist. To see what is available, click beside the applicable parameter.

How to Set Parameter Values

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.

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.

Text Editor

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.

Arithmetic Editor

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

String Functions	These functions manipulate and format strings.
Special Characters	A set of control characters is available in the Text Editor.
Math Functions	Math functions are available in both editors.
Date/Time Functions	Date and time functions are available in the Text Editor.
Math Operators	These operators are available in the Arithmetic Editor.
FME Feature Functions	These return primarily feature-specific values.
FME Parameters	FME and workspace-specific parameters may be used.
Creating and Modifying User Parameters	Create your own editable parameters.

Dialog Options - Tables

Table Tools

Transformers with table-style parameters have additional tools for populating and manipulating values.

Row Reordering

Enabled once you have clicked on a row item. Choices include:

Add a row
Remove a row
Move current row up one
Move current row down one
Move current row to top
Move current row to bottom

Cut, Copy, and Paste

Enabled once you have clicked on a row item. Choices include:

Cut a row - delete and copy to clipboard
Copy a row to the clipboard
Paste a row from the clipboard

Cut, copy, and paste may be used within a transformer, or between transformers.

Filter

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.

Import

Import populates the table with a set of new attributes read from a dataset. Specific application varies between transformers.

Reset/Refresh

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.

For more information, see Transformer Parameter Menu Options.

Reference

Processing Behavior	Feature-Based
Feature Holding	No
Dependencies	None
Aliases	2DPointAdder 3DPointAdder 2DPointReplacer 3DPointReplacer CoordinateCreator CoordinateReplacer
History

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Examples may contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver, Open Government Licence - British Columbia, and/or Open Government Licence – Canada.