MapnikRasterizer

In this example, we will create a raster representation using a number of datasets. The source data includes:

• An orthophoto (GeoTIFF)
• Parks (polygons)
• Bike paths (lines with attributes to be used for labeling)
• Three (3) separate street food vendor datasets (points)

All source datasets are routed into a MapnikRasterizer. creating new input ports when required by connecting to the Connect Input port. Note that all three of the food vendor datasets are connected to the same port - they are all point geometry, and will all be styled the same way.

In the parameters dialog, we set the output raster size to be based on one (1) meter pixels (cells), and construct the Rendering Rules table.

Note the following choices:

GEOTIFF (the orthophoto) goes first, to provide a background for the output raster. It is styled with a Raster symbolizer. Opacity is set to .7, to fade the image a bit and allow the rest of the features stand out.
Parks are next, styled with a Polygon symbolizer. They are filled green, and Opacity set to .5. If we wanted to draw a contrasting border around the parks, we would duplicate the rule, and use a Line symbolizer to style the border.
Bike_ALL contains the bike paths, with attributes. We have created two rules for them (using the copy and paste tools below the table) - note that they do not appear together in the table, and are separated by the FoodVendors layer. The first rule styles the lines, and the second performs labeling. Food vendor symbols may overlap the lines, but will appear behind any bike path labels they may collide with. To generate the labels, we select the PathName attribute. The Halo Fill parameter produces a glow behind the letters, making them more visible against the background and other features.	Line styling: Labeling:
FoodVendors contains all three of the point datasets attached to this input port. Renaming a port in the Rendering Rules table is reflected in the transformer itself - this port was created when Hot Dogs was attached to Connect Input, and then renamed in here. This layer is styled with a Point symbolizer. By choosing Symbol Type, Image, we can select a symbol raster to be used - in this case, an orange marker that has been saved as a PNG file with a transparent background. The symbol was scaled to the appropriate size by using the Transform parameter, scale(.25).	OrangeMarker.png has a transparent background:

Full documentation of all styling parameter choices and behavior can be found in the Mapnik documentation.

The raster is produced according to the parameter selections.

Working with Rasters

These transformers generally apply to whole rasters.

RasterCellOriginSetter	Sets the cell origin point within cells in a raster.
RasterConvolver	Applies a convolution filter (sometimes called a kernel or lens) to raster features and outputs the results.
RasterDiffuser	Enhances the features of a raster image. The RasterDiffuser enhances the borders, lines, and curves while reducing noise in the flat areas of the raster image.
RasterExpressionEvaluator	Evaluates expressions on each cell in a raster or pair of rasters, including algebraic operations and conditional statements.
RasterExtentsCoercer	Replaces the geometry of input raster features with a polygon covering either the extents of a raster or the extent of data within a raster.
RasterGCPExtractor	Extracts Ground Control Point (GCP) coordinate system and point values from a raster feature and exposes them as attributes.
RasterGCPSetter	Sets Ground Control Points (GCPs) on a raster, pairing cell positions with known coordinates.
RasterGeoreferencer	Georeferences a raster by either known corner coordinates or origin, cell size, and rotation.
RasterHillshader	Generates a grayscale shaded relief representation of terrain, based on elevation values.
RasterInterpretationCoercer	Alters the interpretation type of rasters, including all bands, and converts cell values if necessary.
RasterMosaicker	Merges multiple raster features into a single raster feature.
RasterPropertyExtractor	Extracts the geometry properties of a raster feature and exposes them as attributes.
RasterPyramider	Resamples rasters to multiple resolutions, based on either number of levels or dimensions of the smallest output raster.
RasterRegisterer	Transforms an image to minimize its difference with another.
RasterResampler	Resamples rasters, based on specified output dimensions, cell size in ground units, or percentage of original, and interpolates new cell values.
RasterRotationApplier	Rotates a raster feature according to its rotation angle property, interpolating new cell values, updating all other affected raster properties, and producing an output raster feature with a rotation angle of zero.
RasterSubsetter	Clips raster features using pixel bounds instead of ground coordinates, and optionally adds cells around the perimeter.
RasterTiler	Splits each input raster into a series of tiles by specifying either a tile size in cells/pixels or the number of tiles.
RasterToPolygonCoercer	Creates polygons from input raster features. One polygon is output for each contiguous area of pixels with the same value in the input raster.
WebMapTiler	Creates a series of image tiles that can be utilized by web mapping applications such as Bing™ Maps, Google Maps™, or Web Map Tile Service. This is done by resampling rasters to various different resolutions and then splitting them into tiles.

