Introduction
Congratulations for taking the next step in learning about FME Desktop. This tutorial will teach you the essentials to get your first workspace up and running. In this six-part article series you will learn the following:
Common FME terminology
A brief tour of the FME Workbench interface
How to read data into FME
How to visualize your data in FME
How to manipulate your data using FME
How to write your data out from FME
Each section of this series will walk you through steps to complete each task; you can follow along with the data that has been provided. Or, try it with your own data, we recommend starting with a Microsoft Excel file, CSV file or Shapefile. There will also be a video demonstration for each section as well as a completed workspace up to that step so you can jump right in at any stage.
The screenshots in this series were taken using Windows, but the steps are the same using Mac OS or Linux.
Downloads
If you would like to follow along with the tutorial, download the Microsoft Excel data below:
This zip file below contains the data to follow along with this tutorial as well as a completed workspace for each exercise. The workspaces will also be available to download on each article:
To watch the full video, see our Youtube Channel. Please note that this video was made with FME Desktop 2019, and shows a bug in the data. The data should show 100 records, not 171. To correct this, download the data from this tutorial.
Exercises
1. Read Data
Learn how to read data into FME using the drag and drop method.
2. View Data
Learn how to view data using the FME Visual Preview window in FME Workbench. If you are using an FME version prior to 2019, please see the Getting Started with FME Desktop: Introduction to FME Data Inspector article instead.
3. Add a Transformer
Learn how to add a Transformer to the workspace using Quick Add, as well as how to find other Transformers.
4. Modify Attributes
Learn how to open and modify Transformer parameters to manipulate attributes.
5. Add a Writer
Learn how to add a Writer to the workspace using the Writer button, and how to set it up.
6. Write Data
Learn how to run the workspace so that the data gets written to disk and how to view the Translation Log window.
Additional Resources
Data Attribution
The data used here was randomly generated from www.generatedata.com
