TestFilter

The feature is output via the <Unfiltered> port if the feature does not satisfy any of the test conditions. The name of this port can be changed by editing the parameters.

1. Double click a blank row in the table (or select the row and click the Edit Conditions button).
2. Specify the Test Conditions. These are described in detail in the Tester transformer.
3. Click OK to close the window and add the test condition to the TestFilter.
4. Initially, the test condition will appear in both the Test Conditions and the Output Port columns. You can edit the Output Port field to specify your own output port name. Multiple test conditions can output to the same output port if the port name is the same.

Repeat these steps for each test condition that you want to add to the TestFilter. The buttons on the side of the dialog box allow you to add and remove rows from the table, and set the order in which to perform the tests:

Unfiltered Port Name

The feature is output via this port if the feature does not satisfy any of the test conditions. By default, the port is named ‘<Unfiltered>’.

Test Output

This parameter controls which ports features will be output from when tests pass.

When set to First Passing Port, features will only be output from the port for the first test that they pass, even if that feature would have passed other tests.

When set to All Passing Ports, features will be output from ports for all tests that they pass.

Creating Test Clauses

Each clause is composed of a value to test, and the method of testing it. Depending on the type of test, at a minimum the clause will consist of a Left Value and an Operator. If the chosen Operator needs more information (for example, testing for an attribute that is greater than a certain value), a Right Value field is provided.

The Test Clauses are created in a table, and numbered from the top down.

Left Value	Operator	Right Value	Mode*
The value or expression to test	The type of test to perform	The value for comparison, if required by the operator	Test the values in a specific manner
Examples
Latitude	>	49.000001	Automatic
@Area()	In Range	(1,100)	Numeric
SnackType	Like	Kebabs	Case Sensitive
Traffic	Attribute Is Null	<Unused>	Automatic
Count	Type Is	Integer	Automatic

* Note that Mode is only available for individual tests when Comparison Mode is set to Specify Per Test.

Test Clause Operators

Cached Values and Data-Aware Test Clauses

If Feature Caching is enabled, valid attribute values from upstream features can be viewed to complete test clauses.

As shown here in the Tester, if the Left Value has been set to an Attribute Value and the features have been cached, the context menu provides access to the values available in those features. If there are only a few choices, they will be presented in a sub-menu.

If there are a large number of choices, the values will be presented in a Select Value dialog, where the values may be sorted and searched with the Filter option.

Connecting Test Clauses: Logic

Multiple test clauses are connected with Logic, using AND, OR, and NOT in addition to parentheses to specify how the tests are evaluated to determine passing or failing.

Logic connectors can be edited by selecting options in the Logic column of the Test Clauses table, or may be edited directly using the Composite Expression parameter’s Edit button.

Preserve Feature Order

This parameter controls the order in which features exit a transformer. When a transformer has more than one output port, features usually exit one port at a time. At times, it may be useful to keep the order that features arrived in, switching from port to port as necessary. This allows feature order to be preserved, though at a potential cost in processing efficiency. Select a method for feature ordering. Per Output Port (Default) Only preserve the input order of features as they occur within the group of features exiting a given output port. All features exiting an output port retain their ordering relative to each other (within the group), but not relative to features exiting other output ports. This option is generally the most efficient, where large chunks of features will exit an output port together (taking advantage of bulk mode). As features exiting different output ports may not be strictly output in the order they arrived, output ordering may be unpredictable. Across Output Ports Strictly preserve the input order of features, regardless of which output port they exit. Features will be output singly in the same order they arrived, switching from port to port as necessary. This option is generally less efficient as the processing gains of bulk mode are less likely to apply - however, feature order is predictable.

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.

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.