GeometryCopier

Copies a feature's geometries onto itself.

Typical Uses

Duplicating a feature’s geometries for further processing, creating a feature with multiple geometries or adding to one.

How does it work?

The GeometryCopier receives features with existing geometries and creates copies of those geometries (either selected or all) on the feature itself.

The copy is named as specified. If that name is already in use on the feature, the existing geometry will be discarded and the new one kept.

Input features that do not match the Geometry Selection (including those with invalid geometry) are output via the Output port, unaltered.

Examples

Example: Creating multiple geometries in different coordinate systems on a single feature

In this example, we have a set of island areas. We want to create multiple geometries in order to store multiple coordinate systems on a single feature.

The steps will be:

Give the geometry a descriptive name.
Make a copy of that geometry, with a new name.
Reproject only the copy.

Note that the input features have one unnamed geometry, and are in a UTM coordinate system.

The features are routed into a GeometryNameSetter.

In the parameters dialog, the original geometry is given a name. As we want to have copies in different coordinate systems, we name this one UTM.

On output, the features still have one geometry but they are named.

The features are routed into a GeometryCopier.

In the parameters dialog, a copy of the UTM features is made, and named LATLONG.

On output, the features have two geometries, each named. Note that they are otherwise identical and still in the same coordinate system.

The features are routed into a Reprojector.

In the parameters dialog, the new LATLONG geometry is selected, and reprojected.

On output, the features have two geometries, in different coordinate systems.

Usage Notes

If the input feature geometry is not named, the output features will have one named geometry (the copy) and one unnamed (the original). Unnamed geometries are referred to as <geometry>. Use the GeometryNameSetter to assign names.

Working with Multiple Geometries

Some formats, such as PostGIS, Oracle Spatial, and Microsoft SQL Server, support multiple geometries on a feature.

They must have unique names, and they have their own coordinate systems and a separate row in the Geometry Definition table.

Multiple geometries are a different concept from aggregates and multis such as MultiPoint.

Multiple Geometries Transformers

Transformer	Use this to...
GeometryCopier	Add a copy of a feature’s geometry onto itself, either creating or adding to multiple geometry. The copy can then be further processed.
FeatureMerger	Create multiple geometries by merging features based on attribute values and expressions. See Geometry Merge Type > Preserve Distinct Geometries.
FeatureJoiner	Create multiple geometries by joining features on attribute values, using left, inner, or full joins. See Geometry Handling > Keep Both (Preserve Distinct Geometries).
GeometryCopier	Assign names to geometries.
GeometryNameExtractor	Put all geometry names into an attribute or list attribute.
GeometryExposer	Make a name available for geometry selection when it is not yet available to downstream transformers.
MultipleGeometryFilter	Identify and route features that have multiple geometries.
GeometryRemover	Remove specific geometries by name, or all geometries. Useful for going from multiple geometries to single.
GeometryExtractor	Place specific or all geometries into an attribute as a blob. May be useful when paired with the GeometryReplacer for performing transformations on geometry with transformers that do not have geometry selection.
GeometryReplacer	Restore geometry from an attribute blob value.

Transformers with Geometry Selection

These transformers can operate on selected geometries.

CommonLocalReprojector

CoordinateExtractor

CoordinateSystemRemover

CoordinateSystemSetter

CsmapAttributeReprojector

EsriReprojector

GridInQuestIIReprojector

GtransReprojector

PROJReprojector

Reprojector

Configuration

Input Ports

Output Ports

Parameters

General

Geometry Selection

Select the geometry to be copied.

The selectable options will reflect the geometries available from the input features.

If input features contain nameless geometries, <geometry> is also available:

<All Geometries>: Select all valid geometries and copy them with the Output Geometry name.
<geometry>: Select only nameless geometries and copy them with the Output Geometry name.

Output Geometry

Provide a name for the copied geometry.

If the name specified is already in use on the input feature, the existing geometry will be discarded and the new one kept.

When Geometry Selection is <All Geometries> and multiple copies are produced with duplicate names, a numeric index is automatically appended to create unique names, as in pipe > pipe_1, pipe_2, and so on.

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
History

FME Online Resources

The FME Community and Support Center Knowledge Base have a wealth of information, including active forums with 35,000+ members and thousands of articles.

Search for all results about the GeometryCopier on the FME Community.

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