AzureQueueStorageConnector

Connects to Azure Queue Storage to send and receive messages.

Typical Uses

Aggregating data from queues and other message streams
Triggering actions from messages

How does it work?

The AzureQueueStorageConnector uses your Azure Storage account credentials to perform various tasks:

Action	Task
Delete	Delete messages from a queue.
Peek	Receive messages from the front of a queue without altering the visibility of the messages.
Receive	Receive messages from the front of a queue.
Send	Send messages to a queue.

Optional Input Port

This transformer has two modes, depending on whether a connector is attached to the Input port or not:

Input-driven: When input features are connected, the transformer runs once for each feature it receives in the Input port.
Run Once: When no input features are connected, the transformer runs one time.

When the Input port is in use, the Initiator output port is also enabled.

Heartbeat

When Action is Receive and the connection is still alive (Receive Mode is Stream or a batch is not yet complete), heartbeat features are output at a specified interval after a period of non-activity.

Heartbeat features have two attributes:

_heartbeat_id: Integer starting at 0. This is a unique identifier for each heartbeat feature output from this port.
_heartbeat_counter: Integer starting at 0 that resets whenever the connector receives a new message and a new period of inactivity begins. This counter represents the number of consecutive heartbeat features.

Usage Notes

Queue service messages must be in a format that can be included in an XML request with UTF-8 encoding.

Configuration

Input Ports

Output Ports

Output

Features with added attributes, as specified in parameters and according to Action:

Action	Output - Input-Driven	Output - Run Once
Delete	Input feature unchanged.	One new feature.
Peek	Multiple features, one for each message peeked, with details about the message.	Multiple features, one for each message peeked, with details about the message.
Receive	Multiple features, one for each message received, with details about the message.	Multiple features, one for each message received, with details about the message.
Send	Input feature with details about the sent message.	New feature with details about the sent message.

Parameters

Authentication

Credential Source

Select the type of credentials to use:

Web Connection	(Recommended) Use an Azure Storage Web Connection.
SAS	Use a Shared Account Signature.
Embedded	Embed an account name and access key as transformer parameters.
Default Azure Credential	Obtain credentials from Microsoft Entra ID, Managed Identity, or Azure CLI.
Environment Variables	Use credentials already configured on the system in the environment variables AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT and AZURE_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY.

Account

When Credential Source is Web Connection, select or create a Web Connection connecting to an Microsoft Azure StorageWeb Service.

See Using Web Connections.

Embedded Credentials

When Credential Source is SAS, Embedded, or Default Azure Credential:

Account Name	When Credential Source is SAS or Embedded, provide an account name.
Account Key	When Credential Source is Embedded, provide an account key.
Shared Access Signature (SAS)	When Credential Source is SAS, provide a token.

Action > Delete

Delete Options

Queue	Specify the queue to delete messages from.
Delete all Messages	Select which messages to delete: Yes: All messages in the queue will be cleared. No: Delete a specific message.
Message ID	When Delete All Messages is No, specify the ID of the message to delete. Typically retrieved from a previous Receive action in the _id attribute.
Pop Receipt	When Delete All Messages is No, specify the pop receipt of the message to delete. Typically retrieved from a previous Receive action in the _pop_receipt attribute.
Server Timeout (seconds)	(Optional) Specify the maximum time to wait for the server to complete the requested operation.

Output Attributes

No attributes are added for this Action.

Action > Peek

Peek Options

Queue	Specify the queue to peek at messages from.
Number of Messages	Specify the number of messages to peek from the queue.
Server Timeout (seconds)	(Optional) Specify the maximum time to wait for the server to complete the requested operation.

Output Attributes

Attributes to Add

Select any available attributes to be included on the output features:

_dequeue_count	The number of times a message has been retrieved by a receive operation.
_expiration_time	The time the message expires in unix time.
_id	The id of a message. Required for updating and deleting.
_timestamp	The time the message was created in unix time.
_value	The message content.

Action > Receive

Receive Options

Queue	Specify the queue to receive messages from.
Mode	Select a message receiving method: Stream: The connector continues to receive messages indefinitely. The translation must be terminated to stop receiving. Batch: Only a given number of messages are received before the connection is closed.
Number of Messages	When Receive Mode is Batch, specify the number of messages to read per batch.
Poll Interval (seconds)	When Mode is Stream, specify the period to wait between requests for messages.
Delete on Receive	Select a message deletion option: Yes: Delete messages as soon as they are received from the queue. No: Messages can be received again after the Visibility Timeout.
Visibility Timeout (seconds)	(Optional) Specify the time the message is invisible. After the timeout expires, the message is visible. The service default is 30 seconds.
Server Timeout (seconds)	(Optional) Specify the maximum time to wait for the server to complete the requested operation.

Heartbeat

Interval

Specify the duration of a period of inactivity before a heartbeat feature is emitted, in Time Units.

Default is 1.

Time Unit

Select the Interval unit:

Seconds
Minutes
Hours (default)
Days

Output Attributes

Attributes to Add

Select any available attributes to be included on the output features:

_dequeue_count	The number of times a message has been retrieved by a receive operation.
_expiration_time	The time the message expires in unix time.
_id	The id of a message. Required for updating and deleting.
_pop_receipt	The pop receipt of a message, obtained from a receive operation. Required for updating and deleting. Not applicable to peek operations.
_time_next_visible	The time the message is next visible in unix time. Not applicable to peek operations.
_timestamp	The time the message was created in unix time.
_value	The message content.

Action > Send

Send Options

Queue	Specify the queue to send messages to.
Content	Provide the message content. The default encoding is an xml unicode string.
Update Message	Select an option for the message: No (default): Send a new message to the queue. Yes: Update an existing message in the queue. This can be useful to “lease” a message if the workspace has not finished processing. The invisibility of a message can be extended by updating the Visibility Timeout.
Message ID	When Update Message is Yes, specify the ID of the message to update. Typically retrieved from a previous Receive action in the _id attribute.
Pop Receipt	When Update Message is Yes, specify the pop receipt of the message to update. Typically retrieved from a previous Receive action in the _pop_receipt attribute.
Time to Live Expiry	When Update Message is No, select an option for message expiration: Yes: Set the duration that the message lives for. No: The message never expires.
Time to Live (seconds)	When Time to Live Expiry is Yes, specify how long the message persists, in seconds. If not specified, the default is 7 days. After the specified time, the message is permanently removed from the queue.
Visibility Timeout (seconds)	Specify how long the message is invisible, in seconds. After the timeout expires, the message is visible. The default is 0 seconds and maximum is 7 days. This value should be smaller than Time to Live.
Server Timeout (seconds)	(Optional) Specify the maximum time to wait for the server to complete the requested operation.

Output Attributes

Attributes to Add

Select any available attributes to be included on the output features:

_dequeue_count	The number of times a message has been retrieved by a receive operation.
_expiration_time	The time the message expires in unix time.
_id	The id of a message. Required for updating and deleting.
_pop_receipt	The pop receipt of a message, obtained from a receive operation. Required for updating and deleting. Not applicable to peek operations.
_time_next_visible	The time the message is next visible in unix time. Not applicable to peek operations.
_timestamp	The time the message was created in unix time.
_value	The message content.

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	Azure Storage account
Aliases	MicrosoftAzureQueueStorageConnector
History	Released FME 2019.0

FME Online Resources

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