Working with Bands

These transformers generally apply to bands.

RasterBandAdder	Adds a new band to a raster feature.
RasterBandCombiner	Merges coincidental raster features into a single output raster feature, preserving and appending all bands.
RasterBandInterpretationCoercer	Alters the interpretation type of individual raster bands, converting cell values if necessary.
RasterBandKeeper	Removes all unselected bands from a raster feature.
RasterBandMinMaxExtractor	Extracts the minimum and maximum band values, palette keys, and palette values from a raster feature, and adds them to a list attribute.
RasterBandNameSetter	Sets the band name of selected bands on a raster, making raster contents simpler to understand compared to band numbers.
RasterBandNodataRemover	Removes the existing Nodata identifier from selected bands of a raster feature. Any values previously equal to the Nodata value are considered valid data.
RasterBandNodataSetter	Sets a new Nodata value on selected bands of a raster feature.
RasterBandOrderer	Specifies the required order of bands in a raster. Bands are reordered according to the input band indices.
RasterBandPropertyExtractor	Extracts the band and palette properties of a raster feature and exposes them as attributes.
RasterBandRemover	Removes any selected bands from a raster feature.
RasterBandSeparator	Separates bands or unique band and palette combinations, and outputs either individual raster features or a single new raster feature containing all combinations.
RasterStatisticsCalculator	Calculates statistics on raster bands and adds the results as attributes.

Working with Cells

These transformers generally apply to individual cells.

RasterAspectCalculator	Calculates the aspect (direction of slope) for each cell of a raster. Aspect is measured in degrees from 0 to 360, clockwise from north.
RasterCellCoercer	Creates individual points or polygons for each cell in a raster, optionally extracting band values as z coordinates or attributes.
RasterCellValueCalculator	Evaluates basic arithmetic , minimum, maximum or average operations on the cell values of a pair of rasters.
RasterCellValueReplacer	Replaces a range of band values in a raster with a new single value.
RasterCellValueRounder	Rounds off raster cell values.
RasterSegmenter	Partitions a raster image into arbitrarily sized groups of cells from the input image based on intensity differences in the input raster image cells.
RasterSingularCellValueCalculator	Performs basic arithmetic operations on the cell values of a raster against a numeric value.
RasterSlopeCalculator	Calculates the slope (maximum rate of change in z) for each cell of a raster.

Working with Palettes

These transformers generally apply to palettes.

RasterPaletteAdder	Creates a palette from an attribute, and adds this palette to all selected bands on a raster.
RasterPaletteExtractor	Creates a string representation of an existing palette on a raster and saves it to an attribute.
RasterPaletteGenerator	Generates a palette out of the selected band(s) of a raster. The output raster will have the selected band(s) replaced by a new band with a palette.
RasterPaletteInterpretationCoercer	Alters the interpretation type of raster palettes.
RasterPaletteNodataSetter	Identifies the palette key that matches a raster band’s Nodata value, and sets a value on it.
RasterPaletteRemover	Removes selected palette(s) from raster features.
RasterPaletteResolver	Resolves the palette(s) on a raster by replacing cell values with their corresponding palette values. Palette values with multiple components, such as RGB, are broken down and the individual values assigned to multiple, newly-added bands.

Workflow Control

These transformers generally control the flow of features in a workspace.

RasterCheckpointer	Forces accumulated raster operations to be processed, saving the state to disk and releasing resources to tune performance or assist with memory limitations.
RasterConsumer	Reads raster features for testing purposes, including any accumulated raster operations. No additional operations are performed, and nothing is done with the features.
RasterExtractor	Serializes the geometry of a raster feature into a Blob attribute, encoding the contents according to a choice of common binary raster formats.
RasterNumericCreator	Creates a numeric raster of specified size and resolution, with default cell values.
RasterReplacer	Decodes a binary attribute containing encoded rasters stored as Blobs, replacing the feature’s geometry with the decoded raster.
RasterRGBCreator	Creates a color raster feature of specified size, resolution, and interpretation type, with default cell values.
RasterSelector	Selects specific bands and palettes of a raster for subsequent transformer operations.

Vectors and Rasters

These transformers generally involve using rasters and vector data together.

ImageRasterizer	Creates a raster representation of vector or point cloud input features, using the fme_color attribute over a solid background fill for vector features. Point clouds may be rendered using their color or intensity components.
NumericRasterizer	Creates a numeric raster representation of vector or point cloud input features, where cell values are taken from the z coordinates of the input features and overlaid on a uniform background.
MapnikRasterizer	Generates a raster from input vector and raster features, with fine control over symbolization and labeling, using the Mapnik toolkit.
PointCloudOnRasterComponentSetter	Sets point cloud component values by overlaying a point cloud on a raster. The component values for each point are interpolated from band values at the point location.
PointOnRasterValueExtractor	Extracts the band and palette values from a raster at the location of one or more input points and sets them as attributes on the feature.
RasterDEMGenerator	Produces a raster digital elevation model (DEM) by uniformly sampling a Delaunay triangulation generated from input points and breaklines.
VectorOnRasterOverlayer	Rasterizes vector or point cloud features onto an existing raster. For vector features the fme_color attribute sets pixel color, and point clouds may be rendered using their color or intensity components.

Input ports are created by either connecting a feature stream to the Connect Input port, or by adding them in the Rendering Rules table, Input Port column.

Input ports may also be renamed, moved, and deleted in the Rendering Rules table.

The raster(s) drawn from a group of features according to the parameter selections.

Invalid features that will not be included in the output raster.

Rejected Feature Handling: can be set to either terminate the translation or continue running when it encounters a rejected feature. This setting is available both as a default FME option and as a workspace parameter.

This table defines the layers and symbolizers that specify how features will be rendered.

Each entry in the table contains an input port, a symbolizer type, and the parameters for that symbolizer. The symbolizer parameters depend on the symbolizer type. Descriptions of the parameters for each symbolizer may be found in the Mapnik documentation.

Note that layers will be rendered in the order they are specified. The first layer in this table will be rendered first (that is, it will appear below any subsequent layers).

Rules may be duplicated to add additional styling.

Layer Definition

This parameter specifies what defines a layer.

Essentially, this determines the draw order of the rendering rules. Layers are rendered in order, with all features for a layer drawn before any features of the next layer. Within a layer, symbolizers are applied feature-by-feature.

Example: You have line features representing streets, and each feature also contains an attribute specifying the street name. To render this, you could set up a Line symbolizer and a Text symbolizer. In this case, you would want to draw all the streets first, then have all the labels on top of those, so Each rendering rule is a layer would be more appropriate.

Example: You have overlapping polygons, and want to draw each with a border. To render this, you could set up a Polygon symbolizer and a Line symbolizer. In this case, you would want to draw each feature as both a polygon and a line before moving on to the next feature, so Each input port is a layer would be more appropriate.

Note that the behavior of Each rendering rule is a layer can be replicated when Layer Definition is set to Each input port is a layer. To do this, just add a new input port for each separate layer.

The background may be filled with a solid color and/or image. If neither a color nor image is specified, the background will be transparent.

Color	Sets the background color. Specifying Colors Colors may be entered directly or chosen from the color picker via the ellipsis button. Syntax Colors can be specified by RGB values or hex codes. RGB values may be either 24-bit or decimal (0 - 1). If the value type is unclear, as in (1,1,1), the 24-bit interpretation is used. Hex codes are accepted with or without a hash sign (#).   24-bit RGB Decimal RGB Hex code 0,0,0 0,0,0 #000000 255,0,0 1,0,0 #FF0000 202,173,232 0.79,0.68,0.91 #CAADE8 255,255,255 Not Available #FFFFFF
Color Alpha Value (0-1)	Sets the alpha value for the background color. It must be a number between 0 and 1, where 0 is fully transparent and 1 is fully opaque.
Image	Select an image file to be used as the background. If the image is smaller than the extent of the output raster, it will be tiled. Georeferencing will not be honored for background images - to use a georeferenced raster, connect it to an input port and use the Rendering Rules table.

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.

Table Tools

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

Note: Not all tools are available in all transformers.